"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.

Wyatt was sitting at a table on an outdoor patio to a restaurant that he and Scarlett used to frequent on their date nights. How long ago those seemed now. He looked down at his cup of coffee in front of him and sighed, reaching up and pushing his hair back, thinking about how today was going to go. After all, how does one easily dissolve a marriage? He wasn't sure he was ready for this, to be quite honest, but it wasn't fair to either him or Scarlett to continue living this lie, each knowing the other wasn't happy. Wyatt looked around and saw a few other people seated on the patio with him, ranging from solo folks to a few couples to a family or two. It was the families that got to him. He was losing what he'd spent so long building. His children. His wife. And for what? For a weather girl? Sure. But a weather girl that made him genuinely happy. Someone he wanted to be with, not someone his father had wanted him to be with.

"How's the coffee here?" a voice asked, and he jumped in his seat a little before turning to the railing beside him and seeing Ricky leaning on it, smirking.

"Don't do that," Wyatt said through his teeth, "I'm paranoid enough as it is."

"As you should be," Ricky said, "When you're done, come on by the hotel, I got something I need to talk to you about."

"You can't just talk to me about it here?" Wyatt asked, and Ricky grimaced.

"It's better not to discuss matters regarding something of this nature in a public space, I'm sure you understand," Ricky said, "but trust me, you're gonna wanna hear it."

"Will Rachel be there?" Wyatt asked.

"Well she's currently living with me, so yeah, I'd say there's a high likelihood she will be."

"You know I liked you better when you were too scared to be snarky," Wyatt said, the both of them laughing together. After a minute, Ricky went along his way, leaving Wyatt alone again. Wyatt turned his thoughts back to the day ahead of him. All he wanted to do was get this over with, go deal with whatever Ricky had for him, and then go home. Go home to....what even was she now? 'Friend' seemed out of the picture. 'Lover' just sounded wrong. Wyatt needed clarity, terminology, definition. What was Kelly. What were they together. Maybe he didn't need to describe her, or them, maybe she was just...Kelly. The metal chair opposite him scooted out and he turned his gaze back to that direction, seeing Scarlett seat herself.

"Hi," he said weakly.

"Hey," she replied, sounding raspy, tired. She still looked her best, of course. She'd never let anything change that, but she definitely sounded like shit.

"Thanks for coming to see me. I didn't really wanna come by the house," Wyatt said, "...I assume you got my letter."

"Yeah, unfortunately I am literate and have eyes that can read," Scarlett remarked. A silence followed, and then, as if each could read the others mind, they simultaneously said

"We need to talk."

                                                                                            ***

Amelia and Rachel were in Amelia's car, heading towards the cemetery. Amelia had swung by the hotel and picked Rachel up that morning, then they'd gone to have breakfast, and now they were headed to Calvin's grave so Amelia could have her final goodbyes. Each one was dressed up, seeing as it was a 'special' occasion; Amelia in a shoulderless black dress with floral lace sleeves, while Rachel wore just a plain stormcloud grey backless dress.

"Is it a nice cemetery?" Amelia asked.

"It's pretty nice," Rachel said, taking a puff off her cigarette then ashing it out the window, "I mean, if one could describe a cemetery as 'cozy' then I suppose I would."

"Considering you're resting there for all eternity, I would hope it's cozy," Amelia replied, the both of them chuckling.

As Rachel continued smoking, looking out the window at the passing landscape, Amelia, who should be keeping her eyes on the road, instead kept stealing glances in Rachel's direction. It was still pretty early in the morning, and the morning sunlight lit her face up in a way that made Amelia's breath catch in her chest. After a bit more driving, they pulled into the parking lot of the cemetery and parked. Rachel climbed out and stretched, yawning, before tossing her cigarette on the ground and stomping it out, as Amelia climbed out of the car and walked around to meet Rachel. Together they started walking through the grounds, towards Calvin's grave.

"I love cemeteries," Amelia said, "I know that's so horribly cliche of me, oh wow look at the totally unique painter girl who loves cemeteries, so original. But I do. There's just something oddly comforting about them."

"I think it's cause it's where we all end up," Rachel said, arms folded, shrugging, "ya know? There's something...something nice about being able to visit what's considered the end, even if you aren't yet a resident of it. You can come here and see the peace and tranquility that it offers from the pain life puts you through."

"That's surprisingly goth of you," Amelia said, making Rachel laugh.

"I didn't know you were a painter, I'm a painter too," Rachel said.

"Yeah!" Amelia replied, chirping up, "yeah I've been painting my whole life. I love it. It helps me feel...free."

"I know what you mean," Rachel said, and Amelia smiled.

As they passed by tombstone after tombstone, some headstones flush in the ground, all Amelia could think about was how her brother was underground here now, resting, with his family. And here she was...what was she supposed to do now without him? How was she supposed to be the one who lived on? She looked over at Rachel and blushed as Rachel, not noticing being watched, pushed some of her hair from her own face and back behind her ear. Amelia bit her lip. She didn't know how to handle this. She never felt this way before towards a woman. Was it just the connection to her brother that drew her in, or something far bigger? Something that was awakening inside of her after years of dormancy?

"Here we are," Rachel said, stopping at a stone, both women turning to face it.

"Calvin," Amelia whispered, reaching out and putting her hand on the smooth grey stone flecked with black; she sighed and reached down with her other hand, holding Rachel's, who happily squeezed back.

"It must be hard, I'm sorry," Rachel said quietly, "it must be really hard. I don't have siblings, so I can't imagine, but..."

"It's hard," Amelia said, nodding, "but it's easier having you here, so thank you for coming."

"Of course," Rachel remarked, smiling, "of course. Anything I can do to make it easier for you."

Living in a hotel with a detective, taking a pretty art girl to see her brothers grave, Rachel couldn't deny she was enjoying her sabbatical from the usual messed up life she seemed to have had. She almost didn't want this part to end, to go back to the nonsense that was surely awaiting her. But she knew, when that moment came, she'd just have to cling to these memories harder than ever, because memories, good memories, were all that got her through the present anymore.

                                                                                                 ***

"You called my dad," Wyatt said, looking down at the table, "I mean, after all you have learned about me from how long we've been together, you called my fucking father. The one person I am more scared of in the world than anyone else."

