Disclaimer: The Loud House and associated characters belong to Nickelodeon and Chris Savino.

STALKED

By Lola Presents

Epilog

Three months had passed since Lola's world gotten turned entirely upside-down, and winter gave way to spring. The sun hung high overhead and illuminated everything its reach touched. The sky shone a brilliant blue, and small fluffy white clouds littered its landscape. Birds chirped and occasionally descended to the lush green grass, searching for insects to devour. However, while nature moved on, unimpeded by events of the short-lived humans that lived within its influence, for those same humans, life dragged slowly forward.

Lola spent most of the first few weeks sleeping in late, eating unhealthily, and generally brooding. As suspected, most of Lola's siblings returned home for a while. Their presence helped somewhat, but as they began to leave once more for work or college, it only emphasized her feelings of loneliness. Lily, the only one left, tried her best to kick-start Lola's recovery, but it wasn't until their parents insisted on getting her professional help that Lola began to come around.

Of course, Lincoln suggested Dr. Lopez, after having her name drilled into his brain all these years. However, Dr. Lopez had long since retired. Lola went regardless, understanding that until she could function once again, she'd never be able to face the world and rebuild her life. Despite everything, she missed having her own home, and it was time to woman up, even if it was more for her child's sake than hers.

Strangely, it wasn't anything her parents or Lily had said or done that caused the shift in her attitude. Instead, it was seeing a news broadcast the next day regarding the event at the old Chesterfield building. Lola sat solemnly as the scene replayed before her. Of course, the broadcast never depicted such, merely a reporter interviewing several officers and rescue personnel.

She grimaced at the little square window picturing her husband, William and listened as the reporter divulged his real name to the world. Now, everyone knew how stupid and gullible she'd been. A feeling from which Lola felt she would never recover, and her heart filled with despair even Lucy couldn't match. However, it wasn't until the reporter attempted to interview Winston that her mood changed and her focus resolved.

"Sir! Sir!" the woman called out as Winston tried to walk off. "May I speak with you a moment?"

Finally, Winston stopped and turned toward the reporter. He stood there with his hands in the pockets of his coat, and his head hung low. Although Winston bore the stains of weeping, and though he was no longer crying, he carried its burden heavily.

"I understand you are the man who attempted a daring rescue," the reporter announced. "What motivated you to do what few others would, and can you tell the viewers what happened?"

"I did it for Lola, and that's all I'm saying," Winston said before turning and heading off once more.

"Wait!" cried the lady, taking a few steps after him. "Can you at least tell us your name?" she asked. But Winston was gone, and the woman turned back toward her crew. "Well, that's not something you see every day; a truly modest hero. I'm afraid that's all we have for now. I'll keep you posted. Back to you, Paul."

Lola burst into tears and buried her head in a throw pillow. It was during her release that she made some decisions. One was to get therapy, and the other was to try and find Winston. She wasn't ready to face William, and the court date was quickly approaching. Without help, there would be no way she'd even manage.

For the next two months, Lola underwent psychiatric treatment twice a week. And while she made lots of strides, the poor woman wasn't yet whole. Lola's family tried to keep her away from the news upon her psychiatrist's suggestion. Kyle was a highly empathic man and wished to relay any developments to Lola in a more controlled environment so that she received them in as good a light as possible.

A week into treatment, Kyle informed Lola that Mrs. Chesterfield got laid to rest that weekend. She also learned that the police unambiguously cleared Mr. Chesterfield of any knowledge or participation in the affairs. Another week went by before official charges got filed. William stood accused of the murder of his mother, attempted murder of Winston, and firing upon officers. There was no further mention of Winston, however.

A few weeks later, once Lola had progressed enough to venture out into the world again, she visited a local lawyer's office and had divorce papers drawn up. Delivering things wasn't going to be an easy task. Physically, sure, but emotionally, it would not be easy. Yet, this was something she had to do should she put William entirely behind her.

However, Kyle had reminded her not to push too hard on that matter on several occasions. After all, her child was William's and would likely bring back memories from time to time, and they would handle those moments as they came. For now, Kyle considered Lola's intent to divorce William a tremendous first step in eliminating any triggers from her life.

