A/N: Goodness, we are just popping out chapters one after the other aren't we? I must say that I absolutley fell in love with the last chapter. We make the story and it's still just as exciting for us to hear the other's chapters. I must say that this is getting intriguing quite quickly. Well, I'm back now for chapter five. Enjoy.

-Noodle

-Chapter 5-

-2 Weeks Later-

There has been something off about Murdoc lately. Ever since that night that we went out drinking together, he's been distant. Honestly, I don't remember most of it. After Murdoc told me to have that one drink, I kinda blacked out until I woke up the next morning in the Winnebago. After that morning, he seemed more sad than usual. He doesn't even smile around Alphie like he used to anymore. And he doesn't smile at me. It kills me that I haven't seen his enchanting smile in so long. I always try to send a smile in his direction to see if maybe he'll flash one back in return, but he always just turns away and puts his head down. Maybe it was something that happened that night. I really hope I didn't do anything to anger him and now he's ignoring me. What could I have possibly done that would have been that bad? We were drunk after all. My heart drops farther and farther everytime I see his face now because it's dulled so much the past couple of weeks. I just wish that I had the old Murdoc back. The Murdoc that smiled at me and laughed and played with Alphie. Now his face always holds a devastating look of pure pain and agony.

God, I miss his smile.

(*)(*)(*)

I opened the door to the kitchen where Murdoc was sitting, his head down on the table. I put Alphie down for a nap so that I could speak with Murdoc alone and not have to worry about him yelling or being a distraction. I took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen, shutting the door behind me. I then proceeded to go over to the table and sit in a chair next to Murdoc's.

"Murdoc?" I winced with sadness as he flinched when I said his name. He remained in the same position and didn't reply to me. I was so worried about him. All I wanted was for him to be happy again and in order to do that I had to figure out what had happened in the first place.

"Murdoc, I was wonderin' if yew could answer som' questions for me. About what 'xactly happened that night we went drinkin'." My heart ached as he tensed up and buried his head farther into his arms.

"I really don't feel like talking about it, 2D." His voice was so heart-broken and devastated that it almost brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't let him see me cry though. I was supposed to be helping cheer him up after all. Tears would just make it so much worse. No, I could not let myself cry.

*Sigh* "Yew know Mudz, yew really shouldn't be so sad." I saw that he perked up some and he looked at me out of the corner of his eye. Shock spread across my face and butterflies started getting drunk in my stomach.

"Alphie hates seein' yew like this, yew know. Murdoc... I hate seein' you like this." He picked his head up and looked straight into my eyes. I looked back and I could see so many emotions running through his eyes trying to break free. He had the most beautiful eyes...

"Why can't yew tell me what happened that night?" Pain contorted his face once again as he looked down. I felt so bad for the poor guy. I had no idea what he was thinking, but I wish that I did.

"Nothin' you should worry about, Stu. It's my burden to bear, not yours. Let's keep it that way." My heart nearly lept out of my chest. He had called me Stu again! He must have noticed my shift in mood because he looked up at me again. His eyes were captivating, and I still couldn't get what had happened in the closet out of my head. I realized how badly I wanted to kiss him, but I couldn't do that. What if it ruined everything? I couldn't jeapardize things like that.

"Yew can tell me anyfing, Mudsy." His demeanor changed and he seemed slightly happier. I couldn't help but smile lovingly at him. I probably looked so goofy in his eyes but I didn't care. He scanned my face for half a second before smiling back at me for the first time in what seemed like ages. I was so very happy. But his smile quickly vanished as memories flooded his vision again. And his smile took mine with it and we were right back where we started. Then, Russel burst through the door and nonchalantly walked to the table and plopped down uninvited. Typical Russel. He eyeballed us for half a second before speaking up.

"Love is blind, but dat's aright. Bein' blind to love however, ain't." Russel's words confused me and I looked down at Murdoc and suddenly he was pale. He stood up so fast, I thought he was going to knock the chair over. He then strode out of the room and I looked at Russel in curiousity before following after him.

