Bruce and Willow are singing 'Sweet Caroline' by Neil Diamond in this chapter. It's a fun song I think they'd both enjoy.

Willow decided that coming up with a menu for the big party was easy after she finished meeting with the ambassadors. The only thing they needed to talk about was what each tribe wanted to contribute to the potluck-style feast. Once that was over, the ambassadors decided to have a little meeting.

"So you had to travel to Mount Rageous to save your older brother, Floyd from talent-stealing giants, who were using his life force and music to become famous?" Holly Darlin' crossed her arms in surprise. "Dang, girl. When you go on adventures, you sure know how to pick 'em."

Willow smiled sheepishly. "Yeah," she leaned back in her chair. It had been a crazy few days."

"I didn't even know you had other brothers besides Dubstep," Synth grinned widely. "How come you never talked about them before?"

"They've been separated for about as long as I've been alive," Willow crossed her arms, grimacing. "Until a few days ago, I had no idea who my brothers were." She looked to the side, uncertain. "I still don't know who they are."

"Well, they're all in the bunker now, right?" Val asked, curious. "You could get to know them now."

"It's not that easy," Willow shook her head. "I don't even know what to say to them half the time. They left Branch for twenty-six years over a stupid fight they had after a failed concert. What if I say something that upsets them, and they decide it's not worth it and leave?"

Dante looked at the other ambassadors, uncertain. "That kind of thing couldn't possibly happen, could it?"

"You never know," Willow shrugged. "My family isn't known for being super-rational."

"She's not wrong there," Lownote chuckled. "You remember how Willow reacted when Branch tried to jump in the way of Queen Barb and her Ultimate Power Chord?"

"What about the loud argument the two of them had afterward?" Holly chuckled. "Talk about bad timing."

"I stand by my choices that day," She insisted, rolling her eyes as the ambassadors laughed. "But you get my point. My family doesn't always make the most rational decisions."

"It'll be fine, Sugarcube," Holly smiled at her friend. "They're your family. And you said they want to get to know you, right? So let them get to know you. And if you're worried about doing something wrong, you could always do things with them as individuals. It doesn't have to be a big group thing."

Willow nodded thoughtfully. "I guess you're right. I do have a thing I'm planning on doing with Bruce after our meeting here."

"That's a good start," Synth nodded with a grin. He looked at the clock. "Speaking of, we should probably call this meeting. Dubstep suggested we get you home before two."

Willow looked at the clock and grimaced. It was a little after one. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea." She stood up out of her chair and smiled at the other ambassadors. "Well, I'm going to be busy for the next couple of days. See you all at the party before the meeting?" The group of ambassadors nodded in agreement.

Willow smiled and left Chet Dante. "Weren't you two going to walk with her?" Holly asked, looking at Synth and Val. She laughed when the two looked at each other in horror before racing to catch up to Willow.

"Thanks for walking with me to the bunker," Willow said, looking at her friends. "But you know, you don't have to walk all the way to the bunker. You could have stopped when we got to your place."

"We're not following you to the bunker," Val denied. "We're just joining you on your walk until we get to our places."

"We passed Rock Hollow five minutes ago," Willow deadpanned, an eyebrow raised at the Rock ambassador.

"Did we?" Val chuckled sheepishly at her friend's unimpressed stare.

"What's going on?" Willow asked, crossing her arms. "Did Barb and Trollex ask you to follow me? Or did Branch ask you guys to ensure I wasn't alone?"

"Neither," Synth shook his head and grinned. "We just wanna hang out with you."

Willow narrowed her eyes at the nervous grins on her friends' faces in suspicion before grinning widely. "Aww, that's so sweet!" She pulled the duo into a hug. "But you don't have to make up an excuse to walk with me a little longer." She chuckled at the relieved sighs they gave. Yeah, they were definitely lying to her. The trio of ambassadors finished their walk in relative silence, occasionally filling it with a joke or story about what happened in the week Willow had been away.

"Hey Willow," Floyd grinned, walking up to his little sister. Riff was following behind him. "How was the meeting?"

"Floyd," Willow smiled at her brother. "The meeting was good. I think we got a lot of the planning done." She nodded to the cane in his hand. "Branch make you a cane?"

"Yeah," Floyd held up his cane and chuckled. "He's pretty handy. You going back to the bunker?"

"Of course. I have to get the kitchen ready to start baking," Willow gestured to Riff. "What are you guys up to?"

"Oh!" Floyd blushed and looked away from his sister. "Branch mentioned you weren't going to be cooking today, so Riff offered to treat me to a late lunch at Rock Hollow."

