AN: I'm back! Awesome to be back, writing helps tremendously when the shit hits the fan. So, without anymore crap in the way, I present you the ninth chapter! Also, fair warning, this chapter and possibly the next one will contain references to depression, suicidal thoughts and some self harm. Please don't read on if that will upset you. Also, if you ever need help, don't hesitate to tell someone. I've been there and so have a great many people, it's all a part of being an adult which yes, sucks big time. You're never alone.

Much More Than Maternal

Chapter 9

The Plan

The first thing Gumball was aware of when he awoke was the searing pain, his heart felt like it had been replaced by a lump of burning coal. Though Gumball's anguish wasn't the physical kind of pain, it still felt very real to the young cat and this time, his mother wasn't around to make it go away. He curled up into a ball and hugged his legs into his chest, his eyes already beginning to well with tears. In his entire life, never had Gumball endured pain quite like this. It engulfed his entire being in a raging inferno of torment, blotting out his surroundings until nothing but the searing agony inside him remained. Gumball pulled his blanket over him, concealing his tears from any prying eyes.

Unknown to Gumball, Darwin had already been watching him, his mind aflutter with words that the fish knew meant little comfort to the blue cat. Darwin had cried as he watched his sleeping brother, the water in his bowl providing him with an exceptional cover to hide his tears. Anais rolled over on the top bunk and let out an exhausted yawn, revealing that she was also awake. She yawned again as she climbed down off the bunk, her eyes fighting to stay open. She hadn't had what you would call a good night's sleep, her thoughts toyed with her all night, blaming her for Nicole's banishment. As she reached the carpeted floor, Anais noticed her brother was awake and she avoided looking at him.

Neither Darwin nor Anais said anything to each other, they were too upset to form coherent sentences. The covers on Gumball's bed shifted slightly, you would have to strain to hear it but his crying could be heard coming from underneath the blanket. Anais could barely hear his crying herself, but it still formed a sizable lump in her throat. She never wanted this to happen, she didn't mean to hurt her family, she only wanted what was best for them all. Anais left the room to get ready for school, her eyes welling with guilty tears as she walked out the door. Darwin watched her go with a thoughtful expression before he left his bowl to put his shoes on. From under the blankets, a small sob floated out and Darwin had to bite his lip to keep from crying along with his brother. It wasn't just Gumball's current mood that hurt the fish, it was the fact that he would most likely never see Nicole again and that hurt Darwin the most. She was his mother and now he was facing the prospect that he wouldn't get to experience one of her famous hugs again. In fact, the entire family needed one of Nicole's hugs but that seemed like quite the impossibility now.

Darwin supposed he could be the one to dole out some much needed hugs, he was a caring guy and the family had always come to him for his sound advice whenever their troubles became too big to handle. But he was just one fish, but at least he could start with Gumball, who desperately needed to be consoled. Darwin took a reluctant step forward, he went over what he wanted to say in his head and he cleared his throat. Gumball's crying stopped so abruptly, it was as if someone had simply flipped a switch.

"No offence dude, but I want to be alone," Gumball said, Darwin had trouble hearing him from under the blanket.

"What?"

"I want to be alone," the cat repeated from under his covers, he wished Darwin would stop troubling him.

"I can't hear you," the fish replied and Gumball groaned.

He whipped his banket off and hiding his sadness behind a mask of anger, Gumball turned on his brother.

"I said, I want to be-," Gumball stopped with a squeak when Darwin hugged him.

The hug was surprisingly warm and comforting. Gumball felt his pain relent by a small degree and his mask slipped as a tear rolled down one cheek. Darwin's hug reminded Gumball of the way Nicole would hold him and his tears came back as he flung his arms around the fish. Darwin let his brother cry out his feelings, waiting patiently for the best time to speak. It took Gumball just over five minutes to calm down enough so Darwin could speak. Darwin's hold on Gumball softened and Gumball's hold tightened in response, he didn't want the hug to end. Darwin was happy to keep hugging Gumball and he opened his mouth to speak.

"Talk to me, Gumball," Darwin said, he spoke softly, his voice sounded reassuring to the cat.

Gumball answered, despite shaking his head. "It hurts to talk about it, Darwin."

"I know, Gumball. Let it out anyway, it'll do you good," Darwin answered, he kept his voice low.

Gumball was silent and Darwin could almost hear his brother's thoughts. He finally spoke and Darwin did what he did best, he listened.

"I don't know how to go on without her, I miss Mom so much. I just don't see any reason to keep going without her," Gumball began to cry once more, his voice cracking from the emotions that flooded him.

