After the last chapter, I just had to continue by writing this. That, and my home WiFi was shut off on Monday when I originally planned on posting. I have to wait for my check to come in so I can pay for it, and it won't get in until Thursday night or Friday morning. I'm currently using my Aunt's wifi and it is working amazingly!

So, as a special gift, you guys get an extra long chapter! I'm also putting myself on a schedule for this story so that I don't just drift away from it... again. Mondays and Fridays, hopefully. Today being just a random posting day. I don't have work on weekends so I can write much more on those days.

No song this time, but outfits have been created on Polyvore.

Anyway, enjoy!

The wood of the living room floor seemed to be dented with the shape of Mick's shoes in the area she had been pacing. The brunette had been pacing for the past hour and a half and it hadn't been doing her nerves a bit of good. Mick had done everything except bite her nails down to the cuticles, however she wasn't about to do so. Besides, the polish she used tasted disgusting when she tried it as a kid, there was no way she was going to try that again.

Mick was about ready to go find her Mom herself when she heard the sliding door pull open. Mick dashed into the kitchen, nearly tripping over her own two feet as she turned the corner to face her Mom.

"Where have you been?!" Mick screeched impatiently. "I've been waiting for, like, almost two hours! What happened with Butchy? Tell me, Momma! Tell me, tell me, tell me! Please!"

Mack rolled her eyes at her daughter. "Slow your roll there, Road Runner. I think you might actually have beaten a record with that speed talking."

"Mooom!" Mick whined as she dragged herself over to her Mom. "Wait... Mom, what are those?" Mick asked, pointing to some grey bags that hung from her Mother's arms.

Mack followed her gaze to the bags and smiled. "Well, my dear, while you were here, freaking out over nothing, I went shopping with some close friends."

"Seriously?! But, Mom-!"

"Hiya, Mick!" Lela waved as she entered the house from behind Mack. Lela hugged Mick before skipping into the living room. Mick blinked in the direction Lela had exited before her attention was brought back to the door.

"Hey, Mick!" Tanner exclaimed with a laugh, chasing after Lela with some grey bags on his arms.

Mick glanced between the entryway to the living room and her Mom before letting out a very confused noise. "What? B-But- huh?!"

Mack laughed at her daughter's reaction before setting the bags down on the floor. "That was my reaction as well. I forgot that I had given Lela the necklace. They followed me back here and we decided to talk a bit about the situation at hand."

Mick's eyes widened a small bit. "Really?! Lela knows what's going on with Butchy?"

"Yeah. Y'know, it's not as bad as you think." Mack claimed, pulling an outfit and some high heels out from one of the bags. "Lela bought this for you at the mall. She says the color makes your eyes sparkle. Go try it on."

Mick took the clothes, staring at her Mom in confusion, "But, Momma, I thought-"

"We'll all sit down and talk about it after. But, for now, just go put that on and breathe. I can guarantee that it's all just in your head." Mack soothed, resting her hands on her daughter's shoulders with a gentle smile.

Mick sighed, yet nodded anyway. She knew better than to argue with her mother; not only did her Mom know what was going on with her fiancé, but she was also one of the few people that knew when she needed to back off and take a break.

As Mick headed over to the stairs, she called out to Lela, "Hey, Lela, would you mind helping me? I really don't want the zipper to get caught in my hair again."

"Oh! Of course, Mick! I'll be right there." Lela called from her spot next to Tanner.

/Mick's PoV\

I thanked the black haired girl sitting on the living room floor before heading upstairs to my room. As I closed my bedroom door, I slid my back down the door until I sat on the floor. I had nothing to go on, but my Mom's promise that everything was going to be okay. For the time being, I had to trust what my Mom said and just let myself relax.

'I just have to chill and trust Mom.' I told myself. 'Might as well see what it is that Lela bought for me.'

I set the mint colored shoes down on her bed and unfolded the dress. As the dress opened, a paper fell out. I set the dress on my bed with the shoes and picked up the paper. I sat on the edge of my bed and unfolded it. It was an envelope. On the front was a message in very girly handwriting.

"Mick, I found this in Butchy's room before Tanner and I left. Please don't tell him that I was snooping, but I just had to let you read this. It's something I would have never expected from him, but you do bring that out from him.

Xoxo, Lela"

I shook my head at my best friend's snooping shenanigans before opening the back of the envelope. Inside was a crinkly piece of paper that had been straightened as much as possible. Lela must have found it in a ball or something and decided to straighten it.