"Thank you, officer," Lola said to her escort with a weak smile as she sat down in front of the glass, her standing lawyer behind her.

A few moments passed before William was brought forth by two officers, who stood on either side of his as he took a seat. His hair had become disheveled, and he wore an orange jumper. His face remained unshaven, and his appearance began to remind Lola of Winston.

"I'm sorry," he offered as if his words would mean anything. "I never meant to hurt you. I love you. How's the baby doing?"

"How's the baby?" Lola belted. "That's all you have to say after everything that you've done? If you loved me, you'd have let me into your life from the beginning," Lola replied firmly, speaking into the small hole in the reinforced glass. "But you didn't. You lied to me about everything, even your name. Tell me why, please? Why couldn't you have been yourself? Why the need to impersonate Winston?"

"I..." stammered the incarcerated man. "It wasn't my idea, Lola. My mother, she said if I didn't go along with it, I'd never see an inheritance," he finally replied. Lola, I'm sorry, I only wanted to make sure I had a future. Then, I met you, and I desperately wanted to tell you. But, she insisted I stay quiet because she needed my brother to disappear."

"I see," sighed Lola. "So, money means more to you than I? I was hoping you'd say that. It makes what I'm about to do a lot easier."

Then, nodding to one of the guards,

William frowned and clenched his eyes as Lola produced a manilla envelope and pushed it through the little slot at the bottom of the glass. One of the officers intercepted the paperwork long enough to verify nothing was being passed to William, then placed it in front of him. With profound regret, William glanced over the papers. Then, silently taking the pen one of the officers handed him, he signed in the correct places and pushed the envelope back through the slot. Then, facing Lola once more, he spoke again.

"Lola. Please know that I genuinely love you and deeply regret everything. Whatever you do in life, make sure it's filled with happiness." He then stood, turned towards his escorts, and handed the pen back. "I'm done here. You can take me back, now."

Of course, the divorce would not be entirely official until a year's passing, but Lola was essentially free. She walked out of prison with a completely new outlook on life, which involved getting back to it. Within a week, and with Lindsey's help, Lola had moved back into her house. Of course, Lindsey insisted that Lola did not return until it got cleaned up.

Not only did Lindsey clean the messes, but upon Lola's desires, she removed anything belonging to William and had it moved to a storage locker. The trial had to get held, and it was nearly impossible to know how long William would be in jail. Regardless, it couldn't stay, according to Kyle, and their presence would significantly impact Lola's progress.

Lindsey had been an excellent friend to Lola over the years but had become increasingly closer to her ever since the troubles began. Now, they were not only competitively acquainted but emotionally intertwined. Whenever Lola started to feel isolated or was having a "do-not-disturb" day, she knew that Lindsey would meet with her at Don's or be ready to visit the mall together.

By the time Spring rolled around, it was time to begin prenatal visits, and they became the highlight of her life. That, and slowly redecorating William's old office into a cute nursey. As they had yet to determine the sex of the child, Lola chose a gender-neutral theme for her baby. It didn't matter anyway. Having Luna as a sister taught her that such ideals and predispositions, such as ridiculous color-and-item-codings, were meaningless in the long run.

Eventually, Lola took her life back and began a daily routine, and once her therapist agreed, she started watching television again. When the time came, she followed William's trial and sentencing closely. Surprisingly, he remained faithful and recounted everything just as it happened, with no embellishments. She gave him credit for that but wasn't satisfied until the jury returned, finding him guilty on all charges.

The sentencing didn't come until a week or two later, and Lola grumbled at having to wait yet again. But that's the way such things worked. Busying herself with going outside daily, she slowly began redoing her flowerbeds.

At three months pregnant, her house finally felt like home again. Every piece of furniture had gotten sold and replaced with something more homely and durable, and she had renovated her lawn and garden, which gave her a sense of peace. But, there was yet something she had to do.

Of course, she avoided the section of her flowerbed that she, herself, tore up the night she left. Early on, she had decided that she'd save it for last, viewing it as her first act of independence, and wanted it to last as long as possible.

