Author Notes - Seeing as this is the 'starting to resolve some plotlines' part of the story, we'll see the return of a certain older Guppy, as well as see how Nonny reacts to Molly's offer.

Also, I've been forgetting to do this for the last few chapters, but... thanks to Zakirmatron, Destoroyah616, 4597boss, CrystalColden for the favourites/follows!

CHAPTER ELEVEN - PENNY FOR THOUGHTS

Deema had woken up feeling much better that day. She wasn't sure why, and she still wasn't exactly happy, but she actually felt like getting out of bed today. Which, considering her mood over the last couple of days, was quite the accomplishment.

The first thing she did as she got up was look in her mirror, as usual. After the couple of days she had it, she had gotten used to that black eye. It still hurt, and she still wasn't certain if she could forgive Dorson for it, but she almost kinda liked it. It had edge. Personality. It was a testament to everything she could go through and live. If it ended up lasting forever, she wouldn't mind it all that much.

She had already discussed it with her parents the day before that she wanted to stay home from school that day. In her own words, she needed a break. A break from school. From the hospital. And, most importantly, from Molly.

At around the same time she would normally start heading out for school, Deema settled herself down on the living room couch. Her father Daryl - who worked at home ever since the, well, I'm sure you know - was on the couch with her, letting her lay her head upon his lap. The young Guppy loved the feeling of a hand running through her hair, and so Daryl complied. It was a little difficult getting the feeling right through all of her hair, but it was worth it to see her smile.

'Remember, sweetie,' He said. 'It's normal to want breaks. Mr Grouper told me that it's fine to take off as much time as you need.'

As he brushed his hand through her mop of hair, Daryl couldn't help but to notice that his daughter was still a lot more quiet than normal. Less so than she was the day before, but still not nearly as loud and bombastic as she used to be. With what Mr Grouper told him and Diane, he wasn't surprised.

It made his heart sink as he thought about all the horrible things that his daughter had gone through. Between getting punched by an older boy to having the blame pinned on her, it seemed so unfair to him. He didn't want to think about it with his daughter on his lap, for he didn't want to hurt her. It wasn't as bad as what Gil had gone through - of course not - but that didn't invalidate his daughter's pain.

They had been watching SpongeBob for the last hour. It was Deema's favourite show after all, or at least the first three seasons were. Even a child as young as her noticed the show's decline at around the fourth or fifth season, though she didn't hate it as much as a lot of other people did. She did have an affinity for season eleven, but they hadn't found the DVD for that one yet.

'Okay Gary, I'm gonna need you to be my eyes.' A blinded SpongeBob said, fumbling around with his blanket and alarm clock on his head. 'Am I near the bathroom?'

He was not near the bathroom. Deema giggled for about five seconds straight when SpongeBob ended up tumbling down the stairs, exclaiming out in pain every time he bonked against the floor. This episode was a favourite of hers - the one where SpongeBob loses his nametag - if only because she found it funny whenever he fell down the stairs. It amazed Daryl how cheerful she could be when she had a big black eye painfully visible on her face.

Truthfully, she was only half-focusing on the cartoon, which was unusual enough for her, as she was typically all-or-nothing when it came to focusing. It shouldn't surprise you that most of her thoughts were about Gil, and Molly.

'Hey Daddy…' She said.

'Yes, sweetie?'

'What should I say to Molly when I meet her again?'

Daryl came to a short wall with that question. For a moment, he glanced at the TV screen to give him some time. Seeing SpongeBob taste the snail food - with a random Star Wars reference thrown in there - didn't help him out at all.

'I'm not sure.' He answered. 'That would depend on what mood she's in. But, while I don't know her all too well, I know that the first thing she'll do next time you two meet is apologise.'

'I know that.' Deema said. 'Gil said it himself. I've already forgiven her! I just don't know how to say it. I'm just worried because… because…'

'You're afraid that she was right?'

Deema just nodded. Both Guppies returned their attention to the screen for a moment, watching as SpongeBob proceeded to put his own shirt on backwards without even realising. Deema had always noticed that the collar of his shirt was missing, but she just assumed it was nothing the first time round.