"You were a mess, Wyatt, what else was I supposed to do?"

"Be there for me, just, fucking...be there. I know that's impossible apparently, but it really was the answer, the simplest answer. When he told me you called him, that...that destroyed any trust I had in you, Scar. That man, the things he did to me, the things he did to my mother, like, fucking hell, how could you?"

"You...you were drinking like crazy, you weren't sleeping well, you were skipping work, and-"

"I was grieving!" Wyatt said sternly, loudly, noticing the other patrons looking in their direction from his heightened voice, before he lowered it back to a simmer and added, nearly growling, "I was grieving. I was so fucking sad, I lost one of my closest friends."

"I helped kill one of my closest friends" was all that ran through his head as he said it. Always denying responsibility, yet using it as an excuse.

"And of course I can't say 'no' to you, can't tell you I can't do something, cause you'll throw a temper tantrum," Wyatt said, continuing, "I'm sorry. That was mean. I didn't mean that. But I was as scared to say no to you as I was to say no to my father growing up. I knew the level of disappointment you could have in me if I said I needed to not work that day or...or needed to just....relax or hang out with someone else. I don't like making you mad at me."

Scarlett had no idea Wyatt felt his way about her, and she felt horrible about it.

"I...I didn't know I instilled that kind of fear in you about me," Scarlett said.

"It isn't you," Wyatt said, shaking his head, "It's everything. I love being a father, I do, Mona is the best part of my life, but...but it isn't what I wanted to do. Everything we've done together I did because it was expected of me. I got married, I had children, I had that job. I'm not saying I wouldn't want to be married or have a family or have a good job, because I do, but I wish I could've done it of my own accord as opposed to feeling forced to do so."

Scarlett leaned back into her seat and sighed, looking at the table, hands in her lap. She never once expected Wyatt to say he had been this unhappy.

"...have you been this miserable the whole time?" she asked softly.

"My whole life, rather," Wyatt said, "never once got to make a decision for myself. Was always expected to do something or forced to do something, or did something out of sheer guilt or fear or the want to be accepted. Never once did anything I wanted to do because I wanted to do it. That's why I bought Mona the pony. Because...fuck it. I could. For once it was a decision I could make. That taste of freedom, of choice...it's addicting when you've never had it."

Having admitted this, Wyatt now realized something. Something about the last nearly year. He had done everything he'd done because he could. Because he could finally make decisions for himself. Sure, some of it he was coerced into, by Calvin, but in the end it was him making the decision to go along with it full tilt. He sighed as well.

"I don't think we should be married," Wyatt said, and Scarlett started to cry, covering her face with one hand.

And here he was, yet again, making a decision he wanted to make for the sake of himself. So why did he feel so guilty about it?

                                                                                             ***

Amelia and Rachel were sitting with their backs to the tombstone, on the ground, sharing a bottle of wine. Rachel thought about Sun Rai in this moment, and how their entire relationship had always been so surface level, and never had this kind of intimacy, where they could just...BE...together. It was almost as if they'd had the queer version of a heterosexual relationship. But this...this felt so genuine and real, and it was just a friendship. Rachel felt lucky. Amelia handed her the bottle of wine, which she happily took, before wiping her mouth on her hand.

"I used to come to cemeteries in high school, do photoshoots, drink on occasion," Amelia said.

"You really were a cliche," Rachel said, taking a sip, the both of them laughing.

"WAS?" Amelia asked, and they laughed some more; Amelia continued, "no, it's true, I was, and I still am. But at least I know myself, you know? And I think that's the thing is Calvin never knew himself, not fully anyway. He...he knew things he wanted, he knew he wanted a wife, children, whatever, but that isn't knowing ones self, not in the real sense. That's just knowing you have goals."

"Yeah," Rachel said, "yeah I know what you mean. Growing up gay, or rather, coming to realize it when I did, that was a big revelation for me. Made a lot of things make sense finally putting that piece of the puzzle in place."

"How did you know?" Amelia asked, almost scared of the answer.

"Just...how I never liked guys, never found them attractive, always felt like I was forcing myself to try to be interested in the ones who'd been interested in me. Then I'd see some woman in an advert and I'd think to myself, 'goodness, what a goddess', and there was some overlap of do I want to do her or do I wanna look like her cause, ya know, women are always sizing themselves up to one another, so to detangle that in and of itself was a web and a half of lies. But really it was so obvious that in the end I felt stupid for not knowing it sooner."

Amelia nodded. A lot of what Rachel had said made sense. The difference was that Amelia had always liked men. She had loved Wyatt to hell and back. But she'd never, at least until meeting Rachel, felt that same kind of feeling with a woman. Now it was gnawing at her.

"I don't want you to go," Rachel said, chuckling as she took a long swig from the bottle, "I really am gonna miss having you around to hang out with."

"I could stay," Amelia said.

"Don't you have some kind of life to return to?"

"Not really, no," Amelia said, "I could easily stay."

Rachel shut her eyes and rested against the stone until she noticed Amelia had crawled around to be sitting cross legged in front of her, taking her by surprise. Rachel handed Amelia back the wine, who took it and took a really long drink, boosting her courage.

"Why would you? There's nothing here for you? I mean, your folks, I guess, but otherwise-"

"There's nothing there for me either. I live on my parents dime in a small apartment, I don't really work," Amelia said, "it'd be so easy to just come back. Hell, I'm already here. I could just pay some company to move all my crap back home. Besides, like you said, you'd miss having me around, right? You're here, we could hang out."

Rachel felt her heartbeat quicken. What was Amelia insinuating, exactly? Amelia scooted closer towards Rachel, causing Rachel to back up more against the stone, just instinctually.

"You've been so nice to me," Amelia said, "you've...you've been so supportive and helpful, and...and I don't get that from anyone else. I don't want to. I like getting it from you, cause it feels nice. I could move back home, start painting regularly again, sell stuff to the gallery, we could hang out and...and be friends and..."

Rachel and Amelia locked eyes.

"No," Rachel said, shaking her head, "fuck declarations."

"Huh?"

"The last time I had a declaration, it ended up being so fucking fake," Rachel said, "I don't want fake."

"I wasn't declaring anything," Amelia said, "I was just...gonna....kiss you."

A long pause, a soft breeze blew by as a family, clearing heading to a funeral, passed them.

