Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story!

A/n: Thank you to the two people who reviewed the last chapter. Like I always say, I LOVE reviews, so please keep them coming! Oh, and flames will be thrown...you know the rest. :)

Willy sighed in exasperation. It was 3:00 Valentine's Day morning and he was wide-awake. He was so nervous about the completion of Ronnie's tour of the factory that he hadn't been able to sleep very well. This was about the millionth time he'd woken up that night! "I may as well give up on getting any more sleep tonight!" he groaned as he got out of bed and put on his slippers. Then he headed to the elevator and went down to the Chocolate Room.

As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, Willy immediately began pacing. He couldn't believe how nervous he was...and over a girl, to boot! He was friends with Mrs. Bucket, Charlie's two grandmothers, and the female Oompa Loompas, but he had never felt this way about them, or any woman, for that matter. "For hornswagglers' sake, what is going on?" he exclaimed.

Before he even had a chance to ponder that thought, he heard the sound of a door opening, and nearly jumped out of his skin! Who was sneaking around the factory at this hour? "Willy, are you all right?" a sleepy-sounding voice suddenly asked. He turned around...and saw Mrs. Bucket standing in front of him. She was in her nightgown and looked very tired. Willy turned beet red. Obviously he'd woken her up with his little outburst. "Sorry 'bout that," he apologized.

"That's all right, Willy. What are you doing up, though? It's three in the morning!" Mrs. Bucket said. "I know. I just can't sleep. I'm so nervous about Ronnie's visit tom..err, today," Willy explained. "I'm sure everything will go fine," Mrs. Bucket said soothingly. "What if she doesn't come, though? And what if she doesn't like what I've got planned?" Willy asked. "Willy, I'm sure she'll come. She seemed to really like the factory last time, after all. I'm sure she'll like whatever you've got planned, too," Mrs. Bucket said.

"Well, I hope she does!" Willy said. Mrs. Bucket certainly didn't have any doubt that Ronnie would enjoy herself (and show up), given the way she had been looking at Willy at dinner during her first visit to the factory. She didn't know how to say that to Willy without embarrassing the heck out of him, though. So she settled for saying, "Trust me, Willy, I'm sure she'll come and I'm sure she'll enjoy herself!" "'kay," Willy said. "Now, why don't you go back to bed and try to get a few more hours of sleep?" Mrs. Bucket suggested gently. "'kay," Willy said again as he headed for the glass elevator.

____________

Miraculously, Willy did manage to get back to sleep. All too soon, however, he woke up again. This time, at least, it was 8:00, so it was actually time to get up! Then, suddenly, he realized just what the time meant. "Ronnie's going to be here in two hours!" he exclaimed. He about broke a speed record showering, getting dressed, and getting to the Buckets' cottage for breakfast.

"Good morning, Willy!" the Buckets greeted the chocolatier when he arrived at their cottage. "Good morning," Willy replied as he sat down at the table. "Mom made French toast this morning!" Charlie exclaimed happily. Willy just nodded and began hurriedly shoveling his breakfast into his mouth. "Willy, slow down! You're going to make yourself choke or throw up if you keep eating that fast!" Mrs. Bucket chided him. "But Ronnie's going to be here in just two hours!" exclaimed Willy.

"I know, Willy, but I don't think it's going to take you two hours to eat breakfast," Mrs. Bucket said gently. "But I have to make sure everything is ready, and I need to do my daily morning check-in with the Oompa Loompas, and..." Willy insisted. "Willy! Calm down! I'm sure everything will work out!" Mrs. Bucket reassured the chocolatier. "I can do the check-in with the Oompa Loompas for you, Willy," Charlie spoke up. "Thank you! That would be a big help!" Willy said gratefully.

