Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter thirty-one of "Turnaround." This chapter has some Podcast/Phoebe. I will introduce Walter and Ryan in the next chapter. I am so ready to bring them into the fic. I wanted to mellow Walter out some because I feel he was a good man deep down. He just took his job seriously to the point of being overzealous. I felt giving him children made him even more realistic. Stay tuned for chapter thirty-two.

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Chapter 31: Up and Over

Phoebe sat at the head of the kitchen table in the early afternoon. She was doodling in her notebook. She whispered inaudible words. Podcast poured coffee into a mug. He returned the kettle to the coffeemaker before grabbing a spoon. He put three spoonfuls of sugar into his coffee. He stirred the contents and laid it aside. He took a long sip and nodded in approval. He looked toward her with a smile.

"Talk about good coffee," he said.

"I can't help but feel jealous of you all sometimes," she whispered and put her pencil down. "I wish I could drink coffee right now, but the taste is repulsing."

"You said it yourself. A pregnant woman can't afford to drink too much coffee. It could endanger the baby," Podcast pointed out.

"I know," Phoebe agreed. "That doesn't mean I can't miss it."

Podcast went over to the table and seated himself on her left. "No one said you couldn't miss it."

"I see that," Phoebe responded and propped her head up with her elbow. "Mom used to be a huge coffee drinker. There were days where she'd drink up to six cups."

"I bet she got hyper from so much sugar," Podcast joked and snickered under his breath.

"She almost always uses sweetener. She prefers the natural kind. She sees the artificial stuff as bad," Phoebe said honestly.

"I don't blame her. Of course, natural isn't always better," Podcast added seriously and sipped more of his coffee. He set it down. "Too much of anything can be bad."

"That's why I try not to eat too much junk food. It's not good for the baby," Phoebe said, laying her hands on her stomach.

"Everything should be taken in moderation," Podcast commented. "However, we shouldn't forget we are all hooked on to something to one degree or another. It is human nature."

"That's what Laura Bancroft said in Going for Broke. She got so hooked on gambling that she stole Tommy's bike and pawned it for money. She did the same with Jim and Jennifer's possessions. She even stole from the charity she worked for. She went from a kind and compassionate woman to a selfish and narcissistic bitch. She became toxic to her family," Phoebe explained.

"She was sentenced to fifteen months in prison and had to pay back everything she stole. She probably had a difficult time finding a job after that," Podcast said and rubbed his nose.

Phoebe eyed him. "Some felons get really lucky and land jobs quickly. Others have a difficult time with their searches."

Podcast nodded in agreement. He noticed Phoebe moving her shoulders with a grimace. He rose to his feet and went behind her. He proceeded to massage them at a slow pace. She sighed in relief as the pain vanished. She yawned before closing her eyes.

"That feels so fucking good," Phoebe said.

"Since when did you say the f-word?" Podcast asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Since now," Phoebe admitted and emitted a soft giggle. "Are you going to wash my mouth out with soap?"

"Sure. Let me go get it," Podcast answered and acted as if he were heading over to the sink. "I remember the first time I said fuck. My parents were outraged. They pulled me into the bathroom and washed my mouth out with a lot of soap."

"Ralphie was made to sit on the toilet with a Lifebuoy soap in his mouth after saying the f-word in A Christmas Story. He said he preferred Lux, but he found Palmolive had a pique after-dinner flavor. He found it heady, but it had a touch of mellow smoothness," Phoebe commented. "He hated Lifebuoy due to its bitter taste."

"He showed that by saying 'Bleh!' Mrs. Parker removed it long enough to allow him tell her where he heard that word. Ralphie knew his father said it at least ten times a day. He chickened out and blamed Schwartz for it. She called Schwartz's mother and told her Ralphie heard the f-word from him. She heard her go into a rage and spank the boy like crazy," Podcast explained.

"You could say that was karma for Schwartz making Flick stick his tongue to the flagpole at recess," Phoebe pointed out with a smirk.

"I agree," Podcast said and rolled his eyes. "He should not have done that."

"Back then, parents knew what their children were up to for the most part. Word would get around when mothers questioned them about stuff. If it involved something bad, a whipping was likely coming," Phoebe added.

