Catfish was having a panic attack.

She was pacing back and forth, trying to control her breathing. The morning had gone so wrong, so so wrong, and she felt like she would be held personally responsible. The doors to the corridor opened and Robin walked in, looking around for her before seeing her and walking briskly in her direction. Catfish stopped and leaned against the lockers, covering her face, her eyes a bright red mess as Robin stopped in front of her, the two girls looking at one another. No words were even necessary, the silent gazes said it all. Catfish had been part of a show called "A Greater Porpoise", wherein a child was invited to get into the pool arena with the trainer and a dolphin to perform simple tricks, delight the crowd and give the child long lasting happy memories. But these memories would instead be ones they would have to eventually repress in therapy, because the whole thing had gone horribly awry when the dolphin dragged the small boy down into the water and wouldn't let go. And the only reason things hadn't gone more south? Hadn't ended in tragedy? That was because Fletcher had been on break and was watching, and when he saw what happened, he dove right in, and punched the dolphin in the face, allowing the child to be released.

There were many things Fletcher hadn't expected to do in his life, but punching a dolphin probably topped the list.

                                                                                                          ***

"Am I in trouble?" Fletcher asked, sitting in Nelly's office as she sat behind her desk, staring at him; Fletcher continued, "cause, I mean, okay, I did punch a dolphin in the face, but I only did it to save a child, so I feel like it's kind of justified?"

Nelly didn't say a word, she just kept staring.

"Your silence is terrifying, did you know that? It's like when my mom used to get mad," Fletcher said, "please say something. Please say anything. Seriously, I am begging you, literally say any word. Say toilet. Say amphibian. I don't care JUST TALK."

Nelly finally cracked and started howling with laughter, only confusing Fletcher further, who now scooted away from the desk a bit.

"Okay, now I kind of wish you'd stayed silent, you sound manic," Fletcher said.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?" Nelly asked, finally getting herself back under control, wiping at her eyes with her jacket sleeve, "seriously, do you? Because, yes, there's going to be some fringe group that will be upset at the punch, but more than that, everyone saw a staff member of this zoo jump into the arena without hesitation to protect a child. Do you have any idea what that's going to do to our reputation?"

"Is it good?" Fletcher asked, "I mean, people like kids, right? So saving a kid is a good thing?"

"People do generally like kids, yes," Nelly said, "Fletcher, we need to have some kind of ceremony, some kind of...kind of very public ceremony where you can be awarded for your valor and bravery."

"I don't have to wear a sash do I?" Fletcher asked, "Do I get the key to the zoo? Is there a giant key I could be awarded with?"

Nelly stood up and walked to a nearby filing cabinet, pulled out a drawer and started rooting through it, searching for something in particular. Fletcher sat still in his chair and watched with a confused look on his face. After a few minutes of fingering through files, Nelly finally grasped something and tugged it free from the drawer, tossing it onto the desk.

"You ever hear of Amber Dwyer?" she asked.

"...no?" Fletcher asked.

"Yeah, nobody has, because Amber Dwyer effectively doesn't exist," Nelly said, walking back to her desk and seating herself again, "I mean, okay, that sounded more cryptic than I anticipated. She's very much a real person, but she's done everything in her power to make it seem as though she doesn't exist. Scrubbed herself from the world to the best of her abilities. She worked at a zoo called Zooventure."

Fletcher raised a single eyebrow, and Nelly nodded.

"I know," she continued, "it sounds like the name of a zoo in a movie. It's awful. Anyway, while there, she was the reptile handler there, and one day, she was giving a little tour to elementary school kids at the Komodo Dragon exhibit. Well, one kid, let's call him Jason, decides he's not afraid of the Komodo Dragon."

"Sounds like something someone named Jason would believe," Fletcher said.

"Jasons are universally idiots, it's true," Nelly said in response, nodding in agreement, "so Jason slips away from the group, goes around the rail and gets into the exhibit. So, Amber, in the midst of all the screaming and shouting from adults and classmates alike, hops into the exhibit after him, because at this point, Jason is now pinned against the wall in terror as this enormous fucking lizard approaches him with a malicious intent in his eyes. Jason is pissing his pants."

"Jason would," Fletcher said.

"And Amber, surprising everyone, tackles the goddamn thing to the ground," Nelly said, "and at first, everyone was in awe of her, giving her praise, thanks, everything you can imagine. Until animal rights groups stepped in because, well, the Komodo Dragon is technically classified as an endangered animal. Amber gets ghost, makes herself unknowable, and vanishes into the ether. Lawsuit after lawsuit hits the zoo, and Zooventure is shuttered. But you? Fletcher, you punched a common bottlenose dolphin, which conservation groups consider, in a humorous bit of wording, as 'least concern' when it comes to endangerment. Amber Dwyer was a hero, but she got shafted by politics. But you, Fletcher?"

Nelly smiled and sat on her desk.

"...you're a hero," she said.

Fletcher wanted to vomit.

                                                                                                           ***

Catfish was hiding in the aquarium, one of the child play and exploration exhibits specifically, which was where she often went when she needed to think and get away from everyone. She was chewing on her hair as she stared down at the seashell patterned carpet, the enormous hunks of plastic coral surrounding her, encasing her as though she herself were a fish hiding from a predator. She heard the sound of something shifting nearby, and glanced around nervously, only to exhale when she saw it was just Casper. Casper seated themselves beside her and nodded in silence, almost moping as if in solidarity.

"Today sucks," Catfish finally said, and Casper smiled weakly.

"Today often sucks," they replied.

"How did you even know where to find me?"

"Well, I had Barbara over in security bring up the cameras, and there's obviously loads of them in this area since it's designated for kids, so it wasn't that hard. I just wanted to check in on you, see how you were doing, cause that...that seemed like a lot."

"A lot is putting it mildly," Catfish said, "I...don't think I can do this anymore. We've had incidents before, unhappy animals, and sometimes a trainer gets nipped or hit or slapped or something, but nothing like today, and if we're going to endanger children, while creating an unhappy environment for the creatures that are performing, I don't...I don't think I can morally separate that from my work. What's happening here isn't okay. Sure, it wasn't Kazoo, but they're unhappy too. All the animals are, and clearly they're going to start acting out more as a result. I can't be responsible for the dangers to both people and animals."

Casper nodded and put a hand on her knee, causing Catfish to exhale and rest her head on their shoulder. She closed her eyes, tears rolling softly, quietly down her face. How had it gotten like this? She thought what she was doing was good. Okay. She knew there were problems with live performances, she wasn't an idiot, but she just kind of always told herself they were few and far between enough to not be worried about them. But now...something had to be done. Something had to change.

"For what it's worth," Casper said, "I think it's admirable that you want to enact a difference, regardless of the threat it pays to your employment."

Catfish smiled and held their other hand.

"Thank you," she whispered.

They sat like that together for a while, nothing but the soft soothing sounds of ocean waves and bubbles and undersea currents wafting through the air over the interior speakers.

"I'm gonna take some time off," Casper said, "I need to learn who I am."

"You can do that, and I think that's smart, but I already know who you are," Catfish said, "you're a good person."

Casper wanted to cry now. They'd never once been called that. Another brief period of almost silence.

"I'm gonna free Kazoo," Catfish said.

                                                                                                           ***

Robin was in the break room microwaving lunch. She let the machine run its course, then retrieved her food and, just as she shut the door to the appliance, she turned and noticed Fletcher standing in the doorway staring at his shoes. Robin hadn't expected him, but she smiled at his presence nonetheless. She took her lunch, a premade frozen container of chinese food, to the table and sat down, starting to eat. As she chewed, she watched him, but he never once looked up at her.

"You ever hear of Amber Dwyer?" Fletcher asked, and Robin shook her head as she slurped some beef and broccoli into her mouth.

"Can't say that I have," she replied.

"Yeah, nobody has," Fletcher said, "to be fair, I hadn't either until this morning. Turns out you can do the right thing and still be punished for it."

Fletcher walked over to the table and sat down with a thud in the chair.

"...they wanna give me an award, I have to make a speech," Fletcher said, "but I'm not a hero. They keep calling me one, but I'm not."

Robin chewed, listening, nodding. She'd never seen Fletcher be so introspective. Sure, she'd seen him break down his walls a little bit, openly talk about a few things, but this...this was another level entirely. This was a man who finally, it seemed, had been broken enough to allow himself to fully feel again, and he clearly didn't know how to handle it. He sat there as Robin ate and he looked at the grain of the table, his eyes scanning every knick and grain.

"Amber Dwyer did the same thing I did, and she had to underground as a result, purely because of the difference in the types of animals we went toe to toe with. Part of me thinks that, really, it's because society can't accept the perception of a woman being violent and brave, so they villified her while they celebrate me, a man, because that's how they see men, as violent and brave. Protectors and defenders. But lemme tell ya something, Robin, my mom is the bravest, strongest woman I know and she could kick any dudes ass any day of the week. So maybe some of its sexism, maybe not, maybe it doesn't factor in at all, I don't know, all I know is this..."

Robin took another bite of broccoli as Fletcher shut his eyes and smiled weakly.

"...Amber Dwyer, like all women, deserved better, and I, like most men, deserve far much less," he finished.

Robin smiled warmly. Watching Fletcher gradually come to grips with his concept of masculinity, and his love for women as people in general, had been so fascinating and eye opening, and really, she was proud of him. Proud to be his friend. When she'd first started here, he'd been considered a jerk, a prankster, and he was those things, but that didn't make him inherently bad, and Robin felt that perhaps she was the first one to truly recognize and understand that, and that was now helping him be more vulnerable as a result, because he had women who trusted him.

"What are you gonna say in your speech?" Robin asked, digging around in the container for more beef.

"I don't know," Fletcher said, "but I can tell ya one thing...they ain't gonna like it."

                                                                                                           ***

Fletcher was standing by the platform as Nelly spoke to the crowd of onlookers as well as some press. She'd gotten this arranged quickly, probably for publicity, and likely at the request of the board, not because she really cared to. Fletcher knew her well enough to know that she cared about the zoos public image, sure, but she wasn't the kind to beg for its reputation. He breathed through his nose, a million thoughts running through his mind, namely at the forefront, Amber Dwyer. He looked to his side and noticed Robin standing there, causing him to jump a little.

"Holy hell," he said softly, "I forgot we walked here together."

"You're gonna do great," Robin said, "and, for what it's worth, I don't think you're a hero. Frankly, I don't know of anyone here who ever would."

A moment passed, and Fletcher grinned at her, that snarky, asshole grin that she loved to see, and he hit her in the shoulder playfully.

"You're a good egg," he said, before ruffling her hair as Nelly finished introducing him.

"I've learned a lot recently about speaking to your truth," Robin said, "and I think that's what you should do."

Fletcher nodded, then turned and headed up the steps to the podium. Nelly handed him a little golden trophy of some kind, and he looked at it, grasping it as he adjusted the mic, then cleared his throat, and did what Robin had told him to do. He spoke his truth.

"They wanna call me a hero, but what justifies that label? We often reserve it for people who save other people, right? Firemen, for instance. Firemen are heroes. I am not a hero. I saved a child, yes, because morally it was the right thing to do, and amoral as I may come off as at times, I'm not a heartless monster. But...why is it that people think nothing when rescuing a human child, often doing it without question, but rarely if ever attempt to save a baby animal? What constitutes the difference in their worth? An animal is a living thing, it breaths, it sees, it eats, it feels. It lives and dies, just like us, so why the stark contrast in their value? I'm not a hero. I saved a child, sure, but from what? An animals normal, predatory behavior? And, furthermore, why do we reward and forgive human beings for giving into so many of their base instincts but admonish animals for the very same thing? I didn't want to be the one to break this news to you people, but it's better you hear it now, here, from me, and the fact of the matter is...dolphins are murderers. Rapists. It's all a goddamned lie. They're not the cute, helpful creatures that pop culture has lead us to believe they are. The same irreperable damage that Jaws did for Sharks, Flipper did for dolphin PR."

Robin glanced over at Nelly, who, surprisingly, wasn't burying her face in humiliation, but instead grinning like an idiot.

"You...wanted this didn't you?" Robin asked, "you wanted to give him this award because you knew he would go off like this."

"Exactly," Nelly said, never looking at Robin once, her eyes glued to Fletcher on the stage as she added, "he's my mouth piece, whether he knows it or not, and I couldn't be more proud."

Fletcher continued, "You create campaigns like Save the Whales but it's...it's in spirit, only, really. What's the most an everyday person does? Cut up those plastic things that attach soda cans to one another so fish don't get caught in them? And, admittedly, how much energy and effort should a person willingly give to a cause such as this? I don't have the answer for that, but we have to do better. Bees are going extinct, the wetlands are drying out destroying bird habitats, and now we're celebrating me, a human being, punching a goddamned dolphin in the face. People demonized a woman for saving a child from an endangered animal, and yet because of the publicly perceived notion of dolphins, I'm hailed as a hero? I'm NOT a hero. I'm just not an asshole."

Fletcher finished his speech, stepping down from the platform, and exiting the zoo into the parking lot. As he strolled through towards his car, fishing his keys from his pocket, he noticed Catfish sitting on the hood of her own car, sniffling. Fletcher's eyes softened, and he walked over to her, seating himself beside her.

"You've had a rough day," he said softly, "and nobody even probably asked you how you're doing."

"Casper talked to me," Catfish said, "but yeah, I've been virtually ignored."

"Ridiculous, you're the trainer," Fletcher said, looking at his award clenched in his fist, before sighing and adding, "We can't let this continue."

"I know."

"I can't. in good conscience, continue to work in a place that claims to care for its animals well being but then prioritizes its visitors over that," Fletcher said, "I'm not saying we should let children get eaten or drowned or anything, but...but something has to change. A zoos main concern should be the safety and comfort of its animals, not its fun level for bored families on a Sunday afternoon to gawk at."

"I'm gonna free Kazoo," Catfish said, causing Fletcher's eyes to go wide. He thought about this for a minute, then held his hand out. She grabbed it, and they shook.

"Whale heist," he said, "I'm in."

Robin and Sophie were frozen like deer in the headlights. Robin hadn't expected Kyle back, Kyle hadn't expected to find his longtime girlfriend kissing another woman in their apartment kitchen, and Sophie didn't even know Robin was in a relationship. Robin tried to think of something, anything, to say to perhaps save face instead of being caught sucking face, but nothing came to mind. Sophie looked from Kyle to Robin and back to Kyle.

"What the FUCK?" Kyle asked.

"Welcome home," Robin replied.

                                                                                            ***

Catfish was seated in the changing room where the trainers got in and out of their wetsuits, took showers and the like. As she sat on a bench reading the memo, chewing absentmindedly on her braid, she heard the shower turn off and watched as another trainer, an older woman (in her late twenties) named Laurie, waltzed into the locker aisle wearing her towel and opening her locker to grab her wetsuit. As she dressed, she glanced over at Catfish.

"You okay?" she asked.

"It's this...this memo," Catfish said, "did you get it? Did you read it?"

"Got it, read it, didn't think much of it," Laurie said, shrugging, "Can you zip me up?"

Catfish nodded and stood up, zipping up the back of Laurie's wetsuit. As she finished and Laurie turned back towards her locker, looking at the mirror hung inside it, Catfish exhaled and began scanning her eyes over the paper once more.

"This doesn't feel right," Catfish said, "I know that a lot of what we do is performative, and that...that we work the animals on a rigid schedule, that we are an entertainment aspect of a zoo, but this feels...wrong. This feels like a step beyond."

"Not much we can do about it, so why worry yourself sick," Laurie asked as she started to apply her waterproof makeup.

"I'm worried for the sake of Kazoo and the others, not for us," Catfish said, "my safety is nowhere as tantamount as theirs is to me, so I'm worried for those who can't worry for themselves, can't speak up about being pushed too hard."

Laurie exhaled, finished her application and shut her locker door before turning to face Catfish, hands on her shoulders.

