Well....er, yes, I did say that I'm done with the series, but...then they showed the last five episodes of Foster's, and it put me in a bit of a fic-writing mood. At first I simply offered up on my profile to e-mail the three or four drabbles and random pieces that I wrote to anyone who wanted, but then I simply decided to go ahead and post them here for everyone to hopefully enjoy (ha, that is, if anyone's actually reading these stories anymore). Enjoy!

-Dude13

"What in the world?" the large imaginary rabbit murmured curiously to himself as his sizable ears picked up a faint, but clear racket emanating from downstairs. While in all fairness what he heard wasn't anything close to deafening, nevertheless, it was only a little past one in the morning, according to what his bedside alarm had informed him before he had hopped off to a midnight bathroom break. Therefore, considering the late hour, the faint noises he heard were automatically an unnecessary clamor. In other words, someone was in need of a good scolding.

Mr. Herriman curled his lips into an irritated scowl as he promptly took off downstairs to investigate the matter. Once he was able to identity the sounds as merely the standard racket any functioning television would emit, the figment couldn't help but briefly clench his fists in severe annoyance and mutter something fierce under his breath. Good heavens, who would be so dastardly as to sneak downstairs to watch TV at this ungodly hour? He could've sworn that he had made it more than clear such ridiculous activities clearly weren't permitted. Maybe a few residents had commonly gotten away with such behavior while still living with their creators, but at Foster's, things were done quite differently. No one, absolutely no one was exempt from the House President's tireless efforts to ensure that everyone was supposed to receive a good night's rest, each and every evening,

The second he finished descending down the main stairway into the foyer, Mr. Herriman turned on a dime and hopped straight off to the TV room, ready to give his mysterious miscreants a stern rebuking for their childish nonsense. The second he passed through the doorway, the figment immediately barked harshly, "All right, just what on earth do you think you're doing, you-"

As soon as he practically stormed in, a lanky redhead almost tumbled off her sofa seat with a hoarse yelp of surprise. Meanwhile, quite shocked to find exactly who was staying up so late of all people, Mr. Herriman cut himself off in mid-rebuke as he stumbled to an extremely ungraceful halt.

Before the rabbit could regain his composure, Frances "Frankie" Foster locked her emerald eyes upon him in a ferocious glare before baring her teeth and hissing indignantly, "What are you doing?"

"I….I just….I was merely…." Her boss sputtered for a few moments before standing up straight, clearing his throat, and countering her tit-for-tat. "I distinctly heard a commotion from upstairs, and I was simply wanted to find just who was actually-"

"What?" the nightgown-garbed young woman snapped defensively. "But…but the volume's not even at half level! Look, Mr. H, not everyone can hear almost everything that goes on inside this house in the middle of the night as well as you! We don't all have ears the size of-"

"It hardly matters just how mild the clamor was, Miss Frances." He argued. "What doesn't change is the fact that you were still nevertheless making an unnecessary din in the middle of the evening…"

"Yeah, but-" she tried to speak up, to no avail at all.

"…When you of all people know full well that everyone is supposed to be in bed and asleep! Miss Frances, really! How many times must I remind you how crucial it is for you to be setting an example for everyone else? While you are allowed to stay out late for your occasional get-togethers with your friends…"

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me…." Frankie groaned under her breath as he lectured he as if she was a mere teenager.

"….You otherwise are supposed to turn in every night at a reasonable hour, just like everyone else!" he lectured. "I mean, honestly, Miss Frances, do you think I'm trying to punish you? It's merely common knowledge that a good night's rest is absolutely necessary for…"

"Yeah, but it's just….uh-"

"…The greater good of one's health!" Mr. Herriman went on, as if she hadn't even uttered a peep. "Besides, don't you spend more than an excess amount of time needlessly complaining that you always have too many chores to do, but not enough rest? There's a word for that, Miss Frances; hypocrisy. Total and utter hypocrisy! Goodness, child, do you have anything at all to say in your own defense? I sincerely doubt it, for there's absolutely no reason for you to be awake at such an ho-"

"But he's the only reason I'm up right now!" Frankie finally managed to successfully interrupt, catching the austere rabbit completely off guard.

"….Excuse me?" Mr. Herriman replied a few moments later. "Young lady, just who are you talking about? If you're going to try and cover yourself with poor excuses, at least put some effort into it! I'm no imbecile, for I can plainly see that you're down here by yourse-…."

The room was completely dark, save the dim glow of the television. Otherwise, chances are he would've spotted the little boy seated at the resident caretaker's side much sooner. Alas, it was only when Frankie started pointing to Mac did the House President realize that perhaps he had been a tad hasty with his earlier bombardment of accusations.

"I….I-I….wait, Miss Frances, why-" he tried to ask once the wind had been knocked out of his sails.

Frankie buried her face in one hand and groaned loudly in deep frustration. "Mac had a bad dream, all right? He was really upset, so we went downstairs to get a midnight snack and watch some TV so he could calm down, and-"

"Oh….well, I…I thought that-" the taken-aback imaginary friend stammered.

"So I guess that's to much to ask for, huh?" the redhead shot back sarcastically as she turned the tables and went headlong on the offensive. "Oh, God forbid we actually defy the word of the almighty House Rulebook! Well, so sorry for disturbing the peace! I guess Mac just better suck it up so I can put him straight to bed now, huh?"

"Now Miss Frances, I-"

"Don't worry, pal." Frankie continued the act as she wrapped her arms around the little boy, as if she was about to pick him up. "It's not being a neglectful parent, it's just I need to be a good little girl, just like the bunny wants! So what if I don't look after you? It's okay, because now maybe we'll get a gold star for good behavior!"

"Please, I….I didn't mean-" Mr. Herriman pleaded weakly.

"Oh, no, it's nothing, really!" she scowled. "Actually, I just wanted to thank you for reminding me how important it is every single rule comes first! Hey, do you remember that one about how our hours are only from nine to five o'clock, and then no kids or families are allowed in the house after that? Well, thank goodness I've now remembered that we didn't update that rule at all specifically for Mac here! You want me to take him out to the unicorn stables, or would you rather I find a nice box for him to spend the night outside in? Hmmm?"

At this point, Mr. Herriman was blushing so furiously in his raging embarrassment, he was almost as scarlet as a cherry. Now that she was playing her parental duty trump card, there was absolutely nothing he could do or say to justify his earlier lecturing. Once he realized that it was better to make a dignified retreat rather than foolishly attempt to stand his ground, the imaginary friend smiled weakly, and murmured apologetically, "Er….nevermind, Miss Frances….as you were…"

With that, he promptly exited the room and headed straight back upstairs to his bedroom, leaving the young woman and her charge alone. Once she was sure that he was out of earshot, Frankie leaned back on the couch and let out a long sigh of deep relief. "Whew! He actually bought it…"

In her opinion, that was actually quite close. Thankfully, her dignity lay intact, for the rabbit had never noticed that the entire time, Mac had never uttered a single word….or that his droopy eyes had never opened more than halfway during the entire argument….or that he had been leaning against Frankie rather limply and sluggishly like a small sack of cement propped up against a wall.

After letting out with a gaping yawn, the child tried to look up into his guardian's eyes and grumbled, "So…just how long have I been the one who had the bad dream?"

The wind suddenly sent a tree branch scrapping against a nearby window. After jerking a little in surprise, Frankie promptly scooped the child into her lap and clutched him tightly like a frightened child would squeeze a beloved stuffed animal.

"Hey," she countered sharply. "You were the one who convinced me to watch that stupid zombie flick with you and the others in the first place…"

The End