As Nicole started to wash off the final bits of the strange slimy substance from Gumball's fur, she set the wash cloth aside and picked out a towel to dry him off with. After draining the water out of the tub, she swaddled him in the towel; much to his embarrassment and her amusement, and carried him lovingly back into her bedroom. This time, for the first time in nearly 5 years, she would be sleeping with someone.

Nicole placed him carefully down and under the sheets. As Nicole was about to take off her clothes, she remembered Gumball. Looks like she would be wearing something to bed. Despite it being her room, and have spent nearly every night sleeping in her bed naked...perhaps now would be a good time to break that habit; for Gumball's sake. As she removed her pants and light sweatshirt, she heard Gumball stir. As she looked back at him, she saw his cheeks were quite red.

"Sorry Gummypuss, I guess I should have changed somewhere else."

Thank goodness she hadn't fully stripped in front of him. He could have had a heart attack!

"No mom, it's alright. Really..." he said, quickly glancing towards her before averting his gaze once more.

This somewhat shy and cute act made her smile as she turned away. Also, no matter how many times Nicole had heard his voice, she didn't seem to notice how lovely it sounded until now. It was like honey. The lack of hearing it for so long seemed to have affected her more than she had realized. She would be looking forward to hearing his voice tomorrow; especially when she could get an explanation on where in the world he had been for such a long time.

As Nicole turned out the overhead room light and walked back to the bed and slipped in, she pulled her son close to her. She felt Gumball sigh in comfort before clinging to her in a loving embrace. She returned the favor by pulling him ever closer. Now the gap between the two was slim to none, and Nicole was basking in the warmth generated by them both. She was sure Gumball was too. Her suspicions seemed to be right as she...heard him purr.

That was new. Never in her life had she heard Gumball purr next to her. Sure she had heard him do it next to his brother Darwin on occasion after they fell asleep together on their couch watching TV or playing their video games; but never when she was next to him. Nicole felt honored hearing him do so. He truly trusted her. That she had no doubt in her mind, but having rescued him more than once in this world seemed to have gained her a new sense of trust within her son. This made Nicole feel tingly and warm all over her body. Along with this, she felt...something more. That...feeling. The same feeling she had totally forgot she felt all those years ago. But what was it?! Surely it should have been just love right? But it felt like something more. Nicole decided to brush this new feeling again aside for now. She was tired, and so was Gumball.

With a mighty yawn from the little blue cat, he nestled up against his mother. Nicole copied a yawn before closing her eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a very interesting day...

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The next morning, Nicole woke up first. As she cleared her eyes, she looked down at Gumball. He was still fast asleep next to her. She gently moved and played with his hair. She felt at ease. Just laying here and playing with his hair reminded her of the times she did this with him at a baby. He would always seem to like it when she did that. Hopefully this hasn't changed. As she continued her lovely assault on his now tousled blue hair, she came to a rather strange realization. Despite Gumball having been lost to her for several years...it's like he hasn't aged a bit. His body size was the same, his hair was the same length, and his voice...hasn't changed at all. This was starting to add only more questions to her already large stockpile. Maybe Gumball would know some reason to this. Surely he would, right?

As the minutes past, Gumball started to stir. He slowly opened his eyes and was quickly overcomed by the morning light. After a few seconds of adjusting, he took in his very limited point of view. In the center of it all, was his smiling mother. The rays of sunlight that shined into the room seemed to cast a heavenly glow around her. It left Gumball speechless. Was he still dreaming? After all he through...was this still another dream?

"Good morning Gummypuss~" Nicole said softly.

She had stopped playing with his hair when he first stirred, but perhaps a little more wouldn't hurt until they both were up for the day. With that, she brought her hand back onto his head and continued playing.

Gumball was in heaven. First he thought he was dreaming, now he felt more at ease then during the dream. He let out a sigh of relief. He was back. Back at home with his mother. He was finally no longer alone. Gumball turned to face his mother again. She was still smiling. Gumball couldn't forget that smile. After all his years with her, never had he seen her so...happy. It was like he was seeing her for the first time in...wait.

"Mom?" Gumball asked, still with a coarse voice.

Nicole leaned closer and made a "hm?" Sound.

"How long was I gone for? Has it been a couple days?"

Nicole stopped her hair playing. Her tired smiling face turned into a one of seriousness. Perhaps now was a good time they talked.

"Let's get breakfast. We can talk about it then."

Gumball nodded before deciding to get out of bed. As he did this, Nicole turned to face him when she heard him make a small "eeek" sound. Upon doing this, and realizing his nakedness, she quickly faced the other way to avert her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry Gumball. You were exhausted and I needed to get you to bed fast." Nicole quickly mentioned.

Gumball then seemed to understand and noticed the towel by his feet. He hastily picked it up, and covered himself with it. He needed a pair of clothes first before he ate.

Nicole realized his plan of action as she saw him dart out of her room and make his way into his. This made her giggle internally at the speed in which he did this. Oh how she missed his childish ways...

Nicole got up and dressed as well, before heading towards the kitchen to make breakfast for the both of them. Perhaps she would make something festive this time.