I opened the paper and tried reading my soon-to-be husband's handwriting. A couple times, he had drawn over some words; apparently he thought that what he had put wasn't good enough. He had even crossed out the top a couple of times when he didn't know what to put as the heading where my name would be. Whether it was "My Girl" or just "Mick", he still felt that he needed to change it.

The letter wasn't dated, but, by some of his wording, I could tell that Butchy attempted to write this soon after his proposal. Putting that aside, I read the letter Butchy had written for me... Even some of the stuff he crossed out that was still legible.

"My Gorgeous Queen,

I know that I say it a lot when we're alone together and it might be annoying to you, but I really love you. I love every single thing about you. I love that way you laugh, even though you think it's weird. I adore the way you talk in your sleep, even when it ends in you shoving me or kicking me off the side of the bed. I love the way that you don't treat me like I'm just a Rodent, you treat me like a friend.

I can't think of one thing I don't love about you. Even so, I find it so difficult telling you all the things I love about you when we're together. Even though you actually said yes to my proposal, I can't help but be a complete nervous wreck. You kill all my confidence when I see those stunning eyes of yours.

I feel really odd attempting to write this for you. Maybe it's the fact that I'm new to feeling love like this or maybe it's because I still feel that I have to impress you. I know that you don't see it that way, but I just can't stop. I love you so much that just being away from you hurts. I don't know if you feel the exact same thing, but maybe that's why I feel like I have to get you things. Actually, if I could give you one thing in life, I would give you the ability to see yourself through my eyes because only then will you realize how much you mean to me.

Every time I say 'I love you', I really mean much more than those three little words. I'm trying to say that you mean more to me than anyone else in the world. I'm trying to tell you that.I adore you and cherish every moment we spend together. I'm trying too explain that I want you and I need you and that I get lost in wonderful thoughts eveytime I think of you. Eveytime I say 'I love you', I'm trying to remind you that you're the best thing that has ever happened to me."

I truly do love you, Mick. I always will. I promise.

Love, Butchy."

I smiled at the piece of paper in my hands before I pulled it to my chest. My smile dropped as I thought over everything. Now I felt stupid. I ran away from him. I left him without saying anything and he probably doesn't even know why!

My thoughts were interrupted by Lela opening the door to my room. She closed it before speaking, "I knew you would find it! Well, what do you think? I think it's super sweet and Butchy would probably blow all his gaskets if he knew I read it, let alone let you read it!"

"Lela, I have to know what's going on. I have to know if I just caused Butchy and I a whole bunch of trouble." I stated, gripping the paper tightly.

"Sorry, Mick, I can't tell you yet. Mack told me to swear in CheeChee's hair. You know I can't break that kind of promise." Lela apologized before picking up the dress next to me and pulling me to stand next to her. Lela yanked me over to my mirror and stood behind me, holding the dress over my clothes. "See, I knew this would make your eyes sparkle!"

"I chatted with Lela for a bit while I was getting changed, but my mind was mostly on Butchy and his letter. I exhaled deeply in a sigh as I wandered over to Lela's spot at my vanity. "Lela, I-"

"Oh my gosh!" Lela squealed, running up to me excitedly. "Mick! You look so pretty in that! I mean, yeah, you always do look pretty, but this dress is exactly how I hoped it would be! It makes your eyes go from root beer brown to this lavender purple color and it is so pretty! And- wait a minute, I cut you off, didn't I? So, Mick, what were you going to say?"

I giggled a little at Lela's ramble before speaking again, "It's nothing, Lela, I was just wondering if you would mind helping me find some accessories that would match my dress?"

Lela perked up again before she nodded in excitement. "Of course! Let me zip you up first and then I'll go pick out some stuff from your collection."

I nodded before turning, swinging my hair over my shoulder. Lela pulled the sides of my dress together before she started pulling the zipper. I took a deep breath before talking, "Lela, d-do you... Do you think I made the biggest mistake of my life?"

"What do you mean, Mick? I think you would look perfectly fine with some accessories." Lela claimed, stopping the zipper in the middle of my back as she listened for my answer.

I sighed, "Leaving Butchy like that. I shouldn't have ignored the problem and left; I should have stayed and talked with Butchy." I claimed, tugging my hair anxiously. "I should have talked it out, let him explain, and stopped being so stubborn and stupid! Why on earth was my first instinct top run?! If I just sat down and talked it out with him, I could be back home with Butchy, cuddling on the couch by now! If I hadn't been so stubborn, none of this would've happened! If I had-"

"Mick." Lela stated in a very firm, non-Lela way. She zipped up the rest of my dress before turning me around and holding my upper arms. "It wasn't you. It was the jelly. You had that jelly thing in you and it made you act in a way that you usually wouldn't."

