The Love That Matters Forever

Fry and Leela still couldn't figure out where Nibbler went, or why. But that thought was put aside, and they made room for their date. Fry couldn't wait even more than Leela did. They both were thinking it while they were walking down the street. Nibbler was also thinking how to tell Fry and Leela that he needed their help into finding out who the culprit was. He just hoped that it wouldn't affect their relationship.

"You wanna circle around the park?" Leela asked.
"Sure." Fry said.

Nibbler licked his chops. He favored going inside the park, because where there's a park, there's puppies. Leela knew he would be after some by the time they got there, so she kept her eye on him. Fry started to hum the I Knew I Loved You song while they were walking. Leela smiled at him, and started to hum herself. Nibbler was soothed by the soft melody. He knew that Fry and Leela would always be together.

They got married before, but suddenly Leela divorced Fry. That could have been the worst day of Fry's life. It was. Nothing could have been worse than the divorce of the woman you loved more than yourself. Fry felt the pain inside everyday. His broken heart was full of thoughts and images of Leela, and somehow it would never escape. But after they were together, it felt a lot more better than the sight of the love message he wrote in the sky for Leela. It was like they were in the sun of life, and no cloud of heartbreak would dare to cover it up.

They came across this beautiful bridge on their way. The river was flowing underneath, as Nibbler was taking a drink.

"Careful, Nibbler. Don't get fish caught in your teeth." Leela said.

Nibbler nodded and continued drinking the soft water. Fry and Leela went over to the bridge and leaned onto the railing, staring inside the water. They admired each other's reflections, as it seemed easy to remember the last time they saw each other for the first time.

"I can't wait for tonight." Fry said.
"Me neither..." Leela said.
"... Speaking of tonight, well... I don't wanna feel like a jerk, but... Do you know when you're ready to have Lily?"

"Fry, women need to have some time before they can have kids."
"I know that... But, somehow, I'm just looking forward into being a dad."
"You are?"

"Of course I am." Fry said, taking Leela's hands. "You could wait all your life to have a kid for all I care. All I know is, I wanna be the perfect dad... for the perfect daughter."

"... Oh, Fry. I never knew you were this kind of person. You want this child so bad, that-" Leela began, but was interrupted by a snarling sound.

It was Nibbler snarling at a Cerburus (Dog with three heads). It was ten times bigger than the Nibblonian, and was showing his long, white fangs. Fry and Leela ran down the bridge towards the two fighting animals.

"What's going on here?" Leela asked.

"I'll tell you what." Someone said.

Fry and Leela looked down to see the Veterinarian (Off of I Second That Emotion) dragging himself towards the two. His T-Shirt was torn in half, and his pants were bagged with holes. All over his face was blood stains.

"Old Cerburus gone wild after taking a small dose of that botulism dog treat. I tried to stop him, but it seems that the drug I gave him were actually a combination of steroids. I must have switched them after a young man came in today and used them."

"Oh my God, that's horrible." Leela said.

"Yes. But what gets even worse, is that when he sets his eye on a perfect match, he'll rip them to entire shreds. Whatever that dog can carry in his system, sure is unbearable to--"

The Veterinarian was interrupted by the teeth chomping right into his back. The Cerburus picked him up and swifted him to and fro like a rag doll. Fry and Leela were horrified by the violent moment.

"Oh, Lord! Someone save me! But don't twist my arm, 'cause he's digging into it, too! Help!" he yelled.

Leela finally snapped out of stillness, and used her Fung-Fu techniques by swifting her right leg counter clockwise to knock the Veterinarian out of the Cerburus' mouth. He landed right on the side of the river, motionless.

"Thank you..." he said before he passed out.

The Cerburus got into a rage, and charged at Leela. Leela backed up a little, but had the courage to fight back. Cerburus aimed for her arm, but kicked him back in return. He landed right on his back, which gave Nibbler a great time to eat him whole. As soon as every inch of the body was in his stomach, Nibbler belched.

"Leela! Are you all right?" Fry asked as he rushed to Leela.
"Yeah. I don't think there's any injuries." Leela answered.

"... Your arm!" he exclaimed as he took hold of her left arm. On her arm was a long, thin claw mark. The Cerburus must have scratched her once she kicked him.

"Fry, it's no big deal. We're just lucky to be alive." Leela said as she examined the wound.
"Leela, your safety is important to me as my life..." Fry said.

Leela turned around at the boy, and kissed him.

"... I don't want you to be too much worried about me. I'm fine. I can take care of myself." Leela said as she broke the kiss.

"... I know. But I love you, and I don't want anything bad happening to you." Fry said.
"I love you too, Fry. And thank you."

Fry smiled. Back at Nibbler, he spit out the Cerburus' collar. It was black and a little scrunched up. Fry went over and picked it up. He noticed that there was a solid gold metal written on the back. It must have been the license, but it was hard to identify, because it was covered in hard black ink (from charging at the Veterinarian with his pen). But he did spot the beginning of a few letters.

A G O P S

"Hmm... Must be some alien code." Fry said.