"Okay, sweetheart, listen to me...you are one of those people whose morals and ethics are admirable, but will make you an outcast, alright? You like this job, you want to keep this job? You need to learn to detach, and if you can't do that, then I...I don't know what will happen, but it won't be good, for you, the Splash Zone or Wild Kingdom, okay? And I'm not in disagreement either, I want that made excessively clear. Do you understand?"

Catfish looked in Laurie's eyes, sighed and nodded. She knew Laurie was right, even if her gut screamed the complete opposite at her. After Laurie left, and Catfish had finished getting ready for her day, pulling her hair back into a ponytail best she could, she also exited to find Casper standing outside, as if waiting for her. She flashed them a smile, the sun glinting off her braces.

"Hi!" she said brightly.

"Hi there," Casper replied, putting a hand in their jumpsuit pocket, "I got you something."

"You...did?" she asked, smiling, blushing.

"Yeah I went to an aquarium out of town with my niece and, uh, and I saw this and I thought you might like it," Casper said, pulling a bracelet made of seashells out of their pocket. Catfish wanted to cry. Nobody had ever given her a gift like this before. She held her wrist out and Casper slipped it on, then smiled at it, adding softly, "it looks like a perfect fit."

Catfish blushed even harder as she stumbled for words. She'd only known Casper for a little bit, but she was enjoying the time they'd been spending together at the zoo.

"Do you...wanna walk me to the arena?" Catfish asked.

"Why walk when I could drive you?" Casper asked, twirling their cart keys around their finger, making her laugh. The two of them loaded up into the cart and off they headed, towards the arena, for another day of shows with Kazoo. Whatever was worrying her at the moment could wait. She was simply enjoying the presence of people for a change.

                                                                                                 ***

"What the fuck, Robin?" Kyle asked, sitting on the edge of the bed as Robin paced back and forth in front of him. He didn't even seem angry, just...confused. Like this had come out of nowhere. And, rightly so, as it sort of had, even for her. Sophie was still sitting in the living room, completely in shock at the revelation that Robin was apparently involved, and with a man of all people.

"I didn't..." Robin started, running her hands down her face, "I didn't know...I didn't know I could feel things for a girl, I'm sorry."

"I mean I'm not upset about that, I'm not an asshole Robin," Kyle said.

"And we always kept it at work, and this was the first time that I brought it back here and-"

"Keeping an affair at a different venue doesn't really excuse it, but okay," Kyle said, interrupting.

"I know, you're...you're right, I'm sorry, that was a bullshit excuse," Robin said, "I just...you have to understand that this came as just a big shock to me as it did to you. I didn't...I never thought...I didn't wanna hurt you. You've always been so good, so nice, and we got along so well and I didn't wanna hurt you, but I also was so enamored with these...these new feelings that I...it just completely clouded my judgment."

Kyle nodded. At least that was a somewhat valid excuse, and she was taking responsibility for her actions. Robin sat down on the bed beside Kyle and exhaled slowly, deeply, as if letting helium out of a balloon at a steady pace.

"I don't...think I'm the one you hurt," Kyle said, surprising both himself and Robin as he continued, "I think it was that poor girl. She looked shellshocked."

Robin nodded in agreement. She hadn't been back out there to talk to Sophie since Kyle had arrived back in the apartment, and, truth be told, she was scared to. Would she even have either of them in her life after this evening? Robin put her hands on her knees and started crying, her fingertips digging into her knees as Kyle put a hand on her back.

"If you...are gay, Robin, then that's just how it is, I won't hold that against you," Kyle said, "but you gotta do the right thing here. For the sake of her, and honestly, for my benefit. You gotta decide what it is you want, because you're hurting three people here."

Robin nodded again. He was still right. Robin looked towards the door and bit her lip as the tears stained her face, her thoughts turning to Sophie. She could be in an out and open relationship with a wonderful woman, or she could deny her feelings and stay with a man whom, yes, she appreciated and cared for, but wasn't happy being with romantically. But at least the second was far more socially acceptable. Robin finally understood how caged animals felt.

                                                                                              ***

After the final evening show, Casper and Catfish found themselves at the Hippo Campus, watching the kids play on the little playground as they ate their ice cream bars shaped like animals. Catfish took another bite, then raised her hand to her mouth, causing Casper to look over at her as she giggled.

"Cold food make my teeth hurt cause of my braces," she said muffled.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't think about that when I suggested ice cream," Casper said, "um...can I ask you a question?"

"Mhm!" Catfish said, taking another bite, clearly not letting discomfort get in the way of her tasty treat.

"Do you..." Casper said, before pausing and closing their eyes, taking a deep breath and continuing, "do you think that, uh...that your life has turned out the way you wanted it to?"

"I mean a lot I didn't have control over," Catfish said, shrugging as she took another bite, "like who I was born to, stuff like that, but overall yeah I got lucky, and I'm really happy. I'm really genuinely happy. I wanted to be what I am and I achieved that goal, so I can't say that I'm feeling unfulfilled exactly. Why, are you unfulfilled?"

"In more ways than one, but certainly not career wise," Casper said, "moreso with who I am."

Catfish watched as Casper finished their ice cream bar and looked at the stick, smirking weakly as they read it aloud.

"Why do Flamingos lift one leg?" they asked, making Catfish smile.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because if they lifted both, they'd fall over," Casper said, the both of them laughing stupidly; after the laughter died down, Casper raised their hands to their face and started crying, catching Catfish by surprise. She scooted closer and put a hand on their back, rubbing gently.

"Are you okay?" Catfish asked.

"I wanna be you," Casper said through their tears, their weary breath.

"You can do that! You just have to take some courses, get a certification, it isn't impossible to become a trainer and-"

"No, not a trainer," Casper whispered, burying their face in their hands even more, as if trying to vanish into nothingness as they weakly, quietly, whispered, "...a girl."

Catfish hadn't expected that admission, nor did she know how to respond to it, but she stayed there, and she gave Casper comfort, because that was what she'd been trained to do. Give comfort to those she cared about. Be they whale or human.

                                                                                                ***

"I refuse to believe that this was something that came totally out of the blue," Kyle said, "like, there's always signs, triggers, stuff like that. You don't just suddenly wake up one day and realize you like the same gender."

"You're not wrong," Robin said, "but it's more that I was so young and oblivious that I didn't recognize it for what it was. Only after meeting her did I start to see the very obvious signs that had always been there. Girls I was enamored with for seemingly no particular reason while in school and stuff. Girls I looked up to or admired. I always thought it was because I wanted to be like them, not because I wanted to be with them."

Kyle chuckled and shook his head.

"...I gotta admit, you're a hell of an actress," he said, catching her off guard.

"What?" she asked, turning to look at him, a confused expression on her face.

"You had me believing this entire time you were in love with me, that you were happy in a heterosexual relationship," Kyle said.

"I was," Robin said, "I mean...I was until this happened. It wasn't like I was lying, at least not about that. Or...if I was it wasn't intentional, but more because I didn't know at the time, I don't know, Kyle. It's complicated. But it isn't like I didn't like you, or even like I didn't love you, cause I did. So very very much. You were good to me, good for me, steady and stable and kind. We had things in common. You just-"

"I wasn't a woman," Kyle said, smirking, making Robin blush as she looked down at her hands in her lap.

"...yeah," she said, "And the thing is, I don't know that it would've hit me so hard had it been any other girl. It's just her."

"Why do you think that is?" Kyle asked, and Robin shook her head.

"I'd love the answer to that question myself, believe me," she whispered in quiet reponse. Robin sighed deeply. She knew she had to talk to Sophie, who was still sitting in the living room, likely confused to all hell. Robin sighed, slapped her knees and stood up, starting to head to the living room. However, once she reached it, she found that Sophie was nowhere to be seen. This, in fact, worried her more than if she were still around. Robin stood there for a few minutes, looked around, and then chewed on her lip. She knew she would likely see her at work the following day, but she didn't want to have a conversation this heavy, of this nature, in a workplace. Then again, a good portion of their relationship had taken place at their place of employment, so perhaps it would be fitting. Kyle came out, touching Robin on the back reassuringly, as he passed by and went to start cooking. Robin only hoped Sophie would understand. She'd been so understanding of everything up until now, but this...

...this felt like something she might not come back from. And that scared her half to death.

                                                                                            ***

"I'm really sorry," Casper said.

Casper and Catfish were walking down the mainstreet of Wild Kingdom, ensuring everything was closed up for the night. Catfish's shift had ended a while ago, but she'd stuck around to spend time with Casper after their brief breakdown. As Casper turned another key, locked another shop, Catfish couldn't help but smile sweetly at their timidness.

"It's okay," she said, "you don't have to apologize. I've never met anyone who wanted that before, so I'm not exactly used to it or sure what to say, but I don't judge you, for what it's worth."

"I appreciate that," Casper said, exhaling as if they finally were able to relax, "because it's...it's a terrifying realization. And I didn't even realize it until the last few years. I never really questioned who I was until recent times, like, my entire adolesence I felt fine, I didn't...I didn't feel out of place, or anything, outside of the usual teenage confusion, you know? But then...seeing my coworker Robin fall for our coworker Sophie...I don't know. I guess it got me thinking."

"I've never questioned either, I don't think most people do, because most people are comfortable in who they are. Like, for me, I just love being a girl, it's just who I am, but if it's who you are too, you should be able to feel comfortable and happy in your appearance and the way you're perceived by society," Catfish said. The two of them stopped by the Croc Shop, a small snack shop that carried animal themed snacks, and looked at one another, the soft lighting of the neon alligator sign overhead illuminating Catfish's face, making Casper realize just how pretty she actually was.

"I think I'm gonna take some time off," Casper said, "I have some things to work through."

"I think that's a great idea," Catfish said, as they headed towards the front gate together.

Truth be told, and she wouldn't say this out loud, but Casper's willingness to do what made them happy made Catfish think back to the memo she'd gotten earlier, and think about Kazoo. Whose job was it to make Kazoo happy? It was supposed to be hers, her fellow trainers, but none of them seemed to care the way she did. And yet, here she was pushing someone else to pursue doing the right thing when she herself was complacent in doing the exact opposite? No. As they reached the front gate, she stopped and looked at a sign featuring herself and Kazoo.

She had to do something.

"I used to think, I don't know...I used to think that maybe I would get lucky, you know? Get 'discovered' or whatever bullshit actors feed themselves," Robin said, leaning over the railing that surrounded the entrance to the Splash Zone, Catfish beside her, for once not in her work attire wetsuit, but just in casual clothes - a vneck tshirt and shorts with hiking boots - both of them drinking from glass bottle sodas. Robin burped, wiped her mouth on her arm and continued, "but the thing is, you can have all the talent in the world, and still not get discovered. Think about how many great acting talents the world has lost out on simply because one girl wasn't 2 lbs lower than the preferred weight or because some guy had a receding hairline. Now I'm not saying I'm the most gorgeous girl in the world, lord knows I'm up there but I'm not number one, but I'm fairly conventionally attractive AND talented and still...nothing, and yet..."

Catfish glanced over as she took a sip, raising her eyebrow as she awaited the remainder of Robins speech.

"And yet," Robin added, "I can't help but be kinda grateful. Standing here, day in, day out, watching Kazoo perform...I can't help but feel, I don't know, like I dodged a bullet. What starts as a hobby becomes a passion becomes a product and soon you're burnt out and the magic is gone because you still live paycheck to paycheck unless you get mega stardom, and you can only really take projects you don't like because they pay well and not projects you're genuinely interested in because that would take time away from the ones that pay well. Performance is a prison. And yet here I am, same as everyone else who works here, performing, but at least...I don't know...at least now it means something, you know?"

Robin let out a long exhale and took a long drink, then glanced at Catfish who was staring at her.

"What?" Robin asked.

"Well, I'm surprised you didn't make it as an actress, considering you've got monologing down pat," Catfish said, making Robin laugh.

Just then they heard a cart pull up behind them and turned to spot Harvey pulling up in his cart. The girls stood and stared at him as he motioned for them to get into the cart.

"What's going on?" Robin asked.

"Fletcher and Doug have a bet, you're not gonna wanna miss this," Harvey said.

At least the zoo was never boring, Robin had to admit.

                                                                                                ***

"Alright men, this is the deal," Kacie said, standing at an enclosure usually filled with monkeys, as Fletcher and Douglas, both in jumpsuits, stood in front of her with batches of cleaning supplies beside them; she continued, "both of you are going to go into this enclosure, and you're going to see who can clean up their section the fastest, preferably without getting sick."

"What even happened here?" Robin asked, leaning towards Harvey.

"Batch of food monkeys were given was contaminated, and they all got sick, you know, with the runs, and, uh, the place got absolutely splattered as a result."

"Why does everything around here have to do with bodily fluids?" Robin asked, "the peacock in Nelly's car, the whale vomit in the arena, and now this. This place is disgusting."

"It's a zoo, Robin," Harvey replied, chuckling.

Truth be told, neither Douglas nor Fletcher looked much too pleased about this bet, which begged the question of who was the one who brought it up and why? Robin had questions, and she needed answers.

"What do you get if you win?" Robin finally asked loudly enough for them to answer.

"Valor?" Catfish asked.

"Better not be fucking valor," Douglas said, already sounding defeated.

"Can't be pride, I've got plenty of that," Fletcher said, winking and making finger guns at Robin, making her laugh.

"Can't have too much if you're cleaning up a mess of monkey shit," Kacie said, "whoever loses the bet has to clean up the rest of the enclosure. Whoever wins gets that entire day off. I've already cleared this with Nelly, who, surprisingly, was all for it, probably just to humiliate you guys."

"She does take a perverse pleasure in that," Fletcher grumbled.

Robin grimaced at this verbal exchange, as she knew a thing or two about humiliation.

                                                                                                  ***

"I want to be an actress," Robin said.

"Yeah? You think that would be fun?" her father asked.

Robin was 12. They were sitting at an ice cream parlor, one that hadn't changed since her father was a child, eating their weekly Sunday morning ice cream. This was a tradition for the two, and had been ever since Robin could remember forming memories.

"It's not about it being fun," she said, "but it would be fun, yeah, but it's about telling stories. I wanna tell stories."

"Well, being an actor isn't telling a story, it's acting out a story. Telling a story would make you a writer."

Robin hadn't considered this. Maybe her father was right. And so Robin, in addition to trying to act, also started taking up writing in her spare time. Instead of hanging out with other girls, or chasing boys, or even spending her time alone pursuing hobbies those her age would prefer to pursue, she was in her bedroom, at her computer, typing away. She never showed anyone anything she wrote, and a lot of times she barely managed to even finish anything, but she typed and typed and typed. But the thing was...she didn't enjoy writing as much as she enjoyed performing, and she never really believed what her father had told her anyway.

Ironically, however, and much to her own surprise, she was acting all the time anyway. Acting happy when she was depressed as a teenager. Acting strictly heterosexual when deep down, albeit unknown to her at the time, she liked women too. Robin Glass was never an actress just in profession alone, but in life itself, always seeking out ways to ensure that those around her never knew the real her. Not even people like Kyle, whom she cared for very much, got to know her on that level. He got glimpses, but never the full view. Nobody did. Until Sophie. Until the people here at Wild Kingdom. And watching Kazoo, someone else forced to be performative, to put on a show against their will, Robin started to understand just how detrimental to oneself that can be when the desire to do so isn't genuine.

Acting should be a skill, but not one you learn for the sake of survival.

                                                                                            ***

"You ever feel bad for Kazoo?" Robin asked, standing and watching Fletcher do his best to get smeared monkey shit off the glass wall enclosure. Catfish shrugged at the question.

"I mean, I know that captivity is frowned upon, and I know that animals being forced to perform is frowned upon, and that one's at least justifiable on some levels. That's why the circus stopped using elephants and stuff. But I mean...Kazoo isn't treated poorly. They're taken care of, fed well, cleaned, they have a whole medical team watching over them."