"She's out there, Gumball. You will see her again, I promise," Darwin vowed, he wondered if what he spoke was the truth.

"I want her here with me. Not out there," Gumball paused to take in a shuddering breath, his next words shocking Darwin. "I hate Anais for what she has done."

Darwin winced at the seething venom in Gumball's words. "You don't really mean that, Gumball. She did what she thought was right, even though it must've been clear that she would end up hurting you and Mrs. Mom."

"Are you seriously defending Anais' actions?," Gumball said, he pulled away from Darwin and frowned at his brother.

Darwin stepped back, shaking his head. "No, I'm not taking anybody's side, there's been enough heartbreak already. I'm just saying that she thought her choice was the right one."

"She broke her promise, Darwin. She betrayed our trust, I can't forgive her for that."

"Gumball, even though what she did was really bad, you have to understand that she made a mistake," Darwin insisted, this wasn't going over so well.

"I don't care. All I care about right now is Mom and I just want to be there for her. Who knows how she's coping without me."

"Have you been paying attention to the way Anais has been acting lately?," Darwin asked, and Gumball snorted.

"Why should I even care about her?," Gumball said, he waved his hand in a dismissive way.

"Because she's been crying nearly non-stop. She's distraught over what she did."

"Good, then maybe she'll have an idea about how it made me feel," Gumball growled, his eyes narrowed with anger.

"Gumball, talk to her. She's your sister and it's obvious she regrets what she did," Darwin said, he frowned when Gumball grimaced dirtily.

"As far as I'm concerned, I have no sister," Gumball said viciously, crossing his arms.

"That's not fair, Gumball," a small, hurt voice said from the door.

The boys turned to the door and Gumball scowled at the sight of his sister. Anais had come up to check on her brother at the behest of her father, but now she wished she had declined his request instead.

"Not fair?! Do you think it was fair how you treated my relationship with Mom?," Gumball half shouted, his was livid with his sister.

"Gumball, I didn't want you or Mom to hurt each other. That was the only foreseeable outcome of you two being together," Anais replied, she started to cry, Gumball's anger did not fade.

"The last thing Mom and I wanted to do was hurt each other. You of all people should know that Mom would never hurt us."

"I didn't want to see our family end up broken if you two ended badly. I wanted to stop it before it could go wrong."

"Yeah? Well, your plan really worked out well, didn't it?," Gumball said sarcastically, he knew he was hurting his sister and he was glad to see her wince at his words.

With a sob, Anais ran from the room with her face in her hands and Gumball felt a weird kind of satisfaction at the sound of her cries. Darwin was dumb-struck, his mouth hanging open in shock at what he'd just witnessed. Gumball was never this hurtful, it upset the fish greatly to see his brother act this way. Gumball rolled over and dismissed his brother rudely, he didn't have the strength to put up with anyone today.

"Go away, Darwin. I don't want to talk to anyone."

"Look, I understand you're upset but do you really think hurting everyone around you will help?"

"I don't give a flying-."

"I'm only trying to help you, Gumball. Why can't you see that?"

Gumball ignored the fish, instead he pulled the covers over himself and Darwin shook his head sadly. Darwin left Gumball alone, his words stung but deep down, Darwin knew his brother didn't really mean what he was saying. His pain was clouding his judgment and he was lashing out at everything around him without thinking. And this could only lead to more heartbreak and that was something Darwin wanted to avoid. Even though Darwin had school, he resolved to spend most of the day searching for his mother. Only she could fix what was now broken.


Nicole was unaware of what time it was, all she was aware of that she had been crying on and off for hours. She wanted to close her eyes and experience nothing but darkness where the biting pain in her heart wouldn't be able to touch her. The night had been torture, the morning even more so when she had mistaken a pillow for her son. She'd been cuddling it in her sleep and when she'd awakened, her still sleepy mind mistook the bundle of fabric for Gumball. Nicole had given the small pillow a kiss before realizing her error, which reduced her to a crying mess for hours. Every time she thought of her son, it was like someone was twisting a dagger into her heart and that was a problem since every thought she had was of Gumball.

She glanced at the clock, noticed it was past eight and gasped. She was supposed to be at work but the idea of getting up and going outside was much too daunting. She might run into Gumball or even worse, her husband. She was better off staying where she was, there was less pain in her bed than whatever awaited her outside. It took less than ten minutes for Nicole to go back on her thoughts as she rolled off her lumpy mattress to get dressed for work. Work might take her mind off Gumball, it was the least Nicole could hope for, even though it felt like hope had abandoned her and left her life devoid of color.


