(A/N: This is a lo-o-ong one. O,O And based off the AGU special episode "Dude, Where's My Horse?" Thanks for this idea, celrock! Enjoy!)
O- Ostrich
Summary: Shenzi and Chuckie, along with the rest of the gang, spend a week at a ranch during their summer vacation. But while they're out in the country, an... interesting surprise is on the way for the two best friends.
A Volkswagen bus drove along the road, its seats occupied by a group of teenagers. There was 15-year-old Chuckie Finster, his girlfriend of 4 years 14-year-old Shenzi Tuck, Chuckie's stepsister 14-year-old Kimi Finster, 14-year-old Tommy Pickles, his brother 13-year-old Dil Pickles, their cousin 16-year-old Angelica Pickles, 16-year-old Susie Carmichael, and 15-year-old twins Phil and Lil DeVille. They were being taken to a ranch out in the country by Lou Pickles, grandfather of Tommy, Dil, and Angelica, and an old friend of his, Red, who lived on the ranch, to stay for a week.
"Angelica, do you have to keep kicking my seat?" Tommy glared at Angelica when she was kicking the headrest on his seat.
"No, I don't have to," She replied, "But seeing as how you got us into this mess, it's my pleasure."
Shenzi rolled her eyes from her seat across from Tommy, and next to Chuckie. "Oh, lighten up. It's not so bad." She felt kind of awkward, seeing as she seemed to be the only one not trying to make Tommy's head explode with her eyes. "It could be fun!"
"She's right," Tommy pointed out, "I mean, when we were kids, we must have banked a gazillion hours playing cowboys. Now, we have a shot at the real deal. Think about it; Grub cooked over an open fire, horses, wide open spaces, horses..."
Meanwhile, Chuckie was breathing heavily into his handheld steam inhaler as Shenzi watched in concern. "I still don't know, Tommy. I mean, real horses are big and unpredictable. They're not like running around on a broom handle, slapping your own butt."
"It's okay, Chuckie," Shenzi assured him.
"It'll be great!" Angelica added, then paused in realization. "I just remembered how swank I'll look in all my Western wear." She looked back at a trunk full of her clothes, so Kimi and Susie glanced at each other with annoyance.
Shenzi rolled her eyes, yet couldn't help but gaze self-consciously at her rolling suitcase. It was black with multi-colored hibiscuses on it. Would she fit in at the ranch with what she brought? She hoped so. "Don't worry, Shen," Chuckie seemed to read her mind. "You'll be like one of them." He glanced down at her outfit. "'Fact, you already are." She was currently wearing black low-riding boyfriend shorts, black cowboy boots, and a pink and black buffalo plaid flannel shirt. The bottom two buttons were undone, so a bit of smooth, purplish-grey skin on her flat stomach was revealed. She also wore black star stud earrings, and a pink clip-in extension in her longer bangs, which covered the left side of her face, including her black cat-eye prescription glasses.
"Thanks Chuck," She smiled shyly.
As Tommy waited in anticipation, he envisioned himself and everyone else riding horseback along the road, holding their cowboy hats in the air. After a short amount of time, they arrived at the bus stop at a small hut. Angelica looked unhappy yet again, as she rested her elbow on her clothes trunk. "Well, this doesn't look familiar," Lou remarked.
Out of nowhere, a strange whistle-like sound echoed throughout the landscape. Dil watched where it came from in curiosity, while Shenzi jumped when Chuckie suddenly screamed in terror. He let go of her hand, and practically dove into a nearby water trough for cover. "Chuckie, why'd you do that?" Shenzi asked him. "There's nothing out there."
"Whenever you hear that song in westerns, it means the bad guys are about to start a shoot-out!" She didn't know how to respond to that. They weren't in a town, so how could any bad guys come out of hiding for that?
They then heard the whistling sound again, but when they turned to the hut, they saw a man dressed in cowboy garbs whistling at them. He then started laughing, as three other guys joined them, one driving a pickup truck. "Another burst of folks. We do that to all the city slickers. Right, Lou?"
"Yep, and it wasn't funny then, and it ain't funny now," Lou crossed his arms in annoyance. Shenzi and Tommy started helping Chuckie out of the trough, so water dripped on the ground.
"I'm Big Red," The first cowboy introduced himself, "And this here's Medium Red," He gestured to the second cowboy, who looked a bit younger than him, "And Little Red." The third looked to be around Angelica and Susie's age. "And that guy by the truck's... Tiny." The said man waved at them.
"What truck?" Susie wondered aloud. It didn't look like any truck she ever seen.
The kids plus Lou, who had fallen asleep, rode in the truck trailer on the way to the ranch. "This is pretty nice," Shenzi remarked, as she laid on Chuckie's shoulder. "Kind of relaxing."
"Y-yeah," He agreed. "Can we help you with something?" He raised an eyebrow at Little Red, when he seemed to stare at Shenzi.
"Uh, I never met a city girl before," He replied, "How do you get your hair so shiny?"
She felt kind of shy at the question. "Um, I-I dunno. I just use shampoo and conditioner like any other person," She shrugged.
"Sorry Little Red," Chuckie held her closer, "She's my girlfriend." He felt a slightest bit of guilt when Little Red looked disappointed, but he stood his ground. Shenzi was his, and no one else's. They then turned around, along with Phil and Dil, and watched wild horses running along the landscape.
"Look quick, or you'll miss it!" Susie suddenly piped up from her seat across from them. They all looked, and saw a white and red cow eating grass.
