Jessa's POV:

"Jessa."

I opened my eyes slowly to see Boober trying to wake me up. I hadn't meant to spend another night in Fraggle Rock, but it happened. I groaned tiredly and covered myself up after Boober uncovered me.

"Jessa, wake up," he insisted gently. "I made coffee, and I don't want it to get to room temperature before consumption."

"Shit," I grumbled tiredly. "What time is it?"

I didn't even bother asking Boober why he was so worried about the quality of the coffee. I sat up. A sleepy groan escaped my mouth, and I slumped over into my lap. I took a moment to rub the sleepiness out of my eyes, though it didn't make much of a difference. Boober then sat down next to me and put his arm around me, making me blush as he pulled me in.

"I made it an exceptionally strong brew," he whispered into my ear.

My heart fluttered as he whispered. Dang, his voice is so sexy!

"Thank you," was all I could say.

My voice was still hoarse from how tired I was. I briefly rested my head on Boober's shoulder and hummed gratefully.

"You'll be awake in no time, Jessa," he said softly.

"Is everyone here an early riser?" I asked him.

"Willingly, no. But we all have 30-minute work weeks here."

I looked at Boober in confusion before he elaborated.

"All of us are required to put in 30 minutes of work each week, and I'll be doing everyone's laundry today."

Boober rested his hand on top of mine before he continued.

"So, we won't be seeing much of each other all day."

"That's okay, Boober," I replied to him. "I'll probably head back for the day anyway."

Boober hugged me tighter at the mention of me going back to the Terrible Tunnel but didn't say anything.

"I hope you enjoy the amount of laundry that comes your way."

"Thanks," he murmured before nuzzling me. "I will most certainly take joy in it."

It was so hard to not giggle at the gesture. Before anything else could be said or done, we were interrupted by Wembley.

"Hey Boober, did you find that thing you were looking for- "

Wembley froze upon seeing Boober and I snuggled to each other.

"Jessa?" Wembley asked. "When did you get here?"

I looked at Boober, hoping he would find some way to gracefully lie about the fact that I spent the night in his hole. But he was just as flustered and caught off guard as I was, if not more. I slowly let go of him as he did with me, awkwardness beginning to fill the room.

"Good morning, Wembley," I greeted him as innocently as I could.

"Good morning," he greeted me back.

I prayed he wouldn't pry and interrogate, which he didn't mercifully. Instead, he asked Boober his earlier question.

"It should be on my shelf somewhere," Boober answered before getting up to look for whatever it was that he was referring to.

He and Wembley conversed while doing this, at that gave me plenty of time to do my hair and put on my boots and holster. At some point, they began whispering, but I paid no mind to it while tying my shoelaces. After fastening my holster to my waist, I took out my sword and morphed it into a hairbrush.

Boober's POV:

Man, why couldn't Wembley have come a few minutes later?! While I was looking for an extra box of grease berries, Wembley and I had a conversation that neither of us wanted Jessa to overhear.

"Boober, I thought Jessa went back home."

"She was about to, but somebody threw a frisbee at her head, and she needed an ice pack."

Wembley, to his credit, didn't question me any further. Though I know for a fact that he isn't the interrogative type. That was more of a Red thing. And maybe even a Gobo thing. But Wembley, he never questioned much unless it was something he thought was immoral.

"Anyway, we got carried away with chatting and we fell asleep."

"I don't care what you and Jessa do."

I looked at him in surprise.

"It's just nice to see you not so gloomy for once."

"Wembley, I- "

I cut myself off to see Jessa doing her hair. She brushed away before grabbing her hair tie and putting her hair up in a ponytail.

"You seem so happy whenever she's around, and I want all my friends to be happy."

I looked at Wembley before giving him a grateful smile.

"And besides, Jessa's cool."

"Yeah," I agree wholeheartedly while grinning at her. "She is."

Jessa's POV:

By the time I did my hair, Boober and Wembley were speaking at a normal volume. I got up to my feet just as Wembley left and Boober approached me, smiling and blushing while holding a box of what I assumed to be more of his laundry stuff.

"Ready for morning coffee?" he asked me.

"Definitely ready for coffee," I answered before he took my hand and led me into the kitchen.