I stared at Lela in complete confusion, "Jelly thing? What jelly thing?"

Lela waved her hand in a circle as she tried to find the right words to explain it, hoping I would catch on while she thought. "That thing you have in this world when somebody has something that you really want."

"Jealousy?" I asked, hoping that was the correct word.

"Yeah! That!" Lela exclaimed, "You were jealous of the new girl, Juliet! She had Butchy with her and you wanted that too. So you did the only thing that came to mind. You came to get advice from your Mom and Dad. Apparently that's a normal thing here."

I thought over Lela's words. Had I really been that bad? "Yeah... I guess you're right, Lela. I guess, when I saw that Juliet girl trying to hold hands with Butchy, I saw red. I should have just gone over and told her to back off."

"Mick," Lela sighed, "stop thinking about what you should've done and focus on what you should do. First, you should let me go find you some fancy jewelry." Lela and I giggled a bit before she got serious again. "Second, you should go listen to your Mom, she knows what's best for you. Then, you should go apologize to Butchy and talk everything over with him. Trust me, Mick, everything will be okay."

I nodded, sucking in a deep breath. "You're right, Lela. I'll focus on what's going on right now. Why don't I help you find some jewelry and then we can go talk to my Mom?"

Lela nodded with a smile. "Sounds like a great plan to me."

Lela had picked out the right accessories fairly quickly, grabbing some bangles, a necklace, a hair band and some earrings that all matched the dress in their own ways. After that, she briskly dragged me downstairs and into the living room so I would stop bugging her every two minutes. Every time I asked her if she was done, Lela would roll her eyes at me and go even slower. Eventually, Lela got sick of my constant asking and decided to just drag me downstairs so I'd stop asking. She pushed me backwards onto the couch before turning to my Mom.

"Please tell her already!" Lela pleaded, "She's far more determined than I thought. It was a constant stream of 'Is this what happened?' and 'Was it this?'. Please, Mack, Brady, fix her!"

Dad gave me a look before he spoke. "How much did she tell you?"

"Only that I was bring ridiculous and that I should chill." I sighed, crossing my arms. That was the nicest way of saying that Lela basically told me to shut up before she got out some duct tape and forced me to shut up.

"Good." Mom claimed with a confident smirk. "Well, maybe we should tell you before you attack us with questions."

I nodded, "Yeah, that's probably your best bet. So, what happened?"

"Why don't I start from the beginning..." Mom stated.

Mack had only just gotten home when she heard voices calling from the back gate. Deciding to inspect the voices, Mack locked the shed door before going over to the gate and opening it. Mack stared in confusion at Lela and Tanner as they walked in. "Okay, I've only been gone for a couple minutes, what happened?"

"Lela and I need your help." Tanner claimed, turning to Mack. "We don't know what to do."

"Butchy and Mick are drifting apart and we need to fix it." Lela added.

Mack nodded, she had just talked with Butchy, but he still seemed okay. "Okay, but, when I last talked to Butchy, he seemed fine. Mick is alright as well."

"Has she told you about Juliet?" Tanner asked, tilting his head a small bit.

"Juliet? No. She has told me about this new girl though. She's apparently attempting to steal Butchy from Mick?" Mack asked back.

Lela giggled. "Mack, Juliet is the new girl! She's the daughter of this big, motorcycle company owner from Texas. She told Butchy that he could probably get a nice job at this place when they open a new place in our world."

"Wait, so this Juliet girl is some hot-shot's daughter?" Mack asked, watching the couple as they nodded. "Okay, you know what? Let's talk about this on the road. I need to get some shopping done before the mall closes and we can't let Mick see us. Let's talk this over in the car."

The trio got in the Jeep out front as Lela started telling Mack some more. "So, Butchy really wants to get this job because, if he does, then he can pay for the honeymoon thing that Mick had mentioned."

"And, let me guess, he thinks that, if he impresses this guy or his daughter, he'll get a big job that pays really well?" Mack questioned, starting the car and taking off.

Lela tilted her head a little. "Mack, are you a mind reader or something?"

Mack shook her head a little. "No. Brady tried that same thing. He tried to get this big job out in Maine so he could getthings for Mick before she was born. I was lucky enough to convince him not to because my Grandpa wanted to give him the surf shop. At the time, we weren't sure if Mick was going to be a girl or a boy, but Brady wanted to cover every single detail of my pregnancy and Mick's life after she was born."

