Chapter 19

A knock at my door sounded.

I was attempting to nap here.

After scrubbing every inch of my hut with a mix of hot soapy water and dust of shame, hoping that did the trick, and scrubbing my jacket with the same solution, then setting it by the fire draped over a chair to dry, everything really started to hit me.

My door was fixed. Kirch had sent Doogie by to fix it. It was like the eff you I just needed right now.

Not in the mood to bicker with him, I'd quickly thanked him, much to his shock and oddly enough a smidge of dismay, and left him to it, pretending a headache that wasn't very pretend, and crawled into bed.

Having fallen asleep at some point, I woke up to that incessant, nagging, rapping tap on my freshly fixed door.

All these broken doors really weren't making me feel safe and sound against an insistent Krampus.

Rolling over to stare at the ceiling, I didn't bother answering. Moisture gathered in my eyes. I didn't care to pinpoint what exactly was triggering it, but I resented it all the same.

It took me several minutes and a lot of throat clearing to compose myself. Sitting up, nabbing up a shawl with an annoyed sigh, I'd just thrown my legs over the bed when the fool seated at my table lifted his head from where he'd apparently been doodling away at my table for god knows how long.

Too half-awake to fully understand there was no threat, I shrieked, threw a pillow at him, tripped, and flopped backwards onto the bed.

Doogie grunted as the pillow clapped him in the kisser.

"Joansie?! Jojoknee?!" Booger barked from the other side of the door.

He banged on the door so hard after that Doogie and I both snapped at him to stop.

"For the love of god, would everyone stop busting down my damn doors?" Hurrying to the door, I threw it open and squinted into Boog's sad panda face.

"My god, that's hideous!" I thunk it, it popped free. All part of my charm this soon after waking. Opening the door wider, I checked my jacket, glad to find it dry enough to wear, and rushed about, gathering my purse, boots, slipping my snow pants on over my worn sweats.

"What you do?" Doogie asked.

"Look at that thing!" My hand waved, pointing towards Booger's totally grody eye. "I'd call it a loss and say let's just cut that sucker right out but last I checked pirates aren't in right now," I snarked. "That sucker needs to be looked at. It's, like, infected or on its way there. Blech."

"Not blech," Booger grumbled, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. "Daisy say not ‘fected."

Doogie perked up at the mention of her name.

A snort left me as I had a seat at the table and started pulling makeup out of my bag to do up my face.

"Looks better no face ups," Doogie grunted out, his nose wrinkling at all the cosmetic smells.

Pausing, about to powder my nose, I raised a single, well-shaped eyebrow at him. "What are you, the ugly police?"

"Why you sad and sleepy? No heckle Doogie?" the baby bro I never wanted shot back.

Clapping my compact shut, I rolled my eyes at him but shoved all my crap back into my purse and threw my hair up in a high, messy bun atop my head. "Mind ya business, Douglas."

"Would mind business but Mama say go fix Jo's door. No sasses back. So Doogie go to fix, find Jo looking like this." His version of me with a hangdog look made me laugh. Lifting a small tea towel off the table, I chucked it at him. Grabbing it, he neatly folded it and set it next to him. Turning to Booger, Doogie eyed Booger's gnarly eye goop and shook his head. "‘Fected," he agreed, making me smirk.

Booger made an unhappy noise as Doogie barked out a laugh.

"Your mama and Daddy Luka home?" I asked Doogie.

"Mama home when Doogie leave to fix door," he replied with a shrug.

"How long about was that, Sparky?" I muttered as I motioned for him and Booger to follow me out the door.

"While," Doogie muttered noncommittally as we stepped out and I blinked into the growing dark.

"Shit." So… not so much a nap as a partial day's rest.

"Be home now. Food," Doogie said simply, the small bag he'd put all of his drawing supplies in in hand, and walked past me, leading the way.

We were almost to Dorothy's when I spied Cottontail walking hand in hand with Righty, her mate.

"I don't care what you or Douglas say, woman, that eye is infected!" I called out to her.

Daisy paused, hand raised, about to wave at me. Her smile dipped into a frown. "It's not that bad," she mumbled, as if to herself.

"Doogie no say it pinked eye," Booger started to mutter, but a sharp elbow put an end to that. Grabbing his arm, dragging him closer with me, I muttered through the side of my mouth, "Just go with it. For me."

