(Bandit)
This Chapter of Bluey's Kaleidoscope is called:
•[Rock-A-Bye Melancholy Heart]•

Today, Chilli had invited you to come along to a picnic with two other moms that were also the moms of Bluey's friends. So far, there were a few unexpected turns. One; Theo's father has to work extremely late and asked Chilli if she could watch over his son, which his father deemed that Theo needs supervision. Two; one of your other friends, Zara, happened to be practicing her football skills aka soccer at this specific field park.

"I am CAPTAIN UNDERDOG!!!"

"Well, I am Zara the Goberian!!!"

"Please, tell me that you are NOT referring to yourself as a Sonic the Hedgehog character. So overrated."

"Hey, no hate. Captain Shawl-Man. Besides, a wise lady once said—NO CAPES!" Zara had grabbed the picnic blanket which Theo tied around his shoulders as a cape and she yanked it over his head.

You watch with amusement yet second hand embarrassment at your two friends as they bickered. Bluey was just giggling at their antics and greeted two of her friends. A pink poodle and a sausage dog.

"It's a good thing we picked up extra sandwiches and drinks." Chilli said and the other two mothers agreed.

You made your way to a decent tree with good shade and placed the cooler and picnic basket down. Theo laid out the blanket with Zara's help. "What do you think Ida and Antoine are up to?" You ask.

"Beats me. All of us have our own little world we enjoy." The female Goberian easily climbs up the tree and hangs upside down.

"Wow! Can I climb up too?" Bluey says beside you, her tail wagging.

"Sorry, Bluey. It's a bit dangerous for your age." You say and pat her head.

Zara nods, "Buuuut, if you keep eating healthy and get a lot of exercise, then you'll be able to climb up very easily, like me." She lands on her feet with caution. "See? And a lot of practice is worth it."

"Oh. Well, I'm going to go play with my friends then." Bluey runs off with her two friends.

"Gets side tracked very easily, that one." You shake your head with amusement and lay down a few away from the picnic blanket to bask in the sun.

Theo and Zara laid down with you. Not much is said for a few minutes and dozing off seemed like a swell idea, until Zara broke the peaceful atmosphere. "Sooo, I know basking in the sun is relaxing and all, buuuut I see a grassy hill calling my name." She gestured toward the steep slope of grass. On top was the street, but luckily the gates were there. "I also don't want to roll down the slope by myself."

You shrug and yawn, "Not my problem." Suddenly, you're being dragged by your feet and grip the grass. "I'm not going!"

"Too bad, you're either going willingly or I drag you by force." Zara is holding onto your ankle.

"I'll help!" Theo grabs your other ankle. "HEAVE!!!" He shouts.

You try to kick their hands away with no success.

"We've got a live one today!" Theo laughs out loud when you glare at him. "And it does not look too happy."

"No, duh." Eventually, you give up and let your friends drag you to the hill. "Luckily, we haven't had anything to eat yet. Don't want to be barfing all over the place." You and Zara side eye Theo.

He sticks his tongue out, "I have an excuse because I was dared into downing Pop-Rocks and Diet Soda. I know I shouldn't have done that, but I wanted to have fun like all of you, so don't try to lecture me, Zara."

Zara held up her hands in defense.

You raise a brow at them and sigh. "Guys. Can we just roll out?"

"Sure thing, Prime." Theo saluted with a goofy grin and began rolling down the grassy hill. "I'm going to come back up and you two better be right behind me."

"Auto-Bots! Roll out!" Zara laughed and rolled down the hill, completely ignoring Theo.

You shrug and just have fun rolling down. Although, the three of you thought to link each other by holding onto each other and rolling. Only to cause a chaotic and painful pile up. Eventually, you guys laugh it off. At some point, you watch your two friends play Mercy and it ends with both being dramatic about the pain. You remember those types of games, some good and some bad.

