AN: Okay, need opinions. Should Meena's grandparents be alive in two years storytime to be able to meet their great grandbaby or should one or both of them have passed away by that point? I'm on the fence because elephants live on average between 60-70 years so I'm not sure if it's realistic that they'd both still be alive.

Part 37

The cast was positioned at the front of the bar. Guests came up to them congratulating them on their great performance. Many offered bouquets of flowers.

The twins ran up to Ash as fast their legs could carry them. "Hey kids, did you have fun tonight? Should you be in a bar?" She asked Lance.

Lance laughed. "I'm going to take them up to Hobbs in a few, they just wanted to say goodnight to everyone because it's way past their bedtimes."

Raquelle pouted. "But it's a party, Daddy! We wanna stay!"

Her father shook his head. "No, you really don't. There's not going to be anything for you to do and the play place is closed for the night. So you're going to bed. So go on, say goodnight."

"Lance, is that you?" A voice shocked both of them. They turned to the waitress and their mouths fell.

"Becky? What are you doing here? I thought you were touring Canada or Mexico or somewhere," Lance asked, hoping the kids wouldn't ask about her or she wouldn't ask about them.

She shrugged. "Well… I'm just… working here until my… Okay, I couldn't hack it. So I got a job as a waitress here. It sucks."

Ash's chest felt cold. She was the mother of his children. What if he wanted her back now? It would only be right, really. If they could have their real mother then that's what they deserved. She hurried away from the party so she could let them talk.

She sat at a table by herself and cried. It felt like when he dumped her the first time only worse.

Rosita joined her, rubbing her back. "You don't know that he'll take her back. You don't even know if that's what he wants, let alone her."

She sighed. "She's their mother. If she does want to be with them then that's the right thing. Right? They deserve their real mother."

"Real mother, that's an interesting phrase don't you think? You know it takes much more than shared DNA to make someone a real parent. Look at Eddie's mother. Would you in any way call her his real mother?" The sow asked her. "Don't give up so easily." She stood up when she saw Lance coming over. "I'll take the twins up with my piglets. It's time for them to go to bed too."

"Thanks. Ash, why'd you leave? What's wrong? I promise I had no idea that Becky was here," he said.

She shook her head. "Nothing's wrong… I'm just tired… Lance… do you still love her?" She asked.

Lance's mouth fell open. "What? Ash, hello! I know you're tired from tonight but you're smarter than that. No, I don't love her. I never did. With her, it was meaningless. I used her to get over my jealousy that you got picked and I didn't but I never loved her. I love you! I'm not going to make some mistake twice, and she sure as hell is not coming anywhere near my babies. She doesn't just get to leave us without consequences."

Ash realized she had jumped to conclusions. "Lance… I… I love you too…" She couldn't believe she was saying it. But seeing Becky had made her realize how easy everything could be ruined.

Green eyes shimmered with unidentifiable emotion. "Ash… hearing you say that…" he groaned when the waitress approached again. "Yes, Becky?"

"I didn't get to ask about the kids, um…" she stammered.

"Yeah, you're right. And you're not going to because you don't even know their names. Which you would if you hadn't abandoned us the moment you could get out of bed," he snapped.

"I'm sorry Lance. I just wasn't ready to give up my career yet," she tried to justify herself. "They're my kids too."

He growled. "No, they're not. You chose your career. It's not my fault you have even less talent than I do. You don't get to change your mind five years later. I'm the one who changed every diaper, soothed every fever, endured every tantrum."

Ash watched the back and forth, wondering why she had been concerned. Of course Lance wouldn't want her back. Becky shook her head. "I don't think you have room to talk about me, Lance. You were sleeping with me while you were dating her."

Lance looked down. "That was the biggest mistake I ever made. I love Ash. I just didn't realize how much until I lost her." He turned to her, taking her hand in his.

Blue eyes shone brightly. "And it's hardly the same thing. Abandoning your kids is worse than cheating on a girlfriend in my opinion." She looked behind the waitress. "Oh, Becky, let me introduce you to my good friend, Clay Calloway."

The girl turned around and gasped. He was standing over, glaring menacingly. "Um, a pleasure… I'm going to see if anyone else wants anything." She hurried away both in awe at seeing someone so famous and fear of the big lion.

Clay nodded satisfied. "Who, exactly, was that?"

Lance shook his head. "That was no one. Just my kids' egg donor." He held Ash's hand in his. "And no, I was not sleeping with her until after we broke up. I still cheated but we hadn't gotten there."

She nodded. "Becky was just trying to stir the pot since she knows there's no chance. Let's go up to the room. I'm ready for bed. Thanks for getting rid of her, Clay."