I noticed his baloobius glowing but didn't say anything. Whatever caused it was none of my business. Plus, I figured Boober would get embarrassed if I asked him about it. We made it to the kitchen where everyone else was, still drowsy as they all sat around sipping the coffee Boober had made. The coffee aroma met my nostrils, and I inhaled it deeply, smiling and humming in satisfaction.

"It smells like a coffee shop in here," I commented.

I could have sworn I saw Boober blush and smile after I said that. As soon as I spoke, the others turned to me, surprised by my presence.

"You're here early, Jessa," Red said before taking a drink of her coffee.

"Yeah, so I am."

I took a seat at the table while Boober went to pour me a cup. Gobo yawned before sipping his coffee. The only one who seemed to be wide awake was Wembley, so I assumed he already had some. There was no sign of Mokey anywhere. I was still tired though, so I reclined in my chair as Boober handed me a cup.

"Here Jessa."

I thanked him and took a sip, the coffee burning my tongue a little from how hot it was. It was good, however, and I thanked him. After a few minutes, Red and Gobo were coherent enough to converse with the rest of us. Wembley chatted with them first before they interacted with me.

"I didn't expect to see you here this early, eh," Gobo said to me.

I just nodded, unable to find the right words to explain myself. Wembley looked away awkwardly, and I knew that he knew. Boober fidgeted with his mug, though he sat close to me.

"What's your 30-minute work week going to consist of today?" I asked Gobo, trying to change the subject.

"I'm going to explore the cave where the singing flowers are. I told you about that yesterday."

"And I've got pool duty," Red added.

I raised my eyebrows in question.

"My job is to clean the pool."

By that time, Mokey arrived, yawning, and slumping down into a chair.

"And Mokey goes out to the garden and picks radishes," Wembley said on her behalf.

Mokey merely hummed in question at the sound of her name, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Looks like you need some of Boober's brew," I said to her.

Boober got up and poured her a cup while I drank mine, my brain becoming more awake.

"So, everyone has a job here it seems?" I asked.

"Yep," Gobo answered.

"And what do you do?" I asked Wembley.

"I work with the fire department."

I smiled and hummed impressively. I then glanced over at Mokey taking her first drink and humming happily.

"Your coffee is delicious this morning, Boober." She said to him.

"I have to agree with that," Wembley added.

"Me too," I also added before raising my cup in approval.

"Gosh, I…" Boober stuttered bashfully.

Before he could complete his sentence, we were all interrupted by a scream that sounded like somebody had just been murdered. I sat my coffee down and made a beeline from where it came from. Next thing I knew, I was running through the Great Hall and to the Terrible Tunnel entrance where some other fraggles were already gathered. I stopped just behind the crowd, who all looked horrified by what they saw.

"What happened?" I asked the nearest fraggle.

"Something killed my friend," they answered while crying.

"I'm sorry," I apologized before the fraggle left.

Boober and everyone else had caught up with me by this point.

"Jessa, you took off faster than you did from the Fearsome Beast," Gobo said to me before noticing the cadaver. "Oh no."

His face went pale, Boober fainted, Mokey and Wembley began sobbing, and Red was at a loss of what to do or say next. I pushed my way through the crowd to inspect the dead fraggle's wound, which was located on his forearm.

"Jessa, what are you doing?" I heard Red ask with fear in her voice.

I didn't answer though and kept investigating. From what I could make out, there were two spots in the flesh where something had bitten him with its canine teeth to drink the fraggle's blood and then proceeded to take a huge bite out of his arm. I knew all too well what type of creature was responsible for this.

"Bloodwraithe," I said aloud.

"Pardon me, miss?" an older fraggle asked me.

"A bloodwraithe has been here. And it must have seen this guy."

"But bloodwraithes don't live here," Somebody else replied to me.

"No, but they do build nests nearby. And this bite mark matches the size of its maw."

I held up the dead fraggle's arm to prove my point, though none of them were interested in looking at the bloody corpse.

"With all that being said, I have no doubt that there's a Bloodwraithe nest nearby."

I let go of the body and rose to my feet.

"It's about time those suckers went extinct, don't you think?"

I got out my sword and tapped the cadaver, the former lighting up and gathering the bloodwraithe's DNA to track it. As soon as my sword dimmed, Bloodwraithe footprints began to glow on the ground as they extended deeper into the Terrible Tunnel. Without a second thought, I began following the trail.

"Give that guy a proper burial while I'm gone," I told the fraggles who listened.