One time, with one of your foster mothers, you had accidentally bumped into her mother and she had grasped your hand. Digging those sharp nails through your fur and puncture the skin underneath. Shouts and harsh yanking.

Luckily, the fur on your hand covered those scars as you examined the scarred hand.

Theo suddenly appeared and knelt down, holding onto your hand. "With this hand, I will lift your sorrows." He looked so serious that you burst out laughing and yanked your hand away.

"You're such a weirdo, Dude."

"Wait! I am not done." Theo began chasing you around the park. "We must complete the vow for our bond of friendship to forever last! (Y/n)!"

You blow a raspberry at him.

"(Y/n)!" Bluey dashed toward you with Coco and Snickers behind her. "Can you and your friends play a game with us, please?"

Theo and Zara finally catch up to you and grin at the idea. "We're in. What are we playing, Little Mates."

"I want to play Shadowlands." Snickers says with his tail wagging.

The small pink poodle and you seem confused by the name. "What's Shadowlands?"

"It's a fun and challenging game. All the shady bits are land and the safe zone, while the sunlight areas are the murky waters. The danger zone where the hungry crocs lurk. Rrr!" Zara attempts to scare the kids, but fails as they giggle at her silly growl.

"Seems like fun. I know, what if me and my friends are crocodiles and the picnic blanket is the rescue boat?" You suggest.

Bluey and her friends nod happily. "Yeah! I like that idea, buuut..." The small blue heeler turns to Coco. "We can't change the rules to make it easy this time, okay, Coco?"

She agreed and the three kids looked at us while we smirked. "We'll give you guys a 5 second head start to run. One!" They shrieked and took off as fast as they could to the nearest shadow area. "Two! Three! Four! FIVE!" You and your friends start after them and lurk outside the shadow of the trees. There were a lot of shadowy areas and you guys waited until their options were slimming down.

"Where's Professor Bandit and your other little sister?" Zara asked you while hopping up on some stone slabs. Some dogs placed their cricket gear there, but it was easily avoided.

You follow her lead. "Bingo wanted to go to the library to look for new books to listen to. Some type of reading program she wanted to be a part of, plus Bandit and Chilli like that she's using her imagination to learn more than staring at the tv. I don't know."

"Cool. At least she gets to choose what she wants to do."

"Yeah."

The first trouble for the kids had been Snickers, who couldn't jump very far with his tiny legs. Theo tried tricking the small wiener dog by telling him that he'll make a path with his shadow, but Bluey saw right through Theo's lie.

"Nice try, you Cheeky Crocodile. You'll just move away when Snickers steps onto your shadow." Bluey looks at you and you grin with a thumbs up, which causes her tail to wag softly.

~^•.•^~

"2 years-worth a wait and now look where they are, Chilli. That child is in the safest and caring arms of your family. Some individuals in this world will try to say things to change your mind about them not being your child, but once you realize that they are your child, then you'll always fight for them." Coco's mom reassured just as the mother she is.

Chilli watched you all play a game from afar, though slowly getting closer to the picnic area. She laughed softly as Theo began randomly dancing as you argued to him about something before Zara nodded, then busted out crazier moves. Earning a facepalm from you and laughter from the kids. The two now pulled you into The Wave dance move.

"Bella is right, Chilli. If you ever run into that female dog again, let us know. We'll always have your back, especially Wendy." Snickers' mother giggled.

"Oh, I'll most likely let Wendy know first if it comes down to that." Chilli laughed. "And you're right, Bella. Waiting for my evaluation to adopt (Y/n) was worth the wait. Maybe a bit of a rough patch, but I made sure to keep my foot down when they tried to revoke my choice in choosing (Y/n)."

The kids scream while you and your friends try to grab them as the wind picks up, making a skinny tree sway its shadow standing on.

"Why did the DCP almost revoke you from adopting (Y/n)?" Snickers' mom asked.

