A/N: Thank you everyone for the kind reviews and favorites/watches. :) I'm glad you're enjoying this. I'm taking a total mom day on Monday to see the movie AGAIN! Yeah, sans kids. Go me! They have school/daycare, my work is closed...I figured I deserve a little treat just for me. :)

Chapter Three

Johnny stood where Karina had left him on the steps, watching her disappear on stage with Mrs. Noodleman and Mr. Moon. Her scent lingered around him, so completely different from anything he had come across before, leaving him questioning what, exactly, she was. Legs too long, arms too thin, too many curves to be anything he could recognize. And under the strange combination of coconut and pear was something entirely foreign to him.

Yellow fur. Hannah has said she had-.

"Hannah," he yelped, forgetting about Karina and taking the steps two at a time.

"Great babysitter you make, Johnny," he muttered to himself as he made his way down the hallway past the practice rooms where he'd seen her disappear. "One kid and ya can't even keep track of 'er for more than a minute. Hannah!"

He heard a small giggle down the hall a ways and sighed. Out of all of her brothers and sister, Hannah was by far the biggest handful. A handful he would never admit out loud was his favorite. She was the youngest, the smallest and had the biggest mouth, unafraid to say anything that came to her mind. And absolutely brilliant at disappearing.

Heaving a large sigh, he leaned against the wall and cast an overly despondent gaze to the ceiling. "I'm dead. Rosita's gonna kill me. And all because I lost her precious Hannah. Oh well, I've had a good run. Sang on stage once. Guess once'll have to do it-."

"Johnny, no!" Hannah jumped out from around the corner, rushing to him with a worried frown. "You have to sing again! You have to! Mom can't kill you!"

Laughing, he scooped her up."Gotcha. Your mum loves me. You know she'd never do that."

"That's cheating!" Hannah declared with a scowl.

"How's that cheating? You took off on me when I wasn't even lookin'. If anything, you cheated!"

"Nu-uh!"

"That's a terrible approach to winning an argument."

He started back down the hallway towards the stairs, following the sound of Mr. Moon's voice and wondering if what he was saying had anything to do with the mysterious Karina.

"Johnny, are we gonna play some more."

He shushed the small piglet, whispering "In a bit, Hannah," distractedly as he neared the stage. Rosita, Gunter, Meena and Ash were all gathered on stage, Ash plucking away at her guitar and casting uninterested glances Mr. Moon's way every now and then as the other three listened intently. Johnny moved closer until Mr. Moon, Mrs. Noodleman and Karina were in view. Karina was standing beside Mrs. Noodleman, her head down, her hands clasped in front of her.

She's got hands. So that rules out a bit-.

"I think we can all agree that we're about as family as a small group of people can get," Mr. Moon was saying. "And I think we can also all agree that how we're different doesn't mean a thing. It's our differences that make us who we are. So, in saying that...I want you to understand that what Nana is asking us to do is to look past the differences. Protect those differences, but look past them because what we are doesn't make who we are."

With that, he stepped back, gesturing to Karina. She took a hesitant step forward, and pushed her hood away from her face.

A collective gasp rang out through the group.

"See?" Hannah whispered, tugging impatiently at his jacket. "Yellow fur!"

Johnny nodded, his gaze fixed on Karina who was watching the group nervously, her deep blue eyes darting from one member to another. Her mane of blonde hair was pulled away from a face that was mostly pale, aside from the pink flush staining her cheeks. And she had lips - a thin top lip and full bottom lip that she was in the process of chewing nervously on. Differences was an understatement. Karina didn't have differences, she was different. He'd never, in his life, seen something quite like her.

It was very clear that the others hadn't either. And not just to him. He watched as the anxiety manifested into fear and hurt, Karina's eyes glassing over with tears.

"Karina is going to be joining us, working afternoons here in the theater. She's been staying with Nana who's been keeping her hidden and we need to do the same," Mike continued, moving to Karina and taking her hand. "I can't imagine how terrifying it would be to wake up not knowing where you were, what you were or how you got there."

"I um-," Karina murmured. Her voice wavered and Johnny's heart clenched. She was visibly shutting down, looking to the others and finding no acceptance. He knew all too well what that felt like.

