Disclaimer: Characters not mine, don't know, don't own. Oh, cruel world!

Murdoc looked up at the ceiling. It had been…what? Three days since 2D had stormed off to his room, and he hadn't come out once. He sighed. So what if he wanted 2D? He didn't want him and their fight had made it obvious. He said he had hated him, and if that's how 2D felt, well, time for some cheap hookers. Then again, Murdoc rolled over onto his side to face the wall…he wasn't interested anymore, or at least he hadn't been for the past two days. He was feeling really guilty, and the fact that 2D wouldn't respond to Russel or even Noodle wasn't helping either. He flopped over onto his other side. Dammit…he had been like this for days. One theory after another came to him, each one worse. Perhaps 2D snuck out while Murdoc was sleeping, never to return? Perhaps he had died in there and they would never be able to get it because the door was locked fast. Maybe he had even killed himself because of the fight. He did have that fancy switchblade always on his bedside table for…security reasons, as 2D stated. Plus, there was the band to think of too. Even if Murdoc didn't want to be inconsiderate, they still had to practice so they wouldn't get all rusty. And the publicity, interviews, on and on. They wanted the lead singer. They wanted pretty boy! He ran a hand through his greasy hair. He was going soft over a guy.Over 2D. Was being reborn on his 40th birthday a good idea after all? Maybe this was just a side effect…he hoped but then he highly doubted it, and a small voice inside him said "it isn't!"

There was also the fact that he had this horrible plan to completely destroy the emotional well-being of the singer. Typical old Murdoc. He had finally tracked down Paula and brought her back to Kong. He thought it would be good revenge...for, well, whatever he needed revenge for. He was so angry that he would do anything. Even if that anything was Paula. But when he had woken up next to her the next day, he couldn't help but to feel just a little bad. She wasn't bad in bed at all, oh Satan, she was good. But this was going to hurt 2D so much. Paula had also made herself at home again. Spending the nights in one of the spare rooms in the studio. Every time Murdoc passed her, he winced inside. Just wait until 2D sees her. Murdoc thought to himself You're going to fuckin' kill him if you haven't already. He was pondering what to do with the whore this morning as well.

Then…there was a slight creek and a slight thwap of footsteps. It was coming from the direction of 2D's room and he hadn't heard anyone else come into the car park. Could it really be him? Murdoc burst out of bed, forgetting to slide into a pair of jeans, or shirt for that matter, and scrambled down the steps of the Winnebago. 2D, with dark rings under his eyes, glanced up at him.

"Dullard!" cried Murdoc happily, forgetting to contain his emotions. "You…you're..alright?"

He looked closely at the singer. He looked like crap. Everything about him was pale and gloomy. His hair was almost over flowing with grease, his face was scrubby with a few days of going without shaving, he looked skinnier and weaker than usual. But what Murdoc noticed the most was that he no longer had that little spark in his ebony eyes.

"Wot do ya want?" whimpered 2D as he looked up pitifully at the bassist.

"I jus'…" Murdoc said slowly, "Fuck! Never mind! You 'ad everyone worried sick! Tha's all!"

2D nodded and called for the lift. As soon as he got in and the doors shut, he collapsed onto the floor in a pile of heaves and sobs. It wasn't fair! He cared about Murdoc a lot and he couldn't show it, at all. Something was keeping him from leaping onto the Satanist and confessing everything. Ah well…time to get himself cleaned up. He knew Russel and Noodle were worried, and as long as he made an appearance, that should keep them happy for a couple days, so he could go back to his sulking. He finally picked himself up and got out of the lift. He made his way to the toilets. Someone was already in there showering. He heard the water running as he came near the door.

Oh bloody well! he thought as he entered the room. If it was Noodle, she'd surely yell at him, scold him, and shoo him away. Oh well then…he'd just come back…later. He pushed the door open to the graffiti cover room.

"Morning!" he cried, announcing to whoever it was that he was in the room too.

"Good morning yourself."

2D stumbled backwards. The voice was female, but it wasn't Noodle's, and yet, he recognized it.

