For a good five seconds Stephanie stayed frozen on the spot. She felt her left hand shaking uncontrollably while her right hand gripped tighter around the phone that it was holding to her ear, and she found herself barely able to breathe. The wolf wasn't entirely sure whether this was a panic attack, a heart attack or something else entirely, but she was slightly snapped out of her traumatic catatonia when her ex-husband's voice spoke up again.

"Ya sound surprised to hear me, Steph..." Jimmy scoffed. "Ya didn't really think I wasn't gonna keep in touch, did ya...?"

"B-but how... how'd... ugh... how did you get this number...?" Stephanie quivered a little, but she managed to mix in a tone of anger to make her fear less evident, before she rolled her eyes and regained her usual deadpan voice. "Y'know what, doesn't matter... I know ya have your ways."

"Was pretty easy, actually. Ever since the trial... y'know, the first one... Jerry's been keepin' tabs on that podunk little fixer-upper you've been running..." Although she couldn't see his face, Stephanie could tell when Jimmy was sneering with disgust. "Bad enough ya brought down my whole company, but then ya gotta give folks that amateur crap instead!"

"I ain't the one who committed all them crimes..." Stephanie snarked, now sounding more confident even with the sound of the other wolf's heavy, enraged breathing on the other end. She briefly glanced towards the stage, making sure Buster and the rest of the group weren't eavesdropping, then closed the side curtain over to further their separation. "Listen, I ain't got all day, Jimmy, so whaddaya want...?"

"Oh, nothing... just wanted to catch up, y'know?" Jimmy's tone was casual, though Stephanie knew better than to be fooled by his façade. "Can't a fella keep in touch with the gal who ruined his life...?"

"Yeah, well... I ain't got nothin' more to say to ya, Jimmy..." Stephanie shot back, preparing to hang up. "So if ya don't mind, I got more important stuff to spend -"

"Don't you dare dismiss me, you little tramp!" Jimmy's sudden outburst took Stephanie off guard, almost causing her to drop her phone, but she managed to prop herself against the wall while her ex continued his rant. "The least ya can do is hear what I gotta say about it! Last twenty years you've given me nothin' but grief! You and that treacherous little -!"

"Don't you dare say her name!" Stephanie hissed, trying her best to keep her voice down so the others on stage couldn't hear her. "What ya did to me and Porsha's bad enough, but they shoulda thrown away the key after what you did to my friend!"

"PAH! Suki got what she deserved!" Jimmy spat, followed by an audible THUMP! of him slamming his fist on a table. "And it ain't even a tenth of what I oughta do to you!"

Stephanie felt her nostrils flare as she growled hatefully, though after a moment she managed to calm herself down and straightened up again. "By the way, it's actually seventeen-and-a-half years. But I get it, though... sure as hell feels a lot longer."

"Hmm... yeah... well, on the bright side, it ain't got much longer to go..." Jimmy's voice oozed with a false sweetness, which only made his actual words even more ominous. "I thought about surprisin' ya, but now that I've paid my dues, turned over a new leaf, all that crap... I figured I'd be nice and give ya a fair warning."

"Warning...?" Stephanie felt the fur on her face flaring up, while her grip slowly tightened on her phone until her knuckles hurt. "Warning for what?"

"I'm thinking of payin' a visit to that... that so-called theatre ya got over there in Calatonia." Jimmy was clearly pulling his signature sadistic grin on the other end of the phone. "We're gonna catch up, Steph. Whether you like it or not."

"Oh, come on..." Stephanie nearly laughed, looking around the room with a confident grin. "Ya really really you're get within a hundred feet of this place? I make one call to the cops, and -"

"And do what? Keep 'em posted outside your place 24/7...? Waitin' for a fella who's already under house arrest...?" Jimmy's words made Stephanie sink down into a nearby seat. "You keep cryin' wolf, sooner or later they're gonna stop comin' to help ya. Hmm... and I got all the time in the world to wait for that."

