A couple hours passed, and Abby's tears began to ease up. She rolled out of her hay bed she had been crying on and walked over to her "Super Secret Drawer", unlocking her love shrine. It beeped as it slid up, the wooden shrine now filled with pictures of Otis. There were many new pictures pasted onto the shrine which were from the month Otis and Abby had been a couple. There was a picture of them on their first date, a picture of them riding bikes together, and even a picture of them dancing on their recent one-month anniversary. The two bovines were dressed up and relaxed in each other's arms.

Then, Abby sighed as her gaze turned to another picture in the lower left corner of the shrine. It was Otis and Abby resting under the stars, the night they had admitted their feelings to each other (remember the end of Love Gets In the Way?). The gophers hid everywhere and would sometimes secretly sneak pictures, and Tony had decided to give some of these pictures to Abby for keepsake.

Abby winced in pain as she remembered what Otis had once said: "Abby, you're something more than Daisy. She was never sporty, or fun to play around or prank with, or strong and athletic, or funny like you are. I never knew I'd meet a girl like you." She shook in her head in disbelief. If I'm something more than Daisy, why did you keep this big secret from me? How could you not tell your own girlfriend that you had a baby with another cow? More tears welled up in Abby's eyes, but she wiped them away with her arm.

More than anything, Abby wanted to discuss this with someone she confided in. She considered Bessy at first, but she remembered how talking to Bessy only seemed to make things worse. Who else? She pondered. Pip was a good friend, but he was Otis's best friend so he'd be more likely to take his side. The same went for Freddy, Peck, and Pig. Abby decided she'd talk to her good friend Hanna, but as she got up to leave her stall she heard an angry voice coming from Otis's stall nearby.

Abby crept closer to Otis's stall, perked an ear, and listened.

"How could you do this?" demanded a rather angry voice that sounded like Otis. "First of all, I don't remember doing anything whatsoever that could've made me a daddy! Second of all, how could you just blurt that out to my girlfriend, when I don't even know if it's true or not?! Do you know how badly she's hurt now?"

"I didn't blurt it out," replied a calmer voice that seemed to come from Daisy. "She asked me who Genebelle was, so of course I had to say she was my daughter! Then she was confused as to who the father was, so I had to tell her."

"You could've waited for me, first," said Otis. "And for the last time, your proposal doesn't seem right at all."

"Listen, Otis!" Daisy gradually began to sound more upset. "I know what happened. I was pregnant when I came to my new farm, and we cuddled together a few days before. Face the facts. There's no need to get so irate; just accept it."

A distressed voice answered, "Well, now I could have lost my girlfriend. The girl I truly loved." After that, Abby heard nothing but silence. Her ears rose down, a spark of guilt igniting somewhere inside her. She felt bad for getting so angry at Otis before, but at the same time he had kept the secret that he and Daisy had "slept together" from her. She had no idea what to feel.

***

The usual Night Barn was held that night, but Abby was in no mood for partying. She laid all alone in her stall watching one of her favorite movies, Pride & Prejudice. Abby tried to get her mind off of what had happened that morning, but she just couldn't. She pulled out her most treasured picture of Otis from under her pillow as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Maybe I'll wake up soon and it'll all have been only a dream," she whispered in a quivering, hurt voice. She gave her Otis picture a good look, kissed it, slid it back under her pillow and began crying again.

Abby was interrupted when she suddenly heard a tiny knock on her stall door. She wiped her face from all the tears and replied, "Come in!"

At first she had expected it to be Otis or Bessy, but to her surprise it was Pip. The tiny gray mouse scurried and hopped over to Abby, and said, "There you are, Abby. Have you seen Otis? He's nowhere to be found."

"Nope, I'm sorry. I haven't," Abby replied, her voice still quivering from crying.

Pip raised his eyebrows and asked, "What's wrong? And what are you doing in here all alone? You love dancing almost as much as Otis."

"What, Otis hasn't told you?"

"What?"

"Apparently, I've learned some interesting news from Daisy earlier today. You know that cow that arrived with her and Ben? That's her daughter, Genebelle. Guess who the father is?"

Pip simply stared in shock and surprise as Abby explained the whole story to him. "Wow," Pip gasped. "I can't believe this. My buddy O, a DAD?! Otis is usually the first one to tell me things! I can't believe he's a father."

Abby sniffled and said, "I know."

"No wonder you're hurt. But still, remember that Otis had never told anyone about this, not just you. He kept it from everyone."

"He says he doesn't remember doing anything that could've led to Daisy's proclamation, but that isn't something you forget. There's something fishy about this whole thing," Abby concluded.

"I know. I have to admit, everything was pretty peaceful here before Daisy came back. Between you and me, Abby, I like you better," Pip smiled with a wink.

Abby chuckled and said, "Thanks, Pip. You want me to help you find Otis? What do you need him for, anyways?"

"He left his MePhone at one of the tables, and I wanted to give it to him before it got cleared off for another group," the tiny mouse answered.

Abby gave a nod and scooped Pip up onto her shoulder. "Let's go find him."