After Charlie and Willy finished discussing the details of when and where Charlie should do the check-in with the Oompa-Loompas, Willy went back to his breakfast. He ate a little slower than he had before...but not much. Mrs. Bucket sighed and shook her head. "So, what are you planning to do for the completion of Ronnie's tour?" Charlie asked. "I'm not telling! It's a secret!" said Willy. Mrs. Bucket had to stifle a giggle. "Well, are you going to give her anything for Valentine's Day?" she asked. Willy blushed. "That's personal!" he exclaimed.

This time, Mrs. Bucket had to pretend to cough into her arm in order to hide her giggles. It was obvious that the chocolatier had the hots for Ronnie, and she thought it was cute that he was being so shy about it. He reminded her of a teenager having his or her first crush (in fact, she knew it was very possible that Ronnie WAS the first woman Willy had ever been interested in)!

"Willy, would you like me to be with you for any of the tour?" Charlie asked. "Not really. I'd kinda like to be alone with her," said Willy. Mrs. Bucket had to resist the urge to tease him by asking him just why he wanted to be alone with Ronnie. Instead she said, "Do you have anything planned for dinner? If not, you and Ronnie are more than welcome to eat with us." "I do have something planned, but thanks anyway," said Willy. Then he looked at the clock...and realized it was nearly ten minutes to 10:00. "I've got to get ready to meet Ronnie!" he exclaimed.

________________

After leaving the Buckets' cottage, Willy hurried to the front gates of the factory. Once he got there, he pulled a small hand mirror out of his coat and studied his hair. Luckily, it looked fine. Then he looked down at his outfit, just to make sure he hadn't gotten maple syrup or pieces of French toast on it at breakfast. He was relieved to see that he hadn't. Next he looked down at his watch...and was dismayed to find out that only five minutes had gone by, and it was now five minutes to 10:00. "It should be 10:00 by now!" he exclaimed.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, 10:00 arrived. Taking a deep breath, Willy opened the doors and headed out to the factory gates (he had decided that this time, he was going to greet Ronnie in person rather than over the loudspeaker.). There stood Ronnie, holding both her purse and a canvas tote bag. Willy opened his mouth to speak...but no words came out. Luckily, Ronnie saved the day. "Good morning, Starshine!" she said. "The Earth says hello!" Willy finished.

"Thanks for inviting me back to the factory!" Ronnie said. "My pleasure! I was kind of bummed when you ran out last time," Willy replied. Ronnie blushed. "Sorry about that," she apologized. "So, ready to continue the tour?" Willy asked as he ushered Ronnie into the factory. "You bet I am!" she replied. "'Kay then, let's get a move on!" Willy said cheerfully. "Where to first?" Ronnie asked eagerly. "Well, I was thinking we could take a ride on the pink candy boat," said Willy. "I'd love that!" Ronnie exclaimed.

Luckily, the boat happened to be docked in the Chocolate Room right then, which was where Willy and Ronnie happened to be. So they headed down to the chocolate river. Willy climbed onto the boat and then, to his surprise, found himself offering his hand to Ronnie (after all, he normally hated to be touched!). Ronnie smiled and took it. Willy helped her into the boat and then instructed the Oompa Loompa rowers to start rowing.

As the boat went over the chocolate rapids, Ronnie laughed with delight. "What a cute laugh!" Willy mused. Ronnie smiled. "Do you really think so?" she asked. Willy's face turned crimson. "Did I really say that out loud?" he asked. "Yes, you did. I'm glad you like my laugh," said Ronnie. Just as Willy was trying to figure out what to say, they came to a door. "Strawberry Flavored, Chocolate Coated Fudge? That must taste incredible!" Ronnie exclaimed. "Would you like to try some?" Willy asked, at the same time motioning the rowers to stop rowing. "Would I? I'd love to!" Ronnie said happily. "Then come on!" Willy said eagerly as he opened the door.

Chapter 11 Preview: Ronnie gets her first taste of Strawberry Flavored, Chocolate Coated fudge, and she and Willy find themselves in an interesting situation in the Glass Elevator!