"Um..." Chilli took a deep shaky breath and smiled a little, "It's not that I don't trust you all, it's just still VERY hard to talk about." Faint shouts that were full of urgency echoed in her mind before the kids' howling out broke her out of her daze. "The little critters must be hungry." Chilli chuckled.

The two moms smiled with understanding at the red cattle. "I've got something for them." The older pink poodle opened the picnic basket.

~^•-•^~

"Howling isn't going to do you any good. The waters are too wide for you to cross this time." Zara laughed evilly.

You snort, "And you guys can't go back the other way. One step and we'll get'cha."

"Cupcakes!" Chilli called out and you all looked to see her holding up a plate of miniature cupcakes with blue frosting and sprinkles. "Who wants cupcakes?!"

The three kids got excited about it and you and your friends decided to tease them a bit. "Those cupcakes look SO delicious~ Blue Frosting and Sprinkles! Luckily, us crocodiles can easily swim across these waters." You and your friends slowly walk away from the shadow palm tree island.

"That's not fair." Snickers pouted.

"Let's make it so we can walk on water?" Coco suggested.

Bluey did not like that idea. "Nobody can walk on water."

"Water boatmen can." Snickers said.

"Well, we're not watermen." Bluey sighed.

You smirk and walk backwards, "We're going to eat your cupcake!" You lean over to Theo and Zara, "Get ready to run at them."

"No!" The kids yelled.

Coco stomped her foot, "That's it. I'm going to be a water boatman and walk across this water and have a cupcake." She goes to take a step off the shady area.

You, Theo, and Zara rush toward her. Fortunately, Bluey and Snickers yank her back from your guys' outstretched paws. "No, Coco!"

Their little disagreement didn't sit well with you when your mind began to remember the small argument you had with Ms.Sadie, which had been a few days before getting on the plane. You just can't control your emotions when it gets out, even a small sliver, and you'll be ticking off.

"Alright, kids. I think this little squabble is getting too tense. Let's go get the cupcakes and be good, yeah?" Theo noticed your distant expression.

Bluey's demeanor dropped and she looked down reluctantly. "Okay."

The wind began to blow again, a little harder this time as if it was trying to console you and Bluey. When the both of you look up and realize the clouds moving in. You were distracted by their movement and one big cloud covered the whole park with its shadow.....Oh. That's right, you and your friends can't move in the shade.

"RUN!" Bluey points at the picnic spot.

"That cloud isn't going to be there long! So best keep running!" Zara playfully mocked.

Once the sunlight began appearing, you guys began running right behind the moving shadow. Snickers howled when he was falling back as his friends told him to hurry up. "Run your little sausage dog legs!"

"I can't run any faster! Oof!" Snickers tripped after losing his hat.

You grin and run faster, "The crocodiles are coming!" You laughed out when Bluey and Coco picked up Snickers, running again. You snatched his hat off the ground. "RAWR!" You and your friends growl out and pounce at the kids.

Unfortunately, they do the same and make it onto the picnic blanket. Cheering at their accomplishments and hopping around, although your two friends land right on top of you.

"Not the dog pile again." You groan out.

Eventually, everyone is enjoying the food before playing one last game for the day. This time, you singled out by laying on the picnic blanket and Zara's parents were ready to leave the park, so she left with her silly goodbyes.

You watch Zara happily walk away with her parents as they smiled at her as they listened to whatever she was saying. What caught your most attention was the way her parents easily accepted her hands.

It reminded you of the moments that other foster kids were easily accepted into a family.

Bluey, Snickers, and Coco's moms had grabbed their children's hands while walking a few yards to play their game.

There were single foster parents who you went with, but unfortunately they came to realize they couldn't handle...you. It felt like you were some sort of experiment to see if parents are capable of taking care of kids. It honestly wouldn't surprise you.