"I've never liked a girl like this," Amelia continued, "This is all very new and scary to me, but...but being an artist, as you are, I guess you know that it's fun to try new mediums, right? So...so I guess I wanna try a new medium. Cause I've never had these feelings until I met you."

"You're grieving, you're not...you're not thinking right, I was close to your brother, so you feel close to me, and-"

"It isn't just that, no," Amelia said, shaking her head, pushing her glasses back up as they slid down her face, "it isn't just that. You're so cool and confident and...and pretty. You're SO pretty. Funny. You're hilarious. I like everything about you, not just your proximity to something else that mattered to me. I'd really like to try, if you...if you'd let me."

Rachel didn't know what to say. She couldn't deny that she found Amelia incredibly attractive, and they shared a far more similar range of interests than she and Sun Rai ever had. But she was scared. Amelia was yet another person removed from the situation, another person she'd have to lie to. For god sakes, Rachel had been the one to suggest killing her brother, and now she was going to hook up with his sister? What kind of soap opera bullshit was that? And yet...to deny this girl...those big beautiful eyes and that lovely smile and that big mess of frizzy hair. Rachel reached out slowly, cautiously, and laced her fingers through Amelia's, tugging her closer towards her.

"I've had a really bad few months," Rachel said softly.

"Then let me make the next few months exponentially better," Amelia whispered, dropping the now empty bottle in the grass and, using her other hand, pulling Rachel's face towards hers, kissing her. And it was like the world was new again. All the death and sadness and pain melted away in that singular instance, and all Rachel could feel was love. Hope. Rachel kissed her back, but Amelia pushed her against Calvin's stone and kissed her harder, causing Rachel to giggle.

Maybe she'd been right when she'd said at the funeral that Calvin had to go, for the better of everyone.

                                                                                              ***

Ricky opened the hotel door to find Wyatt standing there. Ricky stepped aside and allowed him entrance before going back to his pizza box and offering Wyatt a slice, who happily accepted. They stood there in the room in silence, just chomping on pizza for a few minutes. After a bit, Ricky picked up a nearby napkin and wiped his mouth, then balled it up and tossed it into the garbage can across the room, perfectly.

"Nice shot," Wyatt said.

"You know," Ricky said, "the last time you and I were in a room alone together, you were freeing me."

"And?" Wyatt asked, and Ricky grinned.

"I'm about to free you, Wyatt Bloom, and all your friends," he said, causing Wyatt to make a face.

"Where's Rachel?" Wyatt asked, "shouldn't she be here for this?"

"No clue, but take a seat," Ricky said, and Wyatt nodded, sitting down at the desk as Ricky gathered a file; Ricky cleared his throat and said, "after a bit of digging, I discovered that the night Oliver Brighton was pronounded dead, someone made a call to Leonard Wattson. The two had been business partners, Oliver making a good share of the, uh...content, if you want, for Wattson. Except there in lies the question, who called Wattson? Who informed him of Brighton's death? Well, simply by logical deducation, we can conclude that whoever it was had that information immediately after it happened, which means they were made aware of it within minutes of the body being discovered, which makes them..."

"...in law enforcement," Wyatt said, and Ricky smiled, snapping his fingers, pointing at Wyatt.

"Ding ding ding!" he said, "which puts that person squarely in our area, probably someone high up on the chain, too. Now, this raises alarms because, well, how do you enforce the law on someone who wields that kind of power?"

"Wait wait wait, what about Grudin's wife?" Wyatt asked.

"Man," Ricky said, "she's not involved. She's just a grieving woman wanting answers. That's all. We'll deal with her too, but right now we gotta prepare a case, because eventually someone is gonna come knocking, or we're gonna have to cut a deal, and that means being ready with the proper information to turn on someone else."

Wyatt sighed as Ricky ploped the file down in front of him.

"This is my copy of the file I gave you the other day, remember?" he asked, and Wyatt nodded; Ricky added, "I went and got information on all the calls made on specific dates, to and from, etc. What I came away with was one name in particular. John Augustine. So I took that name and I did some further investigating. Head police chief here in town. Now, and you may not like this, but here's the thing that's really wild."

Wyatt rubbed his eyes, shaking his head, unable to process all of this.

"He's been there the whole time," Ricky said, "he was the one who dealt with Calvin's death. So, if he's a police chief, clearly well versed in what he does...why would he let what was clearly a murder go by labeled as a suicide?"

Wyatt and Ricky exchanged a look. Wyatt had questions.

But he didn't know if he wanted the answers.

Wyatt was asleep, but Kelly was not. Kelly couldn't sleep, and she sure as hell wasn't going into work today. They were laying in her bed, covered by a tangle of sheets, as she stared up at the ceiling overhead, at a suspiciously growing stain. Water damage, perhaps, from the apartment above hers? She kept playing the previous night over and over in her head. Wyatt kissing her, her pushing him onto the couch, the two of them clawing at eachother like animals in heat who'd been kept apart for far too long. She could still feel it. Every movement. As he carried her to the bed and thrust inside of her, every muscle in her body clenching in ways they never had before. Her goddamned toes curling. Grunts and screams, both guttural and animalistic, filing the room. And once it was over, they just laid there, and he held her, and they talked. They just talked. Not about anything in particular, not about what had just transpired, just talked. Kelly rolled her head to the side and looked at Wyatt, still fast asleep, and she chewed her lip. Wyatt suddenly rolled over and opened one eye, and the two smiled at one another.

"Good mor-" she started to whisper, when he reached out, dragged her towards him by her hips, put one hand behind her neck and kissed her, making her melt all over again. She turned bright red and giggled as he kissed between her eyes.

"Should I make coffee?" he asked, and she nodded.

"That would be greatly appreciated," she replied.

Wyatt stretched and yawned, then laid on his side staring at her.

"What?" she asked, "why are you just staring at me?"

"The hell else am I gonna look, the ceiling? Yeah, that's exciting," Wyatt said, making her laugh as he said, "I like looking at you. Especially in the morning. I don't think Scarlett ever understood it, but...once she got all prettied up for the day, sure, she looked great, but there's something about seeing a woman when they're messy and unkempt, just waking up...that's the best. And you have that in spades."

Kelly's smile faded slowly and she looked down at the mattress.

