-- Sleepover at Jake's -- One Friday afternoon, Timothy the raccoon and Friendly the fox rode their bikes home from school together. Friendly rode behind the raccoon, occasionally glancing at the training wheels on Timothy's bike. The path through the woods was dry as a bone, so Timothy's bike was having very little trouble. Only a lone pothole in the path managed to high-center the back wheel of the raccoon's bike. Timothy pedaled and pedaled but the back wheel of his bike just kept spinning helplessly. Friendly chuckled and pulled up alongside his struggling friend, putting his paw on the seat of Timothy's bike and giving him a gentle push. "Thanks Friendly." said Timothy, in his squeaky little voice. "You're welcome, buddy." said Friendly. "That was really nice of Jake to invite us to his house for a sleepover." said Timothy, enthusiastically. "Yeah, but remember - we have to ask our parents first." replied Friendly. "I know." Timothy acknowledged. As Timothy rode in front of Friendly, the fox couldn't help but notice Timothy's red Lightning McQueen Pull-ups were peeking out of his shorts. Friendly chuckled to himself, but then he thought a little more - how would Jake react to Timothy's bedwetting problem? Honestly neither him or Timothy knew much about Jake - other than that his parents were both police officers and he had befriended both of them because they liked riding their bikes. Did Jake need training wheels? Friendly doubted it, but he realized then he was worrying too much and looked ahead. Timothy had actually gained some significant distance. "Come on slowpoke, I'm the one on training wheels, not you!" giggled Timothy, whom had chanced a look back to see if Friendly was still there. Friendly rode with Timothy to the raccoon's house and waited outside to hear his answer if he could go to the sleepover. It didn't take very long, Timothy came out of the door as fast as his legs could carry him, obviously it was good news. "I can go! I can go!" squeaked Timothy, "Come on Friendly, let's find out if you can go!" Timothy hopped back on his little red bike and rode off down the sidewalk, his training wheels rattling along behind him. Friendly rode off after his friend. He sincerely hoped he could sleep over with his friend, at least he'd be able to help hide Timothy's little secret until they got to know their new friend better. As they arrived at Friendly's house just a few minutes' ride away, the fox's heart sank as he saw his parents loading up the car with something. "Oh, there you are Friendly..." said Mrs. Brush. "Mom, can I go over to Jake's house for a sleepover?" asked Friendly, "Timothy's mom said he can go and..." "Sorry sweetie, your grandmother isn't doing so well. She's been rushed into hospital." "Is... is she going to be okay?" asked Timothy, worriedly. "I'm sure she will, but we have to go and see her." said Mrs. Brush. "So that's a no?" asked Friendly, to make sure he understood and had a straight answer. "Sorry Friendly, not this time." came the reply. Friendly sighed and sadly put his bike away. "Oh there you are, Friendly... just put your backpack inside and get in the car please, we need to beat most of the rush-hour traffic." "Alright Dad." Friendly answered, with another sigh. "Sorry Timothy." "Come on Timothy, let's put your bike in the back, we'll drop you off on the way." said Mrs. Brush. The two friends sadly waved goodbye as Timothy got out of the Brush's car, and Mr. Brush unloaded Timothy's bike from the trunk. "Thank you Mr. Brush." said Timothy, waving goodbye to Friendly as Mr. Brush got back inside, and the turquoise Ford Mercury sable wagon sped off down the road. Timothy's Dad was waiting on the front porch. "Come on Timothy, put your bike in the garage, there's a good boy." said Dad. "Then we can get you ready for your sleepover with Jake." "But... can I take my bike with me?" asked Timothy. "Of course, buddy. Just put it in the garage for now, okay?" answered Dad. When Timothy had put his bike and helmet away, Dad helped him prepare for his sleepover, taking Timothy's school stuff out of his backpack and laying his sleepover supplies on the floor next to it. "Okay, so you'll need your toothbrush, toothpaste, and two pairs of pull-ups. Is there