Author's Note: You know, when I accidentally mess up - like misspelling Magnus Scheving's last name in the Disclaimer in chapter one, it's perfectly okay to tell me. (I forgot the C... oops) I'll probably go back and fix it now, but I'm just... acknowledging that I made a mistake and I'm okay with that.
Really, I won't mind.

Chapter 3

Life in Lazytown without Stephanie was... different. No one would say it was worse, except perhaps Sportacus, but no one would disagree if someone said it could've been better.

Now that Stephanie wasn't around there was an even number of kids, so Sportacus wasn't needed to fill out a team anymore. Now he was generally relegated to being the coach or the referee. He liked this well enough, the job suited him. He knew all there was to know about sports, so the kids often came to him for help on their free-throws or how to make certain types of goals or what have you. He liked this new position. He loved all the kids, but he got the nagging feeling in the back of his brain that without Stephanie there, playing with them as a peer just wouldn't have been as fun.

But of course while his day to day interactions with the children of Lazytown altered itself, other types of interaction didn't. He was still saving Ziggy whenever Trixie dared him to do something dangerous, and saving Trixie when she got a little over-ambitious with a new trick on her roller-blades, or keeping Stingy from wrecking his car in some way or another. All of that was as it always had been. He was still the hero of Lazytown after all.

Sportacus quickly found that the highlight of his routine was receiving letters from Stephanie. She was very prolific with them. At least three letters arrived from her every week. They were mostly just general updates on how she was progressing in class, and how her health was. He gladly shared these ones with the rest of the town if asked if Stephanie had sent a letter recent.

But every once in a while there were ones that went a little deeper. She wrote of dreams she had, and her feelings, and the sort of things she thought about when she had the time. And at the end of these she'd always tell him how she missed him most out of all the things about Lazytown and how she'd daydream about dancing with him and somehow that made everything better when she was worried or couldn't sleep at night. Sportacus kept those letters to himself, thinking them far too precious to reveal to everyone else. He knew that Stephanie meant them for his eyes only.

But try as he may he could never think of a decent reply. He could always reply to the other letters. An update on the town, what Robbie Rotten had gotten up to to try and drive him away, how all of her friends were doing. That was easy. But he could never write with enough sincerity to write a reply to the letters that mattered the most to him. He'd tried once and it left him feeling so awkward and embarrassed that he couldn't send it.

Stephanie's words, while the may not have been the most eloquent, seemed to be written with such conviction that he could just tell that she hadn't agonized over several drafts. She told him exactly how she felt without hesitating, no matter how it sounded. Sportacus didn't think he'd ever be able to do that. At least not in a letter. An impassioned speech he could do any day, pen and paper not so much.

The letters weren't the only way that Stephanie communicated with people in town. She always made time to call her uncle once a week. Sportacus found this out completely by accident one day as he was helping the Mayor with some project he can't recall now. A festival of some sort.

~*~*~[Flashback...]~*~*~

Right in the middle of all the planning the Mayor's phone rang.

"Stephanie! It's so nice to hear from you." Mayor Meanswell greeted in a delighted voice. Sportacus looked up from the plans instantly, a funny feeling jumping around in his stomach. He quickly mimed the question of if he should leave or not and the Mayor motioned for him to stay.

"I'm glad you're doing so well. You say your new dance instructor is nice? Oh that's wonderful." The Mayor said, smiling as he chatted into the phone. Sportacus tried not to eavesdrop and to concentrate on the planning, but it was difficult. They talked for a little while longer before...

"How's Sportacus?" The Mayor asked into the phone, repeating Stephanie's words. Sportacus tensed.

"Oh, he's just as active and energetic as ever." The Mayor answered. "Actually, he's here right now. Would you like to talk to him?" Sportacus quickly hid his face in some sort of blueprints when the Mayor started to look at him.

"Sportacus?" The Mayor called. Sportacus peeked over the top of the blueprints cautiously. The Mayor was wiggling the phone receiver at him. Sportacus swallowed the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat before taking the receiver in hand.

Sportacus looked at it warily before clearing his throat and taking a deep breath and putting it up to his ear.

"H-hello?" He asked in a voice that sounded incredibly timid to his own ears.