After making her to the garage, she slipped an apron over herself and placed a pair of gardening gloves, a bag of soil, a tray of plants, and a trowel into her wheelbarrow and carted everything out to the front lawn. Lola began working on the final section, cleaning up the mess she'd made, and then knelt to address the bed itself.

As the morning sun rose to its midday position, someone approached and called out to her. "Hey," the man said. "How are you doing?"

Lola's heart nearly left her chest entirely, and gasping, she stood suddenly, studying the man. It took her a while to come to terms with who stood before her. The man was clean-shaven, with medium-length, shaggy brown hair. He wore loafers, khaki pants, and a brown button-up shirt over a white tee. It wasn't until she focused on his eyes that she recognized him.

"Winston?" she called from underneath her straw gardening hat, using her right hand to assist in shielding her eyes from the sun's glare. And, though her gloves and apron detracted from her appearance, not to mention the dirt. However, she wore a yellow sundress decorated with white daisies, brightening things. "W-what are you doing here? I mean, where have you been all this time?"

"Yeah..." sighed Winston as he leaned against the outside of Lola's white picket fence. "I don't enjoy the spotlight much." He then shrugged. "I don't know. I just wandered around, staying at various places that I knew. Then, one day, a detective located me at the shelter."

"Oh, yeah?" chirped Lola. "What did they want? I thought your name got cleared."

"It did, along with my entire record," beamed Winston. "But, it seems my father had a surprise waiting for me, and I had to go downtown to sign some papers."

Lola lowered her hand and dropped her trowel. Then, removing her gloves, she walked over to her fence to get a better look at him. Winston's eyes were glowing, and life seemed to fill him once more. For all intents, Lola gazed at an entirely new person, and it didn't do her heart any favors. Not only had this man loved her for quite nearly her entire life, but he had respected her and the life she'd chosen. Then when it all came crumbling down, he came to her rescue, never once asking for anything in return.

"Really?" asked Lola, smiling sincerely. "May I ask what they were about?"

"Well, it seems my father had never supported my mother's ideas and had secretly set up a trust fund on my behalf," Winston relayed to Lola. "And after my actions regarding your safe return, he has reinstated me as the family heir.

"Oh, my, gosh!" exclaimed Lola, beaming at him. "That's wonderful news. What are you going to do now?"

"Well, I bought some new clothes and have been looking for a place of my own," he told her. "I was hoping to have that and a job before I visited you, but I may have to leave Royal Woods to do that. A lot of people still doubt me.

"Well, I'll see what I can do about that," Lola said. "My sisters and my brother have a lot of pull around town. I'm sure they can get you in somewhere."

"Gosh, I'd hate to impose," Winston said, scratching the back of his head.

"Nonsense," declared Lola. "After everything you've done for me? There's no way I could refuse helping you!"

"Well..." sighed Winston, moving away from the fence. "I best get going. I have a lot to do, and I don't want to take up any more of your time. I only wanted to make sure you were alright before I left. Goodbye, Lola. I'll see you around."

With that said, Winston turned, pocketed his hands, and began strolling down the slabs lining the streets, whistling as he went. Lola, however, didn't move. Instead, she stared at him as his form began to shrink. Her mouth twitched from one side to the other, and her rising pulse began to nag at her.

"Wait! Winston!" called Lola, desperately getting the man's attention, recalling the flowers and noted he'd sent not long ago.

Then, Winston stopped and faced her from a distance. "Yes?"

"You know," Lola cooed, smiling warmly. "If you're looking for home, you're going the wrong way."

Winston returned Lola's smile, ran back to her, and pulled her into his arms. "I love you," he whispered with his forehead gently resting upon hers.

"I love you too," whispered Lola, glancing up at him from under her brow.

Then, with nothing more to say, they two kissed before venturing inside the house. And, Lola never again had night terrors.

The End

note: I hope you enjoyed this story. It was short, I know, but I originally wrote it as a made-for-television movie. I estimated thirteen minutes per chapter and two for commercials, except for the epilog, I arrived at nearly two hours. I could only fit so much dialog and action without sacrificing time for shots of scenery, pans, and other such things. I tried to replace much of it with narrative, but I didn't want to overdo it.