Lela sighed happily, "Aww. That sounds so sweet. But, Mick isn't pregnant. So what's so important about this honeymoon thing? Why does Butchy want to pay for it so badly?"

"That's a story for another time, Lela." Mick stated slowly as she turned onto the road where the mall was located. "Besides, Butchy is a very loving fiancé. He probably just wants to buy everything that Mick says she wants."

"That's true." Tanner piped up from the back seat. "He once said that 'If it makes my girl happy, it makes me happy.'"

"So, this Juliet girl has to be dangling some pretty big cash in front of him in order for Butchy to be acting like this." Mack stated as she pulled in to the mall parking lot.

"She has to be." Lela nodded, thinking over everything her older brother had told her. "He said that Juliet told him that her father really liked this motorcycle, a '62 Panhead in red and white, I think. So far, nobody has been able to do it just right, so Butchy wants to fix it up in the hopes that he'll get the job."

"Isn't the Panhead the same bike that Mick said she wanted?" Tanner asked as he climbed out of the Jeep. "Why would he give that away?"

Lela shook her head a bit. "He isn't. Butchy says that a ride won't hurt and that he already needed to fix it up. I still don't get why he would say that, though."

Mack grabbed her purse from under her seat before walking around the back of the car. "The better Butchy makes himself look, the better chances he has of getting that job."

I stared at the floor. It was my fault after all. "So, this whole thing with Juliet is because I opened my mouth and told Butchy that I thought a honeymoon on an island would be cool?"

Mom came over to me and knelt down in front of me, "Mick, that-"

"I did this." I mumbled quietly, "If I had just stayed quiet about everything, Butchy wouldn't be trying get the job with Juliet's Dad. I have to go. I have to go apologize to Butchy and tell him that he doesn't need to do any of this. I have to get to him before it's too late."

"Mick, you should at least wait until morning." Mom stated, rubbing circles on the backs of my hands.

Dad nodded in agreement, putting his hand on my back. "Sweetheart, your Mom is right, it's almost dinner time."

"But it's still light out. Our night is their day. If I go now, I can sneak in and talk to Butchy without the rest of the Rodents listening in." I insisted. "Please. Wouldn't you do the same for each other?"

Mom and Dad glanced at each other and sighed. "She's right, Mack. I mean, I'd go into a different world for you."

Mom nodded. "And I would for you." They turned to me and wrapped me in a hug. "Go make things right, Mick. You don't want to leave things tense for too long."

"Get back here soon, young lady." Dad stated as firmly as he could while he squeezed me in a bear hug.

"I will, Daddy. I love you both." I smirked, pulling them close.

"And we love you." Mom and Dad replied in unison.

"Go get your man back." Dad grinned, pulling me to my feet.

"And get your smile back." Mom stated. "We will see you in three days."

"Three days." I nodded before taking Lela and Tanner's hands and heading outside to the shed. I unlocked the door with my key necklace before waving goodbye to my family and heading back to Wet Side Story.

As we landed in the garage, I slid open the front hatch and waited for Lela and Tanner to climb out before I headed inside. I heard Lela say a quick goodbye to Tanner as I headed toward Butchy's room. Lela ran up behind me, grabbing my wrist as I reached for the door. "Mick, wait." I stopped and turned toward Lela. "Don't go inside yet, just look in.

I nodded and slid the door open slowly, stopping before it creaked. Butchy was fast asleep. "Lela, what-?"

"He told me not to tell you, but I just can't keep it a secret." Lela sighed, shaking her head. "Butchy hasn't been able to sleep the past couple nights. He refuses to even take a nap because it has been so bad."

"Why would that be a secret?" I whispered, peeking in Butchy's room.

Lela leaned next to me to look at her brother. "Do you remember that night when you woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and he went crazy?"

"Yeah." I nodded, not getting what this was leading up to. "He checked everywhere in the house except for the bathroom. What does that have to do with this?'

"He can't sleep without you next to him" Lela claimed softly, " Haven't you noticed that every single time you leave at the end of your three days that he begs and pleads for you to let him tag along?"

I thought over this information and suddenly it clicked. The cuddling, the tight hold he has on me when we sleep, the way he listens to my heartbeat when he thinks I'm still sleeping, the protectiveness. Everything fell together. I smiled before turning to Lela. "I'm gonna go lay down next to him and see in he does what I think he will. Thank you so much, Lela."

"Of course, Mick. Go get him." Lela smiled, giving me a hug, "Goodnight."

