I'M BACK!

I know it's been a while, but with the new Trolls Band Together in theatres, which I've seen three times now; got my mind back to this story. A Lot has happened the past year, and I'm sorry it took so long, but here it is! The next chapter! I hope you enjoy it! Big thanks to WildKat for proofreading this chapter!

I have reread this story before making this chapter, and there are some things in the past chapters that I want to change, and add mentions of Branch's brothers and Poppy's sister into it. So over the next couple months you will see updates on the older chapters, I hope you look forward to it!

I don't own trolls, but Rose is my OC.

Branch stopped in his tracks, staring at Poppy. "They found someone to adopt Rose?" He repeated.

Poppy nodded her head. "Doctor Moon found three good families that would like to adopt Rose, but that's all I know." She explained. "We will know more when we get to Doctor Moon's office." Poppy watched his shocked expression fall into one not many would know, though his eyes were something she could read like a book. He was saddened at the news of Rose possibly leaving them.

"Alright." He said flatly and continued walking towards the emergency pod. His mind raced as he took in the information. Rose might be leaving soon. This is what he wanted, right? For Rose to find a family. A family that would care for her and love her. He suddenly felt a hand on his arm, pulling him aside. Branch let out a small grunt of surprise as he realised he was about to run into a large root that was sticking out of the ground. He looked over to see Poppy holding his arm tightly. "Oh, sorry. I was in my own head." He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"Branch…" she said softly, worry in her voice. "Do you want to talk about it before we go see Dr Moon?" She asked.

He let out a sigh. "It's okay. You said it's an emergency so we should hurry and meet up with them." He said, seeing the worry in her eyes grow. He placed a hand on hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. "We will talk after the meeting. I promise." He gave her a small smile. Branch saw her nod and continued onwards.

Once they arrived at Dr Moon's office, Poppy watched as Branch raised his hand to knock but noticed his hesitation. He had shook slightly as it stopped a centimetre from the door. She waited a second before watching his hand meet the door. Poppy heard The doctor's voice immediately invited them in. She reached out this time and opened the door. "Hi Dr Moon. I found Branch and shared the information you disclosed to me." Poppy said, as she sat in a chair in front of Dr Moon's desk, with Branch taking a seat next to her.

"Great! Honestly, I was hoping there were going to be a few more wanting to hand in applications to adopt Rose, but we only got three. I looked them over and they are all good choices, so I thought I'd have you two read them over before we start the interview process." Dr Moon handed them both three different applications. "The first is a middle aged couple, Junebug and Luna. They have been travelling the troll's kingdom for a couple months to experience the different types of music. They got back a few days after the incident and have been sticking around out of concern for Rose." Dr Moon read from their profile. "The next is an older troll, Maria. She has experience looking after young trolls through her old daycare which she gave to her son Louis when he got old enough, so she knows how to care and has patience looking after young trolls." Dr Moon took a moment before turning to the last report. "Last is a young couple, like yourselves, Rika and Timber. They have been trying for a child for a bit now but to no avail. They are a caring couple who's able to keep up with the energy of an energetic toddler and used to be close to Bea and Sterling when they were teenagers." Dr Moon put their papers down, looking up at the two trolls across from her. "Do any of these sound like a good fit for Rose with your experience with her."

Poppy glanced at Branch who stared at the three papers in front of him. "I know all of these trolls." She stated. "All of them are very caring, and would be good candidates to look after Rose." She looked back down at the papers. "But I think it's something we may want to show Rose and ask her what she's comfortable with. Are you okay if we take these so we can show Rose their photos to see if she would like to meet any of them?"

Dr Moon nodded. "That's a great idea, Queen Poppy. Just make sure you bring these back to me to keep on file." They smiled at the two trolls, sensing their unease. "Why don't you two take a chance to talk about the candidates? Show the pictures to Rose and get back to me when you have all made a choice?" Dr Moon saw Branch nod. "Great. If there are any questions or concerns, please stop by anytime."

Everyone stood up and headed to the door. "Thank you, Dr Moon." Poppy hugged them, getting a hug in return, hearing Branch thank the doctor as well but didn't move for a hug. "We will see you around then." Poppy waved as they left the office. It was silent on the way back, neither of them sure of what to say. "Well…" Poppy broke the silence as she spotted the park they left Rose with Delta and Clampers came into view. "Do you have any thoughts about the candidates?" Poppy looked at him.

Branch looked down at the papers in his hand. "They all seem fine I guess…" He muttered, his eyes going down the hill to Rose and the others playing. "I didn't think it would happen this soon."