"Don't dawdle, Douglas," I tsked the straggler of our party as Dougie hung back.

"Douglas?" Daisy blink-blinked at us as Righty glanced from where his mate's interest had caught just over my shoulder and a little to my left.

"Doogie," Righty rumbled out softly.

"His name is Douglas," I corrected primly, smiling warmly in his direction like we didn't fight like cats and dogs. Eh. I was a sucker for a good happy ending. Everyone deserved a chance to find love, didn't they? With a frown, I gestured between the two. "You mean you haven't met Dorothy's son?" Leaning in, I boldly lied, "I'm shocked. He's, like, her favorite, just don't tell the others, ‘cause ya know how it is. Am I right?"

Holding out her hand with a shrug, Daisy smiled up at him. "I've met so many of them but I don't believe we have. Nice to meet you."

Doogie looked like a deer caught in the headlights but carefully took her hand in his and gave it a very gentle shake.

"My god, you won't break her," I taunted.

Daisy laughed, while Righty grew a lil frowny.

Deciding that was as good an intro as any, I told them. "Well, we need to get going, get Booger's eyeball fixed up or find enough folks to hold him down so we can dig it out." Turning, I tossed Booger a wink that got me a glower. "Looks like it might rain or snow and, you know, Doogie was just showing me some of his drawings. Don't want them to get wet. He's very talented."

Doogie stared at me like I'd just grown three heads.

"Oh! You draw?!" Daisy leaned towards him with interest. "Maybe you could show us some of your drawings some time?"

"Of course he'd love to! But not right now, we've gotta go. Some other time! It's a date, then!" Grabbing up Booger and Doogie's arms, I dragged them off towards Dorothy's. "Toodles! Don't do anything I wouldn't, you two!"

Doogie allowed me to drag him along with us, stumbling next to me, in a daze.

It wasn't until we were right at Dorothy's front door that he finally snapped out of it.

"Date?" A garbled noise left him.

Slapping him on the back, I let out a loud, boisterous laugh. "Yep! Guess you better start working on your A game, huh?"

Doogie shot forward at my back slap and would have face planted if Booger hadn't reached out to steady him, he was that loopy from his first meeting with his dream girl.

"Hey, Doro, you home, girl?" I called out, stepping inside.

"In the kitchen! Be right there!" Dorothy called back.

Dorothy's screen door creaked opened as Doogie finally came around and got ahold of himself enough to follow us inside.

The glazed look to Doogie's eyes had me elbowing Booger to have a look-see, and soon we were both snickering.

"What brings you here at this hour? Douglas wasn't giving you any grief, was he?" she asked as she walked into the living room area.

"Got a case for ya, doc," I joked, gesturing towards Booger's not-infected infected eye.

"Oh my. That is something," she said simply, but didn't that say it all.

"Jo?" Doogie gulped, looking like he was so excited about his upcoming date he might be sick.

"No need to thank me-" I'd tried to say, but Doogie charged at me, scooping me up in a bear hug I was too breathless from to tell him to let me up for air.

Dorothy had to, laughing when he eased up enough to assure her I was fine.

Like my life was just universally shit, Odix came in, deep in conversation with Lukar and Griever.

The male I'd started to look at as a big, sensitive, cuddly bear, lost his shit walking in on Doogie grinning and hugging me.

"NO!" I bellowed, squirming free of Doogie's thank you hug to throw myself backwards over him. "Don't you dare lay a finger on him! It wasn't like that! I swear!"

Odix snarled and crouched, looking unconvinced. Realizing what Odix must have thought, Doogie started barking at him in their native tongue as he tried to get me off of him.

Like that was the key to getting through to him, Odix's snarl fell.

Lukar and Griever looked ready to grab hold of Odix and drag him outside before they'd let him brawl Doogie, let alone inside their home.

Booger walked over and started snapping at Odix. Tucking me into his side to slowly nudge me behind him, it sounded like he was reading Odix the riot act.

Fighting to keep my composure, I felt the cool, unbothered look on my face slipping as my gaze darted from Dorothy to her mate, then Doogie, before briefly skimming Odix's snarl-frozen mug.

"I'm thirsty," Dorothy announced. "Joanie, honey, do you think you could grab the pitcher and some water?"

Nodding, I quickly quit the room. The second I made it to the hall I was wiping at my eyes.