"Sportacus!" He heard Stephanie's voice say fondly over the line. "Oh, it's so great to talk to you again. How are you?"

"Stephanie, it's wonderful to hear your voice again." Sportacus greeted. "I'm just fine. The only woe that could possibly be ascribed to me is that I miss you so much." He answered before he could stop himself. At the Mayor's knowing look he felt his face heating up.

"I mean... Of course we ALL miss you." Sportacus hastened to correct. But..."

"I understand Sportacus, you don't have to say it." Stephanie said. "I miss you most too." He could hear Stephanie's smile through the telephone and it was contagious.

They didn't talk very long after that and Sportacus couldn't really remember what was said. Lots of general pleasantries, and on Stephanie's part lots of sentiments that Sportacus couldn't bring himself to return while her Uncle was in the room with him. Mostly about how his absence from her life made the bad things worse and the great things just that much less conversation wound down and Stephanie said good bye and asked that the phone be handed back to her uncle.

Mayor Meanswell, who had busied himself with the papers on his desk - or at least pretended to - looked up when Sportacus held the phone out too him. He gave Sportacus another knowing smile. Sportacus ducked his head and tried not to turn completely red.

~*~*~[End Flashback]~*~*~

Sportacus never stumbled upon another one of Stephanie's phone calls. Which was just as well, he didn't think his heart could've taken another one. He'd wanted to say so much in return, but every time he'd started he'd glance up and see the Mayor there. It'd been so exhilarating to talk to Stephanie, but so constricting to do it with anyone else in the room. In the end it's just ended up stressful.

So Sportacus was dreading the situation he had just found himself in.

The Mayor had called him for something, but Sportacus found himself walking in in the middle of a phone conversation... With Stephanie. Sportacus crept up warily and sat down in a chair opposite the Mayor.

"Please don't hand the phone to me, please don't hand the phone to me, please don't hand the phone to me..." Was the mantra ringing in Sportacus's thoughts.

"Oh Stephanie! This is the most wonderful news. I just can't wait to tell everyone." The Mayor said excitedly. "Oh yes, I'll definitely be sure to tell Sportacus first dear. He'll be so excited he won't know what to do with himself."

Sportacus's eyes widened at that, what was causing all this commotion? He leaned forward in anticipation. They Mayor was writing something down on a piece of paper in front of him.

"Oh! That's so soon! I'll never have time. I'll have to get your old room cleaned out right away." The Mayor said as he lifted his pencil.

Sportacus sprung up from his chair. He carefully leaned over the desk and saw it what he'd written was a date. 3 days. Sportacus gasped and crouched down, his eyes now level with the desk. Does this mean...

"Oh! Of course, you have to go pack and get ready and. Oh yes, I'll see you soon. Good bye Stephanie." The Mayor hung up the phone and stood up.

"Miss Busybody, have you contacted Sportacus yet?" The Mayor called out into the hall. "I've just gotten the best news I've had all year and he absolutely must be the first to know about it." It was then that Sportacus sprung up from his crouched position and practically towered over the desk. The Mayor flew back into his chair in shock.

"Sportacus!" Mayor Meanswell exclaimed.

"Stephanie is coming back?" Sportacus shouted.

"Oh! How did you know?" The Mayor asked. Sportacus suppressed a whoop of joy, but back-flipped to the door and than ran back to the desk.

"We should throw a party!" Sportacus said, crouched down so his elbows were on the Mayor's desk. "We have to tell everyone RIGHT AWAY!" Sportacus added.

"Oh yes, of course. I'll let that be your job. I still have so much to do to get ready you see..." The Mayor started to mumble a list of things he had to get and things he had to do, but Sportacus didn't hear him. Sportacus was already out the door and leaping and flipping across the town and exclaiming to anyone who'd listen.

"Stephanie's coming back!"

Author's Note: This chapter was really hard to write. Sportacus is way too emotionally charged for me. I kept having to stop in the middle of the last couple of scenes because his emotions overwhelmed me. I hope I was able to make them come out on the page as strongly as I felt them, but probably not.

Consequently you'll have to wait for the next chapter for the reunion scene. You know that'll be a doozy.