"♪Youuuuu~ put ONE leg in and put one leg out and you put hands on your hips AND YOU SHUFFLE ALL ABOUT!♪" Theo stomps into your line of view and shuffles in place, turning around in a spin. "♪Once you learn the Hokey Pokey and dance all about, you'll make a fool of yourself!♪"

You snort and shake your head, amused by this dog that you call a friend. "That is not how the Hokey Pokey goes, Dude."

Theo sticks his tongue out, "Well, then, how about ♪weeee shake, shake, shake the sillies out!♪" He wiggles from side to side.

You facepalm while holding back a laugh, "Are you seriously trying to cheer me up? I'm not a child."

"It's fun and you have to admit, YOU found it amusing. Besides, I also love silly songs because it annoys the heck out of short tempered dogs." Theo grins mischievously and raises his paws up to pounce. "♪Baaaby—"

"—AH! NO! Don't you dare!" You take off running away from the brown cavoodle. Your screams trying to keep the song from reaching your covered ears.

"—♪SHARK! Doo-doo, doo-doo! Baby Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo! I'm not through with you-oou-oou! Not through with YOU!♪"

~*•*~

After Theo's dad picked him up from the Heeler household, he thanked Chilli for watching over his son and received some leftover dinner since it was late. Late for Bingo and Bluey and early for you, so the two adults found it a little bit odd for you to actually go to sleep a bit earlier.

"Do you want to watch anything on the TV with us for a while, Sweetie?" Chilli asked.

You pause on the stairs and give a fake smile, "Not really. Maybe another night, I kinda feel drained from today." You half lied.

"Alright, Mate, but we're here for you if you need anything." Bandit gives you a gentle grin.

"I know. Night." You closed your room door and laid down in bed. Thoughts began to keep your brain awake again, replaying a lot of arguments you've had and a lot of things that left you hurting.

{"(Y/n), no!" Ms. Sadie held you back as you tried to fight from her grip and reached out to the metal door that slowly shut.

"Did I do something wrong?! Don't leave me here again! Please!" You howled out to the foster parents who are now out of earshot. A whimper wheezed out as you held back tears. "Tell them to come back, Ms. Sadie! I promise I'll be better!"

The social worker shook her head sadly, "There's nothing we can change the situation—"

"You still haven't told me why." You turn to her and shove her hold on you.

Ms.Sadie sighed stressfully, yet felt guilty that she had kept taking you away from so many homes. "I...I don't know. There are rules, regulations, and laws to follow, (Y/n). Some that we can't change in any way because it's there to keep you safe."

You growl deeply, clenching your teeth and paws in anger. "If it's there to keep me safe, then why am I hurting so much? Every. Time. They walk away without me."

Sadie tried to say something to calm you down, but you ran out of her office. }

"Gah!" You run your paws down your face and pull the covers over yourself. "Shut. Up." Sleep wasn't going to be great because that's when the stress began to manifest into a familiar night terror.

~*•.•*~

Bandit yawns stressfully and stretches before getting up from the yoga ball. The time on the computer screen read quarter to 3 and luckily, the last email with important notes was sent for the week. It had to be done. "Man. Life as an adult. Boo." Maybe a late night snack before bed isn't the healthiest, but Bandit deserved something for all work completed.

The fridge light illuminated the dark kitchen as the male heeler reached in to grab some leftovers, not minding that it's cold. Something seemed to nag at him and his gaze kept looking at the front door.

Unusual.

Just to be careful, he took a peek through the stained glass window which made it a bit hard to see outside. Bandit opened the door and glanced out, a figure sat on the chair of the front porch. He let out a curse word at the small fright, "—Mate, you scared the living daylights out of me. What are you doing out here this late?"

You continue staring at the neighborhood and hold yourself.

Clearly, there was something wrong because the last time Bandit and Chilli checked, you went to sleep earlier. When did you get up? He can see the deep breaths in and out to calm yourself, so the blue heeler pulled the foot rest next to the chair to sit down. "I'm worried about you, Mate. Did you happen to have a nightmare?"

You give a shrug.