"Yeah but...but wouldn't it be better for them to be in their natural habitat instead of such a fake place such as this?" Robin asked, and Fletcher laughed, causing them both to look his way as he dipped his scrub brush back into his sudsy bucket.

"We're all in captivity, Robin, in every walk of life," he said, "people working jobs they don't wanna work, people stuck in marriages they don't wanna be in, life itself is a form of captivity, and the only freedom is death."

Catfish and Robin exchanged a concerned look before glancing back in Fletcher's direction.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked.

"I'm hand washing monkey shit, what do you think?" Fletcher replied dryly.

"So,"  Catfish said, returning to Robin's question, "you're asking me whether I think Kazoo would be better off in the ocean? I mean...generations upon generations have given the whale natural survival instincts, inclinations of how to successfully navigate that world, so I suppose, but...I don't know. I don't know anything. I'm just a trainer. Sure I'm obsessed with whales, but that doesn't mean I have the right answer to whether or not they should be here or there."

Robin sighed. Was she projecting her problems onto Kazoo? Was that all this was? Or did she actually feel sympathetic towards the creature for being forced into this life? It wasn't that she had a problem with the Splash Zone being in Wild Kingdom. In fact, she liked it, and Catfish herself had slotted into their friend group perfectly fine. It was hard to know what exactly she was feeling.

"I have to go train a new person today," Catfish said, checking her watch, "I'll see you guys later. Have a good day!"

"Too late," both Fletcher and Robin said simultaneously, which made them grin at one another. Robin then turned her full attention to Fletcher.

"So," she asked, "how did this bet come about?"

"...I bet Doug that he couldn't get a parrot to say a swear word," Fletcher said, "Turns out he not only managed to do so, but, uh, now it won't say anything but that and has had to be quarantined to a less family friendly place. Once Nelly found out, she had us do this, so now we're having this bet. It's stupid little petty games like this that make working here tolerable."

"You don't like your job?" Robin asked, sounding surprised. Fletcher shrugged.

"I don't mind it," he said, "I like it well enough. I mean, you know, I didn't mean to end up here, just like you."

"I know," Robin said, exhaling, tossing her hair from her face, "I was thinking about that today. About how I relate to Kazoo for being a performer. Is that sad? To emotionally relate to a whale?"

"Not really, I emotionally relate to your mom," Fletcher said, grinning, making Robin cackle. Though she was laughing, Robin did have to wonder just how many people here at Wild Kingdom were here because they wanted to be, and how many were here because they couldn't go anyplace else. She always thought you had to be a qualified animal trainer or something to work at a zoo, but as it turns out, to be a 'guide', the way she and her coworkers were, you didn't have to have those sorts of qualifications. So she was very curious about what their origins were. She knew why Fletcher was here, she knew Nelly had worked hard to get where she was and loved her job, but what about everyone else?

What about Sophie?

                                                                                             ***

Sophie was sitting on a marble bench in the graveyard, away from her family, away from the ceremonial act of her sisters burial. She was staring at the grass waving gently in the wind by her feet, when she felt the bench shift, and looked to her side to see her Aunt Carrie had sat down as well. Neither one acknowledged the other, and it seemed like Aunt Carrie had only really come over here to give Sophie company without the expectation of a response, which Sophie appreciated. Silent company was golden. However, after a while, Sophie herself cleared her throat and found herself initiating conversation.

"Do you think they love me as much as they loved her?" she asked.

"I used to wonder the same thing about your mother and I," Aunt Carrie said, "ultimately, what I came to realize, is that you're wasting your time vying for affection from those who are incapable of showing it."

"What do you do then? Love yourself? I don't think I can do that," Sophie said, "I can't be her. I can't be myself. Who can I be?"

"If you can't be either one, why not be someone totally new? Create an entirely new persona?" Aunt Carrie asked, shrugging, "that's what I did. I didn't like who I was, and I couldn't be your mother, the golden child, so I became someone else. People grow and change throughout life as it is, so how's this any different? One should be natural, and this is artificial? Bah. Humanity itself is artificial. We're all just actors, Sophie. Most just chose to do improv."

Sophie had never really considered this. She'd never really considered simply being someone else. But maybe her Aunt Carrie was right, and this was the way forward. So, come the years after, she decided to change everything she could about herself. She decided to create a persona that her parents would like, that would even help her get a job, which it did, at Wild Kingdom, and in the end, she used that very same persona to entice Robin to like her. And then Robin liked her too much, and knocked down all the wals around her, and made Sophie want to be herself again.

And that...that was something she was terrified of showing, even to the woman she loved.

                                                                                                ***

Robin didn't stick around to see what happened with the bet. Stuff like this happened at Wild Kingdom every day, so it was just background noise anyhow. As she walked to the parking lot, preparing to go home, she saw Catfish standing by a scooter, swearing to herself. Robin approached, concerned, only to have Catfish turn around at the last minute and the both of them scream a little, laughing at the others sudden appearance.

"Bad day?" Robin asked.

"I mean, at least I wasn't cleaning up monkey feces," Catfish said, unbuckling the strap to her helmet, "but yeah it...it wasn't good. The longer I work with Kazoo, the more I work with other trainers, the more I start to realize just how not okay what we're doing is. Kazoo seems unhappy. I know it's hard to tell whether a whale is happy or not, but...sometimes I think about just somehow stealing them and releasing them back into the ocean, you know?"

"Whale heist, awesome," Robin said, nodding.

"Anyway," Catfish continued, tugging her helmet on and latching it, before climbing onto her scooter, "that's just the guilt pangs one gets I suppose for loving animals too much. See ya tomorrow."

And with that, she rode off into the road and down the street. Robin then turned and headed back to her car, where she found Sophie standing opposite passenger side. Neither one had seen eachother all day, and Sophie looked...concerned.

"Hi," Robin said brightly, smiling.

"Can I come home with you?" Sophie asked, taking Robin by total surprise.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"I need to come home with you," Sophie said, "please."

How could Robin say no to that face, that voice. She unlocked the car, and both women climbed inside. Robin started the car up and drove back to the apartment. Once inside, Sophie looked around, as if taking in the place in a weird curiosity, and that's when it dawned on Robin. Humans were just zoo animals. Everyone had their enclosure, their enrichment, some had their mates, and when others came around, they gawked awkwardly at the way these creatures lived. Robin went to the kitchen and got a drink from the fridge, but then, as she shut the fridge and turned back around, she was surprised to find Sophie standing right in front of her.

"Whoa, hi there," Robin said, chuckling.

"You don't know me," Sophie said, "you don't know me at all. You just know the me that I let others know. I want you to know me. Actual me. Not this fake version of me. I want you to know the things I actually like, like puzzles and bird watching and pastel painting and how...how much you make me want to be myself."

Robin felt her breath catch in her chest, their eyes locked. Sophie had never, not once, been this forward. She was totally caught off guard. Except for their initial kiss in the butterfly hutch, Sophie had always been fairly reserved, and Robin had been the one to be rather upfront, but today everything seemed topsy turvy.

"Well, I...I love you no matter who you are or what you wanna be or what things you like," Robin said, smiling nervously as Sophie backed her against the fridge, "you know that, you know nothing can change that."

"I'm challenged, but I'm not stupid, and I'm not my sister," Sophie said, "and I'm tired of pretending to be, and I'm tired of pretending to be the person I created to not be her, and I'm tired of having nobody in my life know me. I want you to know me."

Robin nodded, exhaling.

"I...I know how you feel," she said, "I really do."

"I'm crazy in love with you," Sophie said, taking Robin even more by surprise, as, again, Sophie was rarely this vocal about her romantic feelings, adding, "and...I'm tired of pretending I'm not or that that's something shameful that has to be hidden as well."

Robin pulled Sophie's face to hers and kissed her, and for one brief moment everything in the world was right. And then the door to the apartment opened, and Kyle - who was supposed to have been working late - was standing in the living room staring at the girls as Robins eyes connected with his over Sophies shoulders and time itself felt like it stopped. The enrichment was over.

The zookeeper was home.

"What's your body count?" Kacie asked, looking at Casper, who gave her a look.

"I hate that term," they said.

"You mean, like, sexually, or like how many people I've killed?" Fletcher asked, making the group chuckle as he took another bite of his fast food breakfast, "cause there may be overlap."

"...what...what does that mean?" Robin asked, holding back laughter, her eyes squinting, "...are you...fucking corpses?"

"That's between me and the feds," Fletcher replied, shrugging, making everyone laugh harder.

The door to the break room opened and Nelly waltzed in, looking surprisingly chipper, her hair done up, wearing a brighter colored suit than they were used to seeing her in. All in all she just had this glow about her that they weren't expecting. She walked to the counter and began pouring herself some coffee, then sipped it before turning and looking at her crew.

"Good morning," she said, sounding chipper, "what fresh hell are we discussing today?"

"Body counts," Kacie said.

"Still uncertain of what definition you're expecting for your terminology though," Casper remarked.

"You know," Nelly said, playing with one of the buttons on her suit, "back when I was in college, especially freshman year, I was...pretty popular. I got a lot of attention, went to a lot of parties, was pretty sociable. Had a lot of sex, is what I'm trying to say."

"Do I wanna hear this?" Fletcher asked, furrowing his brow.

"And I wound up having so many various partners, and I was safe so don't worry, that eventually the other girls formed a club about me on campus, because apparently I was sleeping with their boyfriends without knowing it. But you know what? I've always been under the assumption that if you aren't satisfying your man, there's a woman out there who will, so, I didn't harbor any judgment against myself."

"Yeah, I don't wanna hear this," Fletcher added, turning away and back to the table.

"You don't wanna hold any accountability?" Kacie asked, "isn't that kinda...sleazy?"

"Well, I didn't know they were in relationships when I slept with them, and after I did I didn't sleep with them again," Nelly said, "just was a thing that happened enough times that they managed to have enough members for a club. So yeah, my body count? Pretty high. But that was then, not now. Nowadays I'm lucky if I get laid on a yearly basis."

"Please for the love of god stop talking," Fletcher said, "I don't wanna know about my bosses sexual proclivities."

"Oh, but it's fine for men to openly discuss it?" Nelly asked, "isn't that a bit of a double standard?"

"No, because men are disgusting, we're supposed to be gross, it's...like...in our contracts!" Fletcher said, making Robin snort laughing, which made him smirk. He loved making his friends laugh. Just then the door to the break room opened up once again and Douglas entered, standing there, not saying a word. Everyone stopped and stared at him.

"What?" Nelly asked.

"We have a problem," Douglas said.

Scant moments later, Nelly found herself in her office with a woman in a button down collared shirt, with a black cardigan and black pencil skirt, her hair in an updo, sitting across from her at her desk. Nelly, hands cupped on her desk, simply listened to the woman speak. Once the woman had come in, and she and Nelly had retreated to her office, the crew had all gone to their various duties, so Nelly was all alone with her.

"I understand that you can't control what animals here do," the woman said, "but I don't bring my child here to witness things such as that."

"Copulation is perfectly normal," Nelly said, shrugging, "it just happens. As you said, there's nothing we can do about it. They're wild animals, and wild animals have urges and drives and-"

"No, the copulation isn't the issue," the woman said, holding up a hand, "no. The issue is that it was between two animals of the same sex."

That....Nelly had to admit....hadn't been what she was expecting.

                                                                                               ***

Robin had kept quiet during the earlier discussion because, well, she'd only had 3 partners in her lifetime. Her first boyfriend, Peter, her boyfriend Kyle and now Sophie. And the thing was, she had never really once considered she might be gay until she'd met Sophie, despite, in retrospect, all the glaring clues right in front of her face the entire time. But the discussion had gotten her thinking about it all, and about how Sophie, at one point, had told her she was a virgin. Robin, who didn't have any tours scheduled today for a change, was currently with Fletcher while they were getting frozen yogurt in one of the restaurants housed in the zoo called Feeding Time. Standing over the bar, adding various toppings to her yogurt, Robin couldn't help but feel awkward.

"Can I ask you a question about your sex life?" Robin asked, and Fletcher laughed.

"I suppose, if you wanna know something that horrifying," he replied.

"When did you, ya know, lose it?" Robin asked and Fletcher stopped adding toppings momentarily to think.

"Uh...." he said, clearly trying to recall, "hmmm...must've been...17? Yeah that sounds about right. Believe it or not, despite clearly being a ladies man with charisma falling out of my butt, it did take me a while to find a woman, but not because they weren't interested, and more because I was picky."

"First of all I don't think things are supposed to fall out of your butt," Robin said, "Except, ya know, shit."

"Please don't talk about feces when I'm about to enjoy soft serve frozen yogurt," Fletcher interrupted, making her laugh.

"Secondly," Robin continued, "what do you mean you were picky? Picky in what way? Like the way guys generally are, where it's all predicated on the basis of appearance or was there some deeper reasoning for your waiting?"

"Picky in the sense that I wanted it to mean something," Fletcher said, the two of them finally seating themselves at a table by a window that housed a small aquarium, "because I watched a lot of my guy friends get together with girls and have it mean absolutely nothing and, I mean, I'm not by religious or anything but I guess I didn't want something so...personal, so deeply one time, to be taken by someone who didn't actually wanna stick around."

Robin smiled warmly as she sucked yogurt off her spoon, smacking her lips, "that's really sweet actually," she said before adding, "so did they stick around?"

"Yeah," Fletcher said, "for a while anyway. But nobody sticks around forever do they? Eventually you'll leave too."

She tried not to take the tone the wrong way, but it was clear that Fletcher was scared she, and others might leave, and he clearly was wrestling with abandonment issues. Robin merely smiled and took some more bites of her frozen yogurt, shrugging.

"I doubt it," she said, "I don't think they let caged animals leave the zoo," she said with a smirk, making Fletcher laugh.

                                                                                               ***

Catfish had never really been popular.

Even as a young girl - well, younger than she was now, considering she was still fairly young - she'd had trouble making friends, fitting in, and dating? Forget about it. Not even a remote chance in hell that that was an option that was on the table. So she simply stayed away from it, especially since it didn't really seem to be changing being here at the Splash Zone. She thought, perhaps much too positively, that by working in a field where she would have things in common with her coworkers, that they'd create a shared sense of camaraderie, but that didn't turn out to be the case. A popular kids club. That's all life ever was. And she wasn't invited.

Sitting alone in the aquarium, watching the sharks swim by as she ate her italian sandwich, the bread getting stuck in her braces, Catfish couldn't help but think how nice it must be to be a solitary animal that didn't NEED friends. That was happy simply peaceful existing outside of any kind of social circle. Imagine that. Being jealous of a fuckin' fish. She saw a cart come to a crawl in front of the aquarium, through the window, and saw someone get out to check it. She watched, interested but cautious, as she finished up her sandwich before finishing her drink, gathering her trash and tossing it into a nearby recycling can that was modeled to look - ironically - like a coral reef and heading over to see what was happening.

"Do you need help?" she asked, as the person looked up from where they were kneeling and sighed.

"My cart has a bad wheel," Casper said, "um...this happens far more often than I'd like it to, honestly. And they won't pay to replace it, no matter what, it seems like, so I'm constantly stuck doing vehicle maintenance, which isn't even a skill I have."

"Who says you have to fix it? Why not just...slack off?" Catfish asked, causing Casper to smirk at her, surprised.

"I just...I like my job, I like working," Casper said, "but, if you're willing to entertain the idea of keeping me company until Zoo Triple A gets here, I suppose that'd be okay."

Together the two headed back towards the aquarium to escape the sun, and once inside, Casper was grateful just how air conditioned and dark it was compared to the outdoors, Fish of all varieties in all manners of tank surrounded them, and they couldn't help but feel immediately calmer. Caspers eyes caught Catfish as she stopped by a nearby tank housing crabs, and they looked her up and down, never having really spent much time with her before. She was young. She had to be the youngest trainer there by far, but it wasn't like Casper was much older, so. They were definitely in the same age range, she just looked very young for her age, perpetual baby face. The braids and the braces didn't help either. Hands behind her back, holding one another, Casper couldn't help but feel the way they always did around pretty girls.