"Yeah... yeah, I guess ya do..." Stephanie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she hunched forwards. "Why... w-why do ya gotta keep doin' this, Jimmy...? Why can't ya just stay in your big fancy house and leave us alone?"

"Because you humiliated me!" Jimmy roared, straining the microphone. "First ya stole my kid, then ya showed me up in court, then ya got me locked up! How else am I supposed -!"

"Ya did those things to yourself, and you know it!" Stephanie snapped back, not even caring that she was now raising her voice. "Me and Porsha have been outta your hair for ten years now, Jimmy, why can't ya just move on already...? We have!"

"Oh-ho, I will..." Jimmy hissed. "Right after I burn everything you've built right down to the ground! With you inside! And that's my promise!"

"Well, we're puttin' on a show at the end of the month..." Stephanie snarked back. "I'll save ya a front row seat!"

And with that, Stephanie hung up and shoved her phone back into her pocket and grabbed her purse. The wolf had almost forgotten that she wasn't the only one in the building as she strutted over to the curtain and pulled it aside, freezing up for a moment when her boyfriend and the rest of the group looked at her.

"Oh, uh..." She cleared her throat, quickly brushing some of her unkempt fur to make herself look presentable again. "S-s-sorry to interrupt!

trying her best to tidy herself up again as she pulled the curtain aside and headed onto the stage. "Alright, what did I miss...?"

"Oh no no, Stephanie, it's all good!" Buster laughed. Although his warm voice did sincerely cheer her up a little, Stephanie still found herself having to force a happier facade as the koala got down from the table he was stood on. "Yeah, I was just gonna go onto some of those costume ideas we were talking about earlier."

"What? Oh yeah, for the uh... f-f-for the thing..." Stephanie cleared her throat, itching the back of her neck as she shuffled her way past Mary and Norman and headed to the edge of the stage. "Yeah, you go ahead with the thing, honey, go go go..."

Rosita turned around in her seat, watching as the wolf headed down towards the auditorium door. "You okay, Steph...?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine, I just..." Stephanie turned on the spot, taking a yawn as she pulled a dramatic stretch, then walked backwards towards the door. "I just, uh... I think I oughta go home, wait for Porsha, y'know... pretty sure she didn't take her keys with her tonight!"

"Ah, of course! Can't have that now, can we?" Buster ran to the edge of the stage, waving to the wolf before she finally closed the door. "See you tomorrow, Steph!"

The koala kept his smile until Stephanie left, though his ears lowered slightly as he looked back to the others.

"So, she's um... she's taking it pretty hard, huh?"


"Mom...?! Mom, are ya home?"

"Oh, uh... y-yeah, sunshine, in here!" Stephanie called back, quickly closing the wine cupboard she was about to reach into as she pulled a carton of orange juice from the fridge instead. She quickly wiped the streaks of tear-stained mascara off her face and propped herself up on the table, trying her best to look casual as her fourteen-year-old came into the room. "So, uh... good night? I mean, not good night like that, I uh... w-was it a good night?"

"Oh yeah, it was real nice." Porsha answered back, leaving her backpack on the couch as she headed into her bedroom. "Yeah, the little fellas just stayed in bed all night, so... wasn't any trouble, really."

"Ah, cool..." Stephanie waited in the doorway for a moment or two, making sure Porsha had enough time and privacy to change into her pyjamas, then came into the room. "Oh, and let me guess, ya had Meena come over and watched a couple Harry Ploppers, right? Hmm... Quickflix and chill?"

"Mom!" Porsha's face beamed a bright red, though after a moment both she and her mother both burst into a giggling fit as she laid back on her bed, and Stephanie sat down on the bottom corner. "But seriously, though, we're just friends."

"Oh yeah, I've heard that before, baby..." Stephanie shook her head with a chuckle. "Heck, I used to say that about Buster, remember?"

"No, ya used to say ya worked for him..." Porsha corrected, tilting her head as she thought for a moment. "Which I'm pretty sure is, like, real not ethicable or something, but hey... it works, it works, I guess."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that ain't even the word, sunshine, but yeah..." Stephanie gently patted her daughter's kneecap. "But honestly, Porsha, if you and Meena... y'know... and I'm not sayin' ya do, just hypothetically... you girls ain't got nothin' to be ashamed of. You know that, right?"