"You pulled us away from wild mustangs to check out a cow?" Dil questioned her.
"It is not about the cow," Susie told them, "It's about the cow tipping."
"Yeah right," Phil scoffed, "You'd never do that. It almost sounds... bad." Shenzi couldn't help but snicker.
"What're you saying?" Susie questioned him just as they arrived at the ranch. "I can't be bad? I can be bad! I can be as bad as the rest of you! Badder, even!"
"Is badder even a word?" Shenzi smirked.
"That's right, sister!" Susie turned to where the cow was, ignoring the Goth girl. "You are going down!"
After the truck was stopped, the kids looked at their surroundings. It seemed like they traveled back in time; The building structures looked that authentic. Big Red led the kids to a big, red barn where a certain number of bed cots were spread out. "Suh-weet!" Phil remarked after a sigh of relaxation.
"Ah, livin' like real cowboys," Tommy added.
The rest followed them, but Angelica stopped upon seeing what she would be sleeping on. "This arrangement's fine for the kids, but I'm gonna need my own bathroom with a hot tub, internet access, and free movies."
Shenzi rolled her eyes at her demands. "You see a free water pump, or an electric generator?" She then caught up with Chuckie. To their surprise, there was one less bed. They concluded that the couple would sleep together in one bed, which they were perfectly fine with. It's not like it was new or anything.
"Well, it's 4 PM; You all better catch some shut eye," Big Red announced, "'Round here, we get up before the roosters."
"'Night, buckaroo," Lou said to Tommy.
"'Night, Grandpa." The doors were closed after the adults walked out.
"Which one of you do I talk to about room service?" Angelica called out to them, but didn't receive an answer.
"Think about it, you guys," Tommy looked at Shenzi and Chuckie, as the former was laying almost on top of the latter, "Tonight, we go to sleep kids. Tomorrow, we wake up cowboys."
With that, the couple happily went to sleep, with Shenzi cuddling in Chuckie's neck and chest.
The next day, Tommy, Chuckie, and Shenzi were shoveling horse feces, grimacing at the overwhelming stench. All of a sudden, Chuckie let out a sneeze. "B-bless you," Shenzi said in a funny voice, due to her hand pinching her nose.
"Thanks."
"Well, you didn't think horses cleaned up after themselves, did you?" Big Red asked the kids as he pushed a wheelbarrow containing another shovel towards them.
Phil took the shovel, and started cleaning the feces without a single sign of disgust. "I was born for this job!"
"You might want to keep that to yourself," Angelica told him, as she applied makeup while wearing cowgirl clothes.
"Well I, for one, refuse to get up close and personal with horse dung!" Lil exclaimed. "It will ruin the faux fade of my jeans."
Tommy stashed a shovelful in the wheelbarrow. "The life of a cowboy isn't all fast horses and fancy hats. We have to work up to it. Earn it."
"Seems like you would need shots for this kind of work," Chuckie remarked, "Lots of them."
"Come on, Chuckie. You want the Reds to think you're soft?" Tommy asked him.
"But I am soft," Chuckie replied, carefully pinching the side of his stomach under his shirt for emphasis.
"Me too," Shenzi shrugged.
"Look, the grunt work's just going to make the fun stuff seem that much better," Tommy pointed out.
Susie, Kimi, and Dil paused reluctantly, before Susie made her move. "Leave it up to Tommy to give shoveling manure a good rep," Susie remarked. They all then continued shoveling dung into the wheelbarrow.
After they were finished, Lil removed the medical gloves and mask she started using at one point.
"Well, take a look at what the kids can do," Lou remarked.
"Well, you city folks were always good at shovelin' this stuff, but I gotta say, this is a mighty excellent job," Red told them all.
"So Red," Tommy spoke up, "Where's the chuck wagon? 'Cause me and my posse are ready to celebrate!"
"You kiddin'? This is just the warm-up!"
"Warm-up?" All the kids said simultaneously. Then by accident, Susie tipped over the wheelbarrow, so the manure spilled out.
As the day went on, the teens performed various tasks. Phil tried to catch a pig, while enjoying his time in the mud. Lil was scooping some mud and manure in a bucket, while wearing a radiation suit. Shenzi and Chuckie were setting up a fence with wooden posts and barbed wire, but he got tangled up after one beam fell down. After gasping in shock, she immediately came to his aid. Angelica sneaked off a while ago, and was currently sleeping on her cot in the barn.
That evening, Susie tried to tip over a cow, but it laid down before she could. Later, the gang pulled a wall up, so three were ready for a new building on the landscape. When Big Red came to check on them, the wall fell, barely missing him as he was standing directly where the window was. The teens walked away in disappointment as the other walls fell.
That night, they gathered back in the barn. "What a week," Phil sighed.
"Phil, it's been a day," Lil pointed out, as she was wiping one of her shoes, "And you stink!"
"In honor of the great cowboy tradition, I refuse to shower." Phil smelled under his arm, and looked satisfied.
When bedtime came around, Shenzi and Chuckie laid on their bed simultaneously. She sat up a bit at a strange sound. "Uh, Chuckie? Is our bed creaking?"
That question made his eyes snap open. "Yeah, I think." When she cautiously laid back down, the creaking became louder and louder.
Then all of a sudden, the bed broke in two! Chuckie landed on his back with a grunt, and his eyes almost bugged out when Shenzi harshly plopped on him. Everyone else's heads snapped around to look at them, the commotion gaining their attention. "I'll get Big Red." Dil stood up, and walked out of the barn. He came back with the said cowboy after a minute or two.