...jealous.

"So why fish?" Casper finally asked, "like, of all the animals to be trained in, work with, why fish?"

"Technically I train whales, which are mammals, not fish," Catfish said, "but I guess it's just because I love whales. I remember being a teenager and going with my parents on vacation to Hawaii and I really didn't wanna go, I didn't like water, don't like islands, really don't like crowds, but we went on this glass bottom boat tour that also allowed you to snorkle, and I saw all sorts of fish through the boat but then when I got into the water, which my dad practically had to drag me kicking and screaming into, I saw a whale, and...and it really....it just opened me up completely. They're just so beautiful."

Casper smiled, nodding, crossing their arms.

"They are pretty," they replied, "and very intelligent, and emotional."

"I guess I just related to them. That being said, I wish I did anything other than what I actually do. I'd love to work with whales in a better capacity, because training them to do tricks isn't right, for them or for us, morally speaking anyway on our end," Catfish said, continuing, "but what can I do, ya know? This is...this is what I've decided upon. And I don't regret it, for the record. Don't take that wish as me saying I hate what I do. I'm happy that I've made the choices I've made to be who I am and do what I do, but I wish I were doing it in a better way. A way that made me truly happy, not just those around me."

Casper knew exactly how she felt. They'd never say it, but they felt it at their core. They'd been hiding a similar secret for so long, and now, being here with Catfish, sharing in this exact emotion, all they wanted to do was blurt out what they were unhappy about themselves with, but were too scared not only to do so but also to act on it if they did, so instead they were happy to simply have a friend who understand, albeit unknowingly. Casper smiled and nodded.

"I guess some days," Casper said, "all you can do is be grateful for your bravery, those of us who have it. Takes a lot of courage to get in the water and train a whale. Wish I were half as brave as you."

And they did. They really meant that.

They also wished they were half as pretty.

                                                                                                  ***

"Sex is overrated," Fletcher said, walking through the zoo with Kacie and Robin. Sophie was having a busy day being a helper in another part of the zoo, so she hadn't been around much, but something about the earlier conversation made Rpbin feel like maybe she was purposefully avoiding her and the subject, for obvious reasons. Fletcher continued, "like, people act as if it's this big connection, but it's really just...it's not. It's a nice way, certainly, to be with someone you love, but it isn't the end all be all for a relationship like most people seem to think it is."

"Weird to hear this from a guy," Kacie said as she chewed her candy bar while they walked past a small petting zoo.

"Yeah, well, guys have feelings, most just don't accept them," Fletcher remarked, shrugging, "I don't know what to tell you other than it's not what you think it is."

Robin felt conflicted. In one sense, she wanted to be closer to Sophie, but she knew Sophie was not only a virgin, but also asexual, and while she had expressed the possibility of them sleeping together, Robin felt awkward ever making any kind of push in that direction. And she couldn't deny Fletcher was right, after all. She was happy just being with Sophie, having fun, but all this talk about the act of mating and body count...it had begun to get to her. They stopped at a small gift shop and stood around, watching a woman dress her baby in a tiger onesie. Kacie smiled and wiggled her fingers at the baby, trying to make it laugh as Fletcher exhaled.

"I guess," he added, "in the end, what really matters, is, ya know, just knowing that you can love a person for completely unsuperficial and non animalistic reasons that don't entirely depend on the release of a hormone in your brain." 

"But...that's what love IS, it's the release of a hormone in your brain," Kacie said.

"Yeah but you know what I mean," Fletcher said, "I don't know, nevermind."

Before Kacie could follow up, the speaker system jolted to life, and the three of them looked up at one of them that was attached to a pole, the speaker crafted in such a way to look as through the noise were coming out of the mouth of a lion.

"Hello guests, this is Zoo Manager Nelly Gish speaking," Nelly said, surprising them for the mere fact that she rarely, if ever, used the speaker system; she continued, "today we had a complaint from a parent who brought their young child to the zoo, only to witness copulation. And while this is a perfectly natural thing to see between two animals in a protected space such as this, her issue lay more with the fact that it was between two animals of the same gender. So I'd like to make a statement to anyone who may be listening who may also have an issue with this. Same-sex behavior is widespread in the animal kingdom, documented in over 1,500 species, including mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects. While often referred to as homosexual behavior, it actually encompasses a far wider range of activities beyond genital contact, like pair bonding, courtship rituals, and mutual grooming. These behaviors are not limited to a few species or sexes; they are a natural part of animal life, just as they are a natural part of human life. So, with that in mind, if you see any instances of same sex relationships between either people or animals while at our establishment, please just kindly redirect yourself to the nearest exit, go home, and live your totally unfulfilled heterosexual life where you hate your spouse. Thank you for coming, and enjoy the rest of your day."

The three of them stood in total awe, until Fletcher and Kacie started to crack up, hysterical, while Robin got the widest grin on her face. She had never once anticipated that she'd someday be a part of a group that required any form of protection - well, outside of being a woman, she supposed - but boy was she glad to know her boss had her back.

Now it was time to find Sophie.

                                                                                                 ***

Sophie was sitting by Flamingo Funhouse, a small, almost arcade style area with playsets for kids among a little restaurant and, of course, a small area that housed a handful of Flamingos. She pushed her big, circular lenses up onto her face and looked out at the Flamingos while the noises of children playing and arcade machines humming and pinging behind her filled in the silence. Suddenly she felt someone by her side, and glanced to see Robin standing there, hands behind her back.

"Oh, hello," Sophie said, "I'm sorry I've been absent today. I really had a lot to do and-"

"These are for you," Robin said, holding out a large bouquet of Violets, surprising Sophie, who took them and blushed; Robin went on, "Violets are commonly the sapphic flower, so I ran down the street to a nearby florist and I got these for you because I love you."

Sophie looked at her, taken totally by surprise. Robin put her hands on Sophie's shoulders and smiled, her eyes wet with tears.

"I...love you," Robin said, "anyone else I've ever said it to...I meant it but I didn't mean it the way I do to you. It was never...real the way it is with you. Because...because until you, I didn't know I could love another person, especially another woman, the way that I love you. But I love you. I love you more than words could ever say and maybe flowers will be a fine substitute."

Sophie blushed even harder, smiling now, her big teeth showing, making Robin love her all the more. Robin, holding Sophie by the shoulders, pulled her in and kissed her, the bouquet held carefully between them. After it ended, their foreheads resting against one another, each unable to stop smiling and giggling, Robin whispered.

"If I have to be captivity," she said, "at least I got a good mate."

"Couldn't have put it better myself," Sophie replied, kissing again.

Nelly normally would find it rather uncomfortable to be fucked against a glass case, wherein all the animals around her could see it happening, but in these instances, she didn't care one bit. Besides, they'd locked the doors to this area of the exhibit, and she'd killed the cameras for a brief period of time. As Harvey pushed up against her, kissing her neck, her fingers in his hair as he screwed her, Nelly couldn't remember the last time she'd actually been happy like this, particularly with a romantic endeavor...if ever, honestly. Afterwards, as they both attempted to get themselves looking halfway decent again, Nelly couldn't help but bite her lip and think about the future.

"You know," she said as she tried to smoothen out of her tie, "I had kinda given up on love."

"Is that right?"

"You all know that," Nelly replied, "it's not like it was a secret what he did to me. But...I don't know, you made things so much better. You make me feel like...like maybe there's a good part of life I can still attain, you know, where I'm loved and cared for."

Harvey smiled, but inside his heart was breaking. If she ever knew...if she ever knew about his wife, it would destroy her. Not to mention he felt guilty. This affair hadn't come out of nowhere, nor had it been created as a result of a marital rift. He had his reasons. But it was starting to eat at him. Nelly finished buttoning her collar and approached Harvey, who was cleaning his glasses and putting them back on his face.

"You just...you have this way of making life seem worthwhile," Nelly said, "I don't know if it's your attitude or what, but...you make me want to keep going even when I feel like I'm at the end of my rope."

"I'm glad I can give that sort of resilience to you," Harvey said, smirking, as Nelly put her arms over his shoulders and leaned up, kissing him, before hearing someone scream. They each turned towards the doors and quickly raced to unlock them. Once out in the morning sun, admist the guests, they saw it. A group of people centered around a little exhibit, a monkey exhibit to be precise, where a baby monkey was being brutally attacked by the adults around it. Nelly didn't know what to do, as Harvey quickly leapt into action, going over the rail and into the exhibit, scooping the baby up and rushing back out best he could to avoid being attacked himself. Nelly was grateful for his swift efforts, but god...

...it was always something, wasn't it? Never a dull day.

                                                                                                ***

"What causes parents to just start abusing their children?" Casper asked.

"The child forming an independent personality, more often than not," Fletcher replied, him and Robin fist bumping at the table.

"It was awful," Nelly said, leaning against the counter, sipping coffee as she waited for her muffin to warm up in the microwave, "like...it was just a full on attack. They would've killed it had we not intervened. 
In some monkey species, males kill infants to eliminate competition for mates and increase their own reproductive success by causing the mother to become receptive sooner. Even in controlled environments like these, I suppose, it can happen."

Robin looked to her right and saw Sophie staring at the ground. She didn't seem to be taking in any of this, completely lost in her own thought. Robin reached out and touched her arm, trying to jolt her back to reality, but to no avail. The door to the break room opened and Kacie entered, sitting across from Fletcher as she ripped open the lid to her yogurt and started pouring things into it from the little packets it came with, Fletcher paying her simply no mind whatsoever. Robin started to wonder if anyone was okay today.

"How's Harvey?" she finally asked, looking back up towards Nelly, who was now retrieving her muffin from the microwave.

"He's okay, it seems," Nelly said, shrugging, "he didn't appear to be too bothered by it."

Nelly took her muffin on a plate with her coffee and headed for the door.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be in my office," she said, before exiting, leaving the five of them alone together. Robin looked at Kacie, who was just eating silently, then at Fletcher, who was reading a magazine, legs propped up on another chair. Her eyes then turned back to Sophie, who finally looked up to meet her gaze, and the two smiled softly at one another before Robin, taking her by the hand, led her out of the break room. Casper stood up and stretched, yawning.

"Well," they said, "guess I better get to my tour duties. Kids ain't gonna educate themselves."

"Oh is that what you call what you're doing?" Fletcher asked, making Casper laugh as they too exited after the girls, leaving just Fletcher and Kacie alone now.

"You seem...invested in what you're reading," Kacie said.

"It's interesting," Fletcher remarked, shrugging, "it's about a species of bird that went extinct and now scientists are trying to bring it back."

"Are you for or against-" Kacie started to ask, before he abruptly got up and also exited the room, leaving her feeling bewildered. She was starting to notice what Robin had noticed, which is that nobody today seemed to be alright.

                                                                                            ***

Since Sophie didn't really have a job, other than odds and ends around the zoo, Robin had recruited her most time as an assistant on tours. Miss Gazelle and Miss Kudu, and they were by far one of the most popular, if not the most popular, touring guides available. Today they gave 4 different tours, and after the last one wrapped up - a final one would be had later in the evening before the zoo closed - the girls found themselves by the Hippo Campus, sitting at a table and enjoying some iced tea and sharing a big basket of nachos.

"You ever get the feeling," Robin started, "that people only come to the zoo cause they lack better entertainment options? They don't really care about animals, exactly, it's just that there's nothing else?"

"I know lots of people come cause they love animals," Sophie replied, shrugging, "so I don't think that's a fair generalization. But you're probably not wrong for a lot of them. The nice thing about zoos, especially Wild Kingdom, is we have seasonal passes. Movie theaters don't. Minigolf courses don't. But we do. So you pay a lump sum and then you get to come here whenever without paying more, outside of snacks I guess, which you can bring in yourself and aren't necessarily required to purchase."

"That is true, we are kinda cost effective in that regard," Robin said, nodding in agreement before adding, "...are you okay? You seem kinda...not with it."

"Do I ever seem with it?" Sophie asked, making Robin chuckle.

"Good point," she said, "I just...I love you and I want to know that you're doing alright, that's why I do these little emotional check ins."

"I'm okay," Sophie said flatly, in such a manner that Robin didn't buy it.

"Cause, you know, if you're not, I want you to know that you can come to me, and-"

"I'm okay," Sophie said again, smiling now, "really, I'm fine."

But she wasn't. She wasn't okay. And the thing was, normally she would go to Robin for reassurance, but in this instance...she simply wouldn't be able to understand. She would empathize, certainly, give her comfort, but she wouldn't get it. Robin nodded, finishing up the nachos and gathering their trash to throw away in a garbage can that looked like a Hippo with its mouth wide open at the top of the receptacle. Robin then wiped her hands on her pants and put her hands on her hips as she looked at Sophie, who was still drinking her tea.

"Nelly didn't seem too upset about the incident," Robin said.

"Nelly only seems to get upset at incidents that are avoidable and human made," Sophie remarked, "this was just...nature being nature."

"I guess that's fair," Robin said, "still, weird to see her react with virtually no animosity."

"Animosity. Cause there's animals," Sophie said, the both of them giggling as Robin leaned down and kissed Sophie before excusing herself to go to the bathroom. Sophie, now sitting alone, let her thoughts wander back to the event of the morning, and to other related things. She heard a cart pull up and noticed Fletcher getting out, then walking up to the table and seating himself.

"Figured you'd show up eventually," Sophie said.

"...I can't stop relating it to my sister," Fletcher said.

"Me too," Sophie replied.

Robin wouldn't have understood, but Fletcher...Fletcher understood all too well.

                                                                                             ***

Nelly was, as she'd stated, in her office.

She wasn't working. Hell, she wasn't doing much of anything, to be honest. She was, instead, just sitting behind her desk listening to music, staring at nothing. Her thoughts had returned to Rufus. God, he still took up so much space in her brain and she hated herself for allowing him to do so. Even now with Harvey in her life, Rufus invaded her thoughts more than she'd prefer he did. The door opened and Nelly immediately tensed up, then flinched when it was closed. Harvey was standing there, looking at her.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked.

"...about what?" she asked.

"You know damn well what," Harvey said, "that couldn't have been easy to witness, if it reminded you of him."

Nelly exhaled and leaned back into her chair once more, trying to let her body unclench. She shut her eyes and shook her head. She'd only ever told Harvey a little bit about Rufus. The others knew about him, knew he'd hurt her, but they didn't know to what extent. Only Harvey knew a little bit more, but even he didn't know the full brunt of what she'd been through.

"He didn't just hurt me," Nelly finally said, almost whispering, "...when we first started dating, I didn't know he had a daughter. Cutest little girl, 5 years old, just...just the sweetest thing you could imagine. She and I got along famously, better than he and I did I think, and I think that made him jealous. I started to see her with bruises, scrapes. I knew what he was doing. Then when I confronted him about it, he turned his ire to me."

"Nelly, for christ sakes-"

"And in the end I couldn't do anything to stop it," Nelly said, almost in tears, "like...I wasn't the girls mother. Hell, I wasn't even her stepmother. Tried to tell the cops, but nothing came of that. Called CPS but nothing came of that. Course doing these things, even anonymously, he knew it was me and I bore the brunt of it again. But...but so long as he was taking it out on me and not her, then that was a win in my book. He's not in my life now, and sometimes she calls and leaves me messages, but I still flinch at doors slamming, or people suddenly coming into my personal space. Watching that little baby monkey today get almost killed by the very adults that are supposed to nurture it, I guess...I guess it fucked me up."

Harvey nodded and sat down across from her at the desk. He adjusted his frames and ran a hand through his hair before running it back down to his face, massaging his stubble that was quickly becoming a beard.

"You know you're not responsible in either case, right?" he asked, "I mean, sure, you were dating the guy, and sure, you run this zoo, but in both instances you aren't solely responsible. She wasn't your daughter, and in nature this is just what monkeys do."

