The stayover ends

It is the middle of the afternoon, on the last day of Shadow's stayover at his best friend and "sister"'s place, to keep her company for a while. And Juley was taking a bit of a nap as she had a rough night sleeping, thanks to her unborn twins causing some mischief the night prior. Elsewhere, Shadow was doing some air-punching outside and out of harm's way regarding the items that could be wrecked inside Juley's home. As he trained, he pondered how much longer his "sis" had before she was going to have her kids. He tried his best to not let it bug him too much as he slowly upped his punching speed.

Twenty minutes pass on as the expectant fennec mother groaned and slowly awoke, her tired eyes opening with some discomfort. Carefully, she gets up into a sitting position before rubbing her tired eyes, waiting a bit before slowly getting off her bed and then heading to her dresser to get her clothes. However, she felt something wasn't quite right as she looked downward, where she noticed that she wasn't wearing a bra anymore. She looked back towards her bed and saw that her bra was on the floor. She walked over to it and carefully picked it up for a better look, seeing that it snapped at the latches. Growling, she threw it hard and it somehow lands into the waste basket.

"Damn it! That was my second-to-last pair! Stupid pieces of trash, not made very well for someone of my stature!" Juley grumbled to herself as she went back to her dresser and looked for her last pair, which seemed to be well buried under her other clothes. She then grabbed her dress and was about to head to the washroom when she heard the front door opening and then closing, indicating that her friend has finished his training and has come inside to get a drink. Pondering for a moment, she decided to ask him to get some shopping done. She walked over to her desk, sat down, got out a pen and paper and started writing down a list. Afterwards, she heard a knock on the door, then a voice.

"Juley? Are you awake?" Shadow asked behind the door.

"Oh, yes. I'm awake now," replied Juley as she put the pen away and carefully walked to the door. "Um, bro? Can you do something for me?" She waited for an answer.

"Sure, what is it, sis?" Asked Shadow. Carefully, Juley opened the door a teeny bit and handed out the list she just wrote down.

"Can you go out and get these for me?" asked Juley, making sure that she wasn't being seen in the semi-buff. She felt the paper being taken from her hand and she waited for a reply. There was a bit of silence before she got one.

"Okay, but please note that this is something that I don't normally do," said Shadow as he folded the paper and stuffed it into his shorts pocket. He took a few steps away from the door and was about to leave, but turned his head back towards the door. "Anything else that's not on your list here?" A small growling sound came from Juley's stomach, one that only she could hear.

"Um... Maybe some more fruit?" said Juley, blushing a bit from her stomach growling. Shadow chuckled a bit.

"Okay, then. I'll be back in a while. Be careful while I'm gone, alright?" said Shadow before heading down the stairs and leaving the house. Juley sighed a bit before grabbing her clothes from the chair and then headed to the washroom to get all cleaned up and properly dressed for the day. She examined herself once she was done having her cleanising shower and getting into her clothes. She then gently held her baby bump in her arms as sheclosed her eyes and started to hum a soft tune, one that just came to her head. A moment later, she felt a kick and then another.

"Hey, hey... Not too hard now," said Juley as she gently rubbed her tummy, feeling a few more kicks before they settled down. She then let out a sigh before looking at her reflection once again, just noticing that she hasn't fixed up her hair. "Oh, carp!" She grabbed the nearest hairbrush and worked her magic on her messed-up and semi-wet hair. Afterwards, she carefully got down the stairs and went into the kitchen to deal with her growling hunger. Opening the fridge, she saw only about three handfuls of strawberries and one half-full carton of peach juice left. "Wow, I made a good call about the fruit." She thought to herself as she grabbed the remainder of the fruit and walked into the living room and sat down onto the couch. She then indulged on some of the strawberries before having some of the peach juice. Moments later, she had finished off what was left of the strawberries and peach juice, feeling very satisfied. She then let out a small yawn before taking another small nap.

About an hour later, she awoke to a slight pain after one of her unborn kids moved. She winced a bit as she slowly got up.

"Ow, that hurt..." Juley thought to herself before placing a hand on her tummy. She pondered for a bit before stretching with her other arm, then decided that she should do some stretches while she waited for her friend to come back. So, she carefully gets herself up off the couch, taking the empty carton of peach juice with her and disposing it the trash. She then stood at a clear spot in the living room and slowly started her stretching exercises, breathing in and out at a good pace as she went from one stretch to another. It seemed like an hour or more passed on by, but as she did one last stretch, she felt a big pang of pain on her back and part of her shoulders. She winced as she tried to move back to the couch, her tail all poofed up and slight tears of pain flowing down her face. It was then that Shadow came back with the items and extras that he was asked to get.

"I'm back, Ju! I got the items and let me tell you, some of them were a real hassle to get," said Shadow before heading to the living room, where he saw his friend wincing from the pain of her sore muscles. He placed the bags down next to the couch and then sat down next to Juley. "What happened, sis?" She looked at him, trying to hold back some of the tears of pain.