"Somebody need a new bed?" He asked the kids, and turned to the couples. "Sorry; I thought it would support two of you young'ns. I'll see if we have any spares." He left the barn, but came back a minute later. "I hate to break it to ya, but we don't have any more of those cots. You lovebirds will have to improvise. I know a good, comfy place for you two. Follow me." The couple followed him into the horse stables, where there was a pile of hay that looked inviting. "This is the place. G'night, kids."
"Thanks," Chuckie nodded, before he and Shenzi laid in the surprisingly soft bed of hay.
"I'm glad this hay is soft, and not itchy," She remarked, "Otherwise, I'd regret choosing these pajamas for the trip." She wore a black and blue buffalo plaid ruffle-trimmed babydoll camisole and matching boxer shorts.
"I am too," He agreed with her. She carefully shifted her position, so she was laying in his comforting arms.
"So um, that drive in two days sounds pretty exciting," She remarked, "We'll learn to rope and ride!"
"Yep," He nodded, "It'll be great... I hope."
"We'll be fine," She assured him, "I'll help you anytime you need it."
"Thanks," He smiled lovingly at her. "For now, let's get some sleep. G'night, Shen," He kissed her silky, black hair.
"G'night, Chuck." She cuddled into his chest, and drifted off almost immediately.
Chuckie carefully laid his head on hers, as his hands rested on her back. She was his cowgirl, and he was her cowboy, forever. He would make sure of it.
Sometime, in the middle of the night, an egg rolled out of the hay and hatched shortly after, revealing a newborn baby ostrich. When he looked up, he saw Chuckie and Shenzi sleeping together, and immediately looked at them as his parents. He weakly climbed up the mound, and started prodding at Shenzi's back, where her camisole bared it from Chuckie's hand moving up without him knowing it. She twitched a bit as a little smile grew. "Chuckie, stop it," She whispered and giggled, "I'm trying to sleep." When the chick prodded at a sensitive spot, she twitched more harshly. "Chuckie!" She giggled louder and gently shoved him, making his eyes blink open.
"Shen," He mumbled groggily, "What's wrong?" When he put his glasses on and his vision cleared, his eyes widened when he saw the newcomer now right in front of his face. "Uh... uh, Sh-Shenzi?"
He gently nudged her, so she blinked awake. "Mmm," She moaned sleepily as she put her glasses on, "What's wrong, Chuck?" When she looked behind her back, her heart jumped at the sudden visitor; Her breath hitched as she clutched onto him instinctively, making his heart jump as well.
"It's okay, Shen," He tried to calm her down, "It looks like a chick."
She looked again, and smiled. "He's kinda cute. But he doesn't look like any chick I've ever seen. Not even on TV."
"We can ask Big Red tomorrow."
"Yeah," She nodded, "G'night, Chuckie," She kissed his cheek.
"'Night, Shen." He stroked her hair, and laid his head back on hers. "G'night... chickie." She giggled at his choice of a name. "We'll come up with a better name tomorrow, if he's still around."
"Okay," She agreed, "I'm sure he'll stick around, though. He thinks we're his mama and papa, after all. This'll be a story to tell to our friends and folks."
"Yep." With that, the couple drifted off into a peaceful sleep. The chick curled up in Shenzi's long hair like it was a nest, and fell asleep with them.
The next day, the teens gathered at the stables to get started on their drive. From weird coincidence, the horses resembled them in terms of hair and eyes. Shenzi's even had her left eye covered by her mane, and she seemed fond of Chuckie's. "Now you're gonna see the Pickles' family night with horses kick in," Lou told the teens.
Dil looked around for his, but didn't see any horses that weren't occupied. "Dude, where's my horse?" Little Red led one to him, and to his surprise, he was wearing a Sherpa hat exactly like his, right down to the joke teeth.
"Ah, this has to be the single coolest moment of my life!" Tommy remarked with excitement.
"Funny, I was thinking it's maybe my last," Chuckie said. He laughed when his horse nosed at his head.
"You'll be alright," Shenzi assured him, "He seems to like you." She giggled when her horse nosed at her cheek.
"I'm sure Nelly will go easy on you," Tommy added.
Little Red proceeded to teach the teens how to put the saddles on their respective horses. To their surprise, Tommy wasn't doing so well. He then showed them how to mount their horses, so they copied his movements.
Chuckie sighed in relief to his girlfriend when he safely mounted. "Check me out! Nothing's broken!" He chuckled. "Yet," He added.
As Tommy tried to mount, Shenzi guided her horse to follow her boyfriend's. "This is nice, isn't it?" She asked him.
"Yeah," He nodded.
"I'm a little nervous, though."
"You'll be fine," He assured her. They looked down when they heard little squawking, and saw the chick following them.
"Aww," Shenzi giggled, "I knew he'd stay."
"Yep," Chuckie nodded, "We still need a name, though. And, oh! We forgot to ask Big Red about what kind of bird he is!"
She gasped a bit, not wanting to scare her horse. "You're right! We should do that later."
Later that night, the teens gathered in the pub to eat a meal made by Kimi. It was disgusting, but they didn't have the heart to tell her so, At least, no one except Phil.
"I can't believe how much fun I had today!" Chuckie remarked as Shenzi stealthily set her plate on the floor, so the chick could eat off it. "It's like, I can think like a horse!"
"And that's a good thing?" Susie asked him.