I had no idea where Murdoc had gone off to. I felt like I had searched the entire building for him and I was prepared to give up. I slumped back against the wall in exhaustion and stood in silence for what seemed like eternities. I sighed and stood up straight to get ready to walk back to my room, but before I took more than two steps down the hall, I heard a guitar start playing far off in Kong Studios. I immediately bolted in the general direction of where the melody was coming from and I stopped in front of a black door that was extremely damaged. No wonder I could hear the sound so clearly. The door had been worn away so much that there was barely even a barrier separating the room from the hallway anymore. Then, my heart practically fell onto the floor when I heard the angelic voice roaring out of the room.

"I'm not a perfect person. There's many things I wish I didn't do. But I continue learning. I never meant to do those things to you." I was so desperate to see what was happening and the combination of his voice and the guitar drowned out almost all noise, so I poked a hole through the thin door so that I could see inside. And there he was, standing in the center of the room. All he had on were one of his pairs of jeans. He wasn't even wearing his beloved Cuban heels. Murdoc.

"And so I have to say before I go, that I just want you to know. I found a reason for me, to change who I used to be. A reason to start over new... And the reason is you." My chest ached and I yearned to comfort him with every fiber in my being. He was facing the sky, singing with everything that he had in him. I felt my eyes beginning to swell up with tears. What had happened that made Murdoc like this? I wanted to know everything that he was so depressed about, so that I could help him through it one problem at a time. I briefly closed my eyes to soak in the intoxicating melody that was floating all around me.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you. It's something I must live with everyday. And all the pain I put you through. I wish that I could take it all away." I opened my eyes once again to watch and listen to this sacred and gorgeous angel come out of the demon. I froze. Tears started uncontrollably cascading down my awestruck face. I gawked in shock as I saw Murdoc, for the first time in all of the time that I knew him, begin to cry. My face felt like fire from all of the tears pouring out of my eyes. He just looked so desperate standing there letting out his feelings. Was it me that made him feel that way?

"And be the one who catches all your tears. That's why I need you to hear. I found a reason for me to change who I used to be. A reason to start over new... And the reason is you!- And the reason is you!- And the reason is you!- And the reason is you!" His voice pierced my soul like a heated, spike encrusted blade. I began sobbing ferociously, thankful that he couldn't hear me over himself. There was so much I wanted to do, but what could I do? If I had already done this to him...

"I'm not a perfect person. I never meant to do those things to you. And so I have to say before I go. That I just want you to know. I found a reason for me, to change who I used to be... A reason to start over new, and the reason is you.- I found a reason to show, a side of me you didn't know. A reason for all that I do... And the reason is you." He sang the last part of the song so gently... I silenced my wailing as the song ended. His gaze shot to the floor and his body shook with sobs. Tears leaked from his eyes... His beautiful eyes... I knew that I should stay put and so I just stood there and watched him cry.

After crying to his heart's content, Murdoc walked over to a small mattress in the corner of the room and started crying again, only quieter this time, until eventually he fell asleep. I slowly backed away from the door and sat in a heap on the floor. Poor Murdoc, there had to be someway to help him get happy again. Suddenly it hit me. I know what will get him perked up again, I just had to do some things first.

