Mysteries were common for the Mystery Inc household, but on occasion, the various members would be called upon for their other talents. Daphne was running something online she occationally had to be called off for, also Shaggy and Fred disappeared on occasion, as well. But while Velma never left the house unless she had to, often NASA and other scientists asked for her help.

Very rarely did she ever turn something down, or at most ask for more time if a mystery came up. Diligent in her work, she worked till the end of her projects, burning the midnight oil. By now the rest of the gang was used to this, and helped when ever they could. But mostly that was serving the youngest member food and coffee to help her get her work done with little interruptions. This was also why Velma had a couch installed in her lab, just in case.

"Finally!"

Came the triumphant shout from Velma as one such projects came to a close. She had been working all night in attempt to get the task done before anything else popped up. With a flicker of her tired fingers, she managed to send the thesis paper to her colleague, online. Internet was a wonderful thing, and helped to cut down on the paper work Velma had grown so used to over the years. Though some people still enjoyed a few hard copies, she was able to for the most part, get away with an email.

Pushing her chair away from her desk, she rolled a bit before sliding to a stop. She leaned her chair far back and covered her weary eyes with the back of her sleeve. She sighed, exhausted at the long hours the paper had taken to finish. Bed was looking really good right now. With all the hours of struggle and hassle over, she was just looking forward to crawling into bed and blocking out the world.

Trudging up the stairs, she dragged herself to the first floor of the house. Blinking, she noticed that outside was still dark. It must still be night... She thought to herself. She had removed the clock that used to hang on the wall, hours ago. The incessant ticking of the second hand had been driving her crazy and she removed the battery. The paper had been giving her a hard enough time, she didn't need the ticking sound to be wearing on her nerves as well. She had almost made it to her room when a voice perked up behind her.

"Oh Velma, are you done?"

Looking scruffy as ever, Shaggy peeked his head from around the corner of the living room. Velma blinked a second, actually trying to confirm that he was not just a sleep deprivation illusion. But he was too bright and cheery to be something her tired mind would conjure up this late at night. Odd that he was awake.

"Mm, yeah. Just heading to bed now." Velma grumbled, giving her head a sleepy scratch. Her hair must have looked like a wreck, from all the nerve wracking scratching she did while writing the paper, but she was just heading to bed so she didn't really care what it looked like.

"Oh, before you go to bed, can you like' help me out a second... Pretty please." Clasping his hands together, he put on his puppy face and begged the worn out woman to help him.

"Well I don't...." Velma started but Shaggy came up and placed a hand around her shoulders to lead her towards the front door.

"It will only take a second. I promise." Shaggy said as the door opened and she was being lead to the van. Velma was too tired to resist to much, but eyed Shaggy.

"Alright, but this better not take too long. I was heading to bed."

"Don't worry, Don't worry. This isn't going to take too long. Scouts honor. Just take a look in the van..." Shaggy said putting up his hand before opening the door to show Velma his problem he needed her help for. She groggily turned to the van to look in before her mind caught up with her.

"... But you weren't a scout..."

Just as she was about to turn around, her glasses were pulled off from inside the dark van and something else got flipped in the way. The whole world went dark. Her hands came up to her face to feel the cloth that was around her face. With a light shove, she found herself pushed into the van and the door quickly closed behind her.

"Wait... What the... Shaggy! What do you think you are doing?"

Blind, she felt the door open in the front and someone climb into the drivers seat, she tried to move towards the front seat but soon found a weight being placed upon her lap. A very furry weight.

"Scooby, what are you doing?"

"Rit's for ror r'own rood!" Came a lick from Scooby as he prevented her from getting up.

"Yeah Velms, it's like, for your own good." Shaggy said from the drivers seat, turning on the car and pulling them out of the driveway.

"So... it's for my own good to be dragged before I go to sleep and taken somewhere against my will?" She was grumpy. All she wanted to do was get a good night sleep. And here she was being sat on by Scooby, and driving to who knows where.

"Trust me."

Velma sighed. She knew Shaggy well enough that he wasn't going to do anything bad to her. And the Dane was in on it as well. Though she was not in the mood to play games, she did in fact trust him. She would kick him later for this... but she did trust him.

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The ride didn't seem too last too long, but with all the turns they made she was not sure where exactly they were. She just knew it must be somewhere up, since they seemed to be on a upward slope for a good part of the drive. When their tires hit gravel, Velma was really confused. But she didn't have time before the van stopped.

She could hear Shaggy moving about. He came into the back of the van where she was, but only seemed to be moving things and taking something from the back. She didn't have enough time to look around the van before she was blindfolded, so she was not sure exactly what he would be tinkering with. But with the light grunts from Shaggy, it sounded to be a bit heavy.

Giving an experimental push, the Dane still sat steadfast upon her lap. He lapped at her face, but still didn't move his furry butt off. He wasn't really all that heavy, but he wasn't budging till Shaggy said so.

Sometimes I wish we had a Pomerania. Velma mused to herself, since that would be easy to push off and get away from. Part of herself was still annoyed at Shaggy for dragging her somewhere, but her curiosity was winning out on just exactly where he had taken her.

Agonizing minutes ticked by before any of them spoke. And it was Scooby, still on her lap. He felt like he was leaning, to look at something when he called out to Shaggy.

"Rit's r'almost rime Raggy!"

"Almost time?" Velma asked, but no one answered her.

"Alright Scoob, let her up." Came Shaggy's voice. With the weight off of her lap, she felt a hand reach in and gently pull her from the Van. She tripped with the sudden contact with the ground and was caught by an awaiting Shaggy. His arms held her up as she regained her balance and took off the blindfold. But it didn't do her much good, since she was practically blind already without her glasses. Once she was ok standing on her own, Shaggy leg go before placing her glasses back on her face. He skipped a short distance away from her, and off to her left.

Bringing her hands up, she adjusted her glasses and spun on a heel to face him. She was mad, she was tired and she was going to let him have it. Bringing up a hand to lecture him, she turned to face him....

"When I get my hands on..."

Her annoyed ramble fell from her lips as the sight entered her vision. Like a rising phoenix, daylight was breaking over all of Coolsville. The suns rays radiated out of the center, coating the sky with fading shades of reds and oranges as they melted into the bright blue sky. On the edges of her vision, from the top of the hill they were perched upon, she could watch the stars disappear into cheery blue sky that greeted her. All of her anger faded away with them, captivated by something as simple and innocent as daybreak.

Sometimes I loose sight of the simple things.... Velma thought to herself as Shaggy came around to stand behind her. Wrapping his hands around her neck he draped himself upon her, resting his head next to hers. For a while, they watched the dawn arrive over the town they lived in. Finally, Shaggy broke the silence.

"Good Morning Velma."

Turning, she moved her head enough to be able to look at his. She sighed, taking in by his easygoing manner and simple phrase. She gave a laugh, and brought a hand up to rustle his hair. He always knew exactly what she needed. And the sunrise was, just perfect. A beautiful ending... Or a nice beginning.

"Good morning, Shaggy."