My first Max and Ruby story. Yay! You know what bothers me in some kid tv shows? The children characters usually are always on their own to figure out things for themselves, no adults anywhere to be seen. Some shows have uncles, aunts and grandparents to help out rarely, but for the most part there's no adult supervision to be found. In Max and Ruby, if you look above one of the scenes with the couch in the living room, you can see Max and Ruby standing with two adult bunnies. Their parents perhaps? Maybe we need to look at this show from the perspective of the adult figure in this show, Grandma.

I own nothing. Max and Ruby and all its content belong to their respectful owners. I don't own the cover image either.

Enjoy the story!

"C'mon Max. Let's go show Grandma the treats we've made for her," Ruby said as she already began heading off to the kitchen.

"Treats," Max eagerly said. He quickly slid off the couch and bounded after her. As the two bunnies rounded the corner, Ruby stopped and looked back at the grey lady bunny sitting contently on the chair in the living room.

"We'll be right back Grandma. Just you wait," she said before ducking back.

"Take your time dear. I'm in no rush," Grandma called after them. Relaxing back in the chair with a content sigh, she took in the decorated interior of the room. Several plush furniture, pristine woodworks and designed draperies and carpets made up the entire room. Several of Max's toys that lay sprawled out on the floor kept the atmosphere at a calm, childish level amongst the sophisticated elements.

She smiled as she took in the quiet sight. Here eyes then fell close to the stairwell where over the red, decoratively designed couch their was a framed photograph just above it. A frown crossed to her lips and she sighed again. She reached up top her face and pulled off her spectacles before taking out a tissue to clean them. As she polished the glasses, her eyes shut. She didn't have to look at the picture to know what it was.

Max and Ruby stood in the picture, side by side in the middle. To the right near Ruby was an adult bunny with the exact same fur color as the two children. She was dressed in a pink dress and a pretty necklace around her neck. Near Max to the left was another bunny, this time a male with her fur color. He was dressed in overalls just like Max, but had a brown fedora jauntily on his head. A large, black mustache also covered his face. She sighed again and replaced the glasses on the bridge of her nose.

Walter and Sidney. Her beloved son and darling daughter-in-law. Her grandchildren's deceased parents.

It had all happened when Max had barely turned a year old. They had left her to babysit them while they went out for a date. They had given her a specific time when they'd be back, but it didn't matter. Three-year old Ruby and one-year old Max were just the most darling bunnies she had ever encountered. It was an absolute joy to babysit them. Plus if they stayed out late more then expected, she could always sleep in the guest bedroom.

The night passed and they did not return. As she got up to get breakfast for the two, she could not stop the nagging, worrisome feeling at the back of her head. She was sure that they had just probably spent the night at a hotel and would be back later that day.

It then turned afternoon and there was no sign of them yet. She was about to dial their phone numbers when a knock at the door broke her away from the telephone. At the door were two police bunnies, each with a grave look of their faces.

When she came back to the living room, tears were streaming down her face in rivers. Max was playing with his rattle while Ruby snuggled with her dolly. Both bunnies looked up at her, each sporting a confused look, full of childish innocence. Ruby had just begun to talk and Max was too young to understand. But in that moment, she knew they would eventually learn the truth for themselves.

A truth involving a careless driver who ended the lives of the two most beloved people she knew.

The two cried without their parents, but soon, as their young minds allowed it, the memories of their parents soon became a dim memory for the both of them. She took care of them as best she could, but it soon became apparent that Ruby was more fit to take care of things around the house more then she did. She was exceedingly mature for her age, more so then any bunny she had ever seen before.

By the time she was six, Grandma no longer needed to constantly supervise and take care if the two. Ruby had it all under control, even taking care of her younger brother Max as well. True there were some down or stressful moments with them, but they always pushed through in the end.

That didn't mean she couldn't visit them frequently or vice versa. She delivered just a short walk away and she loved visiting them or them visiting her. She tried to get involved with as much activities as she could with them. They needed a role, adult figure in their lives and while she could not completely fulfill that role, she did her best to be there for them.

"Grandma," suddenly came a voice that snapped her out of her thoughts. She quickly looked over to see Ruby standing nearby with a pitcher of lemonade in one land and a platter full of snickerdoodles in the other. Max stood beside her, a glass in one hand and his red rubber elephant tucked carefully underneath his other arm.

"Is everything alright, Grandma," Ruby asked. Her voice was mature and concern-filled, but that did not betray her child-like innocence and the like. Grandma quickly nodded, erasing any form of negative emotion from her face with a warm smile and a nod.

"Oh, I'm fine my dears. Ooh, are those snickerdoodles," she asked, reaching out to take one. Ruby proudly held our the platter so she could grab one before turning to Max so he could let her little brother and helper have one too.

"Treats," he gleefully said before proceeding to plop the entire thing into his mouth.

"Oh my Ruby," Grandma said between bites. "These are scrumptious." Ruby beamed with pride as she held out as she poured some lemonade into the glass Max brought who held it out to her to take.

"Thanks Grandma, Max helped a lot with the mixing and sprinkling of sugar," she added. Max nodded in agreement and put another cookie in his mouth. "We also have chocolate-chip cookies, and oatmeal cookies, and sugar cookies, and-"

"Well, we had better go try them all. C'mon, I want to see the fabulous, sweet creations you guys have made," she said as she got off the couch.

"Treats," Max cried out again, running towards the kitchen with a burst of energy. Both bunnies giggled as he left before heading off after him. As they crossed the carpeted floor, Grandma took one last glance at the picture of her children and grandchildren, in a time when it was much more lively in the house.

"Grandma? Are you coming," Ruby asked, stopping to look back on her. Grandma sighed and nodded.

"Yes, fine dear. Just old memories being stirred up in this household," she replied quietly. Ruby looked carefully at her for a moment before giving a reassuring smile and resuming her walk to the kitchen. Grandma followed after her, allowing the sweet scents of the freshly baked goods to overcome the sorrow she felt in her heart.

"We don't see Max and Ruby's parents because I believe that kids resolve their issues and conflicts differently when they're on their own,"-Rosemary Wells, the author of the original book series for Max and Ruby. Fair enough, I can understand the tones they're trying to place in, yet I still want to know why there's actually picture of Max and Ruby's parents in the background.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this story. Please leave a review if you like and feel free to check out some of my other stories. Sincerely, v.t.7