"Is that right?" Willow smirked at her brother's blushing face. "I guess we'll leave you to it then." She patted her big brother on the shoulder and started walking to the bunker. "Enjoy your date!" She laughed at Floyd's frustrated groan. "He's adorable."

"I'm never going to live this down, am I?" Floyd asked, head in his hands. "She's going to tell our brothers and they're going to tease me to the end of time."

Riff smiled at the frustrated Pop Troll in front of him. "Don't worry about it, Bluebell." He placed an arm around Floyd. "I'm sure she won't let them tease you too much."

"That doesn't make me feel better," Floyd sighed and leaned into Riff's hold. He grinned at the Rock Troll. "'Bluebell,' huh? Where'd you come up with that nickname?"

"Heh," Riff blushed. "Well, you were named after a flower, and you're blue, and bluebells are a type of flower. Also 'belle' is another word for beautiful, so you're a bluebell. Is that okay?"

Floyd chuckled and patted Riff's hand. "It's sweet," he assured. "Now, where are we going to eat? I'm starving."

"Thanks again for walking with me," Willow smiled as she unlocked the bunker door. "It was nice getting to hang out with you two."

"Of course," Val wrapped an arm around Willow's shoulder and grinned. "We haven't hung out properly in a while."

Willow's smile turned guilty. "I'm sorry about that." She shrugged. "Things have been kind of busy. First, there was the wedding, then the rescue mission. And now my family is here."

"We get it," Synth assured his friend. "You've got a busy life making sure everything runs smoothly. We're just glad when we get to spend time with you."

"Still," Willow frowned. "You guys are my friends and I want to hang out with you more. I'll try to make time so we can hang out more often." She hugged the duo. "Just not right now. I have things to bake for the party in a couple of days. I'll see you there." She waved as she opened the bunker door. "Oh, and tell whoever sent you to keep an eye on me 'thank you?'" She grinned at their faces. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at whoever it is. I appreciate their concern." She waved again as the platform went down in the bunker. "See you later!"

Willow smiled as the elevator went down to the living area. "Those two are great." She chuckled and walked to the kitchen. "They're terrible liars, though."

Branch and the brothers watched as Willow walked into the kitchen. "So what's the plan for lunch?" Branch sighed as he looked at John Dory and the others. "Floyd said he had plans, so we're on our own."

"I'm supposed to be helping Willow with her baking," Bruce shrugged. "So I won't be joining you."

"What?" Branch furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. "No way Willow is letting you help her bake. Cooking is one thing, but not baking."

"Wanna test that theory?" Bruce smirked and walked over to the kitchen door. "Willow!" He called, knocking on the door. "Can I come in?"

"Come on in, Bruce!" Willow could be heard shouting from the kitchen. Bruce raised his eyebrows in triumph at his brother's dumbfounded face before stepping into the kitchen.

"Unbelievable," Branch muttered. "She has known him for less than a week, and she trusts him in her kitchen. That's her inner sanctum. Nobody goes in there. I'm only allowed in there when she's too tired to make anything. And even then, I'm only allowed to make like three things."

John Dory chuckled and placed a hand on his youngest brother's shoulder. "Maybe it's just a 'you' thing," he chuckled. "I'll go see if they need some help." He walked over to the kitchen door. "Hey, guys!" He opened the door. "Need any help in here?" He yelped in fear as a knife hit the door frame. "Never mind! You guys look like you have it under control." He closed the door and looked at his brothers with a sheepish chuckle. "They're busy."

Clay snorted. "Yeah, that's what happened." He rolled his eyes and looked at Branch. "Don't worry about it, little bro. Bruce was always the cook of the family. It makes sense she would trust him in the kitchen. Try not to take it personally."

"Yeah," Branch grouched. "I guess that makes sense." He sighed and smiled at the kitchen door. "At least she's bonding with him."

"And that's the important thing here," Clay nodded. "I've got an idea for lunch. Willow was talking about a restaurant called 'Chet Dante' the other day. She said a friend of hers runs it. We could check it out."

"Sounds good, bro," John Dory grinned and led the duo out of the bunker. "Let's eat something."

"Thanks for inviting me to help," Bruce grinned as John Dory shut the kitchen door again.

"Of course," Willow smiled at her older brother. She gestured to the mixing bowls. "I need to get started on Crème Brûlée so I can get it chilling in the cooler. You wanna get started on the Trollberry pies?"

Bruce gave the youngest sibling a salute. "On it, chef." Willow grinned and rolled her eyes before getting to work.

The two siblings worked in silence, Bruce occasionally glancing over at his little sister to watch her work. After a few minutes of silence, Bruce decided he was tired of the quiet and began humming.