anything else you want or need?" asked Dad. "My bike and helmet... Jake said he also likes playing soccer, can I take my ball?" asked Timothy. "Okay, I think that'll fit, anything else? Maybe a book you like to read or would like one to be read by Jake's mommy or daddy?" "No." Timothy said, quickly. He still hadn't gained much headway with his reading or spelling skills, but he didn't want Jake to know that. After Timothy had packed everything into his backpack and Dad had helped put his bike in the back of the blue Ford Aerostar minivan, they prepared to leave. Jake had given Timothy his address on a sticky-note and Timothy gave the note to Dad, and the elder raccoon put the address into the satellite navigation device. "Handy things these SatNAVs... they certainly save a lot of map-reading" Timothy's dad said to himself, as the device displayed the route to Jake's house. Timothy clambered into the back of the minivan and strapped himself into his car seat, trying his hardest to be careful and not trap his paws or any of his fur in the buckle. "Well done Timothy. I was just gonna get out and help you. Looks like I don't need to now." said Dad, raising his paw in a fist. "Pound-it, buddy." Timothy raised his paw into a fist and gently gave his Dad the "Pound-it". "Is Friendly going? I could pick him up and save his parents the trouble..." began Dad. "No, his grandma is in hospital and he can't go." said Timothy. "You still want to go without Friendly?" asked Dad. "Yeah." Timothy said simply. "Well... that's quite brave of you, buddy." said Dad, as he backed the car out of the driveway and began the drive to Jake's house. It didn't take long to get to where Jake lived, about ten minutes or so. Although for Timothy it seemed to take hours. "Yay! Are we here now?" asked Timothy. "Just about, just one more corner to go..." said Dad, turning the minivan around a corner onto a quiet suburban street, which seemed quite well-lit, though not as well as the street Timothy and Friendly lived on. "Ah... here we are." said Dad, gently pulling the blue Ford Aerostar minivan to a stop alongside a Nissan pickup truck and in front of a white Mercury Villager minivan in the driveway of a mid-size green wooden house. "Now remember Timothy, try to use the potty before you go to sleep, that way you're less likely to have wet pull-ups in the morning." "Hey there, are you Timothy's Dad?" asked a female German Shepherd, whom had been sitting on the porch until the blue minivan pulled up. This was Jake's mom. "That's right, I've brought Timothy. He insisted on bringing his bike too." "Well that's alright, Jake loves riding his bike too." said Jake's mom. "Timothy! Glad you could make it!" said a young burly German Shepherd pup. The chubby raccoon unbuckled himself from his car-seat and smiled at his new friend. "Will Friendly be here soon?" asked Jake's mom. "He can't make it, but Timothy still wants to sleep over." explained Timothy's dad. As the two parents exchanged names and phone numbers in case of an emergency, Jake helped Timothy unload his bike from the car and carried the raccoon's backpack for him. "You still need your training wheels too?" asked Jake. Timothy gasped, but then realized Jake said 'too' and relaxed. "Yeah." "I still have training wheels on my bike too, but Dad says I'll be able to try without them next week." "Next week?" asked Timothy. "Yeah, he's got some time off next weekend so he can help me." explained Jake. "I think I'm going to keep my training wheels, I don't think I could ride without them." said Timothy. "Do you... ever um... get stuck in the mud?" "I have a few times, it was fun, I was pedalling so hard and going nowhere, and I got all muddy!" laughed Jake. "I always get stuck in the mud, or a puddle, or pothole, or something." sighed the raccoon. "There's a path through the woods near here, maybe we can ride our bikes along it tomorrow." said Jake. "Yeah, that'll be fun!" squeaked Timothy, "But um... is it muddy?" "Not right now, but it can be." answered Jake. "It will be really fun to ride with a friend who doesn't make fun of me because of my training wheels." "Uh-huh!" piped up Timothy, it would be his first time riding with a friend who also needed training wheels on his bike. After