"Uh... y-yeah, I guess so." Porsha then folded her knees back into her chest, hesitating for a good ten seconds before she spoke up again. "But yeah, we uh... we only watched the one Harry Plopper, then the uh... th-then we watched the news."

"News? But Porsha, ya hate watchin' the -" Stephanie cut herself off, as it reoccurred to her what the top story of the day was. "Oh... that means you uh... y-y-ya saw him, didn't ya...?"

"Yeah..." Porsha nodded. "So uh... s-so do we gotta do anything about him gettin' let out or -?"

"He's not out!" Stephanie covered her mouth, having not meant to snap, then let out a small sigh and looked down. "Sorry, but uh... b-but yeah, house arrest is still arrest, Porsha. So uh... s-so technically, he's still inside, y'know..."

"Right..." Porsha nestled back down against her pillow while Stephanie stood back up. "So ya feel okay about it, right?"

"Okay? Yeah, of course, I feel great!" Stephanie forced a laugh, gently cupping the younger wolf's chin before planting a kiss on her forehead. "Everything's gonna work out fine, Porsha. That's a promise."

"Hmm..." Porsha still wasn't completely convinced, but rather than prod she simply smiled. "Night, Mom."

"Night, sunshine..." Stephanie took a deep breath, then headed to the door.

"Hey, Mom..."

"Uh-huh...?" Stephanie froze in the doorway, turning back to look at her daughter. "What's wrong, Porsha?"

"It um... it wasn't your fault, Mom." Porsha said, watching how her mother seemed to straighten up on the spot. "Y'know... what happened to Aunt Suki."

"Uh... yeah... yeah, I know..." Stephanie sniffled a bit, managing to hold back her tears until she'd closed the door over. "I know..."


The early Autumn chill fluttered through the air, with a rather gloomy set of clouds casting a dull shadow over the Perkins Home For The Infirm. It made for a much colder journey than Stephanie's previous visit, but once she'd made her way inside, the smiling face of her boyfriend's mother was more than enough to warm her up.

"Oh hey! Morning, sweetie!"

"Hi, Bernie..." Stephanie smiled as she came into the room. "Sorry I've not been round the last couple weeks."

"Ah, think nothing of it... Buster did say you were busy..." Bernie grunted as she started to clamber down off her bed, jolting a little in surprise as Stephanie gently helped her down to the floor. "Oh... thanks, Steph."

"Sure, no worries." Stephanie cleared her throat, then knelt down to the old koala's level as she held her hand. "So uh... so how ya been holdin' up?"

"Pretty good, actually..." Bernie hesitated, taking on a gentler tone. "Oh, and I uh... I heard about your last fella getting out too. It ain't right, that."

"Uh-huh. Yeah..." Stephanie stood back up, making sure she'd closed the door to Bernie's room - making sure the home's other residents and their carers couldn't hear the conversation - then took a seat. "I um... I wasn't really sure who else to talk to about this, Bernie, but uh..."

"Oh..." Bernie pursed her lips. "What's up, kiddo?"

"Jimmy, he uh... oh, that's the other guy, by the way, he um..." Stephanie cleared her throat. "He called me last week."

"Called you?! What about...?!"

"Well, y'know, he... he was talkin' about comin' here. To Calatonia. He wanted to..." Stephanie scoffed, then made air quotes with her fingers. "To catch up, if you get my drift."

"Oh... oh..." Bernie bit her bottom lip, finally understanding the insinuations. "But... b-but Buster said he was under house arrest or something."

"That doesn't matter. He's got his ways."

"What kinda ways?" Bernie scoffed, not noticing the angrier expression on the wolf's face. "The law's there for a reason, kiddo. He sets one foot outside that big fancy -"

"Ya don't know him like I do, Bernie! None of ya do!" Stephanie finally snapped, clutching both sides of her head as she stood up and strutted back and forth in the room. "God, I've been sayin' the same thing to everybody all week, but I know it's not true! He'll find a way out, he always does!"