'Deema,' Daryl said. 'There's nothing-'

'Everyone tells me that it wasn't my fault!' She cried. 'But it was! I was the one who scared him into hitting those boxes. I-I didn't mean to hurt him so badly…'

'And that's all that matters to me. It was an accident, end of story. From what I've been told, it sounds like something like this was bound to happen sooner or later. I'm... not sure how reassuring that is, though.'

'Um… a little? I just wish this never happened to begin with. If we never told those stupid jokes…'

Daryl gently lifted his daughter up and brought her just a little bit closer to his chest. With one arm still running through her hair, he used the other arm to hug her.

'We can't change the past.' He said. 'Remember that episode where Gary ran away? I'm sure SpongeBob felt awful about the way he treated him, but it was too late for him to change that. That neglect had already happened, and was set in stone. All he could do was learn from his mistake and make sure that he treated Gary much better from then on.'

'Is… is that what's going on between us and Gil?' She asked.

He nodded. 'Exactly. While the way you kids treated Gil is awful, and there's no denying that, it's already happened. It's in the past, and we can't change the past yet. We may not ever be able to change it. We can't focus on trying to undo the past, but we can focus on fixing the present for a happier future.'

The father's heart was lifted when Deema smiled. He wouldn't let her know that he was making it up as he went along, and just so happened to say something that sounded surprisingly meaningful, even if it leaned somewhat into 'trying too hard to be meaningful' in places.

'In fact,' He continued. 'I think your Momma said it pretty well. It was long before you were born, or even before we were married, and we had a bit of a fight during a date. I felt really bad about it, but your amazing Momma could not have put it better.' He cleared his throat. 'The past is not to be ignored, but to be listened to. The present is not to be hated, but to be used. The future is not to be feared, but to be strived for.'

Deema chuckled. 'I didn't understand any of that. Something about the future?'

'Well, it doesn't matter. The point is, she told me that I shouldn't focus on the fight we had, but learn from those mistakes so we would never fight again. Of course, we still fight, but only rarely. If we didn't work out our differences, well… I wouldn't have the best daughter in the world in my lap right now.'

'Where would I be instead?'

'No, I mean… never mind.'

Deema only understood half of what her father said, even less than usual. Still, the half she did understand was enough to get the message across. Today was all the break she needed. The next day, she would have a talk with Molly no matter what.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door that pulled Deema out of her thoughts and even made her father flinch.

'Come in!' Daryl called to whoever was on the other side of the front door.

The guests wasted no time making their way into the house. Daryl quickly recognised the new adult in the room - the long green hair and green camo tail made it clear to him that it was Fiona, Gil's mother. Which meant that the young boy by her side was…

'D-D-DORSON?!' Deema shouted, jumping in fright so intensely that she fell to the floor.

'I'm sorry… WHAT?!'

Nonny wanted to say more, but all he could do was repeat himself. Everyone stared in shock, not so much because of the big newsload that Molly just dropped, but because they had never heard Nonny speak so loudly or expressively before.

'Nonny, I know it's a lot to take in.' Molly said. 'But-'

'You THINK?!' Nonny yelled. 'This is just… why me?!'

'I think you'd be a great leader!' Oona said with a big smile. 'You're so smart, and kind, and-'

'Oona, you're not helping!'

The pig-tailed-Guppy flinched and stared at him in shock. It made Nonny gasp as he realised what he had done.

'I'm sorry!' He cried. 'I-I didn't mean it. I'm just-'

'That's okay!' Oona said, smiling again. 'I understand. But I still think you'd make a great leader!'

Her reassuring voice was the only thing stopping Nonny from having a full-blown panic attack. On top of everything else he had been dealing with for the past few days, this was just a little too much. He could feel himself beginning to sweat.

'Uh… okay then!' Mr Grouper said, trying to bring everything back to normal. 'We can talk about this too. Nonny, how do you feel about this, uh, major change?'

