A/N: Don't worry, I can assure you this chapter won't be a life-threatening one after what happened before. ^^; Family bonding time!
Hours passed, and Joy made sure to stay by Riley's container the entire time, waiting for her to wake up. She had made the mistake of leaving Riley's side before and causing the girl to think she had been abandoned and might as well die.
And Joy didn't want that to ever happen again. She wanted Riley to always know that she was loved.
Delight sadly watched the pair, feeling a pang of guilt at her heart. She loved Riley like a daughter, and for all intents and purposes would gladly adopt the girl into their family in a heartbeat.
Of course, there were blockades to that. Namely the fact that Riley wouldn't be there for long. Sooner or later, Riley would have to be sent away. Even though Joy didn't know that yet...
So until that time did come, Delight vowed to make sure Riley had as good a time as possible. With her and Joy there to help, and to a lesser extent Panic, she hoped that Riley would eventually feel like she fit in and belonged.
And maybe one day she'd have no need for that bracelet anymore.
Riley murmured quietly, causing Joy to look upward. The girl yawned slightly, blinking her eyes a few times and trying to orient herself. She was back in her container, something that was familiar to her now, and she felt a lot better.
And the best part was that Joy was there.
Joy's eyes lit up as soon as she noticed. "Riley! You're awake!"
Panic, upon hearing that, didn't waste any time. He scurried over to the control panel, pressing the buttons to unhook the wires and turn off the suspension field, causing Riley's feet to hit the container's floor with a light thud before it opened.
Joy instantly sprinted over to Riley and hugged her tightly, a gesture which Riley eagerly returned. Riley never wanted to let go of Joy, she never wanted to be left behind again.
Delight hurried over, embracing them as well before pulling back. "How are you feeling?"
"A-A lot better," Riley stammered, still a little tired but glad to be with her family again. "Thank you."
"Come on," Delight smiled gently. "Let's get you home."
Aggravation grunted nearby, causing Riley to flinch a little. But she relaxed as she realized the large emotion wasn't coming over to reprimand her or threaten to take her happier life away.
At least there was that.
"Oh, Riley, wait a minute!" Panic quickly hurried over and took her hand. "I heard your armband wasn't going off but I didn't want to disturb you." Relieved to see that it was on 100 again, he looked at the button on the side, and frowned. "It must've got turned off."
"I did that," Riley said quietly. "I was scared..."
"You don't have to be," soothed the purple emotion, offering her a sincere smile as he fixed up the armband. "Aannd there we go!"
Riley managed to smile a little again, and Joy and Delight pound themselves smiling as well. If Riley was happy, so were they.
"Now," Delight said, "we can go home."
Riley offered both mother and daughter a smile as Joy took her hand, bringing away from this dreary place. Panic waved farewell to them while Aggravation merely looked on, still disappointed as usual. Once the three exited out, it wasn't as heavy a pour as earlier, but this time Delight took out an umbrella and held it over their heads, ushering the girls back into her car before hurrying to the wheel.
Riley never felt so relieved to be back within the car of Joy and Delight. Glancing through the window of her car door, she watched as droplets landed on the glass with soft plunks every now and then. After earlier's awful events that nearly led up to her supposed death or whatever, she just wanted to go back to their home and know that she was going to be taken care of and loved.
Yet Anger's comment still plagued her. Not to mention the expression on Fear's face was still so heavily embedded into her head. All their looks and statements still hurt inside, especially since she recalled that Sadness was at the hospital at this moment.
She already knew that forging a friendship with them was out of the question, and they would avoid her even more than before. And no doubt they would demand for Joy to come back and be with them, without the inclusion of Riley as they made clear many times. Although it was the sad truth, Riley was relieve to know Joy still remained with her. She even ran out of an ambulance and through traffic just to look for her!
Joy really did love Riley after all...
The drive home was quiet and relaxing, with Delight allowing soft music to play from her radio. With traffic low and the rain decreasing, going home had been less to no difficulty. It was a short amount of time before Riley spotted the golden rooftop that signified she was back in her comfort location.
Delight hurried the girls out of her car and rushed them inside before they could get wet. Once they were in the house, she wasted no time in cooking up some soup. Riley may be alive and well, but no doubt she would ensure a cold soon; Joy was on the verge of getting one herself. Chicken and noodles steamed in a pot while Riley and Joy were in the living room, the TV on for them.
As both girls sat on the couch, Riley held her knees together, hardly listening to what was even going on in the screen, her mind replaying what happened at the park and afterwards over and over. Joy noticed this and leaned toward her friend.
"Riley," she said gently, "you know it wasn't your fault."
The blonde looked back at her, blue eyes meeting brighter ones with dissatisfaction. She knew Joy would always comfort her in the most dire of situations, but she doubted it would make a difference given the others actually hated her.
"You heard what they said..." she murmured miserably. "You heard what Anger said... made for no reason..."
Joy's eyes narrowed dangerously. "And he called you a thing..." Recalling the red emotion's comment made Joy's blood boil. She could not believe she had let him get away with saying that to Riley! Of course, she had been so distracted with making sure Sadness was comfortable that she hardly had time to reprimand him. He had some nerve saying that to poor Riley. She could have slapped him right on the spot, and Joy was never one to respond physically to the most sour of words.