a delicious supper of beef burgers and french fries, the two boys prepared for bed. Both Jake and Timothy brushed their teeth. Outside the weather had changed for the worse, heavy rain pitter-pattered on the window pane and against the window. "I hope we don't have thunder or lightning tonight." Timothy said anxiously. "Yeah, that's scary. I hope we don't either." answered Jake, as he spat the toothpaste into the sink and washed off his toothbrush. After Jake had left the bathroom, Timothy closed the door and pulled down his shorts and Lightning McQueen pull-ups. The raccoon tried his hardest to go potty, but nothing would come out. After a few minutes he sighed and finally gave up, pulling his training pants up and his shorts up before joining Jake in his bedroom. "I take the top bunk." said Jake, going over to the bed and stripping his green t-shirt and black and grey shorts, leaving him in his undies. Timothy tried to take his blue t-shirt off, but he ended up struggling and got stuck in it. "Want some help?" asked Jake, helping Timothy pull his shirt off and then pulling the raccoon's shorts down. Timothy blushed deeply and gasped. Jake saw what Timothy was wearing and suddenly burst into laughter. The raccoon blushed deeper and a tear fell down his cheek. When Jake regained his breath he saw the raccoon was crying and he stopped laughing, immediately apologizing. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... um... wait a minute." said Jake, reaching underneath the bottom bunk. "You... you're a bedwetter too?" asked Timothy, as Jake pulled out what looked like a package of diapers from the bottom bunk. "No, but my cousin Ralph is. He left these Spiderman pull-ups behind. I'm sorry I laughed at you. I wasn't expecting Lightning McQueen to be hiding under your shorts." chuckled Jake, as he took his undies off and pulled on one of the Spiderman goodnites. "If you have to wear one, I will too." smiled Jake, wagging his tail. Timothy smiled. "Thanks Jake." After that the two boys clambered into bed, Jake on the top bunk and Timothy on the bottom bunk. The next morning, Jake was the first to awaken. He threw aside the duvet and clambered down the steps of the bunk bed, his dry pull-up crinkling a little. "Timothy, wake up! It's morning!" barked Jake, pulling Timothy's duvet aside and giving the raccoon a little shake. Timothy stirred and rubbed his eyes, turning to face Jake. "You're a tummy-sleeper? I sleep on my side." said Jake. Just then, Jake's mom came in to check on the two boys. Jake gasped, realizing he was still wearing his cousin's pull-ups. "Jake... sweetie... why are you wearing your cousin's diapers?" Jake blushed deep red and stammered, seemingly unable to find the words. "Are you... having some accidents in the night, sweetie?" asked Jake's mom. "What? No!" Jake interjected, "I just... I found out about Timothy's diapers and put one on to make him not feel so bad about it! I... I..." "Jake..." began his mother, with a chuckle. "You really do have a heart of gold, don't you?" she said, giving him a hug. Jake blushed even deeper as his mother gave him a hug and then she knelt down and licked his cheek. "Ummm... I uhhhh..." said Timothy, as he clambered from the bottom bunk, his pull-ups sagging and wobbling about as he slowly made his way over to Jake and his mom. "Oh dear, someone really went potty in their sleep, huh?" Jake's mom said sweetly to the chubby little raccoon, "It's okay sweetheart." Timothy sniffled as Jake's mom lifted him up into a hug, gently patting his soggy diaper. "Shhhh, don't cry Timothy. You can't help it." she said, carrying the upset raccoon into the bathroom and continuing to comfort him. Once Jake's mom had helped Timothy out of his wet diaper and into a new pair of training pants, she helped him get dressed in his blue t-shirt and orange flame shorts. Jake dressed himself in his green t-shirt and black and grey shorts, throwing his cousins' pull-up in the trash. "Come on guys, breakfast is waiting for you." "Yay!" squeaked Timothy. Jake's mom led the boys into the kitchen, where a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs lay on the table with a glass of milk. As the boys were eating their breakfast, there was a knock at the