Kneeling, Johnny set Hannah on the floor. "Hannah, go get Karina," he instructed softly.

The little piglet smiled, spun and ran onto the stage. Johnny gave her a moment, then followed her.

"Karina!" Hannah cried, launching herself at the woman.

Karina quickly bent to catch Hannah, lifting her slight weight.

"See Hannah?" Johnny said, stopping beside them and grinning down at the two. "Told ya we'd find her. That means you're it, Karina!" Looking around at the small group, he faked a look of surprise. "Oh..uh...were you in the middle of something?"

Mr. Moon was the first to get over his confusion. "How do you know Karina?" he asked.

"We met earlier."

"I fell down the steps and she caught me!" Hannah piped up, bouncing cheerfully in Karina's arms.

"You what?!"

Johnny flinched at the shrill note in Rosita's voice, his mind grappling for something to say that would keep her from killing him outright. He'd been joking before but he wouldn't put it past Rosita to inflict some serious damage when it came to the safety of her children. "Rosita, I-."

"They were playing hide and seek," Karina quickly interrupted him. "He had just started counting and she was running off to hide but missed the step. She had just started to fall when I caught her. And she was so polite, asking me if I was okay," she smiled at the piglet, tweaking her nose lightly. "Nothing more than a quick heart attack, right Hannah?"

Hannah giggled, swatting at Karina's hand. "Right!"

With an apologetic smile, Rosita approached Karina. "I am so sorry," she started as Karina handed her daughter over. "She can be such a handful sometimes."

Karina shrugged it off. "It's okay. Really. I'm just glad I was there."

"That makes two of us. I'm Rosita. It's very nice to meet you, Karina."

Johnny took a step back and breathed a sigh of relief, watching the others move forward to introduce themselves. With each member, Karina relaxed a little more, her smile coming more easily. With Gunter, who was his usual, outgoing self, she actually laughed.

Johnny found it hard not to smile, enjoying the low, smooth quality of the sound. It was unexpected and mysterious...just like Karina herself.

"So, Karina, what are you going to be doing around the theater?" Rosita asked. "Are you going to be singing with us?"

Karina quickly shook her head. "Oh, no. I'm not a singer. Not even a little bit. I was just-." She cast a quick, guilty look at Nana before continuing. "I was looking for a way to get out of the house, honestly. I didn't think it would be possible so I haven't really thought much past that."

"Well, what are you good at?" Mr. Moon prompted.

Again, color rose to her cheeks and Johnny felt pity for her. He would be painfully uncomfortable if every time he was embarrassed about something, his face gave him away that quickly. And with a father in prison and lack of self-confidence, it happened more often than he cared for.

"Well, I guess I'm good at organizing things?" she offered, not sounding that sure of what she'd come up with. "I've worked a couple office administrative positions, but that's about it."

Mr. Moon clapped his hands together. "Perfect! You can help Mrs. Crawley! I'm sure she'd appreciate the company and I have to admit, I'm not the best at keeping a neat office."

"A gross understatement," Mrs. Noodleman deadpanned.

Karina quickly lifted her hand to cover her grin, but Johnny caught it. Her connection with the older woman only made her even more of a mystery to him. He didn't know much about Mrs. Noodleman but what he did know didn't paint the most welcoming picture. Her own grandson and Mr. Moon's close friend Eddie made her sound more dangerous than anything, doing his best to stay out of her way when she showed up. The only one who seemed unafraid of her was Mr. Moon. And Johnny would be the first to admit that he found her intimidating. But Karina didn't seem intimidated by her at all.

"If Karina finds this acceptable and is at ease with the idea of cleaning up after you and if the rest of you understand how important it is to keep your mouths closed," she paused, regarding them all with a shrewd look until they either nodded or voiced their agreement, "then I suppose I am fine with her spending her afternoons here."

"It's settled then!" Mr. Moon said. "Would starting tomorrow work?"

"Tomorrow would be fine, Mr. Moon," Mrs. Noodleman answered for Karina. "Now, if you have some time, we should finish going over the finances. Karina, you're welcome to stay down here. I'm sure it would be much less tedious."

