AN: Gunter and Eddie are simply sharing the bed at this time. They haven't gotten intimate yet.

Part 52

So reluctantly, after the estate was searched, the troupe helped Rosita and Norman pack up some supplies to get them through until they could return home.

Eddie felt bad. It was his fault they were being uprooted again. He had trusted his father even though he had no reason to.

It felt strange being back in this apartment. Buster's scent wasn't as strong anymore. He knew that would happen eventually. He sighed as he found Buster's suit still hanging over the side of the bed. He picked it up and showed Gunter.

"I know it's pathetic but it's the only way I could sleep…" he admitted to the hog. He hugged the fabric.

Gunter nodded. "It's not pathetic at all." He touched his shoulder. "If it helps, that's what matters."

Eddie held the suit up to his nose, taking a deep breath. "I still cannot believe my parents tried to kill me! Why? Why do they hate me so much?"

The hog shook his head and hugged Eddie. "They're genirnverweigerers. They don't understand just how special you are. They don't see what we see." He tried to reassure Eddie.

Eddie sighed. "I let them keep me from Buster and he's the only one who actually cared about me!" He trembled and Gunter thought he might be crying until he saw his expression. Eddie was pissed and Gunter could figure out why. "I hate them. I hate them so much."

He could only hold the sheep, trying his best to comfort him. "Don't hate. You'll only become like them. Don't hate."

Eddie nodded quietly. It felt good to let the pig hold him. He liked the closeness.

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So they were now back in a small apartment. Her older kids were back to sharing 5 inflatable mattresses. Rosita didn't really mind but the reason for it made her angry. How could a mother do such a thing to her own child. She looked over her piglets, her love for them was immeasurable and she could never even imagine trying to harm any of them for any reason.

But some good did come out of it. She looked across the street. This apartment looked directly into the theater apartment across the street. She could see Eddie and Gunter sitting together on the bed. She didn't know why she didn't see it before but they would be so adorable.

"Honey?" Norman asked her while he covered the quints with their blanket. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Really… just amazed at how evil some people can be. It just doesn't seem possible." She looked down upon her children. "I love our children and just the thought of someone hurting them makes my blood boil and the Noodlemans don't have problems with hurting their only child."

Her husband hugged her. "I know. I know. I'm only glad Gunter followed his gut." He was kicking himself for not picking up on it himself.

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The next morning, Marcus was still standing outside the theater when Suki drove up in their new used family sedan. Porsha and Nooshy headed inside while she took him an extra large black coffee from the local coffee shop.

"You poor man, you haven't slept all night, have you?" She asked him. His eyes were bloodshot and red.

He drank the coffee. "I'm alright, Su, I just need some of this elixir here and I'll be right as rain."

She sighed. "Well, Raoul and Benny are glad for a new gig. They're on their way so you'll be able to take a break." She kissed his cheek.

He leaned on her gently. "I promise I'm alright." He put his hands on her belly, feeling a small kick. "Good morning to you too."

She smiled. "In a couple more months, you'll get to meet your new twins face to face. Are you ready to be a daddy, again?" She asked.

Marcus hugged her. "I won't blow it this time. I promise."

"Good morning, Marcus," Rosita greeted him while she and Caspar went across the street.

He waved. "Good morning, Rosita. Hey, little man."

Caspar smiled. "Good morning, Mr. Green. Mommy says I can help with the new show!" He bragged.

"Why don't you go on in, sweetheart. Mommy will be right in," she kissed the top of his head and patted him along. "I am sorry we needed to take him from you last, Suki."

She shook her head. "I understand. I've enlisted some more help too. Crystal's bodyguards needed new jobs."

Rosita nodded. "Thank you. Marcus, we should be okay as a group. Would you like to crash on our couch?" She offered him her key. "Norman won't mind." When he hesitated, her eyes narrowed. "You cannot protect anyone after a night of no sleep. Go on now. I expect you to be sleeping when I call to check on Norman in twenty minutes."

He nodded. "Thanks, Rosita. You're very kind." He kissed Suki.

Suki watched him head across the street and giggled. "Thank you, Rosita. He takes his job as protector very seriously but I worry about him."

The sow smiled. "You'll learn the tricks to make him take care of himself. It's a mom thing. Come join us, Eddie has a part for you too." She pulled the saluki inside.

Johnny and Ryan had gotten there a couple of hours ago. They helped his dad a little before Miss Crawly let them in and Eddie and Gunter woke up.

Gunter had sketches of the sets they had spent all night designing and they were working on building the sets. There were the start of two archways and a castle façade.

"Wow! Did you guys even sleep last night?" Rosita asked in awe.

Eddie wiped the sweat from his bow. "A little bit but we were too excited to start working. Miss. Lane, I'm glad you came. We have more roles than we have players and I wanted to offer you one." He handed her a folder.

"Is this a dossier?" Suki asked as she read through it. "When did you have time to do this?"

Rosita put her hands on her hips. "Exactly how many hours did you boys sleep last night?"

Gunter thought about it. "Four hours. No, two! We were about to go to bed but we got another big idea."

