Wendy went up to her room, almost
dragging herself up the long stairs down the hall. She found herself beyond
tired for reasons she couldn't understand, though she suspected having to
relive the journey from England to America had taken more from her than she'd
expected. At any rate, the only thing she could think of was sleep. She'd had
enough of waiting, of building her hopes up and then having to wait again. Yet
this time, something seemed different. Perhaps this time she would be allowed
to go. Today was the first time she was allowed to tell her story and for some
reason she thought she might have accomplished something. It was this thought,
and only this thought, that kept her moving.

She
threw open the door to her room, looking around in a brief glance at what had
become all too familiar. This was her life since she came into a strange, new
land, and then rat-napped and forced into that horrible institute... then running
from everything, ending up in house called ‘the Boniface Estate' and then
ending up here, in the Rosebush. She shook her head, trying to force the
memories off her mind. ‘This is home, at least it has been. But not to me... Not
the ‘me' I was. Perhaps it is the ‘me' that it's supposed to be...' Life in the
Rosebush was everything but bad. Life
here is full of luxury! Everything a rat ever wanted! Running water,
electricity so no more living in the dark, nicely decorated rooms you name it.
But there were rumors. Rumors Wendy normally didn't care about that much, but
she would pick things up when she was minute taking for the Council. Jenner,
for instance, changed a lot when the Plan,
pronounced with the capital P, was introduced. It had something to do with
‘living without stealing' from the farmer, because that's where all the
electricity came from. Jenner doesn't want that to happen. He said that the
rats deserved what they owned because of their terrible life at NIMH, and that
rats were even better than humans were, so much better, that they were even
able to fight them! ‘Oh, well... I guess that's just Jenner being Jenner'. The
strange part was that nearly none of the women knew about the Plan. They were
hardly ever present at the Council, not even Wendy; minutes were obviously not
needed at those meetings. ‘I guess that Plan will pass'. Wendy thought,
scarcely able to keep her eyes open.

Enough
about this Plan, whatever it was... she shook the Plan out of her system. ‘I'm
too tired to think, let alone about something I officially don't know anything
about.' She looked up and smiled at the soft bed set at the far end of her
room. ‘Sleep... To mend the wounds that flesh is heir to'. For a moment she
wondered where she got that line from, but was far too tired to care. With a
deep sigh she dropped herself on her old wooden bed. The sheets, scattered on
the bed, were made of light blue silk, the remains of an old blouse, once worn
by Mrs. Fitzgibbon, the farmer's wife. The soft, fluff filled pillow was also
covered with the same soft material and she had buried her head in it, her eyes
closing in exhaustion.

Her
mind drifted off to Justin, though. He really had been nice to her. Not just
today but since the very first day they met. She remembered when he persuaded
her to leave her cage at NIMH, all the times he stood up for her when Jenner
took it out on her, and all the times he tried to put a smile back on her face
again. She was confused. She always tried to push him away as far as possible,
but now she wondered if.... 

Then,
someone knocked at the door.

‘Oh no...
Please, could you come back later?' Wendy asked in a way it seemed like it took
an extremely amount of effort.

The
door opened, and Nanny came in, as cheerful as always and totally ignoring
Wendy's bleary expression and remark. ‘So, how is my favorite ratty?' Nanny
sung, and nearly jumped on top of Wendy, leaning over the bed and tickling
Wendy through her work shirt. ‘Come on, love... No time to be playing sleepy
rat!'

‘Hey,
stop that!' Wendy pleaded, and started laughing as she battered the other's
hands away. Then, with a sigh, she said back up and eased her legs off the bed
and sat up.

‘Oh, my
poor back!' Nanny said, and got up slowly, arching her back as she rubbed at
the sore spot and her face became filled with an unusual expression of pain.
‘That's your punishment for teasing
me, Nanny!' Wendy smiled, but immediately leaned over and rubbed the older
rat's back. ‘There, is that better?' She said after giving her friend a
massage, digging her hands into the other's tense muscles. ‘You've been working
too hard again, haven't you?'

‘I'm
doing much better dear, thank you.
And never you mind about how I've been working.' Then she smiled and turned
back to look at Wendy. ‘Well, how did it go, love?' Nanny proceeded in a more
serious way.