---

Noodle had found refuge in her room for the past three days. She had over heard 2D's and Murdoc's fight in the car park. Well, the whole nation heard it, really, it was so loud. She didn't want the band to split up again, like they had done so. She wanted to stay here, home, with her beloved, yet unique family. Then that two-timing bitch, Paula, showed up and Noodle later found out that Murdoc had brought her in. Russel and Noodle immediately turned up their noses and tried to be as rude to Paula as possible. She had nearly destroyed 2D once, and they weren't going to let her again. They were both hoping she would leave within a few hours due to the rude behavior of the two. Unfortunately, Paula didn't seem to take hints. In fact, in Noodle's teenage brain, Paula had chosen the guest room located between her own and Russel's to stay in for the nights. It made the Jap furious every time she laid down, to know that Paula was in the room next to her, she was the physical closest living, breathing human. Noodle had woken up on day 3 of 2D's absence to his room to a new emotion. And whatever it was, it was urging her to march right Paula's 'room,' yell, cuss, scream, punch, hit, kick, slap, and knock out the women. Then maybe she'd feed her to the zombies. Maybe…then she heard the commotion from downstairs.

"PAULA!" screamed the voice of her best friend that had been 'missing' for the past three days.

---

He was so taken aback by the women that stepped out of the shower wrapped in a towel that he literally fell onto his butt.

"2D," she smiled, "nice to see you after all these years."

"Wot…w-wot the 'ell are ya doin' 'ere?" cried 2D.

"Ah…" said Paula running her hand through her wet dark hair, "well, Murdoc invited me over for some fun, for old times sake."

2D sat there speechless. He couldn't believe it. Paula..back…and ironically, meeting her in the bathroom where…he shuddered at the memory.

"Paula," said 2D slowly after he had looked her over a few times, "I want ya to leave…right now…"

"Muds said I could stay," said Paula as she walked over to the mirrors to inspect her appearance, "plus, it's nice being back. We can get Gorilla back together, no? I mean…having a kid around, eeash…must be tough."

2D looked up at her. Was she talking about Noodle? He thought so.

"Don' talk 'bout Noodle like tha…" he said.

Paula shrugged, "She's just a kid. A kid for a guitarist…hard to believe you guys made it anywhere at all!"

"'Ey!" snapped 2D, "Noodle wrote our bes' album yet!"

Paula snorted, "So what? She isn't legal."

"Whore," muttered 2D as he pulled his legs to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.

"Well," said Paula turning around to face 2D, "Murdoc didn't exactly have to pay me," a grin curled onto her lips, "this time or the last time."

His heart felt like someone just stabbed a knife into it and twisted it several times. That someone, who was having so much fun tormenting the poor singer, was Paula. And she knew it. 2D was ready to just get up and leave when Noodle slowly opened the door,

"Stu-sama?" she asked softly peeking around the door.

"Speak of the devil!" cried Paula.

Noodle opened the door a bit more and looked at the current scene. Paula, with the exception of a towel, was basically naked. 2D was on the floor, defenseless against the emotional attack. He looked horrible too, physically and mentally. He looked so worn, old, and hurt to Noodle. It made her chest ache a little to see him in this bad of state.

"You're the devil," said Noodle walking over to Paula, "get out of my house!"

"It's not yours, love," said Paula kneeling down to Noodle's level (bad idea, thought 2D), "It's Murdocs, and he's letting me stay."

"Murdoc-sama," stated Noodle, "told you to get out two days ago!"

"Well, he hasn't put up too much of a fight, has he?" asked Paula.

Noodle rolled her hands into fist. Usually she didn't hate, but Paula was a very, very big exception. The trick was, trying not to tap into her martial art skills and beat Paula nearly to death. She wanted this to go as smooth as, well, as it possibly could now for 2D's sake.

"Paula," said Noodle, holding back her urge to attack, "Murdoc doesn't care about you. He was confused by…recent events. He cares about 2D more than anyone else here. And I don't know exactly why he brought you here but I know I represent everyone here when I say, we want you gone, forever. You need to stay out of our lives, because you're hell, Paula, you're hell, and we don't need anymore of it around here."

Paula sneered, "oh, I know. This place is a hell hole isn't it?"

Noodle could have sworn a blood vessel was going to burst if she had to hold in her rage any longer, "this hell hole is my home," said Noodle, "now get out!" Forcefully she pushed Paula towards the door, opened it, and kicked Paula to the ground in the corridor. She slammed the door shut and locked it.