A knock at the door jarred Gumball from under his blanket and he drew the sheet back so he could look over his shoulder to see who it was. Upon seeing his father, Gumball rolled his eyes, his father offered a weak smile at him. His father was the last person Gumball wanted to see, he just wanted to be left alone so why did everyone think the things that happened between him and Nicole was their business?

Gumball knew the idiot wanted to say something but he wasn't going to offer his father an invitation to speak, he had no interest in Richard's excuses. After noticing his son wasn't going to say anything, Richard opened his mouth.

"Time to get up, son. You'll miss the bus," Richard said, stepping into the room..

Richard frowned when Gumball didn't reply, his son was in pain and he wanted to help him, but Richard couldn't do that if Gumball ignored him.

"Son, speak to me please."

Again, his son pretended he wasn't there and Richard sighed, he stepped closer to Gumball's bed.

"Do you want to talk about your mother?," the tone of his father's voice sounded off, like he was unsure of what to say.

His son finally spoke up, his words bitter with anger. "No, I don't want to talk to you or anyone. The only person I want to see is Mom."

"You know that won't happen, son."

Gumball scoffed angrily. "Yeah, thanks to you."

"Gumball, you have to understand where I'm coming from. What I did, I did to protect you,' Richard said, trying to hide the pain in his voice.

Gumball rolled off his bed to face his father, his face creased with anger.

"That's your pitiful excuse? You wanted to protect me from Mom?," Gumball shouted, his father's face remained inert, as if it was made of stone.

"Son, the feelings your mother has for you shouldn't exist. It's an affront."

"To who? You and Anais? Newsflash, Dad, I don't care!," Gumball yelled, he wanted to hurt his father, to make him feel the same way he did.

"Gumball, do you even know what your mother was doing is illegal?," Richard asked and Gumball scoffed at his father's question.

"Of course, she told me. And guess what? I don't care!"

"You knew? Then why did you allow your mother to indulge in her fantasies?," Richard asked, he instantly regretted his question when his son leveled a glare at him so intense, it reminded him of Nicole.

Gumball rounded on his father, his fury growing with every syllable. "Fantasy?! What Mom and I had, no, have is nowhere near a fantasy!"

Richard's stalwart mask nearly slipped, his son's words hurting a great deal more than he'd anticipated. Richard cleared his throat before speaking, he was finding it difficult to look Gumball in the eye.

"Gumball, you-."

"No! I don't want to hear your empty excuses. I love Mom and there's nothing you can do about it!," Gumball pushed past Richard to go to school, he stopped at the door, he had one last thing to say.

"Don't talk to me again," Gumball disappeared from view, his words hanging in the air like a spider web.

Richard braced himself for the inevitable onslaught of tears but they never came, he had done enough crying the previous night. Downstairs, the front door slammed as the school bus pulled up lazily outside. Muttering a strained greeting to Rocky, Gumball continued down the bus until he reached the very back where he could be alone. He had no desire to face another day at school, another day of hiding behind a mask and telling anyone who pryed that he was okay. Gumball was sick of lying, of hiding his feelings from everyone. His mother's face flashed in his mind's eye for a split second and he came close to crying. A familiar voice said his name, forcing him to suppress his pain in fear of being found out. It was Darwin, the only person on the bus who knew what was really going on and Gumball had pushed him away when all Darwin wanted was to help. He looked away, his shame proving difficult to hide.

"Gumball, talk to me. It'll do you no good if you keep bottling everything up," Darwin said, he placed a hand tentatively on Gumball's shoulder.

"The bus really isn't the best place for this kind of conversation, Darwin."

"Name a time and place and I'll be there," Darwin said, he gave his brother's shoulder a small but playful push.

"Later, I'll come to you," Gumball replied, he still hadn't looked Darwin in the eyes.

"You better not be lying because I'll be waiting, man," Darwin sat back, a smile on his face.

Gumball was indeed lying, he didn't want to talk to anyone because nobody understood his pain, save for his mother. But as to her whereabouts, he didn't know even where to start looking. Darwin looked out the window beside him, the sight of his brother's pain would always make him cry. With a sigh, he watched the cars beside him drive by and he took a small interest in counting them as they drove past. The bus stopped at a red light and Darwin looked back at Gumball to check on him. He was still looking at his feet and as Darwin watched him, a small tear fell from Gumball's cheek, it glistened brightly in the sun as it fell into his lap.