'I… I… I don't know!' The young boy cried. 'T-This is too much! I'd have so much to take care of, there would be so many hard decisions to make, Gil's still in the hospital… and I can't imagine how our fans are going to take a change this big! Especially if a white boy ends up replacing a hispanic girl in the lead role…'

He buried his head in his arms, trying to control his erratic breathing. Molly waited until his breathing was back to normal before she said anything else.

'Nonny, I'm sorry.' She said. 'I know you never wanted attention, and this is a huge change for someone like you. You don't have to do it if you don't want to. I just thought you were the best for it.'

Nonny lifted his head, returning to his usual stoic self though he was panicking on the inside. He took in a deep breath to relax those agitated nerves, and looked to everyone else in the room. They were all smiling, and it managed to calm him down just a little bit.

'Do you guys really think I could do that?' He asked.

'You'd be a wonderful leader!' Oona said. 'The best leader in Bubbletucky!'

'I remember how well you conducted that flock of ducks.' Goby added. 'If you can lead a group of wild birds, I'm sure you can handle us!'

'I have no idea what Goby is talking about,' Zooli admitted. 'But while I haven't known you for that long, you are more than capable of the job.'

He stared at his hands in his lap, playing with his fingers a little to give his mind something to focus on. He tried to ignore everything else that was going on, which wasn't especially easy to do, so he could focus on the question at hand.

'Did you have to ask this now?' He asked. 'T-There's so much going on already.'

'I know that.' Molly said, putting her hands on her heart. 'And I know I should've waited. But I've decided now that I'm not fit to be a leader. No one who treats their best friend like I did deserves it. You almost never messed with Gil, or laughed at him, and I've known you long enough to know that you would be a fantastic leader. You don't just have the smarts, you know. Remember when you faced off against Sir Mulligan at mini golf? You saved him from falling into the lava, even if it could've cost you the game. And you faced your fear of dragons to enter that cave to begin with. You've got the brain, the heart, and even the courage to do it. The only thing that matters is if you want to.'

Such flattery coming from anyone made the bespectacled Guppy blush quite harshly, so much that his skin almost blended into his fiery hair. It reminded Molly of why she had her doubts that he would take the offer - he was just too bashful for it.

'C-Can…?' He stammered. 'Can I think about this first? I-I believe everything you say, and I would do everything I could to be a good leader, but… I don't know if I can handle it.'

'Of course you can think about it!' Molly said, with a big smile. 'It's a lot to take in. The role was kinda thrown on me too. I took it pretty well, but you don't cope with change as well as I do. Which is fine.' She chuckled. 'Actually, I don't think I handle change much better, if this entire incident says anything, but you get my point.'

Nonny turned to Oona, his face as stoic as ever but his eyes revealing just how terrified he was of this revelation. She responded with a big warm friendly smile and two thumbs-up, and frankly Nonny wasn't sure what else he was expecting her to do. He looked to Mr Grouper, one of the only adults in his life who wasn't his parents.

'I think it's a great idea.' The teacher said, earnestly. 'You're so much more amazing that you realise, Nonny. I've known you long enough to say this with certainty: I think you'd be a great leader.'

The young boy whined. 'I… I don't know. I won't say no just yet, but even if all of you are right and I really can do this, it will take me awhile to work up the courage to go through with it.'

Molly placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, which made him flinch just a little. 'And don't feel too much pressure to say yes if you don't want to. It isn't like we'll be without a leader if you don't take it. I think the others would make great leaders too. Goby is creative and imaginative, Oona is the sweetest person in the world, Zooli is really clever, Deema kinda deserves it since she's the only kid in this class older than me, and Gil…' She sighed. 'I think he deserves it so much after everything I've put him through. I just think you, Nonny, would be the best.'

The pink-haired Guppy took in a deep breath, and sat back in her spot. It was like a massive load had been dropped off her shoulders. Albeit, that load was nothing compared to the hundreds others weighing down her psyche, but it was still something.

'H-How will the fans take it?' Nonny asked. 'You know how crazy fans can get when their favourite thing has a major change.'