***

Abby and Pip had no luck. They had searched the entire barn, but there was no sight of the fun-loving, handsome party bull anywhere. Abby became filled with worry. "He's gotta be around here somewhere!"

"Check outside," Pip suggested. Abby raced outside, looking around the perimeters of the barnyard fence. Still, no sight of her boyfriend.

"Maybe he went out for a night with the Jersey Cows," Abby optimistically suggested, but her heart sank when she saw the Jersey Cows huddled together by the bar in the Night Barn.

The Jersey Cows often got on Abby's nerves, but she was desperate to find her boyfriend. She ran up to them and asked, "Have any of you guys seen Otis?"

"Well, if it isn't the beautiful, precious Abby," Eddy teasingly wooed, causing her to roll her eyes. "Nope, I haven't seen O-TIS. If you're having too much trouble with him, why don't you give us a call sometime?" Igg and Bud chimed in with "yeah"s and laughed, but Abby simply grunted and walked away. The Jersey Cows took almost anything as a joke.

Abby began to fret. What had happened to Otis? Was he okay? Abby choked up as she remembered that the last thing she had said to Otis was that she could no longer trust him. She had been so angry with him and never gave him a chance to explain that Daisy's news could have been a misunderstanding. More of the hot tears welled up in Abby's eyes as she panicked, "We've got to find him, Pip! He could be in danger."

"We've looked around the whole entire barnyard!" Pip exclaimed. "He wasn't even on Ben's Hill."

"We still haven't checked Walnut Woods, though," Abby suggested with hope.

"Oh no! Otis has strictly said before that no one is allowed to go back there during the night. It's too dangerous. Who knows what's lurking around," Pip argued. Sometimes Abby thought Pip worried too much.

Abby shook her head. "I don't care. My boyfriend is missing, and I'll go through any lengths of trouble to find him if I have to. Besides, are you forgetting who the #1 pro wrestler in the barnyard is?"

Pip sighed. "All right, but I don't have a good feeling."

The two animals ventured on and made their way into the dark, quiet, secluded, creepy woods. Abby heard a couple hoots from an owl that caused Pip to quiver in fear.

"Don't worry, an owl is not going to grab you with me around," Abby reassured him.

Abby hiked through the desolate, scary woods for a good while. Both animals called Otis's name almost every second. "Otis?" "Otis, where are you?" "O?" "Baby?"

Over an hour had passed, and there was not a sign from Otis. Abby sat down and leaned against a tree trunk. She covered her face and began to cry. "What if something happened to him, Pip?"

"C'mon, Abby, my buddy O is pretty strong. He fought off a dozen coyotes. I'm sure he's around somewhere, looking for you."

Suddenly, both animals were alerted when they heard a crack of branch in the distance. Abby's ears perked up, a spark of hope filling her insides. "Otis? Otis, is that you?"

"Otis?" Pip joined in with a twitch of his whiskers.

A low, barely audible grunt was heard a ways off. Abby's heart began to beat faster. "Uhhh, Pip, did that sound like Otis to you?"

"No," Pip whispered. "It was almost like a deep growl. Though Otis can do a million different voice impressions, that didn't sound like him at all."

Abby began to tremble herself. The small hope that the voice might be Otis still clinged to her as she calmly called, "Is that you, sweetie?"

Moments passed but no response was heard. "Abby, I don't have a good feeling," Pip warned. "This place is really giving me the creeps. Let's just go."

Just as Abby was about to disagree with Pip's idea, the bushes nearby rustled rapidly. "Otis!" Abby called, hoping to find her boyfriend. "Otis, if this is some practical joke then cut it out!"

However, Abby began to drown in fear as she realized it wasn't Otis. Two blazing, golden eyes emerged throughout the bushes, along with a giant, furry shape. As the figure appeared under the moonlight, Abby nearly wet herself when she realized this was no cow. It was a bear.

The enormous bear rose up on its two hind legs, showing off how large and tall it was. (It was a lot like the bear you saw on "Barnyards & Broomsticks", but much larger.) It let out a giant, fearsome roar. Abby and Pip simultaneously screamed in fear at the gruesome creature. "AHHHHHH!"

"We're gonna die!" Pip shrieked, beginning to soil Abby with mouse pellets. "Abby, let's go!"

Without another thought, Abby turned on all four hooves and began running for her dear life with Pip clinging to her hair. However, the bear was much too quick. It trampled and stampeded through the brushes and trees after the two barnyard animals, and the next thing Abby knew was that she was swatted into the air and knocked onto her side by the bear's large paw.

"Abby!" Pip yelled, afraid his friend was hurt.

Abby quickly regained her breath and rose up on two legs. She wasn't going to play games. She grabbed the bear's arm and viciously swung it back, knocking the bear down onto the ground. "You wanna mess with me, huh? Well prepare for some major pain!" Abby threatened, as she jumped onto the bear elbow first.