He looked away, his emotion rising at the sight of his brother crying. Darwin hated this, it was too much and he wanted everything to go back to the way it used to be. But he was starting to fear that their family would remain broken forever. As Darwin stared aimlessly out the window , a green car with wood paneling pulled up beside the bus and it took the bewildered fish a second to register what he was looking at. From where he sat, Darwin could see a slender, blue arm fiddling with the radio and what looked to be the corner of a gray skirt. Against his better judgment, Darwin kept what he was seeing to himself. After all, he hadn't gotten a good look at the person driving it. It could be anyone and he didn't want to get Gumball's hopes up only to have them dashed if Darwin was proved wrong. The lights turned green, signalling for the green car to turn left.

As it went around the corner, Darwin caught a glimpse of the driver's face in the side-view mirrors and he gasped at the familiar face. It was Nicole, she was still in Elmore and Darwin's whole body was inundated with happiness at the sight of his mother. He watched the car drive a bit, gasping when it swerved to the left suddenly. The car quickly corrected itself and continued on for another couple of meters until it turned again, going right this time. Darwin hastily checked the street names, there was only one place down that road where Nicole would go, The Rainbow Factory. Nicole was on her way to work and Darwin spun around to tell Gumball the good news.

"Dude, I have something great to tell you," he exclaimed, he was profoundly happy.

"I don't want to hear it," Gumball said, he looked out his window despondently.

"Gumball, I think you'll want to hear this," Darwin persisted, moving closer to his brother.

"I doubt that."

"Come on, man. It's about Mrs. Mom."

"No! We'll talk about that later, okay?," Gumball said, he gave Darwin an angry face before turning back to his window.

"You don't understand, Gumball. I saw her," Darwin couldn't help smiling when he spoke of Nicole.

"Don't lie to me just to make me feel better," Gumball growled, he turned an angry eye onto his brother.

"No, I'm not lying. I really saw her."

"Enough, just stop talking. I'm not in the mood," Gumball muttered as he jumped off his seat and went up the aisle.

He sat beside Banana Joe who gave Gumball a bemused glance. Gumball's eyes remained fixed on the floor and at the back of the bus, Darwin sighed sadly. Nicole was the only person that could fix Gumball's broken heart, but Darwin hadn't expected her to stay in Elmore, he'd figured she would have left the same day Richard kicked her out. Seeing her was tantamount to the time Darwin and Gumball had been reunited way back in their younger years. He just needed to find out where she was staying and he knew that finding Nicole could prove to be immensely difficult.

When she didn't want to be found, his mother was more shadow than flesh and blood. The paintball match the family had suffered through swam across his mind and Darwin shivered, the whole thing had been one horrible ordeal. He tore the memory from his mind, the past wasn't important right now. Finding Nicole was his mission and Darwin would not rest until he had found her. If the Wattersons wanted to continue calling themselves a family, then Nicole was the key that could close the rift that was tearing the family apart.


Nicole pressed a hand to her chest, her breath coming out in great gasps as she tried to slow her racing heart. She raised her hands to her eyes, they shook madly before her and she willed them to stop. She'd only caught a small snippet but it had been enough to send her nearly into hysterics. At the lights, she'd barely recognized the school bus beside her. The radio was malfunctioning, the static had been grating and she'd tried to fix it by twiddling some dials around. The light before her turned green and she'd gone to turn when a flash of orange in her side-view mirror grabbed her attention. She'd looked casually, expecting a road worker's shirt to be the cause and instead she'd seen Darwin seated at the bus' window. Seeing her adopted son had let loose all sorts of emotions in her and Nicole had spun in her seat to get a better look. She'd turned too far and too fast and had turned the steering wheel along with her. Her car had swerved into the opposite lane and she could've sworn she was going to crash.

After Nicole had hastily returned to the rightful lane, she'd looked again to see Darwin but no matter how hard she squinted, she couldn't see him. After she turned down the road to work, Nicole had pulled over to steady her nerves and so far, it wasn't working. If a glimpse of Darwin affected her like this, then seeing Gumball would most likely send her into hysterics. But she knew that seeing Gumball was all she truly wanted, he was all she could think about. With a desolate sniff, Nicole drove on to the Rainbow Factory, she was determined to continue on. She had her son to think of and she wasn't going to give up on Gumball, no matter how much pain she had to endure before he was back in her arms.