"What? What did I say?" Wyatt asked.

"Scarlett," Kelly muttered.

"I told you, there was no fixing that," Wyatt said, "and, ya know, if last night proved anything, it's that I'm much happier here. With you. In fact...I can't remember a time I was happier with anyone than I am with you. Waking up in bed with you like this...it's wonderful, it's perfect. You're perfect."

"I'm not perfect," Kelly said.

"Is this about the prosthetic leg again, or the hump on your back?" Wyatt asked, and Kelly smirked.

"Hey, the hump is a beauty mark, okay?" she said, the both of them chuckling as she added, "no I mean, I'm not perfect cause, like...look at what I did. I slept with a married man."

"No, a married man slept with you, there's an inherent difference. I made the decision to push things forward, all you did was confess first, and let's face it, had you not I would've. If not last night then eventually. We both know that. And as for being a married man? Sure, legally wise, definitely not romantically. I think Scarlett and I...I think things ended a while ago and we just didn't want to acknowledge it. We'd been fighting, I was spending less time at home overall."

"Well then that begs the question...if you weren't, if you were getting along and things were good...would you still have wanted me? Or was I just some kind of fallback? A comfort because of what was happening?" Kelly asked, sounding nervous. Wyatt chewed his lip and thought about it for a moment, then smiled as he reached out and took her chin in his fingers, lifting her face so he could look in her eyes.

"I've thought about that, but it isn't true, because yeah I still would," Wyatt said, "I think you and I make way more sense than she and I ever did, even if you take out all the other stuff. You're the kind of girl I always liked. I'm just sad I didn't know you in high school, cause I could've had so much more time with you. But I wasn't really at my best then, so maybe you wouldn't have liked me, I don't know."

"I don't think there's any instance where I don't love you," Kelly said, surprising both Wyatt and herself with this sappy admission, "...and I realize how much of a romance novel protagonist that makes me sound, but it's true. I think I'd love you under any circumstances, no matter what they were. The fact I love you despite what's going on I think proves that alone."

Wyatt smiled, tears forming in his eyes as Kelly crawled on top of him and kissed him, his hands on her hips, holding her in place. As their lips parted, barely away from one another, she whispered.

"Let me prove it," she whispered.

                                                                                              ***

"I'm gonna be real with you, I didn't know there was more than one kind of omelette," Rachel said, making Amelia crack up across the table. The two had met for breakfast, Rachel picking her up at Calvin's and then going to a diner, since both had a penchant for greasy food.

"Jesus, how did you survive to be an adult?" Amelia asked.

"Hey!" Rachel replied, laughing herself now, "is that common knowledge? Am I just supposed to know that there's multiple types of omelettes? It isn't information that comes up frequently enough I'd think to be warranted being stored in my brain!"

"Did you at least know it was made of eggs?" Amelia asked.

"There's eggs in it?!" Rachel asked, the both of them laughing harder now. This was good for them. For both of them. Each woman had had such a horrible time as of late, and having this little friendship, it was nice. Amelia had to admit, the last thing she expected coming home to deal with her brothers estate was to become friends with his friend, but she was so happy it had happened. The waitress stopped by and topped off both of their coffee mugs, each woman thanking her as they simultaneously raised their mugs to their lips and sipped, locking eyes as they did and chuckling at their synchronicity.

"I found this key," Amelia finally said, setting her mug back down, "it was in with his other stuff. It doesn't go to anything in the house. I think maybe it's for a safety deposit box? I was hoping you might come with me to various banks and see what it opens."

"Yeah, of course I'd do that," Rachel said. The waitress stopped by again and asked for their orders. Amelia got scrambled eggs, while Rachel asked for an omelette, and when the waitress asked what kind, Rachel simply said "surprise me", which made Amelia cackle again. After she had left, the two continued the conversation, Rachel asking, "what makes you think it might be to that?"

"Well, unless he's got like an old murder mystery home stashed away somewhere that can only be opened with a sort of skeleton key, I'd say it's the most logical conclusion," Amelia said, and Rachel nodded.

"Fair assessment," Rachel said, "...what do you think might be in it?"

"I don't know. Calvin was really secretive," Amelia said.

You don't know the half of it, Rachel thought.

"I would imagine maybe some personal effects, things too important to let stay at the house just in case we got robbed," Amelia continued, "I'm curious to find out though. Maybe he had some money stashed away, gold doubloons or something."

"He's not Blackbeard," Rachel said.

After a bit, the waitress brought their food, and the girls began eating. As Rachel dug into her omelette, surprised at how much she liked it, Amelia couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head, occasionally lifting her head a bit to watch Rachel. Amelia had never really had a close friendship with a woman before, so this was all fairly new to her, and she liked it. But...something about it went beyond that. She felt more relaxed with Rachel than anyone else she'd ever known, sans perhaps Wyatt, or at the very least the same level of relaxed as with Wyatt. Amelia then felt a weird pang in her chest, and she got nervous, her smile faded, and she went back to eating her eggs, not daring to look up again.

                                                                                             ***

Angie was sitting in the hotel room, staring at Clark.

Clark was laying opposite her on the other bed, but neither one had spoken in a while. She had just been staring at him. She wasn't sure, quite frankly, that she wanted to say anything, because she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear what he might have to say in response. After a bit longer, Angie finally cleared her throat and stood up, going to pour herself some water into a plastic cup. When she turned back around, Clark was sitting upright on the bed now, staring at her.

"What?" she asked, sounding scared.

"You think this is guilt," Clark said, "you think what is happening is guilt. That's why I sound like him."

"Well what other reason could it possibly be?" Angie asked, "I shoot a man in the back of the head and then I just get to walk away from that, assuaged of any wrong doing? I don't think so. If anything I'm surprised it took this long."

"I'm telling you it isn't," Clark said as she walked back around and sat back down opposite him again, sipping her water cautiously, as he added, "it isn't guilt. After all, you've had this before. You've heard other dogs with the voices of familiar people. It's simply your brain attempting to assign reason to something that has no reason, because you're sick."

"...and you just happen to sound like the man I killed," Angie said.

"I can only give you pseudo therapeutic answers, not actual answers," Clark said, "I'm in your head, and your head is trying to calm you down. Trying to make you see that what you're dealing with isn't that big a deal, something to be scared of or ashamed about. You know Rachel saw the See Through Horse. People associated animals with trauma if the two are closely connected enough. That's all this is."