Willow looked at him curiously as he hummed but continued working. He grinned at her and continued the tune. She shrugged and went back to work.

Bruce smirked at the back of her head before deciding humming wasn't enough to fill the silence. "Where it began, I can't begin to knowin'.

But then I know it's growin' strong," He sang under his breath.

"What are you doing?" Willow asked, looking at him, curious.

"What?" Bruce asked innocently. "You don't sing while you bake? It's one of my favorite things to do." He grinned and sang the next verse a little louder. "Was in the spring. And spring became the summer. Who'd have believed you'd come along."

"Sure I sing," Willow raised an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes at his expectant look. "Hands, touchin' hands," She grinned as she reached her hand out dramatically to her brother. "Reachin' out, touchin' me, touchin' you."

Bruce grinned in victory at his sister's singing. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" He grabbed his sister's hand and pulled her away from her station to dance.

(Bruce and Willow)

Sweet Caroline (Bum, bum, bum!)

Good times never seemed so good

I've been inclined

To believe they never would

But now I...

Bruce twirled Willow like a ballerina before sending her back to her crème brûlées. She laughed at him before placing the desserts in the oven."...look at the night. And it don't seem so lonely. We fill it up with only two." She turned around and started making cookie dough.

"Are those fluffleberry cookies?" Bruce asked, nostalgia filling his tone. "I haven't had those in years."

"Yeah," Willow smiled sadly. "It took me years to figure out the recipe. Grandma never wrote it down. But the Rock Trolls love fluffleberry anything, so I have to have these." She looked at him. "I'll make extra so the family can have some too."

"That would be amazing," Bruce smiled. He turned back to the pies he was making. "And when I hurt. Hurtin' runs off my shoulders. How can I hurt when holdin' you?"

"Warm, touchin' warm," Willow continued, her voice soft. "Reachin' out, touchin' me, touchin' you."

(Bruce and Willow)

Sweet Caroline (Bum, bum, bum!)

Good times never seemed so good

I've been inclined

To believe they never would

Oh, no, no

Bruce grinned at his little sister as they sang. She was having fun, he could tell. Willow smiled back at Bruce and rolled her eyes. "You're a dork," she snorted before turning back to making the cookies.

(Bruce and Willow)

Sweet Caroline (Bum, bum, bum!)

Good times never seemed so good

(Willow)

Sweet Caroline

I believed they never could

(Bruce)

Sweet Caroline

Good times never seemed so good

"That crème brûlée smells fantastic," Bruce commented as she pulled the desserts out. "They just have to set overnight now, right?"

"Yep," Willow grinned as she put the cookies in the oven. She made room for the pies Bruce had made. "I'll add the sugar and torch it the day of the party."

"Sounds good," Bruce nodded. "What do we need now?" He started wiping down the counters.

"Cupcakes," Willow wiped off the counters and dried the bowls she had washed. "Lots of cupcakes in as many different flavors as you can think of. Don't forget some cupcake à la splode."

"Cupcake detail," Bruce grabbed bowls and cupcake tins. "I'm on it. What are you going to be doing?"

"More pies," Willow grinned. "We're going to have a lot of Trolls here in a couple of days, and I need to have a lot of different flavors." Bruce nodded, and the duo got back to work.

By the time the brothers returned to the bunker, it was late at night. "Do you think they'll be hungry?" Clay asked, holding a to-go bag. They had brought their baking siblings some dinner.

"Knowing Willow, she forgot to eat," Branch gave Clay an amused smile. "And she probably has Bruce too busy for him to even think about food."

"Well then we better make sure they eat something," John Dory grinned and grabbed the food from Clay. He wandered over to the kitchen door.

"Maybe Floyd should open the door," Clay suggested, wincing. "You remember what happened earlier, right?"

John Dory cringed at the thought. "Oh, yeah." He looked at his youngest brother. "Maybe you should give them the food." He handed Floyd the bag.

"What happened earlier?" Floyd asked, concerned.

"JD got a knife tossed at his head," Branch snorted. He gave Floyd a comforting pat on the head. He almost looked afraid at the idea of getting a knife thrown at him. "Don't worry, Floyd. Willow won't throw a knife at you. Just let her know it's you, and you should be fine."

Floyd nodded, a hesitant look on his face. He walked over to the kitchen door and started knocking. "Hey, Willow, Bruce? Are you busy? We brought you some dinner. Can I come in?" He was answered quickly by Willow pulling open the door with a smile. Her face was covered in flour. "You're covered in flour," he noted with a raised eyebrow. "Are you turning yourself into a dessert?"