"Well, I'm here if you need anything and I hope it's okay to sit here with you." He said softly.

A doubtful voice wanted to tell him to leave, but you wanted him to stay. It's been awhile for night terrors to bother you, but this specific one has always been with you forever. You hadn't told anyone what it was about, not even Ms. Sadie. Maybe if you did tell someone, it might finally go away.

"It's...."

It was hard to explain and you doubt Bandit would understand how the dream felt.

"There's muffled shouting all around me, I can't really tell what they're saying, but there's also loud ringing. Alarms, I think. Then I can't....breath. It's like I'm in some sort of invisible box, I try to get out, but there's only a few openings that only my arm can fit through." You try to keep your breath steady. "And I'm really cold."

Tears flowed down your face as you tried to hold them back, unfortunately you couldn't. "I don't even know them, yet they had me and didn't want me. I want someone to come back for me and stay." Your voice cracked at the end.

Bandit quickly picked you up into his arms, now sitting in the chair and held you close. Seeing you in this heartbroken state made him wish he had some sort of superpower to make all the bad things leave you alone. "I'm right here, Kid. Nothing will get to you, I'm here, right now." His paw rubs your back soothingly.

You finally felt the warm embrace after having a night terror. Feeling protected from the things that aren't there, for once.

"(Y/n)—"

You sniff and cling to his fur.

"—You're my child now and I want to protect you from anything, but not everything because I don't want you to be afraid to take things head on." Bandit pulled away a bit and smiled tenderly while wiping your face. "I will help teach you all that I know to be strong. I want you to know that I will always come back for you and stay."

You hug him tightly.

"Just come to me whenever you need me. Especially when you're in trouble, you've basically got a whole army right behind you, Mate." Bandit knows you still have a long way to go, although he hopes you realize just how important and loved you are within everyone you meet. "There were a lot of them that were titled fathers to you, but....I want you to know that I'm Your Dad. Always and Forever."

It was okay that you didn't speak and Bandit understood, still holding you close. A decent amount of minutes passed by until Bandit's yawn snapped you both out of the quiet comfort.

You yawned too and finally moved to wipe your face. "We should go back inside. It's a bit chilly."

It didn't take long for the front door to be locked once again and glance into your little sisters' bedroom. They were both uncovered and laying in weird positions, but Bandit still tucked them back in their blankets.

Walking back across to your room, you climb back into your bed and pull the homemade quilt close to you.

Bandit stopped at the entrance of your room, grabbing for the doorknob. "Best to try and get some rest. Do you want your door open or closed?"

"Closed." You automatically say as he nods, although you hesitated when his figure was slowly disappearing from view. "Dad?"

Bandit turned back to look at you and stopped from closing the door, "Yeah, Mate?"

You didn't expect him to stop when you called out and sheepishly hid half of your face with your blanket. "Nothing. I was just... checking."

Bandit strolled over to kneel down next to your bed. He held open his arms, wanting to invite you in for another embrace.

You shuffled closer and hugged him again, causing the blue heeler to smile tenderly and his tail to swish in happiness. This one felt like forever but it was only for a moment and you pulled away to lay back down.

Bandit now pulled the covers over you and affectionately rubbed your ears. "Try to get in the last hours of sleep, Kiddo. Buuut I'm going to guess that both of us will need some sort of caffeinated drinks later." He winked.

You laughed softly, "I'm pretty sure you'll need it more than I do, Old Man."

"Not going to deny that one." He chuckled and stood up, slightly popping his back.

"Night, Big Baboon."

"I'll get you back for that one. Night, Spider Monkey."

"Weak!" You whisper-shout.

"Is there a reason why there are still TWO monkeys out of bed?" Chilli whispered loudly from behind Bandit.

You froze and Bandit strained to hold back a yelp at her sudden appearance. You point at Bandit, "I'm in bed, he's not. Goodnight." You hide under the covers.