"That doesn't make it hurt any less," Nelly said, leaning back in her chair, hands cupped on her lap as she stared wide eyed at the ceiling, "do you have any idea what it's like to want to protect everything you love, only to find you can't protect any of it?"

Harvey didn't say anything, but he did understand. Like Fletcher, he understood all too well. Hell, he constantly had to sit across from Nelly.

                                                                                              ***

"It's like...it's like you can try so hard to protect what you love, but it doesn't ever really seem to be protected, does it? Something will find a way to ruin it," Fletcher said, sounding so defeated, shrugging, "maybe that's just how the universe is, though. Cold and unfeeling."

"In my sisters case, there wasn't anything I could do, she just...was going to die, no matter what," Sophie said, "but at least your sister is here. Not to diminish what happened, or the severity of her issues, but yeah."

Fletcher nodded and exhaled.

"No, you're...you're right," Fletcher said, "I guess just...witnessing a child be attacked, be it human or animal, kinda fucked me up."

Robin suddenly sat back down at the table and Fletcher immediately perked back up, almost as if putting his mask back up and not allowing her to really see the depth of his pain, back to his usual jerk ass self.

"So," Fletcher continued, "got anymore tours today?"

"Feels kinda wrong to give tours today," Robin said, "honestly, I kinda wanna just go home. Well, not home, but-"

"We could go to my home," Sophie said, surprising Robin, who nodded happily, smiling. Fletcher smiled as he stood up and walked back to his cart. He climbed in and started the vehicle, waving by to the girls before driving off towards the bird area. Sophie and Robin stayed at the table and canoodled, while Fletcher drove, a little faster than he should've, dodging visitors and workers alike. Finally he pulled up to the little area Kacie worked at, and he parked, almost skidding into a column. He quickly climbed from the cart and found Kacie standing at a wall of cages, doing feeding. She turned to see him when he entered as he walked towards her.

"What are you doing in my neck of the woods?" she asked.

"I was rude this morning," Fletcher said, "and not rude like I normally am, but rude, like, ya know. just casually, I don't know how else to put it. Not playful rude. Just actually rude. And you're the last person I want to be rude towards, because you're awesome."

Kacie set the bird feed bag down and now turned to fully face him, leaning against a cage, playing with her braid, biting her lip as she grinned.

"I'm not a very...open person," Fletcher continued, "but, ya know, sometimes some people are worth being open with, and you're definitely one of them. So I was thinking maybe, after work, you would like to go out with me somewhere. And not just...not just casually, the way we have been, but like...on an actual date. I got scared to get close to people cause I knew what could happen if I did, how I could so easily lose them, but maybe the love is worth it."

Kacie nodded, stood upright and put her arms around his shoulders, leaning on her tiptoes to kiss him, surprising him. He happily kissed her back as she tossed her other hand, still full of bird seed into the air near the surrounding cages, making the birds squawk and go nuts, their sounds filling the area. Fletcher hadn't expected to almost lose his sister, but he aslo hadn't expected to fall in love, and he realized that sometimes, as in nature, life has things you just don't see coming and you have to adjust for.

And he was ready to adjust.

Meanwhile, back in her office, Nelly and Harvey were laying on the floor together staring at the ceiling, both fully clothed. Nelly sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I take time for myself," Nelly said, "and bad things happen. We get intimate and bad things happen."

"Bad things just happen, Nell, that's just life," Harvey reminded her, shrugging, "but it doesn't mean good things can't just happen too."

Nelly rolled her head to face his and smiled.

"You're a good thing," she said, making him smile, as she leaned in and kissed him.

He was. He was a good thing.

But he was also a very bad thing, and she just didn't know it yet.

The nice thing about having late shifts at the zoo was you could do things under cover of night and (relatively) get away with them, but especially since Splash Zone had just opened and hadn't yet gotten around to installing security cameras the opportunities seemed endless, which is exactly how Harvey sold the idea to Robin. So, that night, they both opted to take the late shift - relieving Fletcher, albeit not happily - and, once they were certain everyone else was clear of the premises, they headed over to the Splash Zone. Turned out, Harvey had been doing reconnaissance for a while, so he knew where they stored the spoiled krill. He and Robin gathered up what they could onto a tarp, then loaded that tarp into a cart and drove it back to Kazoo's stage show. Once there, they unloaded it and dumped it into the water for the whale to "enjoy". After this, they headed back to the main zoo and awaited the results.

The results, as they would discover two days later, would only lead to further rifts between the zoo proper and Splash Zone, but it was the smallest victory they afford. Nelly, however, felt differently.

                                                                                             ***

"Okay," Nelly said, "a lot of things around here I can let slide. I didn't hold anyone accountable for when Casper promoted Kangaroo Boxing Day, but this sort of thing, because it didn't technically take place on our property, I cannot ignore. So now either someone comes forward and takes responsibility for making Kazoo sick or-"

"Or what?" Fletcher asked, "we're all gonna fail the class?"

"...OR...I'm going to make every single one of you swim in the tank with the mess you created," Nelly said sternly, "because you know what happened right? The whale didn't just vomit. It vomited during the show. ON its trainer. Poor young girl just absolutely covered in whale vomit. You have any idea how traumatizing that had to be? She had to be escorted off the property and has since undergone a whole day of work appointed therapy to deal with what occurred to her. Are you guys proud of yourselves?"

"It wasn't me, but if it were, I'd say yes, I am," Fletcher replied, high fiving Robin who was seated next to him before she stared at his hand, her eyes wide.

"...uh...there's a lizard attached to you," she said quietly.

"Oh, yeah, I know," Fletcher said, "happened during a show earlier, can't get him off."

"Isn't that...uncomfortable?" Robin asked.

"Not really, I kinda forgot he was there," Fletcher said, shrugging, "he's my little guide guest now."

"You aren't seriously giving tours like that are you?" Nelly asked, her attention now turned solely to this new issue, "because that is remarkably unprofessional."

"More unprofessional than just not doing my job? Jesus, can't win with you," Fletcher said, rolling his eyes.

"I...I genuinely don't know, actually," Nelly said, "my point is, guys, someone is going to be held accountable for what happened to the whale, and to its trainer, because I will take the blame for a lot of your shenanigans, but this is one I cannot bear the brunt of. So either someone comes forward, or everyone takes a pay dock. And as for you-" she said, turning her attention to Fletcher, "get. that lizard. off. your hand."

"Don't talk about Gregory like that in front of him, you'll hurt his feelings," Fletcher whispered.

"Don't name it, you'll get attached to it," Harvey said.

"I'm already attached to it," Fletcher said, "that's the crux of the issue."

With that, Nelly, frustrated and ready for a break, turned and exited the break room, leaving everyone to themselves. Fletcher posted his elbow up on the table and held his hand out flat in the air, the lizard dangling from his index finger. Robin leaned forward, somewhat fascinated, staring at it.

"So it doesn't hurt?" she asked.

"Nah," Fletcher said, "he's not biting hard, he's just stuck on me."

"Have you tried just shaking him off?" Harvey asked.

"I'm not shaking him, he's not a human baby," Fletcher said.

The thing was, there was one person who knew how to deal with this, but...Fletcher didn't want to call her.

                                                                                              ***

Sophie was standing with Robin out by the churro concession stand by the Zebras, just chewing and watching. This had become somewhat of a morning routine for them. They would find a snack, generally a sweet snack, Robin would get some coffee, and the two would just animal watch before the zoo got really busy. But today in particular, now that Nelly was somewhat on the war path for accountability, it was definitely needed. Robin had to clear her head. She didn't know that her and Harvey's little joke would result in this sort of reaction, putting everyones financial standing in jeopardy, not that Sophie was that concerned, seeing as she lived with her parents. Robin took another big bite of her churro, washed it down with coffee, and sighed.

"Last night," Robin said, "I got home and all I wanted was to have you there."

Sophie blushed and looked at her shoes, mumbling, "It'd be nice to go home with you sometime."

They each wanted it, but Sophie knew Robin had a "roommate". A roommate. That's what she had begun to refer to Kyle as, and it made her sad to be lying to them both. Robin exhaled and tossed her coffee cup in the empty nearby bin before holding onto Sophie's hand and squeezing it gently, before lifting it to her lips and kissing softly, making Sophie blush even more.

"It just feels so...lonely there, even with them around, you know? I want you there, in my arms, on my bed, just...holding and protecting you."

Sophie giggled. How had she gotten so lucky? Suddenly an arm grabbed Robin's other arm and tugged her away, causing her to yelp in surprise as she saw Harvey pulling her from Sophie and a bit aways, shouting back at Sophie that he was sorry but he needed to borrow her for a minute. As they got a bit aways, now standing near the Rhinos, Harvey lowered his voice, his eyes darting every which way, clearly anxious.

"We committed such a crime," he whispered.

"We got a whale sick, we didn't commit vehicular homicide," Robin said snidely.

"We got a young woman covered in vomit by animal 4 times her size," Harvey said, making Robin smirk and start giggling.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," she said, "Oh well, it's puke, right? It's not like she was trapped in a well."

"Okay first of all, what a wild comparison, like, who gets stuck in wells?" Harvey asked, making Robin shrug.

"It happens."

"No, it doesn't, this isn't 1870, there's no wells!" Harvey said, "and secondly-"

"I'm sure there's wells somewhere," Robin muttered, interrupting him.

"-and secondly," he continued, repeating himself through gritted teeth, "we got everyone in trouble. We need to come forward."

"...yeah, that part does kinda suck," Robin said, sounding a little defeated, "but what happens to us if we do?"

"I don't know, Robin, but I know Nelly well, and...and I'm sure I can get our punishments to be less severe, you leave that part to me, but by the end of the day, whether you do or not, I'm coming clean. I can't take the guilt, and...and it's the right thing to do."

With that, Harvey turned on his heel and started to head back to his post, leaving Robin there. She knew he was right. She knew that, morally and ethically, he was right. But the outcome...the result of such actions...that terrified her. All she'd wanted to do was play a prank. Now they'd seemingly traumatized a woman as well as made an animal very ill. Kazoo didn't deserve that. If anything, Kazoo was a victim of circumstance, a monkey (well, a whale, actually) in a cage forced to perform. And if Robin knew anything about the entertainment industry, it was that being forced to do something that once was your lifeblood eventually wore you down to nothing.

                                                                                              ***

Fletcher was standing at the Alligator exhibit, leaning on the railing, watching. He saw some kids across from him on the opposite of the exhibit tossing in some small hunks of meat, a little treat the zoo offered the kids to do, and that a few of the smaller, younger alligators had gathered to enjoy their gifts, the kids overjoyed at the experience. Fletcher couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Reptiles are cool cause dinosaurs were cool," a voice said, and Fletcher looked to his side to see a woman standing there in a leather jacket, leather pants and a button down white collar shirt with a thin black tie. She had small oval glasses and shoulder length hair with bangs. She smiled at him, then added, "you're a sight for sore eyes."

"Stacy Keebler," Fletcher said, grinning wife, "how's the hand?"

"Still gone," Stacy said, raising her arm and showing off a well built prosthetic, wiggling her mechanical fingers at him.

"That's so cool, you're like a Terminator," Fletcher whispered, making her crack up before asking, "wait...what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was informed that you have a lizard stuck to you," Stacy said.

"Nelly called you?" Fletcher asked, and she nodded.

"Yeah, she knew you wouldn't take the initiative," Stacy said, "frankly I admire your tenacity. And your stubbornness."

"The two are interchangeable," Fletcher said, pointing at her while winking before looking at the lizard still hanging off his hand, "...it's hard to do finger guns with a reptile attached to you. So what's your big plan on how to dislodge this little guy? Cause he's stuck to me like a child you didn't want to have."

"You're gonna make a great, neglectful father someday," Stacy remarked, "come with me. We're gonna go use the only tool capable of prying him off without hurting him. We need... The Dislocator."

The name, Fletcher had to admit, made him somewhat nervous.

                                                                                               ***

Robin was standing outside the Splash Zone, chewing her lip, mulling over what Harvey had told her.

Sophie had gone on to do her duties for the day, and Robin had done her few tours, and was now thinking about the consequences of coming clean for her actions. Their actions. She knew it was the right thing to do, she knew Harvey was right, and yet...and yet she just simply couldn't do it. As she stood there, lost in thought, she suddenly felt a hand on her arm and looked to see Catfish standing beside her in her wetsuit, drinking a smoothie.

"Oh, hi," Robin said meekly, "how are you?"

"All things considered I couldn't be better, seeing as how I wasn't the one covered in whale vomit," Catfish said.

"Fair enough," Robin replied, smirking slightly, "...but...I guess I feel really bad about the situation, it sounded like it was fairly horrendous for her. I hope she's doing okay?"

"She's hanging in there," Catfish nodded, sipping on her straw, "but an apology probably wouldn't hurt."

Robin looked at Catfish and squinted, raising an eyebrow, causing Catfish to smirk.

"What?" Catfish asked.

"How come you're so....calm about it all?" Robin asked.

"Cause it's one of the risks of doing this job," Catfish said, shrugging, "listen, I wanted to work with whales ever since I was a little girl. I used to get books about whales out of the library, I slept with a whale plush that I still sleep with, and I watched every nature documentary about whales that I could get my tiny hands on. I love listening to CDs of whale songs. If you come into this job not expecting things like that, then you're just...no offense, but you kinda deserve to be barfed on," she said, shrugging again, causing Robin to crack up.

Say what you want about the Splash Zone, she enjoyed Catfish, and it was nice to have at least one friend on the inside of this rivalry. After laughing a bit, Robin exhaled and put her hands on her hips, nodding.

"Alright," she said, "I know what has to be done about this."

                                                                                               ***

Sitting in the tiny medical office, Fletcher seated on a table as Stacy searched for something in a nearby cabinet. Fletcher raised his hand to his face and looked at the lizard, before looking past at Stacy, who was still searching, shifting things around in the cabinet. After a few minutes, Fletcher grinned and rolled his eyes.

"So," he started, "what's it like losing a limb?"

"Technically didn't lose the whole limb, just lost the hand," Stacy said, "but it's...it's definitely an experience."

"It's kind of cool to be part robot, right?" Fletcher asked.

"In technical terms I'm more of a cyborg, but sure," Stacy said, finally grabbing something and turning around to face him, grinning, holding a plastic bottle as she took a seat on the spinning stool in front of him, Fletcher lowering his eyelids in annoyance.

"That's The Dislocator? It's Amonia," he said.

"Yeah but The Dislocator sounds so much cooler doesn't it?" Stacy asked, laughing, pouring just a small amount on the tip of a Q-Tip and and then, taking Fletcher's hand in her other hand, waving the Q-Tip soaked in Amonia in front of the lizard. After a few moments, Fletcher, much to his surprise, felt the lizards grasp on his finger begin to soften until he dropped completely into a small jar Stacy had placed beneath them. She quickly gathered it up and screwed the lid on top, then held it in front of her, smiling at it.

"Wow," Fletcher said, wiggling his now free digit, "that...that was really cool."

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty cool, so," Stacy said.

Fletcher scratched the back of his head nervously and sighed, shutting his eyes and lowering his head.

"Listen," he said, "Stacy, uh...I need to apologize. When you lost your hand, I...I kind of made a big joke about it. That's just what I tend to do, I make jokes about horrific things so they seem less horiffic, it's a coping mechanism, and not a great one I admit, but it's...it's how I manage. Regardless, it wasn't...it wasn't fair to you, and I am sorry for that, because what you went through had to be traumatic and-"

"Fletcher shut up," Stacy said, surprising him; she smiled, setting the jar on the counter and looking back at him, "actually I'm glad you did. I'm glad you did it cause it forced me to look at it in a humorous light, so in a way, you didn't pity me, you made me laugh at it, and that...that really helped. Now I'm a cyborg, and that's awesome. I know people tell you you're a jerk, but you're not. Just because others believe something about you doesn't make it true, okay? You're not a jerk Fletcher. You're an ass. But the two aren't the same."