Abby thought she had defeated the vile creature until another bear sprang up through the bushes, pinning Abby to the ground. Abby let out a moo of pain as the bear raked its claws against her back. The bear let out an evil chuckle and said, "Well, well, well? What do we have here, Brim? She'll certainly make a delightful meal tonight."

"Definitely, Veck," Brim, the other bear, replied. "She's tough, but we can manage her. You keep her pinned down, and I'll end her."

Abby desperately struggled to free herself, but as soon as she hurled Veck off, Brim attacked her with sharp claws and teeth. Pip was frozen in fear. "Abby!" he screamed. "Abby, hang on! I'm going to get help!" The little mouse scurried away as fast as he could towards the barnyard.

Moments passed, and although Abby managed to cause some major cuts and bruises on the beasts, two bears were too many. Even though Abby possessed incredible strength, two bears seemed to overrule it. She could feel her body getting weaker and weaker every minute. With all her strength, she kicked one of them in the eyes with her back hooves, causing them to roar in pain. The two, furry giants kept her pinned to the ground, suffocating her in large heaps of fur. Abby felt a set of sharp teeth close on her ear, causing her to let out another moo in pain. She could begin to feel the world black out around her. I can't defeat them, she thought in agony. Two bears are too strong for even me. This is it. I won't get out of this.

The two bears let out evil laughs at the horribly injured cow. Brim smirked. "Don't worry Veck, I'll end this."

Abby was completely locked down onto the ground, unable to free herself. She closed her eyes and trembled as she saw Brim's large claws coming down towards her face. Here I go, she thought, tears filling her eyes.

Suddenly, out from nowhere, a large bolt sprung right into Brim. Abby opened her eyes to see Brim attempting to struggle free from a pair of arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Abby looked up to see it was Otis! Otis was choking Brim to death, shouting, "You don't touch her!"

"Otis!" Abby gasped, overruled with joy that her boyfriend had saved her while terrified that he was now in danger. "Otis, look out!" she shouted as she saw Veck charging towards her boyfriend.

Otis grew a smirk on his face as he pulled out a can of something, and shouted, "Come and get me, fleabag!" The bear raced towards Otis, ready to attack, but Otis exclaimed, "Bear repellent in your face!" as he sprayed pepper spray into the bear's eyes. Veck fell back onto the ground, blinded and yelling in pain. Otis continued to choke the other bear, and finally sprayed the repellent into his eyes, too. Both bears, unable to see anything, clumsily turned tail and ran away in various directions.

Otis quickly ran over to Abby, worried to death. "Abby?! Abby, are you okay?!"

"Otis," Abby sighed in awe. "You saved my life. Again."

Otis bent down to examine Abby, allowing her to feel his warm body. "Abby, I was scared to death that you had been killed! What the cud were you doing back here? I strictly ordered that no one is to be back here at night."

"I know, Otis," Abby panted, "but Pip and I were looking for you. We thought something might've happened to you. Where were you, anyways?"

"First I was in Dandelion Meadow, but then I went looking for you. Pip found me just in time and panicked that you were in trouble."

Abby smiled radiantly at her boyfriend. "I'm so glad I have you. I love you. And Otis, I'm really sorry for yelling at you earlier today."

"Forget about that now," Otis shook his head, "it's not important. You're hurt, and we'd better get back to the barnyard as quickly as possible before more creatures find us as a snack. Come on."

Otis lifted Abby up into his muscular arms and warm body, like he had done the time he had saved her from drowning (in Love Gets In the Way). She received a smooch on the lips from him as they proceeded back home. Abby leaned her head against his warm, muscular chest and shut her eyes, drifting off to sleep in the warm embrace of her beloved boyfriend.

Aww, isn't that the sweetest? 8D Come on, guys, of course I was going to have them make up! Even if it means Abby almost getting killed by a bear. XD So, will Abby get better? Will Genebelle meet Otis? Will Otis and Abby ever get this whole "father" thing sorted out? Find out soon!! =) Oh, and I promise there will be some Obby-liciousness goodies in the next chapter. ;DDD -hint hint-

To be honest, this chapter was really scary to write. The main reason was because I was up late at night writing about Abby and Pip venturing in a dark, creepy forest late at night and I seriously started to scare myself. XD I also choked up at the very beginning, too. Once I finished Chapter 8, I figured "what the heck" and got right to work with this one. Now that my Writer's Block is cured, I have a better time writing these chapters. =) Also, please be honest in your reviews if this chapter had too many run-on sentences or bad grammar. I was up late writing most of this and my brain had a meltdown. ;-; Maybe it's just me, idk.

So, anyways, thank you SO MUCH to all my reviewers!!! 8D Every review counts, I love 'em all! I know I say this too many times, but you guys are what keep me writing. =) So here, take the choco muffins! 8D *hands muffin to all Chapter 8 reviewers*

Now, remember to review for this chapter and you get...err...M&M cookies! XD (I'm running out of ideas) WHEE! Take care, guys! :)

P.S. This story must be a lot better than my first one, because it only has 9 chapters and already has more reviews than my other one got. XD Idk. Anyways, I'll stop going on now. x)