By the time I'd filled the pitcher, grabbed a few mugs, and made my way back, Odix, Lukar, and Doogie were gone.

"Is this enough?" I asked, carefully making my way over to set the cups down on her small coffee table.

"We thank." Griever took one of the mugs and filled it, then set it next to Dorothy.

"See? Not ‘fected," Booger muttered as Dorothy doctored up his eye.

Dorothy pursed her lips, looking like she was fighting a smile. She had a lot of experience with very stubborn males.

"How do you manage them all without losing your ever loving mind?" I blurted, amazed at her fortitude.

"Who says I don't lose it on occasion?" she teased, giving Griever a silly smile.

Griever grinned and his chest started to rumble with a happy purr.

"And that's my cue to take my Booger and skedaddle," I quipped, making them laugh.

"Not ‘fected," Booger insisted while I poured myself a drink.

"Look, if it's fine by tomorrow, I'll eat my underpants, smother ‘em in mock barbecue sauce and everything, with a smile on my face." Wagging a finger at him, I shook my head. "But if it's not…"

Booger grunted and mumbled quickly, "No make that bet."

"That's what I thought," I muttered.

Finishing my drink, I stood as Dorothy declared Booger free to move about the country. "Nice eye patch," I commented as he frowned at the material bandaging his eye.

"Jojoknee say pirates not in." He sounded so morose at the idea, I had to think fast.

"It's Halloween. Anything can happen. Everything's in right now, right?!" Giving him a big smile, I glanced at Dorothy, who caught on and readily agreed.

"It's very becoming," she agreed.

"See?!" Patting his arm, I left him to Dorothy's aftercare instructions and walked over to the door.

Spying a lone, dark form just up ahead, a frisson of fear slid over me.

"What wrong?" Booger asked as he made his way past me and stepped out.

"I thought I saw something," I mumbled as I followed him out.

"What see?" Booger looked to me but I shook my head.

Like he'd been standing there waiting for us, Odix appeared from the shadows.

A smidge of trepidation remained, even as relief he wasn't a rogue Krampus breaching camp filled me.

"Odix," Booger rumbled out quietly in greeting, steering me right past him to keep walking.

"Odix- Odix-" Several starts and stops later, Odix called after us, "Odix go, too."

Booger agreed with a sort of half grunt but kept himself between us. We were halfway to my place before I felt like I could finally relax.

Booger chatted up Odix in their tongue, nothing to his tone giving me pause. They could be talking about farts or barbecue sauce for all that I knew.

By the time we'd made it to my house, they'd slipped into companionable silence.

Turning to me as I opened my door and stood in the doorway, as I twisted to bid them good night, Booger awkwardly mumbled, "Jojo help Booger with Mally? Like Jojoknee help Doogie?"

I blinked at that. Huh. "Booger buns, are you asking me to help you get your woo on?" My lips quirked up in a small half smile. My smile slowly grew as Booger shyly nodded.

Odix glanced between us in confusion. "What help Doogie with, with female?" he grunted out to Boog. It wasn't lost on me he pointedly avoided eye contact with me.

My smile fell but I forced it back into place. "Tomorrow, best buddy," I cheerfully agreed, before slamming my door on them and locking it.

Slumping against the door to slide down it, I sighed. Honestly, I should probably just sleep here, just like this. Anyone wanted to tear down my door, they'd have to get through me first.

But then I'd have a door on top of me…

With a groan, I gave up any sense of decency and crawled to my bed. Dumping my purse atop my bedding, I kicked out of my boots and slipped my jacket off.

My gaze snagged on the pot of stew hanging on the hook over the fire.

Who was this from?

Standing, I moved closer. A small, folded slip of paper with a loaf of wrapped bread atop it was placed at my seat on the table. Picking the paper up and unfolding it, I laughed at Doogie's depiction of me smirking, my face notably makeup free.

"Dick," I muttered, even as I smiled.

Propping my drawing up on my nightstand, I poured myself a big bowl of stew and ate half of the small loaf of bread. My gaze kept going back to that picture and it gave me a reason, albeit however small, to smile.

Thinking about Doogie's situation and Booger asking for help, I shrugged. Maybe I wasn't good at this relationship stuff when it came to my own, but I wasn't too bad at nudging things along when it came to others.

How hard could it be?