"Why not?" Shenzi shrugged, "Today was a lot of fun, especially when you just get in the zone."
"Yeah!" Lil agreed. "The zone! Like you and the horse are one!"
"Oh yeah!" Tommy agreed half heartedly after looking mopey. "Ah, the zone. Hey, great!" He then walked out of the pub, still looking sad.
After he left, Phil and Dil went into a western-style stare-off over a game of cards. Shenzi held the chick to her chest protectively as Tiny ducked down behind the counter. But when they grabbed their eggrolls, Lil put a stop to the fight. After they calmly continued their game, Susie went out to try cow tipping yet again. Her results were failure yet again.
Later, Shenzi and Chuckie were hanging out on the porch, just the two of them, as they held hands. "Shen, these last two days have been wonderful for me."
"Me too," She agreed, gazing into his eyes as they sparkled from the lights inside, "I-I never thought being a cowboy, um I mean cow girl, would be this much fun."
"I feel the same way," He gazed back into her sparkling eyes, or eye, as the slight breeze made her hair flutter and frame her lovely face. He couldn't believe a girl this beautiful had been his girlfriend for 4 years now. Soon, it would be 5, then 10, then they would be celebrating their wedding anniversary. He just knew it.
His heart pounded hard when her head started leaning upward towards his, her eyes slowly closing and her tiny, inviting lips puckered. Feeling nervous, no terrified, he started leaning down with his eyes closed and his lips slightly parted. Her hands were on his upper arms, while his were on her shoulders, as they were just inches apart.
They jumped back in surprise when a depressed Tommy walked out on the porch. They asked him what was bothering him, and he admitted that the horse stuff wasn't as easy as he expected. And after they talked, she and Tommy were both surprised to learn that Chuckie could play the harmonica. "Ooh," She breathed out in awe, "When did you learn to play the harmonica?"
He looked genuinely surprised himself. "I play the harmonica?"
When bedtime came, Shenzi and Chuckie were granted permission by Big Red to lug the mound of hay in the barn, so they could be with their friends. A while after they fell asleep in each other's arms, an idea came in Shenzi's head, making her eyes snap open. "Chuckie," She whispered, as she gently nudged his shoulder.
"Mm?" He moaned sleepily, and put his glasses on. "What's the matter, Shen?"
"I just got an idea for a name for our little chick."
"Remember, lassoing is all in the wrist," Little Red lectured the teens the next morning, as they were back on their respective horses, "Keep it smooth and steady." He demonstrated with a wooden cow test dummy. As the teens tried for themselves, Tommys lasso accidentally wrapped around his neck.
When the chick walked in the lassos' paths, Shenzi spoke up. "Wait!" She carefully jumped down, and picked him up. "I told you, Pillow, you can't just wander in the ring like that!"
"P-Pillow?" Dil couldn't help but snicker.
"He's soft and feathery like one," She shrugged with a cute giggle, "It just came to me."
When Dil looked to Chuckie, he shrugged as well. "Who'd have thought my first kid would be named Pillow?" He chuckled. "I can't say no to her. And besides... it's a cute name."
Shenzi set the chick, Pillow, away from danger before she mounted her horse again. "Okay, he's safe. I'm ready to go."
As the day went on, Tommy tried continuously to lasso correctly, but always fell short and lassoed Lil instead, every time, no matter where she was. The gang was doing chores again, but this time, Tommy was helping Chuckie and Shenzi with the fence, although he still wasn't doing good. The post he put in sunk in the dirt, while Chuckie managed to shape the barbed wire into an elephant as Shenzi watched. Susie failed yet again at cow tipping, while Dil searched for a TV on the property. When Tommy tried lassoing one last time, Lil fell victim yet again. The teens then set up a set of walls, and they stayed up this time instead of falling, so they went to do something else.
That evening, they gathered in the pub and ate a meal made by Kimi again. Except, this one was different. "Maybe the sun burned up my taste buds, but Kimi... this grub tastes awesome!" Phil remarked.
"I know. Took me all week, but I finally learned how to do it upright."
"Chuckie, Shenzi, I'm sorry I was kind of a jerk the other night," Tommy apologized to the couple, as Shenzi tended to Pillow.
"Nah, you weren't a jerk," Chuckie assured him, "Just testy."
"But you seem like you're in a good mood now," Shenzi pointed out, "Did you finally lasso the wooden cow?"
"Nope," Tommy replied, "But I finally accepted the fact that I'm the lamest cowboy on the planet. And I'm completely comfortable with it."
"I've always said the key to happiness is... lowered expectations," Chuckie said.
When Susie suddenly burst in, the self-playing piano stopped, and the gang turned to her. But when she walked inside, the piano started playing again and they went back to their business.
After they were done, they went back to pulling the last wall structure up. "I can't believe we're going on a real cattle drive tomorrow!" Phil exclaimed. "I'm stoked!"
"I sure hope we're ready for it," Kimi remarked nervously, "I hate to mess this up." She let go of her rope when the wall was secure.
"Me too," Lil agreed, "I'm down to my last clean pair of jeans."
"Yeah, you guys are going to be great," Tommy supported them.
"What do you mean "you guys"?" Chuckie asked him.
"I've decided to bail on the cattle drive," Tommy explained, "But good luck, and have a great time." He opened the door on one wall, and left the structure. But as he walked away, the walls fell around them.