He nodded. "My pleasure. Have a good night." Protecting Ash and her interests was his primary motivation. She'd saved him, now he had to make sure no one hurt her. He could tell the waitress was an opportunist, she wouldn't hesitate to try and take Lance again if she had the chance. Or anything else that might improve her situation. He went back over to Sitara and her family.

—————————

Suki found Marcus with his son and Ryan. Porsha was with them too, giving Johnny and Ryan a big hug.

"That was a great show tonight. You did great out there," she told them. "Congratulations, boys. I trust you'll both be very happy."

Marcus put his arm around her. "I know they will be. They were all great out there. I'm so proud of you all."

Porsha smiled. "We really did it. And I know it's not over, we still have the rest of the week and then next summer but…. I think we can get through it."

Johnny nodded. "Tonight was the hardest night. But certain things definitely helped." He looked at his ring and kissed his betrothed.

Ryan returned the kiss. "I'm glad I was able to make this easier for you." He carded his hair.

"It was so cute the way you proposed!" Porsha gushed. "I hope when it happens to me, I get something just as amazing."

Marcus laughed. "I'm sure you will but that won't be for a long time yet and any prospects will have to get my approval."

Porsha nodded. "Of course, Big…. Daddy…." Her mouth opened wide in a yawn.

He shook his head gently. "I think it's time you and your sister went up to bed." He saw Nooshy out of the corner of his eye, just barely staying awake while drinking a soda.

The wolf nodded. "Yes sir, goodnight." She gave a few last hugs before going to the elevators, pulling Nooshy with her when she passed by.

Johnny and Ryan went off together. "I still can't believe it. I'm terrified I'm going to wake up and it'll all be a dream," Johnny admitted. "You know, Klaus is going to be pissed."

Ryan laughed. "Yeah, like I care about that."

"Excuse me," a cheetah approached them. "Did you say Klaus? Do you mean Klaus Kickenklober?"

Ryan shrugged. "Depends on who's asking."

He extended a hand. "Name's Félix, Félix Baumgartner." Recognition filled Ryan's eyes and he remembered Klaus' story.

"I'm Ryan, this is Johnny, my fiancé," he bragged. "So you're Klaus'…"

"Best friend, or we used to be. A long time ago," Félix explained. "When this opening came, I was hoping I'd see him but other than back in June…"

Johnny nodded. "That's because you were hired to replace him. He's our teacher and he's based in Calatonia now. With the New Moon Theatre."

"Okay, now things are starting to make sense," Ryan said. "You were his best friend? He seemed to think it was something more."

Félix sighed. "He told you we dated didn't he?" They nodded. "Yeah, we did but… it was just experimentation and I did like him but then I met my wife, Cecilia. And it was completely different in a really good way."

Ryan nodded. "Oh dude, you don't know how badly you messed him up. I mean, you have to do you but… yeah. He's still pretty bitter."

He shook his head. "Bitter? But he said he understood. He was my best man."

"If that's what he said, he lied," Johnny said. Klaus was a jackass but he still didn't like anyone else hurting him. "What did you expect him to say?" This cheetah was the reason Klaus was giving him hell over Ryan. "Come on, Ryan, let's go to bed."

——————————

Sitara, her father and mother-in-law sat with Meena and Alphonso. "You both did wonderfully out there tonight. It was so sweet of you to surprise her with a serenade." She hugged her son-in-law. "I'm so proud of you both."

Meena smiled. "Alphonso is the best." She agreed. She was still reeling from the surprise.

Alphonso blushed. "I wanted to do something to show you how much I love you. You and our baby. You are my whole world."

She hugged him. "You are the sweetest. Ooo… the baby thinks so too. He or she just moved! That's the first time they've kicked."

Her husband gasped and put his hand on her abdomen. "Oh! Oh! Hi there little one, I'm your daddy."

Sitara smiled at Clay. "Do you two plan to learn what the gender is?"

They both shook their heads. "No, we are only concerned about the baby being healthy." Meena explained. "Boy or girl doesn't matter to us. We'll be grateful for whatever God gives us."

Alphonso nodded. "Exactly. Well, I think maybe we should get to bed. You must be tired, my goddess." He picked her up in his arms like when he carried her over the threshold of their home.

Meena laughed. "Definitely. Goodnight Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, Clay." He had long ago given her leave to call him by his name since he was dating her mom.

—————————

Eddie sat with Jerry, sharing snacks and drinks. "What'd you think?" He asked the little cat.

Jerry nodded. "It was good. I usually never get to see the shows so it was fun."

"It was excellent! Eddie, this may have been your first time but I think you may have a hidden talent for it," Nana praised him. "If you keep working at it, you could be one of the greats someday."

He sighed. "If I'm half as good as Buster was, I'll count that as a success. I think he would have been proud of them tonight. He would have loved to see it." He smiled wistfully.