Willow snorted and stepped out of the kitchen. "Not exactly." She patted her head to clear out some of the flour. "Someone decided the best way to pass the time was a flour war."

"You didn't have to join in," Bruce defended, walking out of the kitchen, flour covering his hair and clothes.

"I kind of did," Willow retorted. She smiled and thanked Floyd when she took the food they brought her. "You tossed flour at my head. Did you think I wasn't going to retaliate?"

Bruce rolled his eyes. "You're the one who added water to the mix. I'm going to shower before I eat." He ran his hands through his hair, grimacing when his fingers hit a blob of flour mixture. "Preferably before this stuff dries."

Willow nodded and took a bite of the burger she was given. "Sounds good, bro."

"You're cleaning up after you shower," Branch said looking at his sister. She had flour falling off of her every time she moved.

"Of course, I am," Willow rolled her eyes. "But I'm hungry, so it can wait." She took another bite of her burger before grabbing a fry. "Thanks for this, by the way. I don't think we've made a single non-dessert thing today."

"No problem," Clay smiled. "Branch was pretty sure you'd be hungry." Willow nodded and went back to eating.

When Bruce got out of the shower, Willow was almost done with her burger. "Willow made some fluffleberry cookies if you guys want some," he offered as he sat down to eat his burger. The brothers perked up at the offer. "Just don't eat them all. They're for the party." He laughed when Branch and John Dory raced each other to the kitchen to get at the cookies.

"We haven't had fluffleberry anything since we left the Tree," Clay muttered, sitting down. He watched as John Dory ran out of the kitchen, a plate of cookies over his head and one in his mouth. Branch walked behind him holding a cookie of his own. He grabbed a cookie when John Dory put them on the table and tried it. "It tastes just like when Grandma used to make them." He looked at his little sister. "How'd you do that?"

"It wasn't easy," Willow rolled her eyes and grabbed a cookie. "Grandma never wrote the recipe down. I had to do a lot of experimenting to get it right."

"I got so sick of cookies," Branch nodded, eating the cookie he held. "But it was worth it."

"Do you have the recipe?" Bruce asked, eating his burger. "And what do I have to do for you to give it to me?" He gave his little sister a sheepish smile. "I want to be able to bake these for my kids."

Willow smiled at her purple-haired brother. "I'll get it to you later," She assured. "You should be able to share this with your kids." She stood up and took her to-go box into the kitchen. "I'm going to shower now." She grimaced. "This flour is starting to itch."

When Willow got out of the shower, she found her brothers in the living room. John Dory had cleaned up her flour mess, insisting it was no problem and Bruce had already cleaned up the kitchen. Branch had the hairbrush and insisted he brush her hair out and get it braided back again.

"And you do this every night?" Floyd asked, watching the youngest siblings.

"We used to do it every night," Willow admitted. She was sitting on the floor in front of Branch. He was braiding her hair. "But it's been more like once a week lately. I've been a little too busy for it to be every night."

"It helps us spend some quality time together," Branch grinned as he finished. The two switched spots and Willow started brushing his hair.

"Do you think we can join this next time?" John Dory asked, his expression hopeful.

"What do you think, sis?" Branch asked, patting his sister's foot. "You think next time we can let the bro's in on this?"

Willow paused her brushing to pretend to think about it. "Maybe," She smiled. "We could let them join."

Willow yawned as she finished her brother's hair. "Alright," Branch smiled and pulled her into a hug. "Time for bed." He raised an eyebrow. "You don't have any paperwork hiding in your room, do you?"

Willow rolled her eyes. "No, no paperwork." She pulled away from the hug. "Goodnight, guys. I'll see you in the morning." She looked at Branch. "You guys are going to want to eat outside of the bunker again tomorrow. I've got some more things I need to bake off tomorrow." She looked at Bruce. "You can help me again if you want." She waved at her brothers and walked into her bedroom.

"At least we know she likes Bruce," Clay muttered, his arms crossed as he watched the bedroom door close.

"To be fair," Branch allowed. "He is the only brother besides me she knew before this whole rescue thing. Granted, she didn't know he was her brother, but still." He shrugged. 'I'm going to bed too. Goodnight guys." The brothers told him goodnight before they eventually went to their bedrooms for the night as well.

I couldn't but make another bonding chapter between Bruce and Willow. This chapter kind of just appeared in my brain. The next one will be the party and meeting. I wasn't expecting to take so long on the bonding and healing before I wrote the end of the movie, but here we are. And I still don't have a chapter for John Dory and Clay yet. It'll just take some time though. Thanks for reading everybody!