While everyone, well almost everyone, was peacefully asleep, Shenzi and Chuckie remained awake. "Um, it-it's too bad Tommy's not going with us tomorrow," Shenzi whispered so only she and her boyfriend could hear.
"Yeah," He agreed, keeping his voice down as well, "It won't be the same without him. He's never bailed on anything this exciting before. I hope he'll change his mind."
"Me too. It's just too exciting for him to miss out on." She let out a small yawn. "Let's get some sleep."
"'Kay," He nodded, "'Night, Shen. 'Night, Pillow."
She couldn't help but giggle quietly. "'Night, Chuck. 'Night, Pillow." The couple then drifted off to sleep, with the chick curled up in between them.
The next morning, the gang sans Tommy got dressed in cowboy/girl attire, and strolled out of the barn in order; Phil, Lil, Kimi, Chuckie, Shenzi (who had Pillow on top of her hat, Dil, Susie, and Angelica. They mounted their respective horses, while Shenzi put the chick in a little cup holder she had on the saddle. "This could be the textbook perfect day," Chuckie remarked, "Except..."
"Tommy's not here," Shenzi finished solemnly. When their horses headed for the ranch exit, they stopped when Tommy suddenly rode up on his. "It's about time you guys showed up," He smiled at them all.
"Now it's perfect," Chuckie said, and Shenzi nodded in agreement.
"I wonder what big ol' powerful beast we'll be ranglin'," Phil thought out loud.
"Longhorns?" Susie guessed.
"Holsteins?" Tommy added.
"Heifers?" Chuckie shrugged.
"Anguses?" Shenzi guessed.
"Come on, little doggies! Come on!" Red opened the shed door, and to the gang's confusion, a gaggle of ostriches came out!
"Ostriches?" Dil finally spoke. "We're driving ostriches?"
"What a rip-off!" Phil exclaimed. "I thought this was a cattle drive!"
"Well, I said drive," Big Red reminded him, "You filled in the blanks."
As the ostriches squawked to each other, Pillow joined in, surprising Shenzi. "You're an ostrich?" She asked him in surprise. "Wow! Chuckie, Pillow's a baby ostrich!"
"Whoa, really? That's interesting!"
"Hey!" Kimi exclaimed when one of the large birds stole her hat. "Is he supposed to do that?" She took her hat back.
"Man, they smell worse than you, Phil!" Lil complained with her hand covering her nose.
"Aah!" Phil yelled when one ostrich started prodding at his face. "Hey! She was insulting me, not you!"
"So, where are we taking these eh, little doggies?" Susie asked Red.
"To my sister's house," He replied and pointed in the direction, "She has a pettin' zoo. And your buddy, Ella the cow is goin' too."
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call us buddies. It's strictly a tipper tippee relationship."
"Okay, let's move 'em out!" Little Red exclaimed cheerfully, before the mission officially began.
As they rode along, Chuckie glanced at his beautiful girlfriend. "You really look like you're one of the ranchers, Shen."
"Thanks," She blushed shyly. She was wearing dark denim low-riding bootcut jeans, the same black cowboy boots from when they first arrived, the same pink extension and black star earrings, a pink, black, and white plaid flannel shirt tied into a knot at the front, revealing some of her stomach again, a black denim jacket with white stitching and buttons, and a black cowboy hat with spikes along the band, a small winged skull on the front and studs along the top.
"Ho-o-ome, home on the range," Phil started singing, while making fart noises with his hands for music, "Where the deer and the antelope play." Shenzi stifled giggles at him, then at Chuckie when she saw he was asleep. "Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day." Lil tried to ride ahead of him from embarrassment, but he just caught up with her. "Not bad, huh?" He gave her a big, goofy grin, baring his teeth.
"I don't know you."
The gang rode in a ditch, along a slightly risky pathway, with the ostriches following. "Aren't you glad you decided to come?" Kimi asked Tommy.
"Oh yeah," He replied to her, "Wouldn't want to miss this."
Shenzi gasped when Tommy's horse accidentally bumped into hers. "Tommy, can you please be careful?" She nervously requested. She then panicked when the chick started falling. "Pillow, no!" She lunged down to grab him, but was on the verge of falling to her death!
"Shenzi!" Chuckie yelled in horror after snapping awake, but was paralyzed with fear, not knowing how to help her.
"Shenzi! Watch out!" Tommy tried to lasso her to get her to safety, but he ended up catching Lil, and throwing her into some cacti.
Out of fear, the ostriches started fussing; Big Red fell off his horse, and was almost encountered by three of the large birds. When a select few tried to run off, Little Red blocked their path. Kimi helped Lil out of the cacti as the others tried to calm the birds down. "I think Big Red's hurt!" Susie pointed out in concern.
"Did somebody see a... bird go by here?" Big Red asked them deliriously, before Little Red pulled him up on his horse.
"Okay, listen guys," He turned to the city-born teens, "I hate to leave you, but I gotta get my daddy back to the ranch! You're just gonna have to go alone! You can do it!" He then rode off, with Big Red's horse following. The gang stayed in place, not knowing what to do.
"Okay, nobody panic," Susie told them all.
"Who says we're panicking? Nobody's panicking! You see anyone panicking?!" Chuckie rambled fearfully.
"Y-you are," Shenzi stammered.
"Well, I'm supposed to panic!"
"What're we going to do?" Lil wondered aloud nervously. "Without a trail bus, there'll be anarchy!"
"Chillax, Lil," Susie comforted her, "We're not going to start an uprising."
"Not us," Lil shook her head, "Them!" She pointed to the ostriches, who started fussing even more.