Fletcher smiled and nodded as Stacy walked back over and they hugged.

"Thanks for getting him unattached," Fletcher said as she patted him on the back.

"My pleasure," she said. Just then they looked towards the door and saw Sophie standing there.

"What?" Fletcher asked.

"You're gonna wanna see this," she said.

                                                                                                ***

The workers from both the Splash Zone, as well as Wild Kingdom proper, had all gathered around the large tank Kazoo performed in, and were awaiting anxiously. As Fletcher, Sophie and Stacy pulled up in the cart, they climbed out and approached Casper and Nelly, both of whom were standing by Catfish. Fletcher stopped by Nelly and lowered his voice.

"What's goin' on?" he asked.

"You're about to witness a spectacle," Nelly said, arms folded, seeming smug.

"Lady, I had a lizard stuck to me all day, I was a spectacle," Fletcher remarked, making her laugh.

Suddenly the doors to the trainer area opened and Robin and Harvey, both in wetsuits, exited and walked towards the tank. Fletcher's eyes widened and he grinned. That's when he knew what exactly it was he was about to see. Robin and Harvey approached the diving spot by the tank and Harvey removed his glasses setting them down on the edge. He looked at Robin, who smiled at him.

"We're doing the right thing," she said, and he nodded.

"Doesn't make it any less disgusting," Harvey said as Robin laughed and grabbed his hand. They each looked in the direction of those watching. Harveys eyes met Nellys and she smiled at him, shaking her head, making him smile back. Robins eyes landed on Sophies, and she waved playfully, blowing her a kiss, making Robin blush and giggle. After a moment, the trainer who had been vomited on, Alissa, also approached the tank, standing by Catfish, who put her arm around her in a caring manner and pointed at the two by the tank. Robin and Harvey looked at one another, took a deep breath each and lunged forward into the vomit soaked water.

After the show had ended and they'd exited, Robin, Sophie and Fletcher were standing by the tank as Robin tried to clean herself off with one of the hoses, Sophie helping her clean vomit out of her hair as Fletcher leaned against the wall, arms folded, laughing.

"That was pretty badass, I gotta admit," Fletcher said.

"It was vile but it was the right thing to do," Robin said.

"I'm gonna say, I'm surprised it wasn't you who made the whale barf," Sophie said, glancing at Fletcher.

"Me too, honestly," Fletcher said, "primo prank and I didn't lay claim to it."

Suddenly they heard two people walking up to them and turned to see Catfish with Alissa.

"Um..." Alissa said, meekly, looking at her feet, "...th...thank you. Thank you for doing that. I'm still upset it happened, but...thank you."

Robin smiled and nodded before watching them walk away and looking back at Sophie and Fletcher.

"Who wants diner food? Cause I need something comforting after swimming in vomit," Robin said.

Meanwhile, out in the parking lot, Harvey was unlocking his car, ready to head home and shower himself. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see Nelly standing by him. He smiled and adjusted his small glasses, as Nelly stood by him.

"Hi there," he said.

"...you're amazing, you know that?" she asked.

"I always had a suspicion," Harvey said, chuckling, as Nelly put her arms around his shoulders and leaned in to kiss him. To kiss Nelly...that was more than worth swimming whale vomit for. After the kiss, she pulled back and looked at him.

"You smell terrible," she said.

"Well, I'm covered in puke, it's not an aphrodisiac...typically," Harvey said, the both of them laughing and continuing to kiss. A shower could wait. This was far more worth his time.

The billboards had gone up 7 months ago, and now opening day was closing in on them. Standing in front of the large sign inside the zoo, staring at the massive killer whale in front of them with the comic book style lettering almost shouting KAZOO! at them, Fletcher, Robin and Nelly couldn't help but feel a little bit anxious about it all. Fletcher raised his cup to his lips and sipped on his straw as Nelly continued eating her cotton candy, Robin standing there with absolutely nothing.

"Isn't it supposed to be frowned upon to keep killer whales in captivity now?" Robin asked.

"Frowned upon doesn't mean illegal, it just means it's seen as less favorable than it used to be," Fletcher said, "which, for the record, by no means impacts a companies interest."

"I wasn't happy about it, believe me," Nelly said, "And I fought tooth and nail against it. But after some of the recent events, HQ and the board felt like it was necessary to bring something big and splashy to the zoo to maintain interest and generate new interest as well."

"Splashy, cause it's water based, I get it," Fletcher said, winking at Robin and elbowing her, making her laugh.

"It isn't just the whale either, he's just the main attraction. There's a whole little aquarium, dolphins, whatever you can think of," Nelly said, "Kazoo is just the main draw so that's why he's on all the promotional material."

"Why aren't I on any promotional material?" Fletcher asked.

"Because we want people to come back," Nelly said, turning and tossing her now empty cotton candy stick in the trash, walking off. Fletcher took another long sip of his drink, free hand in his coat pocket, and looked at Robin, who just shrugged.

"Am I that repulsive?" he asked.

"You're a goddamned eyesore," Robin said, the both of them chuckling. Little did they know that one week later, when the aquarium section of the zoo finally opened its doors and Kazoo began doing regular shows, that their lives at the zoo would change forever. And, by the end of it all...

...they'd be criminals.

                                                                                              ***

Robin and Sophie were standing in the girls bathroom out near the small prairie rodent exhibits, both looking in the mirror. Robin was reapplying her eye makeup while Sophie washed her face, seeing as they'd just had lunch. The girls had come over to this area to eat and watch animals, and now were preparing to go their separate ways to get back to their respective jobs, especially Robin as today was a busy tour day for her.

"How many tours do you have left?" Sophie asked, and Robin thought for a second, biting her lip.

"....4? I think 4. It's a busy day," she said.

Just then one of the stall doors opened and Casper walked out, stepped up to the mirrors and sink and started washing their hands alongside them.

"You know this is the ladies room, right?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah, but have you seen the mens room?" Casper asked, "it's...it's like horrors you've never witnessed, far beyond your comprehension."

"Who designed it, Lovecraft?" Robin asked, the both of them laughing.

After finishing, Robin and Sophie left the bathroom hand in hand, leaving Casper on their own. As they exited, they leaned up against the trellis that surrounded the alcove to the entrance of the bathroom, Sophie pinned up against the wooden slats as Robin leaned in and kissed her. These had been the happiest seven months of her life, finally being in a relationship with a woman, this woman specifically. As a mother and teenage daughter walked past them, the girls tried to maintain their innocence, giggling like idiots before Robin pinned her again and kissed her more, this time with more passion.

"I really do need to get to my next tour," Robin whispered, forehead on Sophie's, making Sophie blush.

"And I should pick up more garbage," Sophie said.

"What, I'm not good enough for you?" Robin asked, laughing.

"You're not garbage," Sophie said softly, lacing her fingers through Robin's, "you're the best."

Robin blushed deeply. Sophie didn't really know how to banter exactly, the way Fletcher did for instance, but in a way that's exactly what she loved about her. She loved how just absolutely serious and sweet she always was. Robin pulled away a bit and ran a hand down Sophie's face, smiling at her, making Sophie look down at her feet, smiling but embarrassed. Then they headed out into the zoo, only to be surprised by the loud voice on the speaker blaring at them, all the kids and parents running in one direction. Robin and Sophie exchanged a confused look, before Fletcher pulled up in his cart.

"You guys are gonna wanna see this," he said, and Sophie climbed in beside Fletcher, Robin holding onto the back of the cart, standing on the bumper like they were pegs on a bike as Fletcher drove towards the area reserved for the aqua center construction.

"What's going on?" Sophie asked.

"Kazoo's finally having a show," Fletcher said, "First show at the zoo, so everyone's rushing over there."
"Gee, it's like they've never seen a whale performed trained gymnastics," Robin muttered.

Fletcher parked and they all climbed off and out of the cart, only to spot Nelly and Harvey sitting the bleachers, clearly here to keep an eye on things. The three of them watched from a bit aways, mostly because none of them were interesting in being what was commonly called the "splash zone". Fletcher turned his head and a read a sign.

"Warning: the first three rows will get wet," Fletcher said.

"Like I'm not always wet," Robin said, the two of them high fiving.

"Hey," a voice said from behind them, and they all turned to see a woman in a wetsuit coming up; she looked young, younger than even Sophie, her hair in braids and braces on her teeth as she smiled at them, "you guys work here?"

"No, we work there," Fletcher said, pointing back at the proper zoo, "you work here."

"Why do you have a Catfish on your wetsuit?" Sophie asked, leaning in and squinting at the image on her sleeve.

"Oh, well, we each had to pick a fish or aquatic animal we liked best, so I picked a catfish," the girl said, "I like their stupid whiskers, they're just cute. It's mostly to keep us organized into groups for showings and stuff."

"Well Catfish, it's nice to meet you," Fletcher said, "but really we're here to witness the inevitable disaster with the trainer, as is common with these things."

"I'm the trainer," Catfish said, all of them staring at her now.

"...well this is awkward," Fletcher mumbled.

"I'm sure you'll do great," Robin said warmly, "forgive Fletcher, he's an ass."

They watched as Catfish walked towards the tank, Robin sighing as Sophie hugged her arm and laid her head on Robin's shoulder.

"This is so girly but I always had this dream of swimming with a whale," Robin said, "when I was a little girl, we went to a theme park where they did shows like this, and I thought it looked so cool. I know it's, like, dangerous, potentially, but I love it. I just think it would be SO cool."

Sophie nodded as she listened, chewing on her lip, her brain racing.

                                                                                              ***

After the show, Nelly was in her office doing paperwork. It had been a busy morning, what with the actual opening of The Splash Zone and she had been fielding a lot of calls from reporters and the media and, of course, the board. They were thrilled at the earnings the zoo had already seen thanks to influx of patrons due to it, which put her more at ease, but the ease never lasted, the anxiety always crept back in. The door opened and Harvey entered, carrying two bags in his hand. He shut the door with his foot and waited as Nelly cleared her desk so he could place the bags down.

"Lunch?" she asked.

"Yep," Harvey said, "figured some comfort food could be..."

"Comforting?"

"I was hoping to dredge up a different adjective, but I guess that'll have to do," Harvey said.

Nelly smirked as they unbagged and unwrapped their burgers, biting into their respective lunches. This had become a tradition, the two of them having lunch in her office. Thankfully it turned out they both enjoyed the same foods, so it wasn't a hassle, either.

"How're things going with the opening? Have you met who's running it yet?" Harvey asked, and Nelly shook her head.

"Surprisingly no," she said, mouth half full, "but I'll get to, I'm sure. Eventually we'll cross paths."

"That was quite a performance we saw," Harvey said.

"I guess I'm just worried moreso about the zoo turning into a park of sorts, you know? Like a...a Seaworld or something. Less about the animals and more about attractions such as that. I want to present a safe environment where animals are nurtured and seen in what is, admittedly, a pastiche of their natural habitat, so people can learn and respect them. We're not a goddamn circus, and that's what scares me about the Splash Zone...and Kazoo. It feels so very...circus like."

"Valid fear to have I think," Harvey said, picking up some curly fries and eating them, "but," he said while chewing, "I do think not having so much pressure on you is a good thing. You know, you were so worried about not pulling in enough people, enough money, always scared you were going to lose your job. Now it seems fairly secured, and that's something, right?"

Nelly didn't want to agree to this, but he was right, and she couldn't deny it. Still...she'd gotten into this business because she loved animals, not money. Was it unfair to the creatures she swore to protect to find some kind of middle ground between the two? After all, the zoo did need the money to stay in operation, keep the animals safe and well taken care of and healthy. She could care less about her paycheck, personally. Her priority when it came to the cash was that it was going to be put towards good use for the animals.

"Am I a hypocrite if I say I'm glad we're financially stable, even though I love the animals more?" Nelly asked.

"It isn't like you're shoveling money down your throat, you're shoveling burgers. You're not some capitalist pig obsessed with cash, you're obsessed with the safety and the well being of the creatures we've sworn to protect. One facilitates the continuation of the other. So no, you're not a hypocrite. I'm sorry you think you are. For what it's worth, your moral compass is one of the things I love most about you, it's very attractive," Harvey said, and Nelly smiled. He always knew just what to say to put her mind at ease.

Now if only he'd tell her he was married.

                                                                                              ***

The zoo was emptying out, cleanup for the day had begun, and Casper had volunteered to take Sophie's shift on the janitorial team. They weren't sure why, exactly, but they'd agreed nonetheless. Standing in their uniform trying to gather up garbage and empty cans near the Splash Zone, they turned at the sound of a metal door closing, and seeing a woman exit. She stopped upon seeing them and smiled politely. Casper raised the grabber they were using for trash pickup and waved back at her with it, making her laugh.

"I didn't see it, but I heard you put on a good show this afternoon," Casper said.

"I put on multiple good shows this afternoon," Catfish said, "it isn't like there's one show, I have to do it repeatedly throughout the day. The nice thing is there's 3 trainers, so we alternate throughout the week."

"Aren't you scared of getting killed by Kazoo?" Casper asked.

"Nah, honestly, it's a rarity, people make it out to sound like it happens more often than it does. I'm not saying captivity or making animals perform is a good thing, but our health and safety being questioned is far overblown," Catfish replied, "actually...if you want to come see, I'm about to go back into the tank right now."

"You are? The day's over, zoo's closing," Casper said, snagging a piece of trash from the ground and dumping it into the basket on wheels.

"Yeah, but someone asked me to do something, so," Catfish said, shrugging.

Casper put the grabber in the basket and left it there, opting to follow Catfish into the Splash Zone, towards the tank. Meanwhile, across the zoo, Sophie and Robin were heading in the same direction. Robin had no idea why Sophie had asked her to stay and go with her, but it wasn't like she was in any kind of hurry to get home. Besides, Robin liked Wild Kingdom at night. All the lamps turned on a low dim and gave the whole place a magical, almost ethereal feel. That, combined with the multiple sounds coming from the various animal exhibits made her feel calm.

"Where you two going?" Fletcher asked, pulling up and driving alongside them in his cart.

"We're going back to the Splash Zone," Sophie said.

"Why?" Fletcher asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Beats me," Robin said, "why are you still here?"

"I've been taking night shifts," Fletcher said, "anything to go home and be alone."

Robin nodded. That was a sentiment she understood more than she wanted to admit. Sure, Kyle was at the apartment, but she didn't want Kyle to be there. She wanted Sophie to be there. She wanted to spend her nights with Sophie, holding Sophie in her arms, but because she lived at home with her parents, and because of Kyle, they simply couldn't unless they opted to go to a hotel overnight, which would simply raise suspicions from everyone involved, especially Kyle. Robin sighed. They stopped by a bathroom so Sophie could run in for a moment, leaving Fletcher and Robin alone outside. Fletcher patted the passenger seat of his cart and Robin smiled weakly, sitting in it.

"Why is it so hard to get what you want?" Robin asked in a low voice.

"What do you mean?" Fletcher asked.

"Like...like I wanted to be an actress, but I'm here. I want to be with Sophie, but that isn't possible really...I want so many things that would make me so happy that I simply can't have," Robin said.

Fletcher sighed and rested his arms on the steering wheel, chin atop his arms. He shut his eyes and shook his head.

"Before I worked here," he said, "I went to college, as one does, hoping to obtain a degree in history, maybe eventually become a history professor. I was smart. I was good at it. I could budget my time efficiently and still have a somewhat active social life if I chose to do so. I had always been a history nerd in school so this was, like, my dream. And then, in my sophomore year...my little sister had an accident. She was hit by a car while riding her bike to school, and...and it was severe. Brain damage, physical damage, lots of surgeries and therapies and medications to manage the severity of the pain. Insurance wouldn't cover it all. We weren't wealthy. We weren't poor, but we were middle class. Somewhat lower middle class. I opted to drop out of school and use the remainder of my college tuition, which my parents had spent a lifetime building for me, to instead help fund whatever she needed. It was just the right thing to do. She's my little sister."