"'Night. See you in the morning." I whispered before sliding through the small crack in the doorway.

I quietly closed the door before sneaking over to the closet. I slipped my dress onto one of the hangers before taking one of the shirts Butchy wore when he was repairing a motorcycle. I made my way quietly over the carpet toward Butchy's sleeping form. I pulled back the blankets and watched as he rolled onto his side, his hands grabbing at the area where I usually slept. Butchy mumbled my name before telling me to come back. I smiled as I crawled up to his arm. I sat down next to his arm, pulling the covers over my legs before leaning back. I put my head on his bicep and slowly put my hand on his chest before closing my eyes and lightly kicking Butchy's calf.

I listened to Butchy as he slowly woke up. I felt his hand on my face before it laced into my hair softly."Mick?" Butchy whispered. "Mick, you came back." I made a little noise like I usually do when I'm faking sleep. I felt the bed slowly shift as he leaned over me, letting my hand drop from his chest as he puthis ear on my chest as lightly as he could. I heard him exhale like he had been holding his breath. I opened my eyes to see that he was facing away from me, his hair tickling my chest and neck. I reached up and put my hand on his hair, ruffling it lightly as his head flew up off my chest. "Babe!" Butchy practically shouted.

I watched as Butchy's face brightened, "Butchy, I love you. I really, truly do."

"I love you's too, Mick." Butchy smiled, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on my lips.

"Butchy, I really do mean it. I wish I could show you how much I actually love you."

"I know you do, Beautiful. I wish I could show you how much I love you too." Butchy said, staring blearily into my eyes.

"Butchy, every time I say 'I love you', I really mean much more than those three little words. I'm trying to say that you mean more to me than anyone else in the world. I'm trying to tell you that.I adore you and cherish every moment we spend together. I'm trying too explain that I want you and I need you and that I get lost in wonderful thoughts eveytime I think of you. Eveytime I say 'I love you', I'm trying to remind you that you're the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Butchy's eyes widened in surprise as I recited a section of his letter, word for word. "Mick, when did you-? How did you find that?"

I wasn't about to tell him that Lela had given it to me, so I quickly came up with an answer. "It was on the floor when I was searching for your vest the other day. I absolutely love it." I paused, "I... I'm sorry I left without telling you. I know how much stress it probably put you under. I just... I got scared when I saw you talking with Juliet at Big Momma's. I know that you'd never do anything to hurt me in any way, but I got so jealous and scared and I just panicked. I'm so sorry, Butchy."

I avoided Butchy's gaze as he moved to cup my cheeks. "Mick..." Butchy sighed as he looked down a bit, his tone soft, yet oddly serious, "You're right, I would never do anything to hurt you, but I really wish you would've just come over and talked to me. You really scared me. I didn't know what I did wrong, but I had no way of getting to you to ask you. You and Mack took the machine home, the Destiny Board is at your house, and my sister left before I could get the necklace from her. I felt so... so lost. I just-" Butchy stopped as I inhaled sharply.

I felt the hot liquid flowing down my cheeks as I tried to regain whatever composure I could. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry! I didn'- I didn't think any-y of th-his would happen!" I hiccupped, attempting to dry my cheeks before any more tears could fall. Butchy quickly pulled me to his chest as he moved us around, leaning my head over his heart as he laid back down. I wrapped my arms around his waist, my legs on either side of him. I thought I had cried everything out earlier, but I guess I was wrong.

Butchy put his hand on my head like I had done to him before he whispered softly in my ear. "I know you didn't mean for this to happen. It's okay."

"No, it's not!" I insisted, "Look at what I've done to you! I've done so much crap in just a matter of days. How on earth are you not pushing me away?"

Butchy grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back so he could look me in the eyes. "You're right; you have caused a lot of stuff. However, yer only looking at the negatives. You caused me to see that I need you around. You caused me to remember that, even with those tears on your cheeks, you are the most beautiful person in my entire life. For every bad thing you see, there are two good things that I see. And, as for the reasons why I am here, holding of leaving; I only have one."

"What's the reason?" I asked as Butchy wiped some stray tears from my cheeks.

Butchy smiled, planting a kiss on my nose. "There is only one you. The only place I want to be is right here, holding you. I'm always here for you. And, besides, you woke me up in the middle of the night and all I really wanna do is hold you."

I smiled, leaning my cheek into Butchy's palm before leaning down and kissing him. "I love you, My Handsome King."

Butchy smiled, pulling my head back down to his chest, "And I love you, My Gorgeous Queen."