"We did know they have been looking." Poppy stated, placing a hand on his shoulder, feeling him tense at her touch. "Are you okay?"

He tucked the papers into his hair, nodding. "Fine." He said matter of factly.

Poppy could tell he was getting frustrated with the topic. "…Is there another option you'd rather talk about?" Poppy asked him, a slight lift in her voice to make herself sound more cheerful then she felt.

"What other option is there?" Branch turned to her, using his hand to gesture to the park below. "I did what I was told to do, I looked after her until they found her an actual family. My job is over." His face held a stern expression but his eyes gave away the confusion that flooded his mind. "She deserves to have a proper family, and I'm not it."

Poppy stared at him, her mouth slightly agape as she waited for him to finish. She was about to speak before a bell caught their attention. Both their heads shot towards the park, glancing back at each other before they both sprinted towards the sound. As they ran down the hill they could see Rose staring in their direction, Clampers and Delta standing next to her. "What's wrong?" Poppy called when they were close enough.

Delta looked up at them. "Oh, you did hear that." She looked back at Rose who started running towards the incoming trolls. "Nothing's wrong. She could see you two and didn't want to wait for you two to finish talking." She called out as she watched Branch and Poppy kneel down so they could catch Rose who jumped into their arms.

Rose hugged them tightly, gripping each of their arms in her hands. She let out a small whimper as she felt Poppy's hand on her back and Branch's hand in her head. "What's wrong sweetheart?" She heard Poppy's voice whisper softly to her. Rose held onto them for a minute before picking up her paper and started writing. Rose held her paper up, seeing the surprised faces of the two trolls. "Fight? Who? Who was fighting?" Poppy asked, looking around.

Delta tapped her leg lightly, getting their attention. "What she means is, from here it looked like you two were having a bit of a donnybrook."

Branch and Poppy gave each other a confused glance before looking back at Delta. "Donnybrook?" They released in unison.

"Yeah, a donnybrook." Delta confirmed. "A fracas, an argument, a fight." She saw their faces change from confusion to surprise. "Is everything okay?" She asked.

They were silent for a moment. "We were just discussing something, that's all." Poppy spoke first, looking down at Rose. "Rose, baby, We weren't fighting. We were just talking. You don't have to worry about anything." Poppy leaned down and rubbed her nose gently against her cheek. She felt Rose cuddle into her, smiling affectionately at the baby troll. She glanced up at Branch and her expression dropped slightly, hoping no one noticed. She took a small breath before speaking. "I still have some things I need to do today, so why don't you go play with Clampers?"

Rose looked up at Poppy, a small frown on her face before nodding. She moved off Poppy's lap and sat on Branch's, not wanting to get up yet. She felt Branch's arms wrap around her, hugging his arm as she settled into his lap. "Looks like someone needs a rest before another round of tag." Delta chuckled, sitting down at the blanket that was sprawled over the grass. "Guess that means it's snack time. Did you want to join us before you go?"

Poppy shook her head. "No, I'm not hungry. Thanks though." She gave Delta a smile. Poppy places a hand on Branch's shoulder and leaned towards him. "Think about what you want to do." She spoke softly so Rose couldn't hear her. She quickly stood up before Branch could reply. "I will see you guys later then. Bye!" She turned around and skipped off towards the center of town.

Branch watched as she left, not fully sure of what she meant. He looked down at Rose and it clicked. The other option.

Branch and Rose waved goodbye to Delta Dawn and Clampers. A few hours have passed since they finished eating lunch and the girls were finally tired from their games. Rose yawned as she walked next to Branch, holding his hand tightly. "Do you want me to carry you, or do you want to go into my hair?" He asked, seeing her drag her feet. She reached up towards him, smiling when he bent down and picked her up. She hugged him tightly, placing her head on his shoulder and quickly fell asleep. Branch smiled as he glanced down at her. He'd been distracted for the last couple of hours. He barely remembered the conversations Delta had with him as the girls played. Branch gently rubbed her back in a soothing motion, seeing his bunker entrance. He made his way down and headed towards her room, setting her down gently so he didn't wake her. He waited a moment to make sure she stayed asleep before going to the kitchen and started preparing some dinner for them.