Angie nodded slowly, listening. Clark was right. Even if he sounded like Calvin, she knew it wasn't him, and she wasn't hearing him as a way to blame herself, but simply because, as he'd told her, this was what her illness did. Angie exhaled deeply and fall back onto the bed. Clark hopped down from the other and up onto hers, laid down beside her, and planted his head on her chest. She smiled and scratched behind his ear, making his tail thump.

"You're a good dog," she said, and he woofed quietly.

                                                                                           ***

"Banks make me nervous," Rachel said, "I always feel like I'm two steps away from breaking the law somehow."

Amelia chuckled, and Rachel smiled. The two had gone to 4 different banks at this point, and at each one, they'd been told this key wasn't theirs. They were hoping that, by this point, the 5th would be the one, but they weren't holding their breath anymore.

"I just want to have all of his stuff together before I leave town, you know?" Amelia said, as she turned the page in the magazine she was looking at as she and Rachel leaned against the wall, waiting for the teller to return; she continued, "I want it all together, everything finished, so I don't have to come back. So that Calvin can just...be put behind me once and for all."

"That's understandable," Rachel said, chewing on her nails absentmindedly, "you think this one will be it?"

"I'm not banking on it," Amelia said, the both of them smirking at one another.

"You suck," Rachel said under her breath, the both of them laughing again. Finally the teller reappeared and the girls turned to face her.

"This is our key," she said happily, "would you like to come with me, use it, see what's in the box?"

The teller opened the little gate and allowed the girls to enter, then followed her into the backroom and down a hallway. Rachel had her hands stuffed in her jacket pockets as she watched Amelia walk a bit ahead of her, speaking with the teller. Amelia, in her right low rise hip hugging jeans and her t-shirt with the Edward Gorey print and her bomber jacket. Amelia was so much cooler than she herself could ever hope to aspire to be, and it was nice to finally be friends with another artist with style.

"Your brother left you everything, you said, and we have seen you are the executor of his will, so," the teller said to Amelia, "obviously you're free to remove anything or everything from the box if you so wish."

"Why would he choose a different bank than where he kept his money?" Amelia asked, "That just doesn't make sense to me."

"People do it sometimes," the teller said, shrugging, "maybe this stuff was a bit more personal and he didn't want it to be associated with where he kept his cash, I'm not your brother so I can't say. Either way, I'm sorry for your loss, and hopefully having this sorted out will bring you some kind of peace. When you're done, please shut the box and I'll meet you back at the front."

The woman handed Amelia back the key and then exited. Amelia and Rachel looked at the key and then at one another. Amelia slowly sighed, as if preparing for something big. Rachel put a hand on her arm, and the two glanced at one another.

"You okay?" Rachel asked, "you want me to do it?"

"No, I can do it. I have to do it," Amelia said, Rachel nodding in understanding. Amelia turned to face the wall, the rows of boxes stretched out before her, and she inserted the key into Calvin's, number 379. She turned it, heard the box click, and slowly swung the door open. She reached inside and pulled out a handful of things. Some of them were just photos. Photos of him and his wife, his daughter, their family. Family photos of himself and Amelia. Jewelry, likely again belonging to his wife. Amelia sniffled and started to cry as she sifted through these things in her hand. Rachel came up behind her and hugged her, resting her head against hers. Amelia was so appreciative for the comfort. Some bank papers. Some important government documents, his original birth certificate, things of that nature. And then, at the very bottom of the stack, was a plain thin white envelope. With Rachel's name. Amelia and Rachel exchanged a similarly confused look, as Amelia handed it back to her.

"It's for you," she said.

Rachel took it, her hands shaking nervously, as she lifted up the flap and pulled out a single sheet of paper with Calvin's handwriting. She stood there and read to herself while Amelia went back to looking at the photos.

"Rachel,

I put this here as a security measure. If you're reading it, obviously I'm dead, hence why you're reading it. This isn't to blame anyone. This isn't to point fingers. Whatever happened probably happened because I deserved it. I blame myself moreso than anybody else. I brought everything onto myself. I am to blame. But I want you to know how much I appreciated you being my friend, and how much I hate that you'll be mad at yourself for my decisions. I did this. I killed me. If anything, you just kept me going for a longer amount of time than I should've had. Thank you for that, I suppose, painful as it was, because knowing you was enjoyable and I'll miss you greatly, as I'm sure you'll miss me. Tell Wyatt the same please. I hope you all can find ways to go on without me, and make progress in the areas you're hoping to make progress in. I figured you would come to this box with my sister, so since that's probably the case, take care of her please. She's a wonderful person and she's been hurt enough. Don't let another member of my family go down my path. Thank you again.

Your friend,
Calvin."

Rachel wanted to break down. He'd written an alibi letter. She had no idea he would've done this. He knew he was on the verge of being taken out, and he wanted to spare Rachel specifically any issues with that. He didn't want Amelia to think she or anyone else was involved. He probably knew, that very night, that he wasn't leaving that spot when he met with Wyatt and Angie. Rachel lost it. She fell back against the lockers and started weeping, sliding down against the wall. Amelia got on her knees and pulled Rachel into her chest, hugging her, petting her hair.

"Shhh, it's okay," Amelia said, crying a little herself, "you're okay. We're okay."

Rachel hugged Amelia back, and promised Calvin, internally, that she'd take care of his sister. It was the least she could do.

                                                                                                 ***

"Is there...anything else we really need to discuss?" Kelly asked.

"Maybe what's for dinner?" Wyatt said, "don't really feel like cooking tonight."

"I meant about...ya know, what's going on," Kelly said, making Wyatt chuckle as he came back to the couch and handed her her drink before sitting down. Kelly lifted her legs and plopped them down across his lap and he massaged her feet as she sipped her tea.

"There is but it's not a discussion I have to have with you, it's a discussion I have to have with Scarlett," Wyatt said, "you and I are clearcut, I think. I mean, unless you suddenly decide you don't want this, which I can't see being the case."

"I want nothing more than I want this," Kelly whispered, and Wyatt smiled. She rested her eyes and relaxed as he massaged her feet, and the two just sat there in silence, enjoying their newfound relationship. Each had wanted this so badly, and now the moment was here, and it felt so normal, so ordinary. Wyatt cleared this throat and looked back over at her.