"Somebody has to take charge," Kimi decided.
"I'll do it!" Dil announced, but was unnoticed. "Is this one of those times where I say something, and you guys ignore me?"
"Yeah," Susie answered his question.
"Thank you."
As Tommy drank from his canteen, everyone turned to look at him. He noticed after a second. "You're kidding, right?"
"I know I hit the scene a little later than everybody else, but as long as I can remember, T, you've always been the leader!" Dil supported him.
"Well, this time, I'm the least qualified person for the job. I'm the one who got you guys into this mess. I'm the one who wanted to be a big time cowboy, and look where I got you. I'm the worst rangler, the worst horseman; Even my chaps are on backwards, and boy, do they pinch, Ow!"
"You stink; So what?" Chuckie piped up. "Big deal. I stink at a lot of things, like dodgeball and long division."
"And you can never open your locker on the first try," Phil added.
"There, see?"
"And you're lousy at Crazy 8s," Kimi chimed in proudly, "I always beat you."
"Right." He was getting annoyed.
"And your fashion sense is pretty pathetic, Finster," Angelica added. Shenzi rolled her eyes at that, and shot a glare at her for insulting her boyfriend.
"Thanks! I think I can handle this from here!" Chuckie said from irritance, before continuing his support. "Look Tommy, there's a lot of things I stink at. But what I'm really bad at is following you into adventures. But that never stopped me; Because we're friends. And I knew you'd always be there for me, like how I'm always there for Shenzi." He glanced at his girlfriend, who shot him a loving smile. "Now, we need you to be there for us."
Tommy looked at all his friends, who had slight pleading expressions. He then made his move. "Chuckie, Phil, Susie! Gather up the strays! Lil, Dil, and Kimi, keep an eye on the rest! Angelica, Shenzi, head up the back!" He smiled with determination as he went to work. After a while of leading the ostriches, Tommy started feeling tired. "Let's take a break here."
As they rested, Shenzi gasped when she noticed that her saddle pouch was empty. When she looked down, she saw a truck and two ATVs driving the ostriches away, including Pillow. "What's going on down there?" Lil wondered aloud, before she saw text on the trailer. "Boots, belts, burgers?!"
"They're ostrich rustlers!" Kimi exclaimed.
Just then, one of the men grabbed the chick right off the ground, but he bit his nose. "And they've got Pillow!" Shenzi exclaimed in horror, before turning to Tommy and grabbing his shirt collar desperately. "You've gotta do something! If anything happens to that little guy, I don't know if I can go on!"
"Same here!" Chuckie added. "He's already like a son to me!"
Tommy looked down at the scene, where the rustlers had the ostriches surrounded, before using whips to force them in the trailer. Tommy then drew out a plan in the dirt with a stick. "Dil, I want you to go down there, and do whatever you have to do to create a diversion." Dil saluted. "Phil and Lil, flatten the truck tires."
"With what?!" Phil asked him.
"Figure it out!" The twins then looked at the sharp spurs on their boots, and got an idea. "Susie, Kimi, hide in the bushes, and when you get the opportunity, lasso the ATVs." After agreeing on the plan, the two girls ran to initiate it. "Angelica, you think you can tie the ropes together long enough to hold them for a while?"
"Please! Have you seen what I can do with a simple, silk scarf?" She pulled off her teal scarf for emphasis, and whipped it into a knot.
"Okay, so after I get the tailgate down," Tommy turned to the couple, "Shenzi, you call Pillow, and the others will follow him out. Chuckie, round 'em up."
"Done," He tilted his hat a bit, and followed his girlfriend to their spot.
The trailer door was soon closed after Pillow was stashed in by one of the rustlers. As Dil created a diversion using a Spanish soap opera for inspiration, Phil and Lil sneaked their spurs under the back tires, and for the plan to go right, Phil made sure he was seen in the driver's side mirror. The truck driver saw them and tried to move the truck, but sure enough, the tires popped and were flattened. After Susie and Kimi lassoed the ATVs, Angelica tied the ropes together into a neat bow, so that when they tried to drive away, they ended up snapping back. Tommy managed to lasso the trailer door handle instead of Lil, who was close by and gave him a thumbs-up, so he pulled as hard as he could.
After the trailer door handle was opened, Shenzi jumped off her horse. "Pillow! Mama's here!" He chirped and ran into her hands, as the adult ostriches ran out of the trailer.
"Yee-haw!" Chuckie exclaimed as he rounded them. "Get along, little doggies!" Shenzi rode up next to him, with Pillow safe and sound in his pouch. "I always wanted to say that," He said to her. "Is Pillow alright?"
"Uh huh," She nodded, "He's perfect." The couple made the ostriches turn to avoid a barbed wire fence, as the rest of the gang rode away from the rustlers. One riding an ATV tried to avoid a sudden strand of wire on the ground, but he ended up flying out of the vehicle. Chuckie twirled a pair of cutting pliers, and puffed on them like they were a handgun with pride, then put them back between his jeans and belt. After sharing a high-five with Shenzi, they continued rounding the ostriches with their friends.
As they rode along the path, Susie finally managed to fulfill her desire; Tip a cow, although she was concerned. Ella blocked the last rustler's path so he crashed. "About calling you "that ol' milk bag" earlier, I take it back," Susie told Ella, and walked back to her horse as the cow followed her. "Woohoo! We just survived our first ambush!"
"And they're not even dusty!" Lil pointed out, about her jeans.