"Alright, just calm down, honey, you'll never -"

"You calm down!" Stephanie cut in, clumsily wiping her eyes as tears started flooding down from them. "Ugh, don't ya get it, Bernie?! I'm never gonna get away from him!"

"Oh come on, Steph, you know that's not true." Bernie reached for the wolf's hand, though Stephanie quickly yanked it away. "Heck, the whole reason you and your Porsha are here now is cause you got away."

"Yeah, and he's been leerin' over us ever since!" Stephanie groaned, then slumped back down in her seat, taking a moment to calm down before she hunched forward again. "Sorry, I just... it... it's never gonna end."

"What is...?"

"It. All of it. Y'know, me, him, Porsha, all that crap..." Stephanie pinched the bridge of her nose, trying her best not to cry again. "We're just gonna keep runnin' and... an-and he's gonna keep chasin' us, and... and the folks we care about are gonna keep gettin' hurt, or... or worse..."

"Hmm... some boys just don't get no means no, huh?" Bernie snarked, though she soon realised Stephanie wasn't in the mood for levity. The old koala then reached for the wolf's hands, gently clasping them as Stephanie looked down at her. "You can't keep being afraid of him, Steph. You can't let it control you."

"Bernie, I... ugh..." Stephanie put her whole hand to her face. "Jimmy's gonna be comin' here any day now, and I can't protect any of you! Alright, the only way it's gonna end is when me or him ends up six feet in the -!"

"Stephanie!" Bernie suddenly barked, taking the wolf off-guard as she straightened up in her seat. "Don't you dare start talking like that!"

Stephanie bit her bottom lip and shut her eyes tight, letting out a long, tired exhale. "Okay... sorry, Bernie..."

"Look, I get it, alright? I get it's hard, and I get you're scared, and... and I get you're sick of keeping this a secret from everybody else..." Bernie's tone was softer again, but more resolute. "But it's like Baxter always used to say. Don't let fear stop you from doing the things you love."

Stephanie hesitated, then nodded, prompting Bernie to reach a little higher so she could cup the wolf's chin.

"You're more than a victim, Steph. You and everybody else this Jimmy guy's hurt. And you gotta let him know that."

"I know, I know, I just..." Stephanie whimpered. "I'm just so tired or running away, Bernie."

"Then don't..." Bernie's words made Stephanie's eyes bulge wide. "Don't run away. Run forward. Leave him in the dust where he belongs."

Stephanie scoffed. "Trust me, it's easier said than done."

"Hmm... maybe so. But you've come a long way since I first met you, Steph. You, Porsha, all your friends at that theatre. Heck, you even brought my Buster along for the ride!" Bernie said as they both chortled, before she gently patted Stephanie's hand. "You didn't let this jerk hold you back then, and you've been going on way too long to let him do it now."

"You really think so?"

"Of course!" Bernie laughed. "That fella might have put you at rock bottom, Steph. But now, there's only way left to go, and that's UP!"

Brniee was taken off-guard when Stephanie suddenly knelt down and pulled her into a tight hug, though after a moment or two she gladly returned it. They stayed in this embrace for the better part of a minute, before the wolf finally got back up to her feet.

"Okay... okay, yeah..." Stephanie took a deep breath, then looked down at the now curious koala below her. "I know what we gotta do."

"Wait, what...?" Bernie raised an eyebrow as the wolf suddenly darted out the door, taking a few shaky steps over to see where she was going. "Stephanie...?"


At least a hundred different thoughts were racing in Stephanie's head as she bolted down the hallway, past the reception desk and right out into the parking lot, quickly fishing out and dialling her phone as she held it to her ear.

"Come on... come-on-come-on-come-on... Buster, hey!" She covered her mouth, having not meant to yell, then tried her best to keep her thoughts in order. "Honey, listen... I know you're still doin' a lotta work on that whole Romeo and Juliet thing, but I think I got an even better idea!"