Zooli groaned. 'Remember when My Little Seahorse made Twinkle Dawn a princess? With the big wings and everything? The fans went absolutely crazy!'

'Zooli, you're really not helping. But that's what I mean. The fans won't like it if our band has a big change like that. And, like I said, I'm a white boy who would be replacing a hispanic girl. We know that gender and skin tone has nothing to do with it, but the fans might not realise that.'

Oona scoffed. 'Who cares about what the fans think? They nearly lost their minds when we introduced Zooli to the band, but we didn't care, and the fans dealt with it. If they can handle a new member, I'm sure they can handle a new leader.'

'And aren't you the fan favourite anyway?' Goby asked. 'I don't think they'll have that much of a problem with it.'

Their kind words, though spoken with genuine heart, did nothing to soothe Nonny's worries. He just knew that the fans wouldn't approve, and he couldn't shake that thought.

'Hey, Oona,' He said. 'Can we-?'

'We can talk about it after school!' Oona replied. 'I'd love to talk about it now, but I'll be late if I don't head off soon.'

The other Guppies waved goodbye to Oona as she left the building to do her volunteer work.

Deema wanted to leap behind the couch and disappear, but all she could manage was hiding behind her father. Daryl held onto her hand tightly, keeping his eye on the older boy. Dorson rubbed his elbow, and couldn't look either of the Swimmers in the eye.

'Hello, Fiona.' Daryl greeted, trying to keep his tone high. 'May I ask what you're doing here?'

'I'm sorry for this intrusion.' Fiona replied. 'But I think it was about time I dealt with… this.'

'Why did you bring him here?!' Deema cried, peeking out from behind her meat shield.

Dorson opened his mouth, but only for a moment.

'My son has something to say to you.' Fiona answered.

Deema frowned. 'I think I know what it is, and you'll need to try harder than that.'

The older boy was still silent, and he held his arms behind his back. Daryl could read his intentions like a book, and softened his grip on his daughter's hand. While he hadn't known Dorson all that well, he recognised that look in his eyes. It was the look of a 'tough boy' trying too hard not to cry. Dorson looked up from the floor, and the first thing he saw was Deema's black eye.

'Oh cods…' He said, on the verge of tears. 'I'm so sorry, Deema! I-I know you didn't mean to do it, b-but I was so angry, a-and…' He cried out in frustration. 'GAH! I never wanted to hurt you that much! I-I just wasn't thinking.'

Deema peaked out just a little more from behind her father, her expression softening slowly but surely. Dorson sat down on the couch on the other side of Daryl, unable to look at her again in case he got another glimpse at that black eye.

'I-I wanna say I didn't want to hurt you.' He said. 'But… but I did! I-I was just so angry that I had to bring someone to justice, and… and… I punched a little girl! I wanted to beat you into a pulp… and for what? That's not gonna make Gil feel any better!'

He buried his face in his hands, and put all of his energy and effort into not crying in front of anyone who wasn't his family. Unfortunately, he was in the same room as the drama queen Deema, and when she saw him like this, she almost cried herself.

'Oh, it's so tragic!' She cried. 'What a horrible fate life has dealt us!'

Dorson lifted his head out of his hands just to give her look for her bizarre and badly-timed comment. Which meant he got another look at her black eye.

'How are you so cheery about this?' He asked. 'I caused this! You just told me not even a minute ago that just apologising won't cut it, and you're telling jokes? Meanwhile, I'm sitting over here, feeling like the worst person in the world because… I am! Why else would I punch someone who barely had anything to do with my poor brother!'

Deema snapped out of her overdramatic mood in an instant.

'Y-Yeah…' She said. 'I relate.'

'Wait, you do?' Dorson asked. 'How? Compared to what I did…'

'I was the one who caused the accident. It was my joke that landed G- your brother in hospital in the first place. And everyone tells me that it was bound to happen anyway, a-and I know it was, b-but I still feel awful for causing it! A-and now, because of me… Molly and Gil may not ever be friends again. I know I shouldn't, but… I feel like I deserved to get punched.'