Branch glanced at the time, wondering where Poppy may have been. Normally she should have finished her royal duties by now. . His mind wandered back to what Poppy spoke of before she left. He placed the utensils down and let out a frustrated sigh. Branch walked over to the couch and slumped onto it. Never in his life did he think he would be taking care of a kid, he never even liked kids! He watched his brother take care of his children and wasn't sure if that was something he wanted. After everything that happened since he was a child, he never thought any of this would happen. His brothers are back, he has an amazing girlfriend, he's happy. Closing his eyes and letting the thought of the day lull him to sleep.

The sound of the elevator startled Branch awake. He shot up and watched the elevator slowly come down, revealing Poppy. "Poppy? What time is it?" He yawned.

"It's late." She confirmed, stepping off the elevator and walking towards the couch.

"What were you up to? You're not normally out this late." Branch stood up, noticing she didn't have her normal spring in her step. "What's wrong Poppy? Did something happen?" He asked, seeing her stop walking.

Poppy took a small breath. "I was in my pod for a little while. I wanted to give us some time to think about what Dr Moon said." She turned to him. "Did you think about it?"

Branch watched her for a minute, before nodding. "Come on." He said as he made his way towards the bedroom. He could hear Poppy following behind him. He got to their room and took a seat at the end of the bed, watching as Poppy sat across from him. Branch took a deep breath before he spoke. "I did think about everything that Dr Moon said, and the other option… I just, never in my life thought of having kids. Kids don't normally like me. I honestly never really liked kids." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, seeing her ears drop slightly at his words. "I've been alone for so long, I never thought that was an option I could have. Things are still new and so much has gone on since I got my colours back. We've been in so many adventures since then, finding other types of trolls, finding our families…having a kid was not something I thought about, not until we got together."

Poppy listened carefully to his words, pulling at her fingers slightly. "I always dreamed of a big family, lots of kids running around and singing." She smiled softly to herself. "But never did I think it would be this soon, I always thought it would be a couple years." She said honestly.

"You would be a great mom, Poppy. You're amazing with Rose." Branch took her hands in his, rubbing the top of her hands with his thumbs. "I'm the one who…I've spent twenty years by myself, and when my brothers were with me they argued a lot. I don't know the first thing about being a parent. I won't be a good-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." Poppy interrupted him, giving him a stern look. "You have been so great with Rose." She let go of his hands and raised hers in the air, gesturing as she spoke "You care so much about her, making sure she's safe, happy, and you soothe her if she's upset. You have been an amazing father figure to her. From what I've seen, you would be a fantastic father! I can tell Rose loves you, a lot."

Branch blushed at her praises, saying silent for a moment after she finished. "I think…I love her too."

"Wow! Big feeling there, my man!" She grinned when she heard him chuckle, taking his hands back in hers. "You are not alone in this Branch." She looked into his eyes. "You have me. You always will. I want to help you take care of Rose. I love her too." She smiled affectionately at him. "I'm not going anywhere."

Branch stared at her, seeing only love in her eyes. He couldn't help but melt at her gaze, smiling as he spoke. "And I will always be here for you." He squeezed her hands tightly. "I love you, so much Poppy." He shifted slightly in his spot. "And…I accept." He watched her face turn from confusion, then slowly turn to realisation.

"Accept? Accept my proposal about being king?" She asked, her heart beating so fast she could burst. Seeing him nod in response, she let out a loud squeak and flew herself on him. "Oh Branch. I'm so happy." She hugged him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder as she felt him wrap his arms around her. "I can't wait to tell everyone! Viva, Bridgette, dad, the village will be so excited!"

Branch held her tightly, rocking gently. "Can we take it slow telling the other trolls though?" He felt her lean back to look at him. "Everything right now is moving fast, I want to learn how to lead before we tell others." He saw her mouth open but he spoke first. "You can tell your sister and Peppy, of course. I'm not ready for the village to know yet. I don't want to just barge in and have them feel like I took over too quickly. I want to slowly start transitioning into the position and once I'm more comfortable in the position we tell everyone."

Poppy nodded. "Of course. I totally understand that, Branch." She hugged him again. "What about-" Poppy froze when she felt the ground shake. "What's that?!" They shot apart and stood up, glancing at each other before quickly heading out of their room towards Rose.

"Rose!" They both called as they heard her scream. Branch quickly opened the door and saw Rose sitting on her bed, hugging all three of her precious toys. She reached up when she saw the two trolls, hugging them tightly when they got to her. "It's okay Rose, it will be okay." Branch spoke softly to her. "Come on, I have a room for this." Branch scooped Rose up and quickly led Poppy to a storage room closer to the surface. Branch huddled with both of them under him until the shaking stopped.