As Gumball made his way down, he smelled the delicious scent of something lovely. It was the smell of pancakes! One of his favorite foods! This made his rush into the kitchen. As his mother set the two plates of pancakes down for the each of them, Gumball sat down by his, ready to eat. It had felt like he hadn't eaten in years! As he bit into his lovely meal, he was overcome with flavor. He REALLY missed that taste.

Nicole watched her son as he seemed to practically inhale his food like a cartoon. She could easily tell he was hungry, no doubt. She herself was hungry too after the little "midnight walk and weightlifting" session she had last night. After taking a bite of the pancakes herself, she thought she did a pretty good job with them because the flavor was magnificent.

After having eaten everything on their plates, and drank their waters, Nicole looked over towards Gumball; this time with the same serious face as this morning.

"Gumball. Can you tell me...where you went?"

Gumball now wiped his face with his napkin before meeting her gaze. Gumball seemed to then contemplate for a moment, then spoke.

"Mom, all I remember is the fire, you cradling me in your arms, me falling asleep and..."

Gumball stopped. He looked at Nicole with confusion.

"Mom, I did fall asleep didn't I? I remember you carrying me out. That's what happened right?"

Nicole's serious face weakened. Her face lowered and her hands covered her mouth.

"Mom?" Asked Gumball, reaching a worried hand out towards her. Nicole then seemed to compose herself before mouthing silently for him to continue what he knew.

"Anyways, I remember falling asleep before waking up in some strange warm liquid. I looked around and saw it was everywhere. It was like I was in an ocean, except the water was made of this strange clear liquid. I could breathe and everything surprisingly in it, but I couldn't find anything else...or anyone but myself. I swam for what seemed like forever in it, but it was like it was endless. Eventually, I felt this feeling around me; like I was being pulled towards something. Suddenly I saw the liquid morph around me, and I was moved like a speeding bullet in one direction before going through a weird portal of some sort. The last thing I remember is falling. It must have been me falling from the sky..."

Nicole was shaking now. This was so much more than she had expected. Or, frankly speaking, she didn't know what to expect.

"Mom?" Gumball asked again, waving his hand towards her.

Nicole got up from her chair and walked over to Gumball and hugged him. She hugged him tightly. Gumball was still a bit confused by this.

"Mom, are you sure your okay? I know I was gone for a little while, but this all seems a bit much, don't you think?"

Nicole gently put both of her hands on either side of his face, and looked him deep in his eyes.

"Gumball, I thought I lost you. I saw the debris in your chest. I saw you scared for your life as I held you. I saw you...I saw you die in my arms."

Gumball was about to make a comment but was shushed by Nicole.

"It has been almost 5 years Gumball. It has been that long since i've seen or heard you. You disappeared without a trace. I searched high and low for you, but couldn't find you. I thought I would never see you again..."

Nicole was in tears now. She couldn't handle it anymore. It was like everything that she had made progress with mentally collapsed in an instant. She backed up from Gumball and covered her quivering mouth and wiped her tears. Gumball was stunned. He couldn't believe it. 5 years? He had been gone for 5 years?! Surely she was mistaken. He had felt like it only had been a few days at least, right? Then he remembered that she had said he...that he...died? Gumball thought hard again about the fire. He thought he passed out from the smoke or something. The more he focused, the more bits and pieces of information came back to him. Suddenly he did remember the debris in him. It was in his chest; from the explosion. The memories started flowing back in droves now. He remembered the pain he felt, the fear. The way his mother had comforted him. The words she spoke to him before he fell into a deep slumber...

"I love you..."

Gumball felt tears stream down his face. It all happened. Every last thing he remembered. It all happened. He rushed over to Nicole and hugged her back. His mind was fluttering with different thoughts and emotions. What happened to his mother for nearly 5 years...alone? What toll did it take on her? She had lost so much in such a short period of time. Gumball was no expert on the mind, but he could tell, this would have had serious repercussions on her mental state. He knew he would if he had lost her and been alone for nearly 5 years.

After a few moments of hugging each other, both seemed to be calmed enough to make it over to the kitchen chairs. Gumball moved his over to be right next to Nicole. He rested his head on her shoulder. They didn't speak to each other for a few minutes. What could be said in such an emotional moment? Eventually,Nicole finally spoke after collecting herself more.

"That's enough for now Gumball. Thank you..."

She reached over and held both of his smaller hands and squeezed gently. Gumball nodded, before hugging her once more. Nicole wasn't ready to tell him what happened to her yet. She wasn't in the right state of mind to do so. Not after that. She needed more time.

Gumball and Nicole decided to sit on their porch outside in the sun. Perhaps this could help ease them a little. As they stepped outside and felt the sun on their faces, it seemed to have worked. They sat down on the porch pavement and watched the clouds go by slowly. Nicole breathed a small sigh of relief before closing her eyes. She didn't want to tell Gumball what happened to her all those years...The years of solitude. She didn't want it affecting Gumball. She didn't want him thinking it was his fault. She knew it wasn't. But would Gumball truly understand that?

Nicole laid down on the pavement now. She was overwhelmed still. This would be another long talk with Gumball. She just had to be ready for it. If she had broken down like this hearing Gumball, then she KNEW she would break down telling him her side of the story.

This...was gonna be Hell.