"I... I think I pulled a muscle in my back and part of my shoulders somehow..," replied Juley before she winced once again. Pondering for a moment, Shadow got back up on his feet and slowly walked behind the couch, slightly cracking his knuckles a bit. She looked back at him, wondering what he was going to do.

"Juley, can you straighten up a bit away from the back of the couch?" Asked Shadow as he approached her from behind. After a bit more pain, she straighted up and carefully looked back at her friend. "Good, now just relax and let your 'big bro' work his magic." He then motioned her to look straight ahead, which she did. A moment later, she felt her friend's hands caressing her back and shoulders, a slight tingling sensation tickled her muscles as he gently rubbed her back. A moment later, she shook and wriggled from the feel of her friend's massage, causing him to stop for a bit. She looked back at him with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, I... kinda become a worm when someone touches me, even if it's just to massage my back," said Juley before letting out a small chuckle. Shadow just smiled back and waited for her to look straight ahead again.

"I see, but I do need you to try and not to move so much. I don't want to try and grab you, for it might cause more harm than good," said Shadow before placing his hands onto Juley's shoulders and went back to massaging her. Juley still wriggled and shook from time to time, but this time Shadow waited for her to calm down before he continued. After about ten or so minutes, the massaging was done as he gently patted his friend's back, letting her know that he was done and that she could lay back. Upon laying back, she could not feel any more pain in her back and shoulders. Before she could give her thanks to her bro, he had reached inside one of the bags and pulled out a bowl of mixed fruit. Her eyes seemed to glisten when he handed her the bowl and a plastic spoon. "I figured that you'd like something to eat, and I figured that I would get you something special." He then chuckled as Juley took the items from him. "And I know that you like your fruit, especially strawberries. So, bon appétit." A big smile grew on his friend's face as he popped the top off the bowl.

"Oh, thank you so much, bro," said Juley just before she started to chow down. As she had her meal, Shadow grabbed the bags and headed into the kitchen, refilling the fridge and cupboard with various items, minus one particular bag. He then headed up the stairs and placed the remainder of items next to Juley's bedroom door. He then headed back downstairs and into the kitchen where he grabbed the remaining bag and pulled out what seemed to be his lunch/dinner of a footlong pizza sub. Once he got himself setted at the table, he started to chow down on his meal.

Later that night, the two sat down to watch a movie of thrills and comedy. And afterwards, they played a few games where they had about an equal amount of wins, losses and draws. They were having loads of fun for their last night before Shadow had to leave. As it grew into the late-night hours, the both of them started to get rather tired, especially Juley.

"I'm going to head to bed now, bro. I can't stay up anymore, and I should get as much sleep as possible," said Juley before she let out a small yawn.

"Okay, sis. I'm going to play a bit more before I go to sleep myself, so have a good night's rest and sweet dreams, dear Juley," said Shadow with a big smile on his face. After letting out another yawn, Juley gave her best friend and big bro a big hug, in which he returned and gently patted her back.

"Sweet dreams, bro, and good night," said Juley with a smile on her own face before breaking the hug, getting up and carefully headed to her bedroom. Shadow watched as she vanished from sight and hearing the door opening and closing. He then got up himself, looked for a piece of paper and something to write with. After finding the items, he carefully and quietly wrote down something. He placed it onto the table, went back to playing for about another hour and then went to sleep himself.

The next day, Juley and Shadow were standing outside, the Echidna all packed and ready to go.

"Well, I should get back to my home now, Juley," said Shadow as he fixed his hat. "It was very nice seeing you again and it was very good spending time with you, too." Juley nodded.

"It was no problem, Shweetay. I'm just glad that you were able to come," said Juley as she slowly approached her friend. She then gave him a big embracing hug, in which he returned. "I'm going to miss you, big bro."

"Same here, sis. But you know how to contact me, and as long as we keep that communication between us well maintained, you'll never be feeling so alone," said Shadow as he gently petted his friend's head. After five minutes, Shadow went on his way back home, waving goodbye to his best friend along the way until he vanished from sight. Juley, after standing outside for a bit longer, headed back inside and closed the door behind her, standing near the door for a few seconds before heading to the living room. Once she had sat down onto the couch, she noted a folded piece of paper on the table. She picked it up and unfolded it, seeing that it was a letter from her friend.

"Shadow must have written this after I went to bed." Juley thought to herself before reading what her friend had written down.

"Dearest Juley,

The time I had spent with you was one of the greatest times I've ever had and I don't want to ever forget that. Even though I leave you and might not see you again for quite some time, know that I will always be in your heart, as you will be in mine, dearest sis. Nothing's going to change that so easily.

And if you ever see Van again, tell him not to give me that stare again when I want to help you with your tense muscles. It's not that helpful, you know!

Take care and stay healthy, my friend.

From your big brother and best friend for all of time; Shadow.

P.S. I might visit you before your big day comes, but we'll have to wait and see, right? ;3"

Juley read over the letter a few more times before letting out a little giggle and then folding the paper and placing it on the table again. A smile appeared on her face as she looked up at the ceiling and gently placed her hand onto her tummy. She was so happy to have such a dear friend like Shadow in her life.