"So I'm thinking maybe just...burgers? I know that isn't exciting, but," Wyatt said.

"Burgers is fine," Kelly said happily, "and that's okay, we've had enough excitement to last a lifetime."

Wyatt leaned over and kissed her, taking her by surprise, until she giggled and kissed him back, setting her mug down on the coffee table and crawled up closer, kissing him more. It was so nice, to both of them, to finally feel loved, either for the first time or again. Wyatt would order burgers, and they would eat and watch bad TV and crack jokes like every other night, and it was perfect. But he couldn't help but shake the fact that, in the back of his mind, he had to deal with one more thing before making a clean break. One last thing to end.

His marriage.

Kelly Schuester had had a bad day.

She'd gotten to work with a flat tire, had coffee spilled on her favorite dress - and then had to go on air wearing an ugly studio approved cardigan to cover it up - then had a mild hives breakout thanks to someone at the restaurant she went to for lunch not hear her order properly. She was informed by her bank that a credit card had been opened in her name, and while she hadn't lost any money, the legal loopholes she was required to jump through just to prove she was who she said she was were exhausting and time consuming, and then, just when she finally got home, she realized she had forgotten to get a birthday gift for a friend. By the time Kelly entered the apartment, soaking wet from the rain outside because she had forgotten her umbrella, all she wanted to do was curl up and scream. Instead, as she entered, she found the apartment full of warmth, both literally and figuratively. As she closed the door behind her, she noticed the gas fireplace in the sunken in living room was on, and Wyatt was standing in the kitchen, cooking, wearing an apron that said "Men Belong In The Kitchen".

"Wow," Kelly said, "that apron really is right. Who knew."

"Hey," Wyatt said, smiling as he looked towards her, "yeah it was the only one I could find in here, so."

"It was given to me as a gag gift," Kelly said, "not sure why, not like I ever had any men around to wear it."

Wyatt opened the fridge, then pulled out a soda in a glass bottle, and popped the top off, handing it to her. Kelly took it, blushing, thanking him. She had come home and he was making dinner and had her drink ready? What had she done to get so lucky to have such a good roommate and friend?

"You look a fright," Wyatt said, looking her up and down as he went back to slicing onions.

"Yeah, you know, for a weather girl, I do seem to forget my umbrella a lot," Kelly said.

"Well, the fireplace is roarin', I suggest you take advantage of it," Wyatt remarked. Kelly nodded, agreeing. She walked over to the sunken in living room and pulled her dress off, then stood over the hamper of clean laundry and sifted through it until she found some sweat pants and a t-shirt, pulling them both on. Wyatt turned to grab some spices from the opposite side of the counter and saw her. She was sitting on an ottoman in front of the fireplace, running her hands through her mess of sandy blonde hair, exhaling. Wyatt sighed, then grabbed a beer from the fridge and walked over, sitting beside her.

"Not a good day I take it?" he asked.

"Not particularly," Kelly said, "one of those 'anything that can go wrong will go wrong' sorts of days."

"Hate those days, and it feels like we have a lot of 'em," Wyatt said.

"How about yours?"

"It was...also not great," Wyatt said.

Kelly eyeballed him as she lifted her soda to her lips and sipped.

"...I found a dog," Wyatt said.

                                                                                              ***

A few hours earlier, after having left Art's compound, Wyatt and Angie were sitting in Angie's car, parked in a hidden away hiking spot, just petting the dog and trying to think of what to do with it. The dog, Clark, was laid across Angie's lap, while Wyatt paced just outside her car door, the window rolled down. He had taken his fathers hand, removed the watch, and reburied the hand in a place he knew it would be eaten by animals and never discovered by people. He stopped momentarily and looked in through the window.

"He seems to like you," Wyatt said.

"Dogs always like me," Angie said, "I had this job at a kennel after we left the compound, and all the dogs there always liked me."

"That's a good trait to have, actually, shows you're genuinely trustworthy if animals trust you," Wyatt said, "so you should be happy about that. Angie, where are you staying currently? You're not staying with your folks, right?"

"No, and I don't wanna go back," Angie said.

"Alright," Wyatt said, "...how about this. For the time being, I'll pay for you to move into the motel Rachel and Ricky are staying in. Not their room, obviously, just...the same building. They'll take dogs too, so that won't be an issue."

Angie looked down at Clark, her hand stroking the fur of the top of his head as he panted in her lap, before she turned her gaze up towards Wyatt.

"You would do that for me?" she asked, and he nodded, folding his arms; she looked back down and fingered the tag on Clark's collar, saying, "he was once somebody's pet. The fact that he's free, and has been free as long as he seems to have been, kinda says that they didn't die, they just...let him walk away. They didn't care if he stayed or went. I know what that's like. To be told you're important, only to have them turn around and leave you to your own devices. I think, at this point, you've been more of a parent to me than my own parents."

Wyatt smiled weakly as she exhaled.

"Okay," she said, "we'll stay at the hotel."

Wyatt reached in through the window and pet Clark on the head as well, causing him to thump his tail happily against the seat, both of them laughing at the dogs reponse. The funny thing was, Wyatt had never wanted to get a pet with anyone before. Not Scarlett, not Amelia back in high school, nobody. The way he saw it, having a pet was too much of an issue between two people, especially if one of those people died and the other suddenly had to take care of it. The commitment, in general, scared him. Humorous, he thought now, considering he had children with one of those women. But still...how funny was it that the woman he finally did get a dog with was Angie, of all people. They really were in it for the long haul together.

                                                                                                ***

"Well at least you found a way to keep the dog, and Angie, safe and housed for the time being," Kelly said, sighing as she tugged her stockings off from under the legs of her sweatpants, balled them up and tossed them into the hamper across the room, adding, "cause I don't think they'd let me have a dog here, so."

"It was a weird day, overall, and I think that's why I came home and played domesticity," Wyatt said, sipping his beer, "cause, ya know, after all the weirdness, some normality was a much needed comfort."

That's when he noticed Kelly smiling, blushing, and he smirked.

"What?" he asked, laughing.