"Sometimes, tough love was all that was needed to straighten kids out. Charles did that a lot in Little House on the Prairie. He didn't agree with whipping kids, even when they did something really bad," Podcast added.

"I know. He was rather soft-spoken compared to many men in the pioneer days. He called Laura his half-pint," Phoebe said, a giggle leaving her mouth. "I thought that was cute."

"Even when Laura grew up, he continued to call her by her nickname," Podcast said, smiling warmly. He kissed the top of her head. "They had a close relationship. She did get jealous of her baby brother. His name was Charles Jr. He was nicknamed Freddie."

"That is a sweet nickname," Phoebe commented. "I don't think I could live as a pioneer. It would be quite difficult to adapt to life without technology."

"It sure would," Podcast agreed. "We would still have each other, though."

She sighed contently at his increasing the pressure. He rubbed deep circles into her shoulders while taking three deep breaths.

"I have to say I feel you should not have talked to your birth father, Pheebs," he said in seriousness.

"I know, but I couldn't take any more of his yelling at Janine. I had to stick up for our friend," she responded, wiping a tear from her eye. "She deserved that."

"Indeed, she did," Podcast agreed. "Friends should stick up for each other, especially when bullies are causing trouble."

"I remember seeing Odd Girl Out before we got kicked out of our apartment. Vanessa was part of a popular clique of girls. Stacey had been her best friend since they were real young. Their mothers were the same way. Nikki was part of the group, but she was secretly jealous of their bond. Tiffany wanted to be in it. Nikki tricked Vanessa into getting close to Tony, a boy Stacey liked. Vanessa was pushed out of the posse, allowing Tiffany to join. Ezra created a website called 'Hating Vanessa.' Demeaning comments were posted on it. Emily tried to get Vanessa not to return to the clique, but Vanessa wanted to make amends and was rebuffed," Phoebe explained and cleared her throat.

"Let me guess. Stacey did nothing to stop the bullying. She took part in it and did so gleefully," Podcast suggested.

Phoebe nodded in agreement. "Yes. Vanessa showed Barbara the horrible comments about her. Her mother tried to get Miss Jessup to stop the bullying, but the principal could do nothing about it because it was not physical. When Barbara addressed Denise about the bullying, Denise acted like it was no big deal. Stacey made it look like Vanessa copied her assignment when she was really the one who did that. She said she wanted her to come to her birthday party to which Vanessa accepted. However, there wasn't one at the location she gave. Vanessa tried to overdose on pills. She went to the hospital. Emily accused Stacey of nearly killing her with her actions. She was the only one of her peers to visit her. They started hanging out together. Barbara found a group chat taunting her daughter and printed it out. She took it to the principal, who suspended Nikki, Ezra, and Tiffany while she set up a new policy."

"Wow," Podcast whispered in great amazement.

"After returning to school, Vanessa and Stacey reunited and chatted online. Nikki was sent the conversation and printed it out. She read it to the entire graduating class with Tiffany's help. Vanessa confronted Stacey and called her out on her bullying. She saw through her offer of fake friendship. She was applauded while Stacey walked off humiliated. The clique was powerless without a leader," Phoebe murmured and smiled. "Stacey and her cronies got their karma."

"Good for Vanessa for sticking up for herself," Podcast said proudly.

"Vanessa was right about one thing. Everyone knew what to expect from Nikki. No one thought Stacey would be so callous to send the little brat their online conversation," Phoebe said bluntly.

Podcast smirked. "Stacey deserved every bit of that tongue lashing she got from Vanessa."

Phoebe gave a sharp nod. Podcast finished massaging her shoulders and patted them in a gentle manner.

"Thanks for that fabulous massage," Phoebe complimented.

"You're welcome," Podcast said, going over to his chair and sitting down. "It sucks you have to deal with neck and back pain."

"If only I could give you my pain," Phoebe joked with a snicker. "Then again, you wouldn't want to experience what I go through. At least we have less than four weeks to go now."

"Yep. I say we should start working on creating the Twitter and Instagram pages for the Ghostbusters tonight," Podcast suggested and rubbed his nose. "I think it would be a good idea to let our fans know about your pregnancy."

"Me too. I expect some of them to judge us, but I don't care. We are very happy," Phoebe said. She started talking about what pictures to use for their social media pages.