Robin looked at Fletcher with wide eyes, so engrossed at his story, surprised at his thoughtfulness. She always knew, deep down, that he was, in actuality, a good person and not a jerk like everyone assumed he was, but she had no idea how deep that ran until now.

"Sometimes we don't get the things we want the most. She wanted to grow up, become a vet, she loved animals. I wanted to be a history professor. Closest I get now is reading historical books. But sometimes...sometimes I'll bring her here late at night, so she can see the animals, and she can at least, sort of, have what was taken from her in some weird way. So you aren't an actress, Robin, so what. What matters is you're here. I'm here too. Where we came from doesn't matter. What matters is where we are now. For what it's worth, I'm glad you failed. I failed too. But at least we're here together because of it. Silver linings and all that, right?"

Robin nodded, smiling warmly.

"...thanks Fletcher," she said quietly.

"Don't mention it," he said, shrugging, as Sophie finally re-emerged from the bathroom and got in the cart on Robins lap. Fletcher drove them the rest of the way to the Splash Zone and dropped them off before going about his night shift. The girls entered to find Casper and Catfish standing together chatting. As they approached the tank, Robin noticed Kazoo was out in the pool.

"What are we doing?" Robin asked.

"You said you always had a dream of swimming with a big aquatic animal," Sophie said, "so, uh...so I asked Catfish if she would mind helping that dream come true."

Robin looked from the tank to Catfish, then to Sophie.

"You...you did this...for me?" Robin asked.

"Well, you did a lot of sweet things for me when we first met, and...and I guess I wanted to do the same. Cause being with you has been the happiest time of my life, and you don't care about any of the things that I think are negatives about me. So I made sure your dream came true."

Robin grabbed Sophie and kissed her, making Catfish smile. They then also changed into wetsuits Catfish had brought for them, and, the three together, dipped into the water cautiously. The whole thing was magical. The soft lighting of the pool, the stars overhead, swimming hand in hand with Sophie, her other hand on a whale fin, Robin suddenly felt a freeness that she hadn't felt before, and suddenly her sadness about not being an actress, about her relationship with Kyle, all of it just melted away and she found herself laughing, feeling so very happy and in love. Kyle had been there when Robins dreams had fallen apart, but Sophie had come along when she needed new dreams. And Sophie...Sophie was determined to make them come true. Much like Fletcher did for his little sister, Sophie really just wanted to give Robin something she otherwise couldn't have.

And that...that was love.

Wyatt was standing on the bridge, staring at Paul. Celia was standing a bit behind Wyatt, back by the car, Paul's car a ways behind him. It was dark, the only light the bulbs along the bridge, and it was windy. They could hear the water of the river below them, flowing at a somewhat rapid pace. Wyatt and Paul hadn't stopped looking at one another since Wyatt had said what he'd said, and Paul just wasn't sure how to respond, how to progress. Finally he cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair.

"This is...ludicrous," Paul said, and Wyatt scoffed, laughing.

"Yeah, yeah it is, but it's the truth," Wyatt said, "So what do you say?"

"...and why should I believe any of it?" Paul asked.

Wyatt knew what the answer to this was, but he also knew if the words left his mouth, that was it. There was no going back. He looked back towards Celia, who was crying and chewing on her nails, and he exhaled before looking back at Paul.

"Because..." he started.

                                                                                                 ***

Earlier that afternoon, Wyatt was in a bedroom, making Kelly make sounds she didn't know she could make. After making her eyes roll back, the two made lunch and sat in the living room of her apartment, or more like their apartment now, and ate as she put on a radio station to softly play. The two sat there, eating their respective sandwiches, just listening to music for a bit, until Kelly finally put what was left of hers back down on the plate in her lap and sighed longingly.

"Jesus," she said, "I didn't know what I was missing until we started sleeping together."

Wyatt cackled, throwing his head back, trying not to choke on the food in his mouth. After he recomposed himself, he nodded.

"Please, keep going, boost my ego," he said, making her smirk.

"What, my multiple orgasms wasn't enough of an ego boost?" she asked.

Wyatt continued laughing as he kept eating, and Kelly finished her sandwich. This, to them both, was heaven. Each had been through the mill in the last almost year, and to have this security now, this safety, with eachother...it made all of that, Calvin's death and the plane crash and everything else, seem so far away. With a bit of distance, it almost seemed like life was normal. But...as Angie had told him, there was no normal for Wyatt Bloom anymore, and he was about to find that out, because tonight was going to change everything once again...one last time.

Wyatt spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the apartment, doing dishes with Kelly, then getting dressed and figuring he should stop by the office. It'd been a while since he'd been spotted at work, and he thought that this might be a good time to make an appearance. Walking into the building and heading to his office, he was surprised when he opened the door and found Rachel sitting there. Wyatt smiled, having not seen her for a bit, as he entered and shut the door behind him, walking around behind his desk and taking a seat.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"Fucking your ex girlfriend," Rachel said, not even trying to sugarcoat it, causing Wyatt to stare at her.

"...come again?" he asked.

"Uh..." Rachel said, "after meeting Amelia, um...ya know, I started to help her kind of wind down her brothers estate and stuff. But we wound up really getting along, and...and I don't know, Wyatt, but something happened. It was...so fast, and yet seemed to take forever somehow. I'm only telling you this because you're my friend and I thought you had a right to know."

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm fucking your best friend, so, I guess we're even," Wyatt said, grinning, causing Rachel to stare wide eyed at him.

"...what?" she asked, laughing anxiously, completely blindsided, "wait wait wait, you and Kelly-"

"Yeah," Wyatt laughed, "yeah, me and Kelly. It was a long time coming, to be honest, and it's...it's perfect. She's perfect. So I guess, if anything good came out of this entire ordeal, it's that we each found someone that the other knew first. Rachel...I know it's been almost a year now, and I know we haven't really ever spoken about that night, but...I didn't really wanna go to the reunion. Scarlett dragged me to it, and I did it to make her happy. All my life I've done things to make others happy. That's why being with Kelly is so amazing, cause I wanted to do it. I did it for me, for once. But I'm glad I went, because it meant actually knowing you."

Rachel stared at him, her eyes watering.

"...you're my best friend," Wyatt said, and Rachel put a hand to her mouth, starting to cry, as he smiled and continued, "and things are gonna get really sketchy really soon, I'm sure, but I just wanted you to know, after all we've been through, all that's happened, I wouldn't take any of it back. Not because of meeting Kelly, not because of finally being free of my father, no, because it'd mean not knowing you, and my life just doesn't work if you're not included in it. You're my best friend, Rachel, and you were the only truly good thing that came out of that evening, even if we didn't really meet there. After all this is said and done...I'm glad you were a part of it. I'm sorry you got dragged in, but I'm glad you were here, cause I don't think I could've done it without you."

Rachel kept crying, so Wyatt stood up and walked back around to her side of the desk. He opened his arms and she hugged him tightly. Wyatt smiled and stroked her hair and just let her cry. He knew the end was coming. He knew he was going to have to turn himself over for Celia's sake at some point. He knew that, eventually...this would all come to a close, and probably sooner rather than later. But he wouldn't let Rachel be blamed for any of it. She'd just been there. And right now he was here, for her.

                                                                                                ***

Angie was sitting on the hood of her car by the river where Calvin had died. The same river he and Wyatt had shredded and burned that material from Oliver's storage unit. She was sipping a large coffee while Clark sat on the ground in front of her staring up at her, with her occasionally tossing him treats from a little bag she picked up at a grocery store. Angie took another long sip as she stared at Clark, who was still finishing up chewing the last treat, then woofed quietly at her.

"I'm sorry," Clark said, "I'm sorry for unearthing what I unearthed for you, complicating things further."

"Well for what it's worth I'm sorry I killed you...well, not you, but Calvin," Angie said, "it's all so confusing."

"It's okay, I understand what you meant," Clark said, "and in response to that I say for what it's worth...I think you made the right choice. Without Calvin gone, none of this would be happening. You set us down a path that's quickly barreling towards a climax, a much needed shove to the finish line, and only you could've done that Angie."

Angie looked around at the field, the lake, hearing the cars on the road in the distance. She finished her coffee and set the cup down on the hood beside her and exhaled, reaching up and running her hands through her hair, the sound of her leather jacket shifting beneath her armpits.

"I know what I have to do," Angie said, "but I don't want to do it."

"I know," Clark said.

"Calvin wasn't a bad person, but these people are," Angie said, and Clark barked, almost as if in agreement. Angie pulled her legs back up onto the hood and wrapped her arms around her legs, tugging them to her chest, adding, "...all I've ever done is follow liars. Brighton, Art...but not Wyatt. Wyatt has only ever been upfront and honest about what's going on, what he needs. But I'm tired of following people blindly. I need to make a choice for myself for once."

Angie reached into the bag, gripped another treat and tossed it into the air, causing Clark to jump up and grab it. She applauded his efforts as he quickly scarfed it down before sliding off the hood of the car and straightening her shirt, then putting her hands on her hips.

"Well," she said, "let's go buy some supplies."

                                                                                                 ***

Rachel was standing at the vending machine, smacking it with her palm. She'd left Wyatt's and headed back to the hotel Amelia had gotten for them that night, and was now angrily trying to get the machine to cough up her chips. Amelia walked up and wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist, pushing her face into her neck, causing Rachel to laugh as she was tickled her lips on her skin.

"You know, I can just buy you a regularly sized bag of chips," Amelia said.

"It's the principle of the thing! I refuse to be beaten by a coin op!" Rachel said loudly, causing Amelia to laugh. Rachel felt her phone buzzed in her pocket but she ignored it. Amelia dug into her jacket pocket for change and retrieved some, then pushed Rachel gently aside.

"Look, if we just buy a second pack, it'll give you the initial one and the second," Amelia said.

"Yeah but that's just giving them more money!" Rachel said, "they don't deserve more money!"

But Amelia was right, and soon two bags of chips plopped down into the bucket. Rachel bent down to retrieve them, and then, once both were in her hands, she turned only to find Amelia pushing her up against the machine, pinning her there, causing Rachel to laugh. Rachel leaned in and kissed Amelia, putting her arms over her shoulders, resting her forehead on hers. Amelia reached down and picked Rachel up, and carried her back to the room, causing Rachel to laugh the entire way. Afterwards, laying on the bed half dressed with the TV on, Rachel finally started to feel the guilt set in. She should call Ricky. He was probably wondering where she'd absconded to.

"I was thinking," Amelia said as she opened a can of root beer and leaned against the dressed by the television, "maybe you'd like to come with me back to my apartment, help me pack up some things so I can fully move back to town. I feel like, with Calvin gone, I kind of need to be here for my parents."

"Understandable," Rachel said, nodding.

"But I also feel like I have to be here for you," Amelia said, smiling, "cause I really want to see where this goes, I don't want this to be a fling. I like you so much. I'm kinda crazy in love with you. You gave me so much support and comfort doing this time, helping me with his estate, just keeping my mind off things...it meant the world to me."

"Amelia, that's extremely romantic," Rachel said, mouth full of chips, "but I am not worth uprooting your life."

"What life," Amelia said, laughing, "honestly, I only moved away to be away from here, but now there's things worth being here for. I can tell you're scared to let yourself be loved, but...being with Wyatt in high school, I don't know, it kinda taught me that love is the most powerful thing there is. It's such a driving force behind so many decisions we make throughout the entire span of our lives, so just...shut up and let me love you, stupid."

Rachel couldn't help but, she cackled, as Amelia climbed onto the bed and laid beside her, kissing her on the cheek before resting her head on her shoulder and closing her eyes. In a few weeks, Rachel would look back on the last 48 hours and recall all of this with such fondness, because in just a few hours...

...everything was going to change.

                                                                                                  ***

"Do you think, and this is not a real question and more just a bit, that it's a double standard that we don't follow the sex lives of animal movie stars?" Wyatt asked as stood in the kitchen of the apartment, making some bacon for himself and Kelly as she sat opposite him at the counter.

"Pardon but what the fuck?" she asked, laughing, "why are you even...where does that even come from?"

"Well, we're all obsessed with movie stars and what they do in the bedroom, who they're hooking up with, whatever, but nobody ever seems to do a sleazy tabloid write up on Mr. Ed's sex life. Nobody's ever written a story about Lassie being a total whore. It'd just be nice to have that equality."

"Dude, you're lucky I love you cause you're fuckin' weird," Kelly said, laughing hard, making Wyatt smile wide. He plated the bacon and placed it the counter between them, the two of them eating a few pieces in silence, just looking at one another. Kelly's phone buzzed and she sighed, pulled it out then looked at the screen, adding, "ugh, I have to go back into work for the new contracts."

She stood up, took a few more pieces, then headed to the bedroom to put on more work appropriate attire. Wyatt did some light tidying up in the kitchen when a knock came at the door. He walked to it and opened it, finding Celia there, looking like a fright.

"Whoa," he said, as she pushed her way inside, "are you okay?"

"He took him," Celia said, "he took my son. Our son? I don't know. I came home last night and he took him."

"Celia, you know what-"

"I can't," Celia mumbled, "I can't give him the folder."

"Celia, I refuse to let another family fall apart because of my actions," Wyatt said, "please. Let me go with you, I'll give it to him myself."

Kelly re-entered the room, tugging her blazer on over her blouse, and then smiling as she saw company.

"Hello," she said, "how're you doing?"

"I'm okay," Celia said quietly.

"Uh, you're running into work, we have something to take care of, Celia needs me help delivering something," Wyatt said, taking Kelly gently by the arm and pulling her towards the sunken living room, lowering his voice, "we might not be back until late."

"Wyatt...is everything okay?" Kelly asked.

"It will be. Everything will finally be okay," Wyatt said, smiling, leaning in and kissing her before touching her face, then turning and exiting with Celia. Kelly knew he meant it, but she didn't know if that was a promise he could actually keep.

                                                                                               ***

The door to the shed cracked open and Angie entered cautiously. She'd waited for Calvin's parents to leave, then she'd snuck into the backyard and, with knowledge she'd accrued from quick online tutorials, she broke into the shed with a makeshift lockpick. Clark was waiting in the car. Angie exhaled and looked around at the interior, realizing now just how long ago it'd been since she was inside here. Seemed like an entirely other lifetime. Angie looked through drawers, found journals, notebooks, blueprints, lots of documents printed from the internet or scanned from books and gathered them all up, then took them to the car before returning for his tools. Once everything was securely in the car, Angie started it up and pulled away from the curb, the house, and headed down the street to somewhere secluded.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Clark asked.

"Calvin built two bombs. How hard can it be?" Angie asked.

                                                                                                ***

"I don't want to let you do this," Celia said.

"Yeah, well, you don't have a choice. This is the only card we have to play at this point," Wyatt said, "and it's basically a get out of jail free card for everyone else. Angie and I did most of the grunt work. She won't be happy about it, but she'll go down with me if I tell her to. You'll get your son back, Rachel won't even be remotely touched, everyone else will walk away relatively unscathed. This is the way it has to be Celia."

"There he is," Celia said, pointing ahead of them, "That's his car."

A car was coming at them from the opposite end of a bridge, one not often traveled on. Celia had texted Paul to come meet her here, and here he had come. Wyatt brought the car to a crawl and stopped, Paul seemingly doing the same. Wyatt turned and looked at Celia, who looked back at him and he smiled. Celia stared at his eyes, which were visibly wet, as if he were trying not to cry.

"Ya know..." Wyatt said, glancing out the windshield as Paul walked in front of his own car and watched from afar, hands in his coat pockets, "you and I, that's where this all started. Only makes sense it'd be you and I bringing it to a close. You and I, Celia. We looked into Morgana, which led us to Brightons workplace, which led Brighton to killing himself and his family, and everything after, tying it all to Grudin, the Evergreens, Angie. It all started with us. Meeting you at the reunion...it changed my life. Whether that's for the better or not remains to be seen."