"Bitch…" she mumbled as she turned to look at 2D. He had his face in his large hands, and his body was shaking from crying. Noodle walked over to him and kneeled down by his side.

"Stu-sama," she whispered, "it's alright. She's gone."

He gave a loud and painful sob, "N-noodle…," he chocked, "why?"

She wrapped her arms around her best friend, "Stu-sama," she continued to whisper, "Paula is gone. She will not be returning. You have your family here, the people that love you," he shook harder from crying, "Remember when I let you stay in my room? Russel got mad, but I told him, Stu-sama, that I knew you would never harm me, and I believe that with all my heart. You have guided me and helped me through hard times, and now I will help you," 2D seemed to collapse a little, as his weight became heavier in Noodle's arms. She felt tears well up in here eyes as well. "It hurts me so bad to see you pained like this. I want to take it all away, right now. But I can't. You need to find it in yourself to be strong. At least try, please, for me?"

After sobbing a few times, his blood shot eyes looked up into Noodle's, "I'm sorri, Noodle, I really am…it's jus…jus…"

Noodle pulled him a little closer, "it's ok, there's no need to explain it to me if you don't want."

"N-no-no," he stammered between tears, "I…I do want ya to know…it's been…difficult…keepin' it to myself an' all.." he sobbed a few times, "b-but…I fink ya m-might 'ave caught on a while ago, really, but…" he realized how he was rambling, "Murdoc is…special to me. I didn' know 'ow to act around him after…tha' night, an' the fight, and now Paula. Noodle," he cried a bit harder now, " I 'ad 'ope…'ope…I've liked him, secretly, fir s-so many years. When, I firs' met 'im, after I woke up from my coma…you know tha' story, love, well, I thoug' I-I saw an angel." Noodle chuckled at the thought of Murdoc as an angel, "an' when 'e said I'd be in 'is band, I was so 'appy!"

"You still are in his band," Noodle stated.

"I know…" muttered 2D, "but 'ave you ever wanted something so bad, and then jus' mess it up when you could get it?"

Noodle didn't answer, but instead raised one of her delicate hands and started wiping away the tears from his face, "You can still have him," she said gently, "but I think that you need to tell him all this, what you have just told me, you need to tell him. It will do you no good anymore to keep this all between us. It is too out in the open, there is hints of it going around. Something is going to happen, and I think, if you do not tell him, it will be a bad thing. But if you do tell him, it will be good. But you never know until you try."

They sat there for a while, both of them crying, Noodle silently for her friend, and 2D let out loud wails and sobs. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Noodle, 2D started to clam down and his crying became less violent.

"Make sure Paula ges' out…" said 2D as he struggled to get to his feet, "I'm gonna talk to Murdoc…jus' need to get cleaned up firs'…"

Noodle nodded and left the room to take care of the Hell-Bringer and give 2D his privacy. "Take care of yourself, Stu-sama," whispered Noodle as she gently closed the door behind her. Then she turned to go face Paula, for once and for good.

Phase 3: she thought to herself Whore Take Down.

---

2D made his way to the shower and washed himself down. He had to admit, he did feel gross after sleeping for nearly three days after taking all the pain killers. He got out of the shower and dried himself off. He wrapped a towel around his waist and made his way back to his room, careful to avoid the sight of Murdoc's 'Bago and the Satanist himself. He pulled on a pair of his favorite tight jeans and his "T-virus" shirt, an old classic. He smiled to himself. Typical, typical 2D, as the other band mates would say. He took Noodle's words into consideration. He had to plan his words carefully.

Ugh he thought to himself This would be so much easier if I still had all my brain.

Then he smiled to himself. If it hadn't been for Murdoc, he would still have all his brain cells in tact, but then again, he wouldn't have met his…angel, of sorts. He pulled comb through his spiky hair and made his way towards Murdoc's Winnebago. He was about to knock on the door when he stopped. He was going about this too quickly. His first task was to make sure Paula was gone. He shuffled over to the lift, ready to set things straight…er…right.

---

A.N: Good, no? I'm not sure..lemme know! I like this though..I think I'm doing a good job for my second FF ever...really, and no worries, it doesn't end soon. I'm still working out all the details. I'm enjoying this so much and I'm thankful for all you reviewers!