"For the first time in my life, my teacher won't fall asleep reading my "What I did on my Summer Vacation" essay!" Chuckie cheered.
"Wait 'til I tell my family about all this!" Shenzi marveled. "Frankie will be so jealous!"
"And it's all because of you, Tommy," Phil told the purple-haired boy. "Well, I had some friends to help me out. Now let's get these birds home! I think we've had enough adventure for one day."
"I agree," Shenzi piped up, "I'm getting pooped." The teens looked up when it started getting dark, and saw grey clouds coming, before it started raining. "Uh oh." The ostriches started feeling nervous. "I hope there's no... Aah!" She was cut off by a flash of lightning associated with thunder. Her horse was close to Chuckie's, so she clung onto him in fear. She had a phobia of lightning and thunder, ever since she was a toddler. He carefully held her closer in comfort, before he and the others saw that the path was getting flooded at a very rapid pace.
They gathered the ostriches on safe ground as they helplessly watched the rain water wash up. "What're we gonna do?!" Lil wondered aloud fearfully. "The ostriches won't cross the river!"
"Well, we can't go back the other way!" Susie pointed out. "The rustlers will get us!"
"There's a way out of this, I just know it!" Tommy exclaimed. "Just, just give me a minute to think."
"No pressure, Tommy. But it'd be better if you can figure it out in the next, oh I dunno, uh, 5, 6 seconds," Chuckie said nervously as the water raised up to the horses' knees.
"All we need is for one, just one to cross, and the rest will follow!" Tommy explained.
"How're you gonna do that, bro?" Dil asked him.
With confidence, Tommy rode up to one of the ostriches, and to everyone's shock, he started trying to mount it! "What, are you doing?!" Angelica exclaimed at him. "You can barely control a horse!"
"You're going to ride him?!" Susie asked him with shock. "Are you wack?!"
"No, I saw it on TV." Tommy managed to mount the large bird, and struggled to control it.
"I can't watch," Chuckie shielded his eyes with his hat.
"Me neither," Shenzi leaned in closer and shifted her head under his hat, so they were inches apart. As the nail-biting suspense was going on, the rain not helping with it, they found comfort in each others' presences.
When they looked again, they saw that Tommy was still fine, and managed to lead the ostriches across the river. The gang cheered as the large birds were led to safety. "And our moms say we wasted our time watching television!" Phil exclaimed.
The group plus Tommy's horse followed the ostriches as the sky cleared up. But when Shenzi looked down, the saddle pouch was empty! "Pillow?! Chuckie! Pillow's not in here!" His head whipped around to look at his terrified girlfriend. She turned, and saw the chick stuck in the mud. "Pillow!" When Lil saw him, she jumped down, dove into the mud, and pulled him out to safety. "Ohhh! You poor baby! Mommy's here!" Shenzi hugged the chick. "Thanks, Lil!" She started walking back to her horse, and concerned boyfriend. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" She mounted her horse after setting Pillow in the pouch. "He's okay, Chuckie!"
"Thank goodness," He sighed in relief, and patted the chick's head. "Don't scare your mama like that again, mister."
"Okay Lil, let's go," Phil ordered when his twin sister stayed put.
"You guys go on ahead." She seemed to be in heaven. "I'll catch up in a few." She flopped on her back, so she was caked in mud, and made angels while giggling happily.
"Yeah, I knew she'd crack sooner or later," Phil remarked to Tommy, "Mud is in our blood."
"That's enough, Lil," Tommy said to the dirty, brunette girl, "Get out of the mud."
"5 more minutes," She refused dreamily as she was on her back once again after laying face-down. Now annoyed, the two boys dismounted, and started dragging her away by her arms. "Let go! I wanna play in the mud! Phil gets to play in the mud! Why can't I play in the mud?! You guys are so mean!" Shenzi couldn't help but stifle giggles at the amusing scene.
With that, the gang continued leading the ostriches along the landscape. Before long, they stopped on a grassy hill when a ranch was close in their view, along with a certain truck. "That's Tiny's truck!" Susie exclaimed with joy.
"We made it!" Kimi added.
The gang cheered as they threw their hats in the air in victory. When they arrived at the gate, Chuckie stopped next to the purple-haired boy. "You did it, Tommy. Congratulations."
"Yeah, you were great," Shenzi added.
"You guys did it," Tommy pointed out, "I just told you what to do. I'm still a pretty lousy cowboy," He frowned sadly.
"Yeah, but you're a great leader," Chuckie pointed out, "And I knew you'd pull it off."
"No, you didn't," Tommy played with him.
"No, I didn't," Chuckie played along. The trio laughed together.
"How about we show 'em a big finish now, partners?" He asked the couple. With that, the three engaged in a tame race to the ranch through the gate. But Tommy fell off, although he wasn't hurt, and his horse ran without him. After finding his hat, he ran the rest of the way on foot. The ostriches ran into a pen, where the petting zoo was, as the teens dismounted.
After a while, they rode back to Red's ranch, where they had dinner around a campfire. "And then, we used our spurs to blow out their..." Phil was telling the Reds everything that happened, along with the others.
"Tires!" Chuckie cut him off with excitement. "So, when they tried to drive off..."
"They couldn't!" Phil finished. "It was a textbook plan."
"And it was all Tommy's idea," Shenzi added.
"Oh yeah!" Phil agreed. "We never would've made it back without Tommy."
After a while, a solemn expression grew on Shenzi's face. "Um, Ch-Chuckie?"