‘I
don't know yet, Nanny', She took a deep breath and said: ‘Perhaps I should just
forget about the entire idea.'

‘Forget
about it!? Never! You've had the courage to get this far young lady, you cannot
tell me you're giving up! I just won't buy that, Wendy Elisabeth!'

‘Oh... I
just don't know anymore. I'm a little mixed up.' She said while she was staring
at the wall in front of her. ‘I was so sure of what I wanted... of what I needed.
Now I don't really know what I want anymore.'

‘What
is that look in your eyes?' Nanny didn't recognize that expression, at least
not on Wendy's face. She'd never seen it before; at least not in the last ten
years she'd known her.

‘Wha...what?
Oh, it's nothing I'm just being silly,' and another deep breath followed.

‘Silly?
You are never being silly!' Then a thought struck the older rat, one she'd not
really thought of in terms of Wendy, but suddenly all the signs WERE there.
‘Oh... I see, this is something new, isn't there? You are in love!' Nanny started
to laugh, and gently touched Wendy's neck fur.

‘In love??!!! Nanny where on earth did you
ever get that idea? It's ridiculous! Who with? Nanny... that's the most idiotic,
silly...foolish...idea...I have ever...' Her voice trailed off as Nanny's words soaked in
and she looked down, a naughty smile grew on her pretty face. It was a smile
that Nanny knew all too well, one that Wendy only showed when a secret was
exposed.

‘Well,
tell me!' Nanny said, hopping on her side of the bed, like a small child who
just found a huge bag filled with candy. The pain of her back was suddenly
completely disappeared.

‘Yes...
but keep it quiet! No one is to know about it... please, Nanny, NO ONE! Swear
it!' Wendy said in a mysterious way.

‘I'll
do my best!' Nanny said, full of excitement. For as long as she had known
Wendy, she had never been in love before. Wendy had never tried to make friends
with the other rats after their escape from NIMH, yet, it had to be someone
from the colony, but who?

‘No
Nanny, you should do a lot better than that!' Wendy replied.

‘Okay,
okay, I swear it on... on Arthur!' Nanny quickly said, and Wendy looked at her in
suspicion.

‘On
Arthur! Your hubby! Justin's good friend? No way! He'd tell, that's for sure...
oops.'

‘JUSTIN!!' Nanny
nearly fell off the bedside, grabbing it with both hands. ‘SSSHHHH! Keep your voice down! Yes, it's him.' While she said that,
a strange combination of hope, loss and confusion touched her voice. She closed
her eyes as she spoke and ‘looked' up to the ceiling for a moment before opening
them.

‘Oh
Nanny, if he wants me to stay, I'll stay. If he wants me to go...I'll...I'll know.'
She sighed.

‘Oh
dear, love is such a silly thing. One moment it makes you feel strong and
undefeatable and the next moment it makes you feel fragile and small. But one
thing is for sure, for all the pain it can cause you... it's the most wonderful
thing in the world.' Then she smiled and gave Wendy a small push. ‘Besides,
you'd make a great couple!'

Wendy
laughed and had to admit Nanny got a point there. They were about the same
height, same color, others had commented on how much they looked alike. Well,
of course, not in every way. The most
important difference was that she was a female and he a male.

But
that was about all that made them an ideal couple. They both had very different
personalities, and the fact that she was older than him, although it was a
little, would form a huge problem. He was still a kid at heart, and she... she
was forced to grow up much faster, and sometimes seemed much older than she was,
due to the things she had been through. Besides, she didn't treat him the way
he deserved.

‘No,
Nanny! We won't make a great couple!' Wendy sadly added, as she stood up and
began walking around her room.

‘That
doesn't matter dear. I've seen the way he looks at you as you walk by, and the
way he smiles at you. I've never seen him look at anyone else like that.' Nanny
said, trying to pull the positive sides above water, and she believed in these
facts as well. Justin actually looked at Wendy in another way than he looked at
the other young women. He approached her differently as well, a lot more
careful, a lot more... respectful. But even if these facts were just build on
hopes, Nanny felt really happy, for the older rat had been worried about her
young friend and positively delighted at the possibility that she was
interested in having a mate... and JUSTIN, of all rats!

‘Yes,
that's right! Perhaps I do have a chance!' Wendy cheered up immediately, and
sat down next to Nanny again. ‘You know, he was so nice to me today, even when
I... I acted ‘me' again.'

