Disclaimer: "Courage the Cowardly Dog" belongs to John R. Dilworth.

Story based on C2ndy2c1d's AU timeline

Hello dear friend, I must confess

my mind is under much distress.

With all the strength that I possess,

my tears and cries I do suppress.

.

The stars shine bright despite my pain,

I feel as if I'll go insane!

Oh, my smile I cannot maintain,

replaced with a frown that remains.

.

A crumpled letter on the floor

contained words I truly abhor!

Dear Aunt Muriel who I adore

has passed away and is no more…

The caretaker was both amazed and frightened at what he just witnessed. Moments ago, he had given a letter to a patient known as Fred and watched as a frown slowly formed on their face.

For as long as he worked here at the Home for Freaky Barbers, the caretaker had only ever seen Fred have a smile on their face.

To see anything else was unsettling!

The temperature of the room seemed to have dropped as Fred crumpled the letter and let it fall to the floor. The patient then turned to face the barred window and stared out into the night.

"Leave." said Fred quietly.

The caretaker wasted no time and quickly walked out of the room. He didn't want to spend another minute in there!

Just what was written in that letter?

A gentle hug in the afternoon,

the thrum of a sitar in tune,

the hint of vinegar in each spoon,

the joyous cry to come back soon…

.

Memories of dear Aunt Muriel

fill my mind and cause my heart to swell.

Though I fear that I cannot dwell

on sweet thoughts and say my farewell…

The doctor flipped through the files, humming and nodding in approval at the notes. He looked up at the patient sitting in front of him.

"Your behavior has greatly improved these past months," the doctor said. "Especially the last few days! I do say you've earned yourself some vacation time despite what happened the last time."

Fred simply stared at the doctor and did not utter a single word. The doctor let out a cough to break the silence.

"Y-yes, so is there any place you'd like to go?"

Vacation?

Oh if I could I would like to go back to the farm…

Where dear Aunt Muriel once lived with husband dear…

…

…

…and precious pup?

It was late at night by the time Fred arrived at the farm, carrying only his briefcase with his razor inside. He did not know what to expect once he arrived, but everything appeared to be the same…

Except his dear aunt won't be here to open the door for him.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Fred thought back on his last visit and his frown grew larger. How could he forget about the pup? The letter, however, did not mention anything about Courage which made him very concerned.

Did someone take Courage away to be put down?

Did someone adopt Courage into their home?

Or was Courage all alone on the farm?

Fred could not imagine Courage anywhere else except on the farm. All that remained of his dear aunt was here and he doubted the pup would leave it all behind.

As he approached the house, Fred noticed the living room light was on and heard voices arguing inside. He hesitated knocking at the door and stepped over to the window to peer inside…

A purple foot…

A white duck…

A brown mole…

A purple haired woman…

An orange fox…

And a red cat…

Fred did not recognize any of the occupants in the living room and he doubted any of them had any blood relation to his dear aunt or her husband.

Hooligans?

Vandals?

Criminals?

Whoever they were, they were certainly not welcomed here! Fred was about ready to take out his razor and barge right in when he spotted familiar pink fur nestled in the lap of the cat.

For the first time since hearing of his Aunt Muriel's death, Fred allowed a smile to form on his face.

Courage looked a little worse for wear, but Fred was happy to see him none the less. It looked like the pup was doing just fine and was comfortable enough with his surroundings to be sleeping through the fight going on around him. Speaking of the fight…

TAP! TAP!

Everyone stopped to glare at the source of the unexpected interruption. However, they were surprised to see Fred standing outside, becoming wide-eyed and slack jawed. They made no further movement as Fred made a shushing gesture and pointed at Courage. Everyone turned to glance at Courage then glance back at the window. Fred simply stared back with a smile and waited on the group to react.

He was amused when the orange fox let out a high-pitched squeal.

Fred let out a content sigh as he sipped his cup of tea, leaning back in his dear aunt's rocking chair. The villains had reluctantly let him in though he did hear the foot complain about letting a psychotic murderer in.

Psychotic?

Him?

Oh no, no, no, no!

Though as he observed the squirming group in front of him, he did feel a little…

You know.

A cough had Fred turn towards the duck who was leaning against the wall.

"Let us introduce ourselves," the duck said. "My name is Le Quack. Zese are my companions: monsieur Big Toe, Weremole, Cajun Fox, Katz, and ze dame Black Puddle Queen. And you are monsieur?"

Another sip, another sigh. "My name is Fred."

"Well monsieur Fred, what brings you to zis part of Nowhere?" asked Le Quack. Fred felt himself stiffen but continued to smile and sip his tea.

"I know why I am here, Mr. Le Quack. The question here is what are you and your 'companions' doing in my dear Aunt Muriel's home?"

No one spoke for a while, and Fred let them contemplate his words as he checked on the sleeping pup every few minutes.

Another cough from Le Quack regained his attention.

"Zen you are no doubt here to claim ze farm and everything here?"

"No," said Fred, shaking his head. "I doubt dear Eustace would have left me his family farm. I am here to check up on precious Courage."

"Well isn't that sweet," said the Black Puddle Queen. "But as you can see, we're taking care of the dog now."

"Is that so? Well that certainly puts my mind at ease!"

Fred set his cup down on the table, stood up and stretched his sore muscles. It had been a long day for him and he would really enjoy a good night's rest. Fred walked towards the stairs but stopped at the bottom and turned towards the villains.

"It certainly puts my mind at ease that Courage will have someone to look after him: to feed him, to bathe him, to walk him, and to even have tea with him! That there will be no ill intentions towards him! Because if anything were to happen to my dear aunt's precious pup, I would have to come back and show people how precious family really is…"

Fred gazed at Courage one last time before making his way up to the guest room.

"Good night, tender caretakers…"

Good night dear pup, let us hope and pray

the future does not lead us a stray.

No doubt our wounds will heal one day,

so let us endure and frolic and play!

.

With love,

Fred.

[End of "Precious Pup"]