A New Life and Healing

Disclaimer. I don't own Monsters, Inc or any of the characters in the movie.

Now to understand it is very wise to read Lost then Found but not Healed.

Second chapter yay! Randall's only being mischievous with his little pranks. Like Danielle realized in the first story. He's not the type that should be allowed to be bored.

And thank you to my wonderful of an angel

Chapter 2

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Randall was up on the roof of the barn the next day. He was sweating up a storm with the sun beating down on him, but all in all he didn't mind. He was earning his keep and Danielle never asked for more than he could handle. He placed the new board down over the hole and put the last nail into place. He then wiped his sweat away and easily crossed the wooden roof of the old barn. He slipped up into a tree and crossed over into the swap that way. It was mid-April and alligator breeding season was in full swing. Though they usually stayed deeper in the swamp and away from the house, Danielle assured him, she did admit that she had seen a young one walk across her yard from time to time.

Being able to easily climb trees and stick to any surface, he had no trouble moving through the swamp by way of the tress. He moved high and would stop and look around and then move on. He was heading in a straight line following a path on the ground that had been worn down by Danielle and her family through the years.

He was making his way towards the glinting shimmer of water in the distance. He liked to go out there along the edges of the swamp and perch in the trees along the water's edge. Once there he hung in the tree on a strong branch, looking down into the still, greenish-brown water. He shuddered to think what was swimming under there.

Randall's head shot up when he heard the idling of a boat approaching. He blended easily and stayed still. The boat came into view with one male human aboard. He stopped under the tree that Randall was sitting in and cut the engine. He then looked around; keen, experienced eyes knowing what he was looking for. He took a long pole and checked the depth of the water around the bank, then slipped into the water, the muddy liquid coming up to his chest. He then took a deep breath and sank under the water.

Randall then knew what the man was doing. He was hand fishing for the big catfish that were nesting in the mud along the banks. Randall glanced into the boat and grinned, seeing three large catfish. They were gasping for air in the bottom of the boat. Randall acted fast. He waited until the human came up for air and disappeared again. He then twisted, hand latching onto the branch as he lowered himself down and picked up the biggest catfish. He pulled the rope from its mouth and dropped it into the water, releasing it.

He twisted back up into the branches just as the human came up with another fish. He tossed it into the boat and then climbed up into it. He then looked down at the flopping fish, his expression one of confusion that despite his success, he was still only in possession of three instead of four.

Randall chuckled as he made his way back to the house, the strains of curses echoing behind him.

XXXx

So… D… When do I get to meet Mr. Mystery Man?" Lissette Miller asked as she sat down beside Danielle in the library.

Danielle groaned. "This again? I told you. He's always busy. Traveling back and forth and when he's down here… well…we want to spend as much time as possible together."

"But will it kill you to take a few minutes to let us meet?" Liss pouted as she opened her books.

Danielle sighed and laid her pencil down. "Look Liss….there's a lot going on. Maybe after graduation…I'll talk to him…"

"Well…why is it so hard?" Liss asked with a hurt look in her black eyes.

"It's complicated, Liss. Now please…we need to study." Danielle looked down at her books. She glanced at Liss through the corner of her eye. Liss was getting harder and harder to turn away. Right now all Randall was, was a voice on the phone. He had yet to really talk to her mother, as Danielle was shielding him as much as she could from the woman's slicing tongue. Liss, he talked to on and off, but hid when she and her boyfriend came over.

Danielle sighed as she worked on her final essays and studied for next month's tests. She'd have to talk to him about this. Liss may have 'met' him, but she believed he was in costume. How would she handle the fact that Randall Boggs, her boyfriend and lover, was actually a purple, eight-limbed reptilian monster from an alternate world?

Danielle sighed again and picked up her pencil and began to write.

XXX

Danielle's hands roamed playfully over Randall's colorful back. They came to his side and her fingers caressed the sensitive area. He squirmed, wriggling back and forth.

"You're ticklin' me," he complained.

She giggled. "Complain, complain," she teased. She was alongside his long back as he lay on his belly stretched out on the bed. She stopped however and pressed more firmly, massaging as she moved to his narrow shoulders. He sighed, laying his head down on the bed. He inhaled the scent of the sheets; Danielle's spicy aroma mixed with his own musk. He felt her hair tickle the back of his neck before her lips brushed his head, and shivered with contented pleasure. No one had ever made him feel so relaxed, so happy. She moved her fingers to his side, deliberately tickling him again.

With a mischievous grin, he rolled over, spilling her off his back.

"Hey!" she cried, laughing. She landed on the bed and Randall pulled her into an embrace.

She made him feel normal. Almost made him forget about what had happened in his life in Monstropolis and after his banishment. She seemed to love his scaly skin, and everything else about him, with the way she touched him so casually in passing and smiled. Laughter and delight shone in her face when she straddled him playfully, pretending to pin him down.

It was the way she looked at him; the way she touched him without flinching, without a hint of hesitation. Like she couldn't see his scales, his differences, or as if they didn't matter.

Even their fights and fusses stimulated the senses and made them wiser.

Their personalities clashed some—she being caring, calm, and rational while he was spirited, active, and hotheaded. And yet there were times when the roles reversed and he became her more patient half.

Together they were a combination of 'dynamic' and 'time bomb'. He loved it; in particular her fussing at him for his troublemaking ways, as she called it. Danielle was endlessly frustrated with him about the junk he went scavenging for and brought back. He tore apart engines and put them back together just to tear them apart again.

He chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Danielle asked as she rolled over on her belly. She let out a groan as Randall began to rub her shoulders. His strong, large, rounded finger tips dug in and the velvet ridges brushed over her skin.

"Just thinking about the engine bits out in the barn."

"That's it?! The machines?!" she turned to look at him in annoyance.

Randall laughed at her. "I was thinkin' about how much of a tantrum you threw."

"Think of it from my point of view. My barn filled to the brim with junk," she then yelped when he dug into a tight bundle of nerves at her shoulders.

"They might be of some use," he said as he moved over her and dug deeper into her shoulders.

Danielle's eyes tightened in pain. He wasn't hurting her on purpose. Her shoulders and neck were so tense from stress and hunching over her books. He pressed harder and she yelped again, but soon she relaxed under him and the touches grew softer. She shivered with contented pleasure. "Just keep them out of the yard please… that's all I ask."

Randall chuckled, "Will do. Like I said, they might come in handy," he pressed harder as his thumbs worked magic on her back, shoulders and neck.

"Well…it's not like you're building a motorcycle…" she groaned.

Unseen by her, Randall let out an evil grin. He was building something and she wouldn't see it until he had all that he needed and it was finished. He then leaned down and used his wide mouth and crest to push her head into the position he wanted it before his lips pressed to the nape of her neck. Two months into their relationship, and he wasn't so shy any more.

Randall grinned in pleasure when he felt her shudder under him.

"You're distracting me…"

"So I am," he laughed. Then he did it again.

Danielle sighed. She had meant to talk to him about possibly meeting Liss after graduation. But this was feeling too good and she didn't want the stress to come back. She gritted her teeth as he kissed the nape of her neck again, feeling his soft scaly lips and his hands still rubbing her back. She groaned. Damn it. She'd talk to him tomorrow. Danielle turned and took him in her arms and pressed her lips to his.