Celia chuckled at his attempt to be funny.

"But either way," he continued, "I wouldn't take a moment of it back. I got to know you guys, and that was worth everything that's happened. Stay in the car."

With that, Wyatt exited. As he walked around the front of the car, holding the folder in his hands, Celia couldn't do as he said, and climbed out but stayed back. Wyatt and Paul met somewhat in the middle of the bridge, Paul nodding towards the file.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Answers," Wyatt said.

"To?"

"Questions you have," Wyatt said, "and I know because they're the same questions I had."

"Mr. Bloom, I have to admit, this is...bold, even for you," Paul said, smirking.

"Ah, you know about my exploits?" Wyatt asked.

"I've done some light reading on the subject, I've compiled a file on you," Paul said.

"Then that means you've compiled a file on everyone involved," Wyatt said, "which probably includes Calvin Klepper."

"You an investigator?" Paul asked, eyeing him.

"Nah, just friends with one," Wyatt said, "you want to know what's in this folder? It's the truth as to why Calvin did what he did. Paul, I am about to make your entire career. You think you're gonna solve who blew up a plane? Sure, that would earn you some goodwill, a few merits, maybe a promotion, but you know what would even better? Taking down an entire illicit content ring that's actively harming children. I have who's responsible for that in this folder right here. But before I give this to you, I need to know that my friends won't be touched as a result. If you need someone to take the fall, I'm your guy, because I'm the one you can definitively tie to it."

Paul and Wyatt stared at one another as the old bulbs on the bridge flickered, and Paul cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair.

"This is...ludicrous," Paul said, and Wyatt scoffed, laughing.

"Yeah, yeah it is, but it's the truth," Wyatt said, "So what do you say?"

"...and why should I believe any of it?" Paul asked.

Wyatt knew what the answer to this was, but he also knew if the words left his mouth, that was it. There was no going back. He looked back towards Celia, who was crying and chewing on her nails, and he exhaled before looking back at Paul.

"Because..." he started, "...Calvin blew up that plane, you're not wrong, but only because that plane was carrying an associate of the man involved in this file I'm holding. But that wasn't the first thing he blew up. He built a first bomb."

Paul raised an eyebrow.

"...Robert Grudin," Wyatt said, "sound familiar? Local politician? Killed Calvin's family in a car accident, refused to acknowledge what he did, then worked with a shady company to take supposedly secured lands to tear down and build up into condos. So Calvin had a grudge, a personal grudge to kill him. However, Calvin wouldn't be blamed for it. That blame would fall to Oliver Brighton, another associate of Wattson and the man in this file. You must know what happened to Brighton."

"I do, pretty famous story by now," Paul said, "but why are you the one who has to take the fall?"

"Because..." Wyatt said, "...Calvin built the bomb...but I'm the one who blew him up. I killed Robert Grudin."

Rachel opened her eyes and waited for her eyes to adjust. The last thing she could remember was drinking wine in the cemetery, and then...and then she and Amelia had gone to get food, and drank some more. Rachel hadn't drank that much since college, but surprisingly she didn't have much of a hangover. She looked around the room and didn't recognize it at all. She rubbed her eyes and rolled over onto her back from her side, staring at the ceiling overhead. That's when she realized she was in a hotel room, but not the hotel room she was sharing with Ricky. And then she remembered, shit, she was supposed to have met with Ricky and Wyatt last night. Rachel groaned and covered her face with her hands when the front door to the hotel room opened and Amelia entered, smiling at her as she closed it with her foot.

Amelia was dressed in jeans and a big jacket, a scarf, the weather getting exceptionally colder. She was carrying a styrofoam holder with multiple cups of coffee in it, along with a bag in her other hand, a plain brown bag with a local deli logo on the front, designating its origins. Amelia set the stuff down on the bed, Rachel sitting up before realizing she was naked and pulling the sheet up around her more as Amelia kicked her shoes off and climbed out of her jacket and scarf and onto the bed.

"You went and got breakfast?" Rachel asked, opening the bag and peeking in.

"Yeah, there's this place Calvin and I used to go," Amelia said, "it's nearby so I figured I'd run down there and get something for us."

Rachel pulled out a breakfast burrito and bit into it, then looked up at Amelia as she handed her her coffee and for a moment their eyes locked, Rachel's hair, messy and tangled, falling in front of her face, causing Amelia to smile and reach out, brushing it back. Rachel's heartbeat quickened at this gesture, and for a brief moment, Rachel felt like her life was normal again. She took another bite, then sipped her coffee and set both on the nightstand before looking at Amelia.

"Um..." Rachel said, "I'm not a good person. I'm not a very stable person, either. So you should really be aware of what it is you're getting involved in because...because I'm exhausting and my life is exhausting and you still have the chance to turn tail and run, and I wouldn't even blame you one bit."

Amelia smiled, then ran her hand down from Rachel's hair and onto her face, before leaning across the bed, over the coffee containers and the bag of breakfast food and kissing her. Rachel melted. Absolutely melted. Somehow, whatever this was she was having with Amelia, was so much more real than whatever it was she had had with Sun Rai.

"I spent my life running from things," Amelia whispered as she rested her forehead on Rachel's, "...I think it's time I stuck around."

And Rachel wanted to sob.

                                                                                                   ***

Celia was sitting in a bar.

Not the typical kind of place she would frequent, but here she was. Especially not a bar like this. She wasn't against going somewhere for drinks from time to time, but she generally preferred the upscale kind of bars where she could order good food, there was nice music playing, and she felt safe. This...was not that kind of bar. This was a rough bar, with rough looking people in it. Frankly, being here alone, she was a little worried, but she was wearing leather pants and a tank top, trying to fulfill the look of a bad bitch not to be reckoned with and thusfar it appeared to be working. The doors opened and Wyatt entered, causing Celia to sigh relief as he seated himself next to her.

"It's about time," she said as he looked her up and down.

"Why are you dressed like a member of TLC?" he asked, and she glared at him.

"You know, this is the kind of bar where one could stab someone else and nobody would mind," she replied, and he laughed.

"Fair enough," he said, "I come bearing...well, not gifts, but information."

"I don't need information," Celia said, "I need advice. My ex is...he's breathing down my neck, and I don't know what to do. That's why I dressed like this, wanted to come here, cause I knew he would never think to look for me in this kind of establishment."

Wyatt nodded as he ordered a drink from the bartender. Celia sipped hers, then rested it back atop the bar.

"If I don't give him something soon..." she continued, "it isn't gonna be good."

"Well, lucky for you then that I have something you can give him," Wyatt said, sliding the file Ricky had given him across the bar towards her. Celia, skeptical, took it and opened it slowly, beginning to page through it, her eyes widening with each bit of new information that passed by her line of sight. After a few minutes, and Wyatt had finished his drink and ordered another, she finally shut the folder and looked back at him, Wyatt smiling large.

"Where did you even get this?" she asked.

"It's a long story," Wyatt said.

"How did you even know this?" she asked, following up.

"Not my story to tell, actually," he answered, "what matters is we have it, and you can use it to shield yourself, get yourself that immunity, and we take down the chief, we expose the whole thing. Your ex is an FBI agent, Celia, that gives him jurisdiction over any kind of local precinct if we can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt and, frankly, I'd say we can."

"But there's nothing tying us to this," Celia said, tapping her nails on the folder, "that's the issue here."

"There is, actually," Wyatt said, smacking his lips, "me."

Celia stared at him and he smiled weakly, the light dimming from his eyes.

"I'm gonna take the fall."

                                                                                             ***

Angie was sitting in her car outside the compound, a pile of snacks from the gas station down the street scattered around her as she sipped on the straw of her enormous drink, Clark sitting in the passenger seat. She glanced over at him and his ears perked up. She reached out and stroked the top of his head, smiling, as he thwapped his tail against the chair.

"Why exactly are we here?" she asked.

"You have paranoia," Clark said, "you didn't want to leave this place, your folks did, but for good reason."

"They had good reasons?"

"It's interesting what the psyche will block out when it needs to protect itself," Clark said, "you never think about your time here? You remember it fondly, speak of Art highly, but you don't remember your time here, in deep detail? How it's strange that there's no little boys living on the compound? How Art has many suitors, most of them younger women, all of legal age, yes, but much younger than he."

Angie furrowed her brow and took another bite of her gas station sandwich.

"What are you insinuating?" she asked.

"We block traumatic events, it's a defense mechanism," Clark said, woofing quietly, looking back out the windshield towards the compound, "you know what a cult does, right? Indoctrinates. Some are better at hiding their agendas than others. We remember the wild ones because they were wild, out there, willing to expose their ludicrous beliefs to the world no matter how morally incorrect they may have been. But we don't remember the ones that went on for decades, quietly just getting away with whatever they wanted behind closed doors. How do you think cults get new members? Recruits? They're not Mormons going door to door. They come from inside. But if there's no little boys in the compound, how are all the younger women having children?"

Angie slowly looked back at the compound, the gravity of Clarks words finally settling in, weighing on her.

"...you mean," she whispered.

"I do," Clark said, "and you remember these things, you just buried them."

"If I buried them how are you unearthing them?" Angie asked.

"Angie I'm just a dog that sounds like Calvin," Clark said, "but what did Calvin want most in the world? To protect children. Revenge for his daughters deaths. He took so much of that stuff from the unit and shredded it, Wyatt told you about that, because he simply couldn't fathom the concept of content like that existing in the world even if nobody was viewing it any longer thanks to Brightons death."

"And my parents?" Angie asked.

"Maybe you should ask them," Clark said, "you're already not on good terms, what could the truth hurt?"

                                                                                              ***

"What the hell do you mean you're gonna take the fall?" Celia asked, lowering her voice.

"Pretty straight forward statement, I thought," Wyatt replied, shrugging, "I cop to killing Grudin. You read the file, you know Grudin was friends with this Chief, they have ties, and the Chief investigated Brightons death, which ties him to Brighton, and Brighton ties back to us and Grudin. I take the blame for Grudin's death and that's that, we're in the clear."

"But you didn't-"

"I did, though," Wyatt said, "...I did. I'm the one who pressed the trigger. That day, with Calvin, in the car. We fought over it because I was having second thoughts, but in the end I'm the one who did it, not him. I'm responsible. Sure, I didn't build the bomb, nor did I have the motive, but I killed the man. Celia, this is the only way out of this that leaves everyone else unscathed. It has to be this way. We meet with your ex, I tell him everything, and we move on towards justice."

Celia stared at Wyatt, unsure of how exactly to process this information. He was willing to do this? To just...give himself up? He'd always said he would take the fall if it ever came down to it, but...but somehow, even being as good a man as he clearly was, she always sneakingly suspected that those were just words. Celia looked back at the file on the bartop and chewed on her lip. What about Mona? What about everything he had? She looked back at him and watched as he ate snack mix out of a basket on the bar, looking dead ahead. He was tired. He was running on empty. He'd kept this group together, kept things going, for as long as he had and he was run down.

"My only regret now is Kelly," Wyatt said, shaking his head, "I finally meet a girl I really love, that wants to be with me, and I have to let her go. Maybe she'll wait for me, who knows. Maybe my sentence won't even be that severe, once you take into consideration all the aspects of it, but who knows. Still, to have to hurt her, even on some level, hurts me."

Celia reached out and touched his arm, and he glanced over at her, smiling.

"Wyatt..."

"It's the way it ends, Celia," he said, shrugging, "it always has been. Someone's gotta be the villain. I'm just auditioning for the role. Now let's just drink, okay? Drink to the end of it all."

How could she resist an offer like that?

                                                                                             ***

Angie stood in front of her parents front door, then exhaled and entered, holding Clark's leash in her hand, leading him in behind her. As she entered, she saw nobody, but she heard the sound of utensils in the kitchen, and headed in that direction. She walked through the doorway and found her parents, Gloria and Anthony, sitting at the table eating, both of whom stopped and stared at her as she entered.

"Sweetheart, where have you been?" Gloria asked.

Angie stared at them, not answering.

"Kiddo, you okay?" Anthony asked, and Angie looked towards him. Her father was the one who would say it. She knew this. She knew her mother would try to obscure the truth for the sake of her sanity, but her father...her father would tell her; "Angie?" he asked again, snapping his fingers at her.

"Did Art groom young girls?" Angie asked, flatout, no wavering in her voice, "at...at the compound, at the...the cult. Did Art groom young girls to be involved with him romantically?"

Her parents exchanged a look, and then her father sighed and stood up.

"Yes," he said sternly, and Angie felt her insides crumble, "yeah, and he...he wanted you too. And I wasn't about to stand by and let that happen. The thing is, what Art originally preached we believed in. And then we stood by while he got worse, but he was good at making us think it was all for the best. Even once the grooming became obvious...well...we still believed so much in his...I don't know, his belief I guess, that we were willing to turn a blind eye to something nobody should be willing to turn a blind eye to. And then he tried to have you."

Angie felt everything inside her breaking. How could this be true? Was NOBODY sacred?

"I wasn't going to let that happen, so we made the decision to leave," Anthony said, "we did it for you, honey. You were more important to us than that place, than what we believed in."

Angie turned and, tugging on Clark's leash, ran from the house. That was all she had to hear. No wonder Art had been willing to help them. Because he was interested himself in that very sort of thing. After getting into her car and driving away again, Clark in the passenger seat, she didn't know what to do. Should she turn to Wyatt? Should she looked to Ricky? Who should she go to at this point? Or maybe, as Clark had said...it was time for her to do something herself. She would succeed where everyone else had failed, because, unlike the others...

...she was willing to kill for it.

                                                                                                   ***

Rachel and Amelia were laying in bed, nude, both panting. Rachel was staring at the ceiling, feeling her blood rushing, her heart pounding. She had had more sex in the last 24 hours than she'd had in the entire time she'd been with Sun Rai. She looked over at Amelia, who was eating carmeled popcorn from a bag and glanced back at her, smiling. Rachel blushed and giggled like an idiot.

"What?" Amelia asked, mouth full of corn.

"Just...it's crazy," Rachel said, "the way things go down sometimes. I was...I was done. I was at the brink. I was ready to give in, maybe...maybe kill myself to escape everything in my life, and...and now..."

"Yeah?" Amelia asked.

"Now I know what I'd be missing if I did," Rachel whispered, nuzzling up to Amelia, resting her head on her chest as Amelia stroked her hair; Rachel shut her eyes and exhaled, whispering, "...stay with me okay?"

"I couldn't think of wanting to be anywhere else," Amelia replied.

Meanwhile, Celia had returned home from drinking with Wyatt, only to find the babysitter gone. She was surprised when she entered and found Paul in the living room, their son sitting on the couch, bags packed at their feet. Celia and Paul stared at one another, as Paul sighed and slipped his hands into his coat pockets, then approached her and pulled her gently away from the living room.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"God your breath stinks of alcohol," Paul said, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Oh, fuck off, I'm always a professional, I just wanted to have fun one time," Celia said, "but what are you doing here? Why are there bags?"

"I'm taking him," Paul said, "this isn't an environment he should be in. I'm taking him to my hotel, it's a five star hotel, he'll be well taken care of there since I can work from the hotel room. You and I will meet later on to discuss things, especially once I've taken what I've gathered to my superiors, but Celia, this is what's best for him right now."

"No, you can't do this!" Celia shouted, and Paul put a finger to his lips.

"Hush, don't frighten him," he said quietly, before turning and walking back to the living room, gathering the bags and their son and carrying both to the car. Celia followed him, wanting to scream, wanting to break down, but she knew he was right about both what was best and not making a scene. She watched as she loaded the bags in the trunk and their son in the backseat, and stood there, tears flowing down her face, yet not making a single sound. Paul pulled out and drove off, leaving Celia on her doorstep, alone. She looked at the file in her hand, and she sighed.

She had the answer to it all, right here.

Now she just had to be brave enough to take Wyatt's offer. And end all of this once and for all.