A few hours after the gang had defeated Wanda, they were finally taking a hard-earned break on one of the balconies at the country club. They had already spoken to the authorities, reporters, residents and Thorny about what happened. Thorny had given them a cheque for $10,000 which would help them to replace the barn they had burned down. Everyone had thanked them for their hard work and after a celebration, the gang decided they just wanted to hang out together after finally being reunited with Velma, without the presence of Wanda's spirit.
"Well gang, I have to say this has been one hell of a mystery." Fred commented, sharing one of the outdoor sofas with Daphne, his arm draped around her shoulders. Daphne looked up at him, nuzzling her head closer against him. "I really owe it to you all for helping to get Wanda's spirit out of my body. A few times I managed to regain control over my body, like when Daph told me she was pregnant and when Shaggy asked me on a date. But I couldn't have done it without all of you!" Velma smiled as she spoke, gaining a few 'awws' in response. "We're like, really glad to have you back Velms." Shaggy said, lightly rubbing her arm with his hand as they also shared a sofa. Scooby gave Velma a quick lick on the cheek making everyone laugh as she grimaced at his dog-breath.
The gang chatted long into the night, reminiscing on funny memories they had on previous mysteries and general conversations as friends do. They were enjoying each other's company without having to worry about solving the mystery for the first time since summer began. Scooby was curled up onto one of the chairs with a cushion, fast asleep, and Daphne had drifted off in Fred's embrace. That left Fred, Shaggy and Velma talking about the mystery and how crazy it had been. Fred caught Shaggy's eye a couple of times and without words, Fred knew this was the moment Shaggy wanted with Velma since they got here. "Well, I'm beat. I'm gonna take sleeping beauty here up to bed. Scoob, do you wanna walk back with me?" Fred said, leaning up to cradle Daphne in his arms. Scooby slowly raised his head and stretched before saying goodnight to Velma and Shaggy. "Rets ro."
Fred carried Daphne up to their room, bridal style with Scooby tiredly walking alongside him. "Scoob?" Fred asked, as they exited the elevator onto the floor where their rooms were located. "Res Reddie?" Scooby responded, looking up at his blonde-haired companion.
"You didn't really try to ruin the date between Shaggy and Velma did you buddy?" Scooby lifted his paw up to his heart as Fred finished speaking. "Rof course rot. Ri love Raggy and Relma. Ri want them to be rhappy." Fred smiled at him and petted his head as they reached their rooms opposite adjacent to each other. "I thought not. Goodnight Scoob, see you in the morning." Scooby licked Fred before he let himself into his and Shaggy's bedroom, leaving Fred to try and balance Daphne and open the door at the same time.
Shaggy and Velma watched the others leave and remained fairly silent until Shaggy broke the ice.
"I was real worried about you Velms y'know." He said, turning his body slightly to face her. Velma smiled at his words and brushed over his hand with hers. "I know. You really helped me to fight off Wanda."
"We all did. Listen Velma, what I was trying to say earlier-" Before he could finish, Velma put her finger over his lips. "Shaggy, I know what you were going to say. I like you too." Shaggy blushed as she spoke. "Really? What do we do now?"
"Can we just take things slow? Its pretty early days and I'd hate for us to rush into anything and things be weird if it goes wrong." Velma gave him a friendly smile as she spoke. Shaggy seemed a little deflated, but he understood where she was coming from. Their relationship was different to Fred and Daphne's, they had always had that attraction there and couldn't keep their hands off each other. For Shaggy, it had been a slow burner with Velma. They had been friends for a while and he never questioned liking her as more than a friend until a couple of weeks prior to this. He pulled himself out of his thoughts as he realised, he hadn't responded. "Of course. I don't want to mess anything up between us." Velma smiled gratefully, and to Shaggy's surprise, she leaned in and planted a small kiss on his lips. When she pulled away, it became evident that both of them were blushing and not wanting the other to see. "We should call it a night." Velma said, standing up. "Yeah, c'mon I'll walk you to your room."
"Shaggy, our rooms are next door to each other." Velma snickered, making Shaggy blush again realising what he had said. "Like, oh yeah." With that, they both walked to their respective rooms for the night.
Fred placed Daphne carefully in their bed, draping the blankets over her and tucking her in. She stirred as he moved away. "Freddie?" she said in a small voice as her eyes lightly fluttered open. "Damn it, I didn't mean to wake you!" he responded, moving her hair out of her eyes. She smiled at him and stroked his hand with her own. "It's okay. Are you getting in?"
"Well I was gonna take a shower." Daphne pulled his arm so that he was laying beside her.
"You could shower tomorrow?" She said, fluttering her eyelashes at him to which he laughed. She always did that when she was sweet talking someone on mysteries when they needed information. "Yeah sure, why not." He smiled and climbed under the blankets, still laying beside and facing her.
"I love you." Daphne said, gently stroking Fred's face with her left hand before moving up and playing with his hair. He smiled at her and kissed her lips. "I love you too. I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing or saying that."