"We probably need to hold onto that. Just in case we found out whose dog it was." Leela said.
"Yeah." Fry said as he put the collar inside his pocket.

Fry picked up Nibbler's leash and walked back to the Robots Arms Apartments, with his hand wrapped around Leela's hand. On the way, Fry still couldn't get the image of the claw mark on Leela's arm. That Cerburus almost got her good, and she was lucky that she was alive.

"I thought I lost her... I don't want her to be hurt or even killed. I don't care what it takes to get her safe... I just need her to be okay... with me..."

Nibbler also couldn't get his mind off that incident. There was something about that collar that he didn't know about. Whatever was written on there, should be a clue to the culprit...

Tonight was finally here. Fry and Leela's date. They both have been waiting for this moment for the rest of the day. Fry and Leela were both staring at each other while they were waiting for their order. They wore the same dress and tuxedo off of A Flight To Remember. They were checking the menus as their silence kept motioning around the restaurant.

"So... what are you gonna get?" Fry asked Leela.
"I'm not sure. Maybe the Jambalya Dinette would be pretty good. What about you?" Leela asked.
"Probably the same. I feel a little up for a beef and contents by the side."

"Jambalya Dinette, you say?" Elzar asked from behind.
"Sure, Elzar." Fry said.
"Good. Be ready in a few. Bam!" Elzar said as he walked away.

"About what I said earlier, I didn't know you were actually looking forward into being a father." Leela said.

"Of course I am. Ever since that I saw Lily, I wanted to be there for her. My dad took good care of me when I was growing up, and now, I wanna do the same thing for her."

"... I still didn't know that you can be this kind of person, Fry. I've known you for three years, and I always thought that you were an ordinary delivery boy. But ever since I've known more about you... you've been wonderful to me. More than just wonderful... Special."

"... I'm so happy that I came to the future. You are my future."

Leela smiled.

"Well, now. I see you two are enjoyin' the moment." Elzar appeared from behind, carrying two plates of the Jambalya Dinette.

"Wow. That was fast." Fry said.

"Elzar's is all about fast food." Elzar said as he set the plates down. "Enjoy your meals."

The food on the plate looked delicious. Fry took a bite out of it, and it tasted exactly like spaghetti, only... with a little more filling.

"Mmm... This Jambalya Dinette ain't half bad." Fry said.
"Yeah. Wonder how much it costs." Leela said.
"Let me check the menu." Fry said as he checked the menu.

SPECIALS:

Soilent Special... $64.95
Salad A La Jarisma... $45.99
Colossal Salmon... $52.89
Mendulan Ablon-carba... $35.55
Jethro Mead... $42.95
Chintete Spaget-AY... $62.57
Ravioli Mesure (Chopped with spiced weasel)... $56.62
Turnip and Calamare Surprise... $102.78
Turkey/Chicken Combo Crispetos... $55.90
Pink and Yellow Macaroni... $23.67
Jambalya Dinette... $60.43

"$60.43." Fry said.
"Oh..." Leela said.
"Don't worry. I'm paying anyway."
"... Fry, no. You don't have to do that."
"But I want to. I wanna make this date perfect for you. Even if it means buying something worth my money for you."

"... Thank you, Fry. But, isn't there someway I can pay you back?"
"A simple I Love You means more than money."
"I love you, Fry. Like our song says, I think I dreamed you into life."
"... Well, we might as well enjoy our meals."
"Yeah. It's pretty good. It kinda reminds me of lasagna."
"Same here." he said as he took a big bite.

They enjoyed the rest of their Jambalya Dinette for the rest of the evening. After that, they enjoyed the dessert special-- Glow-In-The-Dark Jell-O. It kinda felt funny in their throats, but luckily it didn't glow in their stomachs.

After their date, Fry and Leela went back to Fry's apartment, to enjoy the rest of the night together. They both had a glass of Leela's favorite moderately priced domestic non vintage champagne. Leela still couldn't get the prices of that food off her mind, and how much guilt it brought to her.

"Oh, Fry. I still feel guilty for you wasting every penny you had on that date." Leela said.
"Leela, I was meant to do that. It doesn't matter how much anything costs to me. As long as we're together... That's all that matters." Fry said as he took her hand in his.

"... Fry... I... I think I'm ready."
"For what?"
"To have Lily."
"... Leela, are you saying that to repay me-"
"No, no, Fry. I'm serious. When you held my hand, I had this urge in my body that... maybe it was time."

"... All right."

Fry stood up, and went to close the door. When he got back to the bed, Leela stood up and kissed him. He kissed back, as they both fell back onto the bed. He was on top of her, and was already taking his T-shirt off. This time, Leela didn't stop him. After he threw his shirt onto the floor, he slowly stopped the kissing, and whispered into Leela's ear,

"Are you sure you wanna do this?"
"... Yes."

After replying to his curious question, Leela went back into kissing him, and they both were enjoying the moment. Fry took some time to unzip his pants, while Leela was prepared to move away the covers for them to sink underneath in. As they sank into the comfort of their sheets, they continued making love in a special way. A way, that would last all night...

TO BE CONTINUED...