"He would have been proud of you," Nana emphasized.

"I wish I could say Crystal would have liked it but he would have found something to complain about." Jerry was starting to talk a lot more realistically about the wolf, slowly figuring out that the crush he had on him was toxic and preventing him from seeing the wolf for what he was. Not necessarily evil or bad per se but definitely toxic. As much as it hurt, he was really better off now. And Eddie was a nice change. He was genuinely kind and always had something positive to say.

Eddie shrugged. "It's no big deal. I just did what I thought Buster would do or want." Except about himself, Jerry noticed. Crystal always had something positive to say about himself, the wolf worshipped himself. Eddie was drastically different. He was almost too modest. To the point that Jerry realized it wasn't really modesty, he just didn't have a very high opinion of himself.

"Nana's right, you have talent," Jerry said softly. "You just need more practice and it'll be easy. I can help."

——————————

In the suite, Lance and Ash put the twins to bed so Rosita and Norman could focus on their piglets.

"Daddy, who was that lady you were talking to?" Raquelle asked.

"Just the waitress, sweetie. She wanted to know what Daddy wanted to drink," he lied. If he had his way, they would have nothing to do with her.

Ash looked at him sharply. Lies always had a way of coming out and screwing things up. But she understood his hesitancy to tell them the truth. They might want to meet her and she might decide she wanted custody. And Ash knew she didn't want her anywhere near them. It had been too long. They were her kids now. Wait? Her kids? Where'd that come from? They weren't her kids but she wanted them to be. Meeting Becky again really helped put things into perspective.

Little Lance lay on his pillow. "She looked like us…"

Ash nodded. "Because she's a porcupine like you and me. Don't worry, she's no one special. You two just get some sleep."

"Goodnight Ash. Goodnight Daddy." Raquelle said as the adult porcupines left the room. "I love you."

Ash turned back. "We love you too, Raquelle. Time for sleep now." She followed Lance out to the living room. He sat on the couch and he beckoned her to join him. She smiled and went over, climbing up with him. "I love you, Lance. I'm sorry it's taken me this long to admit it but I do."

He gazed down at her with shining eyes. "I love you too Ash. I'm sorry I didn't figure it out five years ago."

She sighed. "But then we wouldn't have Raquelle or Lancy. Nahh, I'm okay with how things went. I love them."

His eyes lit up even more. "I'm so happy to hear that." He kissed her forehead.

She contemplated her next move. Bashfully, she kissed his lips. They were just as soft as she remembered.

They were like that for several minutes. Until the door opened and Clay came in with Sitara and her family. "Hey Clay." She blushed at her father figure catching her making out with her boyfriend.

He gently ruffled her hair and gave Lance a good-natured glare before they went back to the bedrooms. Ash smiled. "This is so great. Back in May, I had a hard enough time getting him to leave his house. He couldn't even play his own guitar, it was so sad to see. He's come a long way since then."

Lance nodded. "I'm just glad he's not trying to scare me away from you anymore." He laughed. He played with her quills. "I just don't know what to do about Becky. We still have a week. If I knew she worked here…"

"Well, good news is she's a bar waitress. Kids aren't really allowed in bars. That should help," Ash reasoned. "Look, even if they do meet and they learn who she is, they're not going to see her as any kind of mother. They don't even know her. She doesn't know them. Don't borrow trouble. We have enough of our own."

———————————

Up in her suite, Suki sat quietly beside Marcus with a glass of red wine. His arm was around her shoulder, making her feel so loved and comfortable. She could see the moon and stars outside the window. "It's a beautiful night…"

He nodded. "Not as beautiful as you." The words tumbled out and she blushed. "Sorry, I've been watching daytime soaps."

She shook her head and laughed. "Oh Marcus… I love you…." She stopped, realizing what she just said.

His blue eyes lit up. "I love you too…" He stroked her red hair.

She reached her hand up to his soft, supple cheeks. She thought about what Linda said. "Does… does that proposal… still stand?"

He reached into his pocket. "Of course… if you're sure. I wouldn't want you to feel pressured… I just know that I love you and I won't love anyone else."

She took the box and put the humble solitaire ring on her left ring finger. "I was just scared… it was just one more big change… but Linda made me realize, it's not that big of a change. We already live like we're married." She stroked his cheek. "I don't know what the future holds but I do know… my future is you." She kissed his lips tenderly. Change was terrifying but she had already dealt with so much. Surely, she could handle this too. She just hoped that the anxiety over it would stop now that she'd made the decision. She hated heartburn.

AN: So Johnny and Ryan now know why Klaus' attitude took such a sharp step back. Becky is back. Does she have any moral right at all to meet and get to know the kids she abandoned for her doomed career? What does this mean for Ash and Lance?