"You called this home," she said, "that's nice. I'm glad you feel like it's your home too," Kelly said, shrugging, "I don't know, guess I'm feeling good about how comfortable you feel here."

"Well why wouldn't I?" Wyatt asked, "I get to cook, I get to keep the place relatively tidy, and then I get to hang out with you when you get back from work. All in all it's a great system. How was your day? Hopefully better than mine?"

"Worse," Kelly said, "...much, much worse. Not that finding your fathers severed hand in a dogs mouth isn't bad, but mine was more...personal, I guess. I mean I told you all the other things that went wrong, and yet somehow none of that was even the worst part."

"How's that? What could've been the worst part then?" Wyatt asked, raising an eyebrow, sounding concerned.

"...someone at my job got engaged," Kelly said.

                                                                                                ***

Kelly had been standing in the break room, trying to make herself new coffee since she'd spilled her own all over herself earlier. She was still itching a little from the mild hives breakout at lunch, and now she was hoping to just get through the day with a little bit of caffeine and get back home as unscathed as possible...and that was when the group showed up. A gaggle of coworkers, mostly women, marched excitedly into the break room, all laughing and talking excitedly and loudly. Kelly turned and watched as she finished fixing her coffee, leaning against the counter, when a page, Lewis, stopped beside her. Lewis was young, in his early twenties, and probably the only person at her job that Kelly truly liked.

"What are they all giddy about?" she asked, raising her mug to her lips.

"Jessica got engaged," Lewis said.

"Somebody asked Jessica to marry them?" Kelly replied, "yikes."

Kelly tried not to be catty, but when it came to some people, specifically Jessica Winters, she couldn't help but do so. Jessica was everything Kelly wasn't, in terms of success. She was one of the most popular anchors, not to mention gorgeous to boot. Kelly didn't think she herself was unattractive by any means, but Jessica was swimsuit model beautiful, and that's why, along with her skills, Kelly had to admit, she got the job, because not only was she good at what she did but she also looked good doing it. Jessica received a lot of fan mail, all from men, at the station, and Kelly had always felt inferior, especially because they didn't look all that much different in the end. Both were tall, lithe blonde women, both with fair skin and nice eyes, but Jessica had that...that certain something that Kelly didn't have, that gave her a pathway to success both career wise and romantically, and it was the second one that Kelly truly resented, seeing how she actually enjoyed her own career.

"I mean, she's only been dating this guy for like 5 months," Lewis said, "I'm young, and young people are rash and irresponsible, and even I can't imagine getting married after 5 months of knowing someone."

"That's because you're not a gold digger," Kelly said.

"No, I...I am," Lewis said, the both of them laughing; Lewis then asked, "well what about you, could you?"

And the thing was...Kelly could. She used to not be able to, but now she could...after meeting Wyatt. She easily could, yes.

"Doesn't really matter cause it isn't like anyone's itching to date me to begin with," Kelly said.

"What about that guy you're staying with?" Lewis asked.

"You've got a guy staying with you?" Jessica asked, approaching the cabinets, looking for paper plates for the cake she'd annoyingly bought herself for her own engagement announcement.

"Yeah, a friend of mine, he's having trouble at home and he needed somewhere to stay," Kelly said, shrugging, "it's no big deal. I've got the space."

"Wow, you're keeping a married man in your home," Jessica said, grinning, elbowing her playfully, "good for you, Kelly. I always thought you'd be a spinster, but hey, if you're looking at married men, then you've got more play than I anticipated and I'm impressed."

"It's not like that," Kelly said, trying to convince only herself, knowing damn full well it was.

"Well, give it time, honestly," Jessica said, "cause usually trouble at home...that doesn't get fixed once they leave, that gets worse. So your odds of finally meeting someone have shot through the roof, even if only because you're what was available, and I don't mean that in a mean way, that came out mean, I'm sorry. I just meant, ya know, I don't picture you as someone who goes out looking to meet people."

"You're right, I don't," Kelly said, "but I also don't get engaged after 150 days of knowing someone."

Kelly finished her coffee, slammed the mug down on the counter and looked Jessica in the eye.

"Happy fucking engagement," she said sternly, before storming out.

She hated that it had gotten to her, but that was how Jessica was. Hell, that was how most women had always been towards her. They could smell her societal weakness. How she'd never been in love. How she'd never even had sex. How her perceived 'value' as a woman in society had been completely and utterly disregarded, considered not viable. Once out of earshot, down the hall and a few corners rounded, she stopped and cried against the chip machine. The thing was, she wanted those things. She always had. She just...had never had the chance. Jessica was right, yes, she wasn't the type to go out and meet people, but that didn't mean she didn't crave the very same things. And now...now she had that chance, and it was with Wyatt, and all her morality wouldn't let her do it because, well, he was married, and she respected that. She respected the sanctity of marriage, because she had grown up with parents who loved and supported one another, and so she couldn't damage someone elses marriage for her own selfish reasons.

So she cried. And she had a terrible rest of the day. But somehow it had been that little exchange that had been the worst.

                                                                                                ***

"Jesus what a bitch," Wyatt said, Kelly chuckling, nodding in agreement; Wyatt scoffed and exhaled, "god I'm sorry. Guess we both had awful days. Guess that's why it's nice to come home to one another. Know you aren't alone, know you can tell someone who cares, you know?"

"I've always wanted that, either with a friend, like Rachel, or a roommate, or a lover, not that that one would ever happen," Kelly muttered, "but you're right it is nice."

Wyatt finished his beer and wiped his mouth on his sleeve, then looked towards her. Kelly looked defeated, dejected, utterly humiliated. He wanted to reach out and hold her, to make her feel better. Something he'd never once wanted to do for Scarlett. This was the kind of feeling that had only been reserved for Amelia, and now he was having it for Kelly as well. Wyatt bit his lip.

"For what it's worth," Wyatt said, "she wasn't wrong."

Kelly looked towards him, confused.

"Who, Jessica? About what part?" she asked.

"About the trouble at home thing," Wyatt said, "things were screwed up before all this started, I just didn't want to acknowledge or admit it. Scarlett and I are friends, but I think only she ever saw us as lovers. I mean, don't get me wrong, she's very attractive, very conventionally attractive, and sure, that's nice, but...but there's a difference between being attracted to a person because they're attractive and being attracted to a person because you love them. One is based solely on visuals. The other isn't. Scarlett and I...we just never connected in that way."