The next time they met (if that was even going to happen again given she refused to leave Riley), she would scold them all for their lack of behavior during the matter—part of her couldn't believe that even Fear, that purple emotion who her feelings ran deep for, had treated Riley so awfully due to being afraid of her, just because she wasn't born full Terracordian as they had been. So what if Riley was part human? She'd never hurt them on purpose!
Sadness would already be waking up and wondering what happened after she passed out, but she knew that her injury was Riley's doing. But Sadness wasn't one to hold grudges, she was more accepting of the others.
If only that acceptance could have been a little further, then Riley would have a second BFF.
"What he said was wrong," Joy stated, her tone a bit firm.
"Isn't he Aggravation's son?" Riley responded.
"Yeah, that's true," Joy sighed, "but he's not all harsh-truth-and-frustration like his father. Look, he was just upset and really worried about Sadness. Sometimes he says things that aren't actually true when he's like that."
"But the way they all looked at me..." the blonde murmured. "It was as if I was like some monster!"
"You know that's not true!" Joy retorted.
Delight, having placed the soup to a boil, overheard them and poked her head out from the doorway. She looked over Riley with a concerned expression, her lips pressing together uneasily.
"Riley, sweetie," she said soothingly before joining the girls on the couch, "Joy's friends just need some time to be comfortable around you. I mean, it's just like how it took you some time to adjust to the world right now."
"And you're still adjusting," Joy pointed out. "And soon you'll be learning more."
Delight nodded. "I'm sure after Sadness comes back from the hospital, they'll understand it was all a mistake and they'll get over this."
Riley looked unconvinced. "Anger doesn't look like he will..."
Joy's mom let out a laugh that mixed with a scoff. "Oh, Anger takes a lot after his father, but he really is a sensitive one. And keep in mind he's made a ton of mistakes before."
"It's like my mom said," Joy encouraged, "your mistakes are what make you normal."
Riley's eyes lifted up at this. She never thought the word 'normal' would be used in any way to describe her after what had happened. "Really?"
Both she and her mom nodded. "I mean, even I make mistakes. But it's what you do afterwards that's important."
"Joy's right," Delight assured. "Riley, sweetheart, don't let this pull you down. I mean, think of the positive in this."
"Like what?"
"For one," Joy smiled, "at least my friends know you're a hardcore soccer player!"
Riley cheeks reddened at this, averting her gaze for a moment. Joy giggled, knowing her friend secretly felt a lot of pride for her newfound strength. She was quite this sportive one, and the yellow emotion believed that maybe it was her true calling in life. In fact, when she was a bit older she could be some famous player of a team! Riley was still 11, the possibilities involving sports were endless, and she proved to be quite good with soccer! Joy only wondered how she would fare with hockey. She and her parents loved the sport, and she hoped Riley would too.
"You see?" Joy beamed. "You know it's true!"
"Well, I guess I did show my sportsy side..." Riley said sheepishly.
Delight smiled at this, relieved they had calmed Riley down, which did well for her health and kept her arm band at 100. "And just think when you share these things at school," she gushed. "Soon you'll be making a lot of friends who are impressed by what you can do!"
The thought of school secretly made Riley nervous, but she held onto their beliefs. After all, Joy had filled her head with positive details on what 5th grade was like. To meet people her age was something she actually did look forward to. She imagined possibly hanging out with others, sharing pizza, able to have a mutual understanding of each, just like what Joy had with her own set of friends. The thought was overwhelming, and Riley found the self-esteem slowly rise over it.
"And just think!" Joy encouraged. "Maybe you'll be on some sports team! My school has a lot of them, even soccer and softball!"
Riley smiled a bit bigger. "Wow, and you think I can actually make it?"
"I know you can make it!" Joy exclaimed. "Just like I know you're going to be very popular at school!"
"But first," Delight added, "we just need to teach you a bit on the basic school stuff. And we'll do that tomorrow morning, don't worry."
"Just simple writing," Joy explained, "some math, some history, and a little bit science. Not science as in your science like what happens at the lab, more like fun science anyone can do. As for the memory orb making, well, we'll just let the teacher surprise you." she added with a wry grin.
Riley just nodded at this, feeling much better than she did earlier. The confidence came back, and she felt stronger once more.
She could do this.
The soup had been very good. Warm, steamy, and the chicken was quite chewy to her gums. Having taking a few helpings, the broth made her feel sleepy and it was close to late night. She and Joy made it to the bedroom with Riley having been given a new pair of PJs to wear for sleep.
When the lights were off and Joy's aura gave the room that lovely glow, Riley felt even more at ease since earlier. Joy smiled at her as she slipped into bed, gesturing for Riley to come in as well. The blonde slowly slid under the covers, joining her friend as they laid on the pillows.
"You comfy?" Joy asked her.
"Yeah," Riley responded. "It sort of feels cold again."
The yellow emotion smiled before wrapping an arm around the younger girl. Riley gave a relieved sigh as she laid on Joy's shoulder. The light warmed her up incredibly, and the blonde found herself unable to even part an inch from Joy.
"Comfy now?" Joy asked.
Riley nodded, rubbing her head against Joy's skin. "Thanks, Joy...for everything..."
"Aw, no biggie," the other girl responded. "What are friends for? Now come on, let's sleep. We got a big day ahead of us." She beamed lovingly. "Just the two of us."
There were the last things to see before eyes began to droop. And once more Riley slept like a dream once more.
Tomorrow would be better. She was sure.
A/N: So, next chapter will see what the next day brings! See you next time!