She shook her head. "Boys, I understand how exciting it can all be but you must remember to get some sleep. Caspar, I want you to take Eddie and Uncle Gunter upstairs and make sure they go to sleep. Okay?" The pair pouted but the Theater Mama prevailed. "Leave us your designs and your plans. We'll start the ball rolling. Caspar, once they're asleep, you can come back down and join us."

Caspar nodded. "Okay, Mommy. Mommy says it's time for bed." He instructed them, mimicking his mother's tone. Everyone laughed as they let him lead them up to the apartment. Miss Crawly joined them so Caspar would not be unsupervised once they were asleep.

Suki read the profile they'd wrote up for her. "Maleficent, hmm, the villain. The evil fairy who cursed Sleeping Beauty, called Princess Aurora."

"Eddie's really coming into his own. He's practically becoming Buster," Rosita said with a sad smile. "Bouncing back after a murder attempt is definitely Buster." If he'd survived the fall, if she'd caught him, he would have gone back to the control booth, winded but just satisfied that they'd won.

Suki sighed. "I'm sorry for Mr. Moon. I know I'm partially responsible for what happened and I am so sorry." They looked at the statue in the lobby.

"Mr. Moon wouldn't want us to blame ourselves or feel sad any longer. Do this show with us, Suki," Rosita implored her. "For Buster."

The Saluki nodded. "When I first started working for Crystal, I was hoping to be a singer but he had more appreciation for my organizational skills, my discernment and my discretion."

"I loved singing and dancing as a girl and I always planned to dance my way across the world but then I got pregnant and Norman had to take an office job and we fell into a routine…" Rosita thought about her past. "I used to be a flamenco dancer."

Suki laughed. "I can believe it." They went back into the theater's main room to help.

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On the way up to the apartment, Gunter asked. "Why didn't you tell Rosita about the nightmare?" He asked.

Eddie shook his head. "Because it was just that. I mean, this guy only cares about money. Mom and Dad can't give him any now. He's not going to come after us for free." He reasoned. "It was just a bad dream."

Caspar took Eddie's hand. "You're having bad dreams?" He asked.

The sheep rolled his eyes. He appreciated their concern but he was starting to get just a little annoyed at being treated like a child. Especially by a child. "I'm fine, really. I'm a grown sheep. I can handle some bad dreams."

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"Wow! That poor guy just can't catch a break," Tyler said he served another order at the food truck. "Strawberry-banana crepe and sausage and cheese on an english muffin for Ysenia!" The goat took her food.

Alphonso filled the cannoli shells as they came out of the fryer. "I know. Morning, Lance." He greeted the porcupine as he showed up for his shift.

Lance tied on his apron and put on his hat. "Morning. Another busy one too."

Alphonso nodded. "It'll slow down after New Year's. Can you take the order at the window?"

Lance turned to the customer. "Good morning, what can I get you?"

"Yes, I'll get a bagel with cream cheese and strawberry jelly and a medium, hot coffee with cream and sugar," the elderly platypus replied. "You can put Ruth on the order."

Lance took down her name and put the order in the system. "So what's going on? You guys looked so serious when I got here."

Tyler took a glance at the clock. "Alphie, you're going to be late if you don't leave now."

"Yikes!" He took off his apron and hung it up. "Sorry to leave at the start of a rush but I promised I'd help with the new show."

Lance shook his head. "It's okay, man. That's why you hired more people, remember?" Eddie had offered him a role but Lance was still a little gun-shy about being on stage. Playing for his kids was easy but the stage just brought back bad memories. "Tell Ash that I'll call her later."

Alphonso dashed out the door and Lance took over the prep in between order taking. "How are things going with you and Ash?" Tyler teased him.

The porcupine sliced the croissants in half to make sandwiches go faster. "Great actually… I love her and my kids love her." He sighed.

Tyler nodded. "So, do you think you'll ever pop the question?"

He thought about it. "Someday. I just don't think we're ready for that yet. I mean, I really screwed up five years ago… and I'm afraid of messing up again."

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While the cast was deeply focused on building the new sets and making the costumes based on the information Eddie left with them, no one saw a ram quietly enter the building. He knew his previous attempt had failed, or they thought it did. They had fallen right into his trap. Now they were all here, in this one building.

He didn't really want to. The sheep seemed rather nice. Yet, the Noodlemans had already paid him a handsome fee and he was a professional who always honored his contracts. He didn't much care that they'd gotten themselves arrested. They were idiots anyway.

He snuck into the back rooms, hearing the conversation. "I think it's great that Eddie is really getting into it. It's hilarious that he and Gunter were up all night working on it." He peeked around the corner.

"Yeah, but it's not good for them to be up all night. Sleep is so important," the mommy pig said. He saw one of her piglets nearby and frowned. Damn. He drew the line at kids and bystanders. He would need to wait. The important thing was he was in. The monster gorilla guarding the place had made it impossible to enter overnight. He just needed to find a place to lay low.

AN: Eddie is starting to grow sick of being babied. Will he be able to handle the looming threat? What do you think Philip has planned?