Dorson's jaw fell. 'What?! No one deserves to get punched at a time like this! Except for maybe me, but that's beyond the point. Mom told me that someone else getting hurt isn't going to make my little bro feel any better, so don't say that stuff about yourself.'

She smiled, even if only a little. 'Yeah, I'm learning that. It's just difficult.'

Silence returned, but only for a few seconds. In those few seconds, Deema managed to smile as she looked up into Dorson's eyes. She never thought she would relate to the boy who punched her in the face, and she took some comfort in the fact that she wasn't alone.

'And besides,' Dorson said. 'I think it's for the best if Molly and Gil's friendship is in ruins.'

He got shocked looks from both the members of the Swimmer family.

'Wait, what? Why?' Deema asked.

'A girl constantly laughing at her friend's expense? Doesn't sound like a good relationship to me. Sure, I make fun of Gil all the time, but he makes fun of me too. We're brothers; it's what we do. But with the way Molly treats him, I think it's about time they step back and look it over.'

Her eyes sparkled. 'Whoa… you're so wise…'

Dorson chuckled. 'Wise? Pffft, I wish. I'm only a few years older than you. Ya know that, right? And did you seriously forget the whole… ya know?'

She shook her head. 'No, I still remember that. But I can kinda see why ya did it.' She frowned. 'But, just so you know, I ain't forgiving you for this yet.' She said, pointing to her black eye.

Dorson swallowed his guilt, for he refused to cry in front of anyone who wasn't his family. He was just fortunate that the damage he had done wouldn't be permanent, for he had heard from Gil that Deema bounced back from anything thrown her way. As for his little brother… he didn't want to think about whatever kind of damage would stick with him for life.

'But I get it.' Deema said. 'You were angry. And that's okay! Minus the whole, you know, punching a little girl in the face thing.'

'Yeah, I think I deserve that.' He said, scratching the back of his head. 'But are we cool?'

Deema shrugged. 'Well, I'm still willing to see your face, so I'd say… yeah, we're cool. I still don't think I can forgive you yet, but we don't have to be angry about it.'

'Shake on it?'

He held out his hand, trying his hardest to seem as unthreatening as possible. Deema stared at it for a few quiet seconds.

'On one condition.' She said. 'Can we make it one of those spit-handshakes? I've seen those a lot, but I've never actually done one before.'

Dorson winced. 'Uh… sure.'

The details shall be spared, but most of the people in the room found themselves wincing so hard they nearly pulled muscles, and only Deema seemed even remotely okay with it. And even then, she picked up a tissue and wiped her hand as soon as it was done.

'That was… something.' She said.

'You're telling me!' Dorson replied.

The young Guppies were able to laugh at it, despite how gross it all was. Their parents, though no less disgusted than Dorson was, were able to smile. They looked at each with grins on their faces, relieved that it had gone over so well.

'You've raised your sons well.' Daryl said. 'I'm impressed that you could do it with a husband like yours.'

She scoffed. 'Please, we've all seen your wife. I have no idea how you handle them both.'

When Oona arrived at the hospital to tend to Gil, it was a mostly uneventful day that doesn't require delving too deeply into. However, there was one moment that is indeed worth mentioning. For you see, when Oona told Gil the news that Molly might be stepping down and giving her leadership role to Nonny...

'She's going to do what now?!'

He was quite shocked, to say the least.

'Yep.' Oona said. 'Do you think she should do it?'

'I... I...' He sighed. 'I don't think Nonny's gonna be okay with that. But, that aside...' His eyes narrowed. 'I think she should be stepping down.'

Author Notes - The first of the subplots to receive a proper wrapping-up was the situation between Deema and Dorson. Since he hasn't appeared in a while, I thought it was about time that he showed up again.

Originally, this chapter had no Gil in it at all, until I realised that he would have a pretty big reaction to Molly's decision. Even then, the role is quite minor compared to earlier chapters. After all, the point of this story wasn't to focus so much on Gil getting hospitalised, but more so what such an event did to his friendships.