LATER THAT NIGHT…

Jessa's POV:

I was amazed that Mokey and Red left my blanket and pillows as is when I left yesterday, nevertheless, I slept there again since I was too lazy to walk back to my shielded home in the Terrible Tunnel. I felt like being social anyway. After dinner, we all just kind of crashed. Boober went into his hole, Gobo and Wembley into theirs, and I bunked with Red and Mokey once again. If I'm being honest, the girls are pretty cool roommates. I watched Mokey work on her painting briefly before Red and I chatted. She was telling me about the time she and Boober almost died on his birthday, and I listened while removing my boots and socks and undoing my ponytail. I had taken off my holster and set it aside moments ago, my sword still in it.

"I thought for sure Boober and I were done," Red told me, the memory still fresh in her mind. "But we made it out of there."

"I can't think of a worse day to die than on your birthday," I replied. "Poor Boober."

After removing my makeshift hair tie, I let my hair fall down my back. Mokey, preoccupied with her painting, didn't bother interjecting though I knew she wasn't too fond of that memory judging by her sad sighs. Not that I could blame her.

"Nature's a bitch, isn't it."

"Not all the time," Mokey replied.

"I thought it was a bitch that day," Red added. "That rock avalanche trapped us in there."

"Well, either way, you're both still alive," I told her.

We continued to yap until Red and Mokey began a conversation about something I couldn't relate to, so I grabbed my sword and transformed it into an iPod, putting my headphones on and letting some symphonic metal blare into my ears. I then lay down to rest my eyes and eventually fell asleep like this.

I don't know why I needed those tsundere berries so badly, but I did it. I guess it was because mom said they had the power to mask anything and it was water-resistant. Either way, I should thank her. I made my way back to the Shazzle Realm, not expecting much other than a few punches and derogatory names being thrown my way. That dipshit Zal and his lackeys always had a bone to pick with me due to me being a half-breed. But what I witnessed was much worse. My parents had been dragged out of our home against their will (by brute force, might I add), and tied to a stake. My first instinct was to scream and unleash my powers at the other Shazzles.

"What the fuck are you bastards doing?!" I yelled furiously.

I got into a brawl with everyone involved in the murder, but it proved futile as the ropes they used warded against Mom's powers. And Dad… since he didn't possess any powers he was unable to escape. I tried to save them, but no matter how hard I tried I was too late. I was beaten, bruised, and on the verge of losing consciousness and my parents were already dead. Before I could so much as stand up, everyone picked me up and was about to throw me into yet another mud pit when I woke up.

A dream. It was just a dream. More like a nightmare! I was still here in Fraggle Rock, sleeping in the same room with Mokey and Red. They were both sound asleep, but I was wide awake, hyperventilating from my nightmare, cold sweat running down my body, and my heart beating too fast. Why did it have to happen now when I'm in the company of other people?! I then felt like throwing up, so I jumped out of bed and ran all the way to the entrance of the Terrible Tunnel, not even caring to check if anyone saw me. Once I got there I hurled behind a small crevice and fell to my knees, my hyperventilating getting worse, and I leaned my head against a nearby stalactite. By that time, I could feel tears burning through my eyelids and my whole body began to shake. I let the tears run down my face for a few minutes, but it would take an eternity for my breathing to settle. Well, at least everyone else was asleep and wouldn't see me in such a pathetic state.

"Jessa?"

I flinched around and saw none other than Boober standing a few feet behind me. Great. Just great!

"What are you doing?" He asked me.

It was hard to tell what his expression was since his eyes were hidden by his hair, but I knew from the frown on his face that he didn't find my predicament amusing in the slightest. I couldn't stop hyperventilating though, so I didn't answer him. Only faced away from Boober and bit my lip. I then heard him walk closer to me, cautiously might I add. He placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He asked in possibly the most gentle tone I've ever heard.

It nearly broke me as another tear went down my cheek. He must have seen it too, because the next thing I knew, Boober was leading me to his hole. We both sat down on his bed, though he left temporarily to make me a drink to help calm me down and told me to wait there. So I did. Not that I could do much of anything else right now anyway. I was still too haunted by the memory/nightmare. I shifted into a fetal position, my head down on my knees while I wept some more, but not too loudly as I didn't want any other fraggles hearing.

"Here," I heard Boober say as I lifted my head. "This lavender tea should calm your nerves."

I took it from him and stared blankly into it, the lavender herbs he put in there swirling around, before taking a sip.

"Thanks," I finally managed to say.

Boober put his arm around me in response while I drank the tea. Bless his soul!

Boober's POV:

I have never seen Jessa in such a vulnerable state. This wasn't like her. She drank the tea I gave her but wouldn't look at me. At least she isn't hyperventilating and shaking anymore. I then looked at the semi-dry tears on her cheeks and wondered what upset her this much. Maybe a bad dream?

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked her while she stared ahead aimlessly.

Jessa took a minute before she finally spoke.

"It was… a nightmare," she said slowly. "A nightmare about a bad memory."

Jessa then sat her tea down on my nightstand before continuing.

"When I was younger, my parents got killed. And I couldn't save them."

"Who killed them?"

I watched Jessa's lips quiver before she answered.

"Everyone in the place I used to live," she said with bitterness in her voice. "Before I ran off to the Terrible Tunnel."

I looked down to see her fists tighten up so much her knuckles began to turn white.

"Jessa," I said while grabbing her hands.

I wish I knew the words to express to her how sorry I was about her loss. But what could I say? All I could do now was hold her and not say anything. Jessa wouldn't say anything else, but she did cry silently a few times. I couldn't help but intertwine my fingers with hers once her fists loosened up and I buried my face into the side of her head. Long black hair met my face first and I blushed. It was so soft. Such a honey! But I refrained from running my other hand through it. Jessa kept tearing up, but I hugged her. It was all I could think to do.