Mr. Moon graciously swept his arm in a gesture for Mrs. Noodleman to lead the way and the two started off stage as controlled chaos took over and it was business as usual once more. Rosita, waving impatiently at Gunter, crossed the stage to Johnny with a ready smile. "Hey Johnny. I can take Hannah back if you needed to get some practice in before going back to the garage."

"Practice, right. Um-." Johnny glanced back at Karina, smiling when he saw her still holding Hannah, the two talking in hushed, animated voices. "Good luck getting her away from Karina."

Rosita looked back over her shoulder. "What do you think she is?" she asked quietly, the questions sounding far more curious than scared.

"I wish I knew. I mean...she doesn't seem like someone we'd have to worry about."
As if to prove his point, Karina pulled the tie from her hair, letting the mass topple down so that Hannah could reach up and play with it. The little piglet was fearless, pushing herself up and tugging gently at the loose curls.

Probably asking a million questions while she's at it, Johnny thought, knowing Hannah's endless curiosity and lack of a filter or respect for personal boundaries.

"So...we trust her?"

Johnny shrugged. "If she's trustin' us to not tell anyone what's going on here-."

"I didn't even think of that." Rosita shook her head, frowning. "I'm sorry. I sound so horrible but I just...she's so…."

"Different," Johnny finished, adding kindly, "Just like every one of us is different, Rosita."

She had the grace to look ashamed, ducking her head and sighing. "You're right. If she's going to trust us, we should do the same for her. Besides, it sounds like she was in the right place at the right time for Hannah. So, did you need to get some more practice in?"

Johnny checked his watch. Already half past four. He'd have to officially close up soon, try to scrounge something together for supper and get to bed at a decent time. His dad's lawyer wanted to meet with him in the morning. "Nah. You guys go ahead. I should get back before it gets too late. Tell everyone bye for me?"

Rosita nodded. "Sure Johnny. Drive careful."

He rolled his eyes, nudging her gently. "Yes, mum."

"Oh hush."

He dodged her playful swat with a laugh and started for the door, his mind already on eating and trying to talk him into stopping at a fast food place quick instead of hoping there was something still edible in the fridge. He was almost out the door when a voice stopped him.

"Hey Johnny, wait-."

He turned, his heart tripping a little at the sight of Karina. It was barely noticeable, easy to brush off as an internal reaction to what she was. She stopped in front of him, smiling a bit nervously. "Sorry, Rosita said you had to get back to work but I just wanted to say...thank you."

"For what?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"I know I'm...not exactly the norm here. This could have ended really badly but you stepped in and...well...kind of saved me." Her cheeks turned red again and she quickly looked at the ground, wringing her hands in front of her. "I was really afraid that no one would accept me. So thank you...for getting them to at least start."

He reached forward, taking her hands to get her to stop twisting them together and caught her gaze. The trip of his heart was a bit more obvious this time, still easy to brush off but a little less difficult to convince himself that it was nothing more than an innocent reaction seeing the unnatural deep blue of her eyes. "It was nothing, really."

"Maybe not to you," she said.

There was something so raw and haunting about the way she said it, something that hinted at much more than just a fear of rejection because she was different. It provoked a deep, overwhelming need to protect her. "Karina," he murmured, squeezing her hands gently. "You know you're safe here, right?"

"I know that. I'm just...afraid to believe it." With a watery laugh, she pushed her shoulder back and gave him a shy smile. "I'm sorry. It's been such a strange month."

"I bet." He reluctantly let go of her hands and they both stepped away from each other. "Well, see you tomorrow?"

She nodded. "Yes, tomorrow. Have a good night, Johnny."

"You too."

She took another step backwards, spun on her heel and headed to the stage, glancing over her shoulder and offering a tiny wave before disappearing around the thick curtains.

Cute, he thought, catching himself entirely off guard.

Cute? He didn't even know what she was. How could he think that she was cute?

Because you're running behind and you're starving, he told himself, grasping for excuses. He didn't believe a one of them but they'd have to do for now until he was back home and had a little more time to mull through his thoughts.

With a little nod, he turned and pushed through the doors to the back alley where his truck sat. Getting behind the wheel, he started it, turned the radio up, not caring what station it was on, and started for home.