She
looked at Nanny, and she knew her dear friend understood. She knew Wendy
Elisabeth had a reputation of being intolerant, arrogant and stern. But there
was this mysterious way about her, which intrigued many men as well. And she
was indeed a very pretty rat with a shiny dark brown fur and bright, alert
looking hazel brown eyes. She had a delicately build body and a long tail. She
was extremely feminine but not girly-like, she was a real lady in many ways, in
sprite of her young age. And many young women were jealous of her British
accent, her fur, her moves even the special relationship she has with the
Leader of the Rats of NIMH... Jealousy was the reason why she didn't have other
friends besides Nanny.

‘Wendy,
I do think he understands you, even your attitude. Try to open up your heart to
him, and let him come near you, even though that scares you.' Nanny said, and
softly patted Wendy's shoulder. She laughed softly before continuing. ‘I think
every unattached female in the colony has tried to get their claws into that
rat, and he has avoided every one of them. Even Isabella, and that is one
determined young lady. I didn't think that child would ever get the message.
But maybe because you've not thrown yourself at him he is indeed interested in
you. Perhaps he finds you a challenge.' Then she shut her mouth and changed the
subject. ‘You still haven't told me what you think of the conversation itself.'
Nanny continued. ‘How did it go?'

‘I
guess it went alright. But I still have no idea what their decision will be.'

In the
meantime, Justin walked by Wendy's room heading towards the storeroom to check
if there were enough supplies in there for winter. Hearing Wendy's voice behind
the door made him pause, and with a guilty smile, he decided to stop for a
while and drop an ear.

‘You
look tired dear, shall I get you another tea?' Nanny asked.

‘Oh,
Nanny, that would be wonderful! I knew you were able to ready my mind!' Wendy
said, smiling at Nanny.

Nanny
got up from the side of the bed, returned the smile, and started walking
towards the door. Justin heard her footsteps and, nearly tripping over his own
feet, tried to back away from the door. To his delight, he didn't make a sound
as he re-gathered his legs underneath his body. Then he heard Nanny's footsteps
stop and heard her speaking to Wendy again. ‘Oh, I nearly forgot, dear! We ran
out of Earl Grey!' Nanny said, lifting her hand to her forehead, like it had
been a terrible dramatic loss.

‘Oh
no!' Wendy replied a little over-dramatic, a gasp in her voice as she joined
Nanny in placing her hand against her forehead. ‘No, not the Earl Grey! Never
the Earl Grey!' Then, after a moment's pause, she broke out laughing as Nanny
joined in. She didn't mind at all, a normal cup of tea would be fine, but she
liked the way her sweet friend always pretended to act so theatrically. And it
was fun playing with her. ‘Oh well, I'll get some tomorrow, when Dragon's out.
Plain old tea is fine for me.. and you know that!'

Mrs.
Fitzgibbon always used Early Grey tea, as well. And one teabag could supply
Wendy of two weeks tea.

‘Of
course!' Justin thought. ‘I can make her happy with a teabag, so she wouldn't
have to get it herself!' And he took off with a huge smile on his face.

‘Dragon's
been sleeping a lot lately, even without Age's powder. I'm sure there won't be
any problems.' Justin thought, that was typical for him, confident and sure of
success. Mr. Ages, the medicine-mouse knew a lot about herbs. He also knew
strong herbs, which could knock an elephant down, at least, that's what he
says. He'd make a powder for Dragon to put him to sleep while the rats had to
do a dangerous job out in the open. Only a mouse is able to sneak into the farm
through a tiny hole into the kitchen floor. No rat fitted in that hole. Mr.
Ages was getting old for things like that, so it was Jonathan Brisby who always
did the job. Jonathan found a mate a few years ago. They had four children
together. He lived near the Rosebush, in a cement block near the ‘Stone', a big
stone in the garden of the farmer. His wife and children had no idea of NIMH
and the existence of the rats.

‘I'll
make some tea then dear, and in the meantime, try to get some rest, you'll need
that! Especially if Nicodemus has any sense left, or that ninny Justin a brain
in his head.' Nanny waved goodbye and went to the kitchen, her domain... totally
oblivious of Justin's tall form fading into the hallway heading the opposite
way.