"What way?" Kelly asked, sniffling.

"The way you and I do," Wyatt said, and Kelly stopped breathing. The two locked eyes, and neither knew what to say next, but Wyatt kept trying, saying, "with you, it's...it's easy. And I don't mean that in a negative sense, you know? But you come home, we have dinner, we hang out, it's...it's the way things should be. Things should be like that. Things shouldn't be forced. Nothing with you has ever felt forced, and that's why I think our friendship means so much to me because, ya know...it's nice to have that level of comfortability in your relationship with someone else. Scarlett and I never really had that, not on this level anyway."

"But she's your wife," Kelly said.

"Yeah, cause my dad liked her," Wyatt said, "she was good enough for him, and I didn't want to fight him anymore, and I liked her well enough so I figured why not. And I love our daughter, don't get me wrong, she's my whole world, but...but a child isn't worth staying with someone if you can't be the best possible version of yourself for your child that you can be because you're with that person. Scarlett reminds me of...of everything I've done wrong, everything I did for him, and not myself. You..."

They looked at one another again, this time neither one breaking gaze.

"...you make me happy," Wyatt said, "you make me see new opportunities. New chances. With Scarlett, it felt like...it felt like living in a hotel. Any day could be the day you need to check out, so you never really allow yourself to get comfortable. You appreciate the ammenities, but you never really allow yourself to get comfortable. I look at her and I feel regret, and displacement, and like I'll always be in the hotel. But I look at you...I look at you, and I..."

Kelly pulled her legs up onto the ottoman and turned to face him, Wyatt stammering.

"...I feel home," he said.

A long pause, then Wyatt stood up and exhaled, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry," he said, "that was a lot. I just wanted you to know how much being able to be here with you means and-"

"I love you," Kelly said.

Wyatt stopped, and slowly turned back around to face her. Kelly herself was now standing up, the both of them in front of the roaring faux fireplace, the rain only getting harder outside. Wyatt and Kelly stared at one another for what must've felt like minutes, but in fact was only mere seconds.

"....fuck," Kelly said, mumbling, running a hand nervously up into her hair, "um, I love you. I understand if that makes you have to leave. I understand if I've now ruined everything and, like everybody else, you have to leave now. I'm used to that, so don't feel guilty if you do. But I love waking up to breakfast and I love coming home to dinner, and I love just...hanging out and making jokes and feeling comfortable, for the first time in my goddamn life I feel comfortable. Truly comfortable. I love you. And I don't expect you to return it, I mean, how could you? I'm...I'm nothing compared to her. I'm just some fucking weather girl. Some weather girl with a fake leg. But I couldn't keep it to myself anymore."

"You never had to," Wyatt said softly, walking towards her, Kelly approaching him as he did.

"I didn't?" she asked.

"God no," Wyatt said, "I wish you'd said it sooner. I think...I think I only realized it myself in the last month or so, but..."

"You?" she asked.

"Yeah, me too," Wyatt whispered, "...life is, as you're aware, fucking awful. I'm embroiled in so much bullshit, so much bullshit you don't deserve to deal with-"

"But you don't deserve to deal with it alone," Kelly said.

"-and every day I worry that today will be the day it finally catches up to me," Wyatt continued, "that today will be the day that someone finally taps me on the shoulder, shows me a badge and asks me to come with them. To live with that fear and anxiety day in and day out is exhausting, and everyday that goes by where that doesn't happen only makes me more scared that the chances of it coming the next are vastly improved. But then...but then in between all that, I think to myself, how can I make Kelly happy while being here? You are an escape. And I don't mean that in the sense that that's all you are, but...you're security. Safety. With you, I don't have to worry about those things. I know you'd never judge me if that day came, and that helps. But I wake up and I think 'wow, I get to make breakfast for her again' instead of immediately wondering if today's the day it all ends."

"Please...keep making breakfast for me," Kelly whispered, on the verge of tears.

They were standing an inch apart, maybe less, looking one another dead in the eye. Thunder clapped outside, the fire roared beside them, and Wyatt reached up, running his hand over her face and up into her hair. She shut her eyes and felt her whole body quiver. She leaned up, as he put his other hand on her hip, and leaned down, being a bit taller than her.

"Wait," Kelly said, her voice low and breathy, "...wait...don't do this if it doesn't mean anything."

"Well then it's a good thing it means everything isn't it?" Wyatt replied, and kissed her. Kelly melted into him, and he kissed her harder. She pushed back against him, sending him tumbling down onto the couch where she climbed on top and the two continued to paw at one another. Soon her'd pulled her fresh t-shirt off and felt his hands on her smooth cool skin. She leaned down against him as he pressed his face into her neck and kissed, making her moan.

"Please," she whispered, "just please."

That was all she could manage to think of to say, and Wyatt chuckled. Kissing someone, even Amelia, had never felt more right than it did right now. And as they went further, and further, the couch eventually shaking with their passion as the fire warmed the room, and the rain watered her potted plants on the balcony outside, all either one could think in their heads was the word 'finally'.

                                                                                            ***

Angie was brushing her teeth in the hotel bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. Dark circles under her eyes, her skin a little dry. She'd really let herself go recently, and she wanted to start taking care of herself again. Maybe now, being out from under her parents watchful eye once more, she could do just that. She spit into the sink, rinsed her mouth and then exited the bathroom, only to find Clark laying on the bed, his tail thumping as he saw her, which made her smile. She stopped at the desk and started to jot down a few things she needed on the pad of paper the hotel provided.

"It's going to get worse you know," a voice said, causing her to stop. She slowly turned and looked towards Clark, who was now sitting up and staring at her.

"What?" she whispered, her voice shaky.

"It's going to get worse," he repeated himself.

"It is?" she asked, and Clark woofed quietly.

"You're gonna have to do some terrible things, Angie," Clark said, as she approached and dropped to her knees in front of the bed, staring at him, as he added, "I'm so sorry."

Angie was used to hearing dogs speak to her. That was an auditory hallucination she'd long since made peace with, so while it was unnerving even today, it wasn't new. It wasn't surprising or shocking. She had come to expect it, especially when she was off her meds. No. What was horrible, she realized...

...was that he sounded like Calvin.