He looked down at her. "What's wrong, Shen?"
She sighed in hesitation. "It's time."
He was confused, but then realized what she meant. "Y-yeah, you're right." He looked back and forth at the others. "Um, we-we'll be right back." They stood up and walked to the pub, where Little Red was sitting. "Um, Li-Little Red?" He turned to them.
"Um, ca-can you keep Pillow for us?" Shenzi hesitantly gave him the chick. "Our parents would flip if we took him home, so he has to stay here."
"Y-yeah," Chuckie nodded.
"Don't you two worry, he's in good hands," Little Red assured them, "I'll take good care of him."
"Th-thanks," Shenzi smiled sadly, and inhaled pitifully, "Um, g-goodbye Pillow." She patted his head. "I hope we meet again someday."
Chuckie came up, and patted his head. "B-bye, Pillow. Y-you be on your best behavior, okay?"
As he gently guided her away, tears filled her eyes and fell down her cheeks. When she was sniffling a bit, his heart broke. He rubbed his shoulders in attempts of comfort as they walked back to the fire. "Um, I-I'm going to turn in early." Shifting out of Chuckie's hold, she headed to the barn.
"I uh," He rubbed the back of his neck, "I am too. G'night, guys." After they wished him a good night as well, he walked in the barn and saw his girlfriend laying on the hay bundle, still looking depressed, with her hat closely next to her. "Aww, Shen." He laid next to her, and she buried her face in his chest, yet stayed quiet. "It's okay." He held her closer as she laid still. "This happens in every family; The parents let their kids live wherever they want to, no matter how much it hurts the parents." He rubbed her back over her clothes. "Um, wh-why don't we get some sleep? We're heading for home tomorrow."
"Okay," She mumbled in his chest, then looked up at him. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were filled with lingering tears.
"Uh, b-but before we do, I want to tell you something."
"What?"
"My secret about playing the harmonica."
That surprised her. "Whoa, really?"
"Yep," He nodded, then whispered it in her ear.
"Ooh," She looked intrigued, "Interesting. Are you ever going to tell Tommy? He seemed really curious."
"Maybe," He shrugged, "When messing with him stops being fun."
A smirk grew on her face. "So, never?"
"Yep."
She couldn't help but giggle. "Oh, you."
"Oh, me," He chuckled, "Let's get some sleep; We leave for home tomorrow."
"'Kay." She snuggled in his chest and shoulder. "G'night, Chuck."
"G'night, Shen." He kissed her forehead, and held her closer, "We'll be fine. I..." Yep, after 4 hours, they still hadn't said the L word to each other... until now. "I love you."
She then seemed to hear him. "I love you too," She mumbled sleepily.
Years passed this since this trip, and before long, Shenzi and Chuckie were married and now expecting for around 5 weeks. When her morning sickness phase was over, they decided to take a weekend trip to a special place: The Reds' Ranch. Shenzi gently rubbed her flat stomach as Chuckie drove their red Mini Cooper to their destination. "It'll be great to see the Reds again, wouldn't it?" He asked his lovely wife.
"Yep," She nodded, "It seems like it was only yesterday when we were there, working at the ranch, finding little Pillow, and driving those ostriches."
"Oh yeah," He agreed, "Oh, and by the way, we can't name our kid Pillow."
"I figured," She giggled, "I was thinking of something more sensible. Maybe Marvin if it's a boy, after your grandfather, and Maya or Melinda if it's a girl, after our birth mothers."
"Those are great names," He smiled at her, "But who says we have to pick between Maya or Melinda? Why not use one for a middle name?"
"Good idea," She smiled back, before she gasped a bit. "Ooh, we're here!" When he parked the car, and unlocked the doors, she hastily jumped out, alarming him.
"Shen, be careful!" He ran up to her. "You're pregnant now; You can't just jump around."
"S-sorry," She stammered.
"It's okay," He pecked her lips, "Just be more careful, okay?"
"I will," She nodded.
"I thought I recognized you!" They turned, and saw Little Red standing close by, now a full-grown adult.
"Little Red? Is that you?" Chuckie confirmed.
"In the flesh."
"Wow!" Shenzi exclaimed. "You're not so little now, are you?"
"Nope," He shook his head, "So, what brings you guys back?"
"We're hoping to stay for the weekend," Chuckie explained, "Is that fine?"
"Absolutely," Little Red nodded, "In fact, you came at a good time. I have a certain someone here who missed you." Before they asked who it was, he escorted a fully-grown ostrich out of hiding. "Remember him?"
The couple's eyes widened. "Pillow?!" Shenzi exclaimed. "I can't believe it!" She carefully ran up to the large bird. "Pillow, remember me? I'm your mama! Your papa's here too!" Chuckie walked up to them as she carefully hugged the ostrich around his mid section. Then, proving that he remembered her, Pillow nuzzled his head on hers. "And guess what? You're going to have a little sibling soon!"
"Whoa! You're expectin' a baby? That's great!" Little Red congratulated them. "You know the gender yet?"
"Not yet," Chuckie shook his head, "She's only around a month along, so it's too early to tell. I'll be happy with either a handsome boy, or a beautiful girl."
"Me too," Shenzi agreed.
As the married couple spent their weekend at the ranch, Chuckie performed a few chores, but stayed at his wife's side as much as he possibly could. Pillow stuck around, following either one of them to wherever they go. It was one of the greatest weekends of their lives.
(A/N: Well, there's O. You know the disclaimer.)