front door. "I wonder who that could be..." said Jake's mom, as she left to answer the door. Timothy continued eating his fried egg and bacon, he glanced at Jake whom was barely nibbling at his own breakfast. "Thanks for helping me feel better Jake." said the raccoon, through a mouthful of bacon. "Yeah, whatever." said Jake, blushing a little and frowning slightly. "Hey guys, look who's come at last!" announced Jake's mom, as a familiar fox entered the kitchen. "Friendly!" squeaked Timothy, deserting his breakfast and running to his best friend, hugging him tightly. "Hey Timothy, sorry I couldn't make it. How did it go?" asked Friendly, as he embraced his raccoon friend warmly. "Okay, I guess." said Timothy, gently shrugging. "Oh well, that's good." replied Friendly, releasing his friend. "Hey, now that all three of you are here, how about a group photo?" asked Jake's mom. "Uh-huh!" squeaked Timothy, excitedly. "Yeah! Sounds good to me." piped up Jake, deserting what remained of his breakfast. -- By the front door, the three friends stood together for a picture. "You know what?" began Jake's mom, "How about you stand to the left - Friendly, Jake you stand to the right, and little Timothy can be in the middle in front of you. Now can you two gently lift Timothy up before I take the picture?" "Yeah, okay." said Jake, standing to the right of Timothy and grinning to himself. Friendly smiled and rubbed his friend behind the ear. "Not too high, just a little bit." "Okay, ready? One... two... three... go!" said Jake's mom, as she prepared to take the picture. Unknown to either Timothy or Friendly, Jake had put his paws on the waistband of Timothy's shorts as his mom was counting, gently pulling the raccoon's shorts down to his knees before lifting him up and leaving the front of the raccoon's diaper exposed to the camera. It wasn't until Timothy had been put down after the picture had been taken that Timothy realized his shorts had been pulled down. "Oh no!" cried the raccoon, blushing and pulling his shorts up over his diaper. "That's a keeper..." commented Jake's mom, putting her paw over her mouth to stifle a small chuckle at her son's little prank. Honestly she should have told him off, but in her heart she just couldn't... the picture was too adorable with the three friends together, and with Jake being the little prankster he usually was - and Timothy wearing his diaper even though he didn't need to in the daytime. "But... my shorts!" squeaked Timothy, in reply to the comment from Jake's mom. "It's okay Timothy, your shorts do fall down sometimes." said Friendly, putting his arm around the raccoon and patting the seat of Timothy's shorts. Jake chuckled at his little joke, having succeeded in getting his own-back for being embarrassed earlier on. However as he saw the raccoon start to cry, he realized it would be best to come clean and apologize. "I... uh... Friendly - Timothy. I'm... I'm so sorry. I pulled Timothy's shorts down. I, I wanted to get back at him because I was really embarrassed when mom found me wearing that diaper and... Timothy I'm sorry." whimpered Jake. "Now I feel terrible." Timothy frowned at the puppy for a moment, but then smiled. "Well... I'm glad you've said sorry. I really don't like my pull-ups showing..." "I'm very very sorry, I won't do it ever again I promise!" declared Jake, paw-swear. Timothy raised his paw and touched Jake's paw with it to seal the deal. "And... you don't have to wear your cousin's pull-ups anymore for my sake." said Timothy. Jake chuckled. "Okay. I won't." Friendly smiled at the two. "Come on you two, let's go for a bike ride." "Yay!" squeaked Timothy, "I can ride really fast, I even rode faster than Friendly yesterday!" bragged Timothy. "Yeah, because I was thinking about stuff." chuckled Friendly, "Besides, that path will be muddy, I'm gonna have my paws full pushing both of you stick-in-the-muds." "I'm not a stick-in-the-mud!" retorted Jake, with a chuckle. "Well... maybe a little." And with that the three friends mounted their bikes - Friendly on his big blue bike, Jake on his smaller blue bike with silver training wheels, and Timothy on his little red bike with black training wheels - to have a new adventure together as a trio. -- The End.