I leapt up from my position and booked it around Kong. First I ran to my room and grabbed my favorite blanket that I was sure smelled exactly like me by now and then I flew to the kitchen. While in the kitchen I grabbed a bottle of vodka and a carton of orange juice and assorted them in a bucket of ice so that they would stay cold until he woke up. I then proceeded to grab a chocolate bar, some granola bars, and a box of cereal. Then I got into the cabinets and searched for utensils, but of course they were all dirty, so I did the tedious task of doing the dishes. I then placed a glass, a bowl, and a spoon on top of the blanket to make it easier to carry around with me while I gathered stuff. I then proceeded out of the kitchen, blanket and utensils in one arm and bucket of ice and beverages in the other. I figured if he was going to drink in the morning, it may as well be a mimosa. I was halfway to my next location when I stopped dead in my tracks. God dammit! I forgot the milk for the cereal! I grudgingly walked back to the kitchen, opened the fridge, grabbed the milk, and put it into the bucket. Then I made my way to Murdoc's room in the Winnebago. I set my stuff down on his bed as I rummaged through his stuff. After searching for a while I walked out with a baggy, dark gray V-neck, a pair of black skinny jeans, a skull belt, black socks, and of course, his Cuban boots, now all added to my pile. Then I made my way down to the laundry room where I tossed all of his clothes in so that they would smell fresh for him. I decided to leave my heavy load on top of the washing machine to make it easier to navigate that house. There was one last thing that I had to do before I started setting up his little suprise.

I took my time getting back to my room where Alphie was sleeping peacefully in my oversized bed. He was so cute when he slept. I smiled as I reached over and picked him up so that I could cradle him in my arms. I then carried him over to the dresser and pulled open the top drawer, rummaging around through all of my trinkets until I found my camera. I then snapped a quick picture of me holding Alphie, and made sure that I was smiling. I then layed Alphie down and drove to the store to get the picture developed. I couldn't stop smiling the entire way there.

-1 Hour Later-

The picture finally finished developing and I arrived back at Kong. Thankfully it was still the middle of the night and everyone was sleeping soundly, so I didn't have to worry about being bothered. Del wasn't even around tonight cause he claimed that he was going to go out for the night, whatever that meant. He was a ghost, after all. Where could he possibly go? The thought made me snicker to myself and I went straight to the laundry room to switch over Mudsie's clothes to the dryer before heading back to my room to grab a pen. I wrote a cute little note on the back of the picture of me and Alphs.

We love you, Murdoc. :) Please be happy again. For both of us.

Love, Stu

God my handwriting was awful. I hoped that Murdoc didn't mind. I chucked the pen across the room and scampered back to the laundry room once again to gather my loot. I cautiously and quietly headed back to the room where Murdoc slept. I eased open the door and tip-toed in, setting the stuff on the floor next to him. First, I layed out the bucket with the beverages and then set the food and utensils next to it. It was such a simple task, yet it took me about 20 minutes to perform it because I wanted it to look absolutely perfect for him. Then I finally took some time to look at him. Believe it or not, but his face was still tear-streaked. I sighed and ran my hand lovingly through his hair before I picked up the blanket and draped it across him. He had been shivering due to the lack of a blanket in what seemed like the coldest room in the house and his shivering immediately ceased. I saw his muscles relax as my scent filled his lungs. It brought a smile to my face. I strode back out and made my way to the laundry room for the last time. Man, I hated all of this walking around. Thankfully, his clothes were dry and I got them out of the dryer and neatly folded and stacked them on top of each other. About ten minutes later I found myself in the cold room once again. I delicately set his clothes down in a neat pile next to the other things and placed the picture face up on the top of his clothes. I stood back to admire my masterpiece. It looked so perfect. I really hoped that Murdoc liked it.

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I heard him moan and roll over so that he was facing me. Thank God he was still asleep. Then he muttered something so quiet I almost didn't hear it.

"Stu..." A smile found it's way onto his face as he nuzzled deeper into my blanket, and the drunken butterflies found their way back into my stomach. I stepped over to the side of the bed and gave him a long, warm kiss on the forehead before whispering to him.

"Goodnight, Murdoc." And with that I left the room and headed back to mine to sleep, hoping that when he woke up my suprise would bring a smile to his tired face.

A/N: Christ! Is it just me or was that the longest chapter in freaking history? Probably just me. Oh well, I put a lot of thought into this chapter and I hope I satisfied all of you with it. Especially Psyke who, like usual, has been pestering me about it all day. I hope I have brought you happiness my dear friend. Anyways, Psyke will be back for chapter six so stay tuned! Peace homeslices!

-Noodle