The bell at Elmore Junior High rang loudly and as the kids all surged forth from their numerous classrooms, there was one child who stuck out like a sore thumb. Whereas all the kids running to and fro were beaming with childhood happiness, this one young cat was anything but happy. Gumball stepped outside, squinting for a second when the bright sun stung at his eyes. He looked back and forth sadly, he spied a small spot under a tree that was devoid of other people and Gumball made a beeline for that tree. He moved quickly, dodging every few seconds when a ball flew at him. Teri shouted an invitation to the blue cat and Gumball ignored her, he had no strength in him to waste on others. He just wanted to be alone with his thoughts and he briefly entertained the thought about turning around and going to the library. The library was like a mausoleum most days and the heavy silence in there was what he craved.

He glanced up and realized it was too late, he'd arrived at the tree. Gumball sat behind the tree, hiding himself from everyone on the playground. Hugging his knees close, Gumball stared off into the distance as his mother's face swam before him. He began to daydream of happier days, where nobody objected against him and his mother being together. He was so caught up in his daydreams, that he failed to notice a tear had snaked its way down his face. A quiet voice spoke beside him, frightening Gumball as he wiped the new-found tear away. Swiveling, Gumball came face to face with Darwin. The fish offered him a smile and Gumball couldn't help feeling a small fire of hate begin to stir within him. Why couldn't everyone just leave him alone?

"What do you want, Darwin?," Gumball said through clenched teeth.

Darwin gave Gumball one of his trademark smiles. "Do you want to talk about Mrs. Mom now?"

"No," Gumball replied curtly, he turned his back to his brother.

"Gumball, you need to talk to someone. It's not healthy to bury your pain."

"You want to really know how I feel? Do you really want to know?," Gumball said, he turned back to his brother.

Darwin nodded. "Yes, it's the only way I can help you."

"I'm the reason Mom was kicked out of the house. I'm the problem here," Gumball lowered his eyes solemnly as he spoke.

"You know darn well that isn't true," Darwin said, he stepped closer to his brother.

"Really? Who was it who told Anais?," Gumball replied, his eyes were mad and Darwin's heart skipped a beat.

"You did but Mrs. Mom was there too."

Gumball ignored his brother and continued. "And if I hadn't told Anais, what wouldn't have happened?"

Darwin didn't like where this was going but he answered anyway. "She wouldn't have told Mr. Dad."

"Correct, so whose fault is it that Mom got kicked out?," Gumball was smiling as he spoke but there was nothing happy about his expression.

"You were blaming Anais this morning, but now it sounds like you're pointing the finger at yourself," Darwin said, he swallowed, trying to push the lump in his throat down.

Gumball smiled at his brother, the smile was not reassuring and Darwin gasped.

"You can't seriously be blaming yourself? I thought you and Mrs. Mom already talked about this!," Darwin exclaimed, he watched as Gumball lowered his gaze.

"The talk helped but seeing Mom driving away, it opened my eyes to what was really going on."

"Gumball, Mrs. Mom said it and so did I, you are not the problem," Darwin reached out to Gumball but the cat stepped back, his head bowed.

"I hurt Mom. I loved her and I hurt her," Gumball looked at his open hands, his voice choked with sorrow.

"No, stop talking like that! Neither you nor Mrs. Mom could've predicted Anais telling Mr. Dad."

"Stop lying, I'm so sick of everyone's lies," Gumball spoke softly, he looked away, a fluffy cloud seemed to wave at the young cat.

Darwin watched his brother, trying to come up with anything that could convince Gumball otherwise and when he was about to open his mouth to speak, the bell rang, signalling them it was time to return to class.

Darwin motioned for Gumball to follow him. "Come on, dude. We can't be late for Ms. Simian's class."

Gumball ignored him and as the young cat started to speak, Darwin stopped to listen.

"I just want the pain to end," Gumball whispered to no-one in particular as he walked past Darwin.

Darwin followed him from behind, he was suddenly afraid for Gumball's health and he struggled internally on what to say. Gumball muttered something under his breath and his words chilled the fish straight to the bone.

"Even if it means I have to end it myself."


Anais sat in an isolated corner of the library, a book lay in front of her unopened, as her mind swirled with foul words that she aimed at herself. She closed her eyes, trying to push her feelings away and down so they wouldn't overwhelm her in public. She was failing and a sob escaped her, she hated herself for what she had done. Gumball and Nicole had placed their complete trust in her and without a second thought, she had discarded their trust like it had meant nothing to her. The pain on her mother's face had been the worst part, knowing that what she'd done had completely and utterly destroyed Nicole, had proved to be nothing short of torture to the bunny. There was no time for her self-pity now though, because Darwin had appeared out of nowhere and sat down beside her. He looked worried bout something, it didn't matter much to her though, she had enough worries plaguing her mind nowadays. But she listened to him, regardless of her own feelings and she felt even worse when Darwin started to talk.