Chilli yawned and raised a brow at Bandit. "To bed, Big Blue."

"On it." The blue heeler sped walked to their bedroom, giving a short explanation of 'later'.

She shook her head at his silliness and began to follow him.

"Mom?"

Chilli froze this time and turned toward your small call. "Yes, Sweetheart?" In her mind, she was eager to get whatever you needed because that was the first time you called her mom. "Do you need something?"

"Can you....can you tell Dad that I said I love him."

Her heart picked up at the wholesomeness that she was receiving right now and tried to remain calm. Chilli smiled warmly, "I will. Sleep tight, (Y/n). I love you."

You relax and feel your eyes drooping. "I love you too."

Chilli quietly sped walked back into her and Bandit's bedroom and practically yanked Bandit before he laid down. "Honey! They called us Mom and Dad!" She tried to keep her voice from getting loud. "They told me to tell you that they love you. And they also told me that they love me too." Chilli began tearing up, feeling so much happiness and pride in her heart. "Oh, Cheese and Crackers. I can't stop crying. We're their Mom and Dad."

Bandit stares lovingly at his wife and couldn't help but hum happily in agreement. "I know how you feel, Chilli Dog." He eased her to lay down and pulled her close, kissing her forehead. "Let's get some sleep now, Babe. We'll have a lot more time to let out the burst of happiness in the morning."

"Yeah....yeah, you're right." Chilli sniffed and chuckled softly. "I'm still going to do everything I can to be there for (Y/n)." She wipes her eyes and takes a deep breath to calm down. "I will not let anyone or anything get in the way of ruining their safety here with us."

"I highly agree." Bandit snuggled close to Chilli. "Goodnight, Chilli."

"Goodnight, Bandit."

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From the starry night, the City of Brisbane gave off its own twinkling lights and from around its borderlines, began the darkness of natural terrain. A few homes and stations were scattered outside the city limits, one particular home sat in its own open land. The only neighbors were houses that are a mile away, good for privacy.

"AHHH!!!"

The orange/white colored cattle dog held a hand to her chest and tried to calm her frightened heart. A few minutes of sitting there, her mind became more awake and the night terror was still fresh in her mind. Slowly, she made her way to the bathroom and blindly dug in the medicine cabinet.

Once the cabinet door shut, her own face stared back from the mirror. Her marks and spots have changed over the years compared to when she was a child.

"It's just a dream, Brandy. It's not real....not anymore." She told herself and grabbed her medication for nightmares.

The idea of hot tea might ease her mind, so Brandy made her way out of the bedroom and downstairs to her kitchen. It didn't take long to make a steamy mug of tea and feel it soothing her mind as she sat at the island counter.

A small wooden trunk sat in the middle of the counter.

Brandy's grip tightens on her mug. She knew what was inside and the reason why her home is bare of family pictures. Some most recent of her sister's family. Brandy still felt uneasy about hanging up pictures of family. Even her own from her childhood.

Well, except one photo of her mom who was happily brushing a horse's mane.

"Still a decent amount of time before the sun rises." Brandy mumbled sleepily and put her mug in the sink to wash later.

Everything in the house was spotless and neatly organized, some that the cattle dog built or made herself. No matter how tiny the job is, she still needs to keep up on her feet or else she'll fidget....or get lost in thought.

Like now.

Her gaze drifted from her opened bedroom door to the closed door just down the hallway. Realizing she was now standing there and on the other side was an unoccupied bedroom as she peeked in.

At first, a few years ago, the room was an unused nursery, then gradually changed to a room for a toddler before it came to what it is now.

A bedroom that a teen would've liked.

Brandy ran her paw over the mismatched patterned quilt. One that she made herself. With the lift of the quilt, she crawled under it and curled up.

"Wherever you are. I pray that you found your family, even if it wasn't with me."

She vaguely remembered what they looked like, but Brandy knew somewhere out there, they were sleeping under the same big sky.