Jessa's POV:

I couldn't stop crying. The tears just kept coming. It should have been me on that stake and not my parents. They didn't deserve any of this! Even though I got my revenge on the Shazzles who took part in the killing, it still didn't undo anything. I still have to live with the fact that I failed to rescue them. I then felt Boober pull me closer to him and hold my hand. I wish I could tell him more, but I couldn't. I couldn't give Boober or anyone else here any specific details. If he knew that I'm half Shazzle, he wouldn't be so inclined to help me out. If everyone in Fraggle Rock knew that, they wouldn't have welcomed me. More tears ran down my face, but I tried to keep my crying to a minimum. After a few minutes, I rested my head on Boober's chest, who initially flinched before wrapping his arms around me. I then felt him rub the back of my head and my crying slowly began to subside.

"I'm sorry," He said to me.

I hugged him in response. Boober's scarf sort of tickled my nose, so I moved it behind his shoulder. As I did, I got a whiff of his scent: laundry soap and... hair tonic? I couldn't help but blush, but tried to not be too obvious.

Boober's POV:

My heart began to race and I could feel my cheeks heat up. Here I was holding Jessa while she was all snuggled up to me. It was an effort to keep my tail from wagging, though the same couldn't be said for my baloobius as it glowed brightly. I was afraid Jessa would notice it like she did the day before, but she either didn't see the light radiating off of my baloobius or was too emotional to care. As soon as Jessa returned my hug, I massaged her head. Slowly but surely, the crying stopped. But I still played with her beautiful hair. To my surprise, she didn't mind it. I watched each strand fall from between my fingers and land back on her. It was quiet for a while until she finally spoke again.

"I didn't have the best childhood," she said.

I left Jessa's hair alone long enough to listen.

"Where I grew up, the other kids gave me a hard time. I never got invited to anything, and they always pushed me in the mud."

"Gosh," I replied before hugging her tighter.

"My parents and I were the black sheep among everyone else. Nobody ever liked us."

"Why didn't you leave sooner?" I couldn't help but ask.

"My mom had too many memories there. Before she met my dad, she was one of the most respected citizens of our community. But then my father came into the picture. He and Mom fell in love and since nobody else was too fond of him they got shunned as a result. Then I came along."

I rested my hand on Jessa's shoulder and caressed it with my thumb.

"My existence made things worse for them. Mom lost the respect of her former friends, but she didn't care as she had my father and me. Her family was more important than anything else."

"And your dad?"

"He loved mom and I just as much."

I then rested my chin on the top of her head.

"We may have been pariahs, but we had each other. But now they're gone."

More tears formed in Jessa's eyes, but her crying wasn't as prominent as before. Good. That means the tea I made for her is helping her relax.

"After their death, I saw no reason to stay. So I left and never came back. It's been 5 years since then, and I still refuse to set foot in the place I was raised."

"Those people don't deserve you, Jessa."

She looked up at me with the cutest expression I ever saw on her face. It made my heart jump. Her eyes were fawn-like, unlike before where they conveyed little to no emotion. Up until now, Jessa's face remained unreadable. But now she has this sad and adorable look on her face. I couldn't help but place my hand on her cheek.

Jessa's POV:

I blushed when Boober cupped my face.

"They didn't know what they had," he said softly.

This took me by surprise and I looked away, not knowing how to respond. But what Boober said was sweet. I then felt his thumb caress my cheek, to which I blushed harder in response.

"Did the tea help?" He asked me as I made eye contact with him (or tried to).

"Yeah, a little bit," I replied before laying my head back down. "Thanks for making it."

"Lavender is known to reduce anxiety."

"Good to know."

Boober's POV:

We continued cuddling, except now we were lying down. Jessa was on top of me while I held her. Even though this wasn't planned at all, I couldn't help but feel… content. Happy even. Like I had everything I ever wanted right here in my arms. I didn't want Jessa to leave, then I would start missing her. So I savored the moment. I tightened my hold on her while she released a sigh. Her hair was sprawled out everywhere as I began to run my fingers through it yet again. In response, Jessa nuzzled my neck, which made me grin. I felt a blush coming on my face as well as I looked down at her, only to see a slight smile working its way into her face. God, she is so pretty! I buried my face into her scalp, wanting to kiss her badly. But I refrained, remembering the incident with Sidebottom. It still boggles me how Jessa was willing to let that go. It still bothers me, but not nearly as much. I kept playing with Jessa's hair while she slowly drifted off into a nice relaxing slumber. I thought about waking her up and sending her back to Red and Mokey's room, but seeing Jessa sleep so peacefully at last kept me from doing so. What if she had another bad dream and needed my comfort? At least then she wouldn't run back to the Terrible Tunnel and sob. I would already be here for her to cry on my shoulder. And maybe make her some more lavender tea. I knew in the back of my mind that these were only justifications for keeping Jessa here with me, but I was also prepared for that scenario to happen again.

I finally fell asleep, still holding Jessa close to me. Before I did, I couldn't help but wonder; why was she and her parents hated so much? Did they do anything wrong or were they just unlucky? Jessa has yet to tell me that. Maybe she will eventually. But if she is a criminal of some kind, I need to work on my taste in women. However, I have yet to see Jessa do anything bad. I don't think even striking that gorg with a lightning bolt counts as unruly behavior. She did it to save Wembley and Mokey from getting thumped. She bought Gobo time to get away from that Fearsome Beast and killed the plant that tried to eat him. And she saved me from falling to my death. Maybe she isn't a criminal after all. Just got dealt with a bad deck of cards in life.

End of Boober's and Jessa's POV