"Anais, we need to help Gumball," the fish said, he spoke quickly, as if he didn't have much time.

"Why are you coming to me then?," Anais replied, she kept her gaze lowered at her hands.

"Because I don't trust anyone else with this information," Darwin whispered, he looked around wildly for a second.

"I don't think I'm the one you should be speaking to about trust."

Darwin winced at her. "Chin up, everyone makes mistakes."

"But not everyone breaks up their whole family," Anais replied, her voice quivered at the word 'family'.

"Just hear me out, Anais. Please."

Anais sighed and finally looked at her brother. "What's happened to Gumball?"

"Nothing...yet. We need to find Mrs. Mom."

"Darwin, we don't even know if Mom is still in Elmore," she said, talking about Nicole hurt her.

"She is still here, I saw her this morning."

Anais' eyes grew wide. "What? Where was she?"

"She was on her way to work when I saw her."

"Are you sure it was really Mom though?," Anais asked, she had a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that Nicole was still in Elmore.

"It was her, I'm sure of it. I recognized the car," Darwin said, he was a hundred percent sure it had been Nicole.

Anais shook her head, she wasn't sure she believed her brother and as she looked at the fish, she could see he was telling the truth.

"Look, if it really was Mom, I can't face her. It's too painful," Anais, confessed, she wiped her eyes with the end of her sleeve.

"I understand, I just want you to help me find her."

"Okay, I'll help. It's the least I can do for Gumball."

"Yeah, about Gumball, I think we need to keep a very close eye on him," Darwin said, he leaned closer so he could whisper.

Anais' ears perked up. "Why? What's happened?"

"He blames himself for Mrs. Mom getting kicked out."

"Why? I was the one that told Dad. If anyone is at fault, it's me," Anais lowered her eyes again, she hated that Gumball was in pain over something she'd done.

"No, his guilt goes back further than that. It all stems from the way you reacted to their confession," Darwin explained, he put a fin on Anais' shoulder before continuing.

"He's been blaming himself for too long and we need to find Mrs. Mom. She's the only one that can help him" at Darwin's words, Anais gasped and looked him in the eyes.

"How are we going to do that? We don't even know where to start looking."

"I'll do the searching. What I want you to do is make sure Gumball doesn't do anything rash," Darwin said, he smiled at his sister and was delighted to get one in return.

"I'll do one better, I'll try to make amends with him," her smile was weak, but it was sincere and that is what counted in Darwin's eyes.

"Thank you for this, Anais. It means a lot that you want to help," Darwin said, he gave Anais' shoulder a warm squeeze.

"I just want our family to be back together again. I'm tired of waking up sad, Darwin."

"We need to find Mrs. Mom if we want that to happen," Darwin said, he blinked back a wayward tear.

Anais only nodded, she was too spent to say a word and Darwin left her so he could return to his waiting class. But not before he gave his sister a hug to comfort her.


Nicole closed the door behind her and with a sigh, she threw herself onto her bed. Her boss had pulled her aside and chided Nicole on being late, forcing her to come up with an excuse. It was a pathetically weak one at that but her boss seemed to buy the excuse as Nicole had been left to her own devices all day. Despite the happiness Nicole had felt upon seeing Darwin, she still couldn't help feeling lost without Gumball. It was as if she was missing a part of herself and as the night went on, she found herself wondering if she would ever get to see her son again. Being without Gumball was much too hard for her and she struggled to get out of bed so she could prepare her dinner. All she wanted was for sleep to take her and never release her from its shadowy grasp.

It would be nothing short of a blessing for Nicole if she would never feel this pain again in her entire life. Without her son by her side, it was like she didn't have the energy to continue living and Nicole found herself dreading the coming days. She rolled onto her side, dinner could wait and she closed her eyes to sleep. In time, sleep did come for Nicole, but it wasn't the pain free experience she'd hoped for. Her dreams were nothing but endless mazes as she chased after the scared voice of her son and when Nicole awoke sometime after midnight, she broke down into a bout of tears that didn't end, not even when the sun started to shine through the dirty curtains over her window.

AN: Yes, I'm back! Hooray! Fireworks and trumpets and all that.

Anyway, I'm good now, guys. So start expecting some more chapters in the near future! And don't worry, the story will have a happy ending. You can bet on it! Have a kickass night/day!