UN ENDROIT MAGIQUE

A Bluey fan fiction by Ratchet McCloud

(This one-shot takes place during the episode "Camping", right after Jean-Luc and his family left the campsite)

Jean-Luc sat in the back seat of the family car as it was on its way to the airport, his emotions a peculiar mix. On the one hand, he was eager to get back to civilization again. On the other, he was sad that he left without really saying good-bye to the friend he had made during this particular vacation. This did not go unnoticed by his mother. "Jean-Luc," she asked him from the front seat, "pourquoi es-tu si triste?"

"Pourquoi avions-nous besoin de partir si tôt, Maman?" Jean-Luc asked her in a voice rather close to tears. "Pourquoi pas rester jusqu'à ce soir, ou jusqu'à midi au moins?"

"Notre avion départ à dix heures, Jean-Luc," she said gently. "Si nous étions restés jusqu'à midi, nous l'aurions raté."

"Je sais," Jean-Luc said sadly, "mais..."

"Mais quoi, chéri?"

"Je n'ai pas pu dire au revoir à Bluey. Elle ne sait pas que je suis parti. Je le manquerai beaucoup."

"Elle est la fille avec qui tu jouais pour toute la semaine, non?"

Jean-Luc sniffled. "Oui, Maman. Je ne voulais pas dire au revoir. Je voulais continuer à jouer avec elle. Elle était mon amie."

"Je sais, Jean-Luc," his mother said, "mais quelques fois, il y a des gens qui entrent dans nos vies, restent pour quelques temps, et puis ils doivent aller."

"Mais c'est triste, Maman."

"Oui, Jean-Luc, c'est triste. Mais le temps dont elle était là était heureux, non?"

Jean-Luc's face brightened slightly. "Oui, Maman. Nous avons atrapé un sanglier ensemble!"

"Je suppose que ce temps valait la peine, alors."

There was silence in the car for a few moments. Then Jean-Luc spoke up again: "Est-ce que je le reverrai jamais, Maman?" His mother looked back at him and smiled. "Le monde est un endroit magique, Jean-Luc," she told him. "Tu ne sais jamais." For some reason this gave him a small measure of comfort and hope, and he too smiled.

(12 years later)

Jean-Luc was back at the campground where he had met Bluey. He had gotten accepted at an Australian university, and he had decided to go camping alone prior to getting settled in his dorm room. 'Je vais voir l'arbre,' he thought to himself, about the tree he and Bluey had planted together. 'Je veux voir combien de taille il a.' So he went to the place where the tree had been planted, and, sure enough, it was huge. 'Oh,' he thought, 'il est si grand. Je souhaite que Bluey soit là pour voir ceci.' Just then, he heard a female voice cry out, "Bluey! That book's mine!" Jean-Luc's ears perked up. 'Bluey est ?' he thought, bewildered. Then he heard footsteps, and he hid behind a bush. A few moments later, a female blue heeler, who looked very familiar, came into view holding a book. "I know it's yours, Muffin," she answered the owner of the first voice, "I'm just borrowing it." Jean-Luc watched as the girl sat down under the tree and began to read the book. Now that she was closer, there could be no mistaking it. A shit-eating grin appeared on Jean-Luc's face, and he resisted the urge to shout joyously. 'C'est Bluey!' he said to himself. He approached the tree from behind the girl and said in English, "Hello, Bluey." She looked up from the book and turned toward the direction the sound had come from, and when she saw Jean-Luc, her tail began to wag, as did his.

(4 years later)

Jean-Luc was standing at the altar, dressed in his finest suit. Standing next to him were his father and some of his friends, all of whom were similarly clad. In the pews on his side of the sanctuary sat the rest of his family and friends. On the other side sat Bluey's family and friends. As he took in the scene, he looked back on the four years that had passed since he saw Bluey again in the campground where they had met as kids. In that time, his friendship with Bluey had grown, then it had blossomed into romance, and then, during their senior year of college, they had gotten engaged. And now, here he was, standing at the altar, about to have his dreams come true. He was pulled out of his thoughts when the organ's tune changed and everyone in the room looked toward the entrance doorway, through which Bluey entered mere moments later. She was dressed in a snow-white dress with a train almost as long as she was tall and with a thin veil in front of her face. Holding up the train were two of her cousins, and holding her hand was the "wild pig" that they had "caught" sixteen years prior. God, how beautiful Bluey looked! Before long, she was next to Jean-Luc at the altar. They were lost in each other's eyes until the robed man asked them the most important question that either one of them had been asked up to that moment, and they both answered in the affirmative. A few moments later, they were given permission to kiss, and as they did, they both had the exact same thought...

'Dreams do come true after all.'

FIN