Part 11

Booking a new show for the theater was proving to be a challenge. Nothing Suki sampled came close to what she was looking for. It didn't help that everyone seemed to want the Clay Calloway space musical, and she didn't know how to tell them that probably was not going to happen. Or that Jerry wouldn't stop searching the office.

"Jerry! Come on, don't you think it's time to give up?" She asked the tabby cat. "You're not going to find anything."

"You don't know! They had to have left behind some evidence!" He snapped. "Just because you betrayed Mr. Crystal doesn't mean I have to. I will have justice!"

Suki sighed. "No, they didn't because no crime was committed. Jerry, if you keep pushing this, you're just going to hurt Porsha, and disrespect his memory in the process. Let this go!" She didn't tell him that she had made sure there was no evidence of anyone else in the office with him at the time.

———————

When Barry and Stan dragged Crystal away, after Marcus informed her of their intentions, she'd hurried to Crystal Headquarters security room, disabling the cameras in and outside the entire building, then followed them to Crystal's ornately obnoxious office.

Crystal was sitting on the couch, waiting, looking for any avenue of escape. It was impossible. Stan guarded the exit while Barry guarded the balcony.

Suki came in and glared at him. "Well I hope you're satisfied. You killed a helpless little koala. Do you feel bigger now? Stronger? Tell me, how does it feel to have to target those smaller than you to feel like you're worth something? How does it feel to have such a fragile ego? To be such a coward?"

"Shut up! You traitor! He made me look like a fool! He fired Porsha. He…" Crystal tried to defend himself.

"He made you look like a god tonight! You brought back legendary Clay Calloway!" She growled. "James, I told you, I begged you not to lose your temper. I pleaded with you to control yourself. You made yourself look bad. Worse, you made Porsha look bad. You emotionally and verbally abused her and now she's down there thinking SHE'S a murderer."

His blue eyes met her own, shining with anger and unshed tears. "Well that's not true. And I'll tell her that. I'll kill anyone who makes my baby cry!" He tried to excuse his behavior as that of a protective father.

Crack! Her hand flew across his face, leaving an impression in his fur. "YOU made your daughter cry! Not Moon! You called her a talentless loser to her face! You tried to ruin her song. You killed someone, RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER! You forced your daughter to watch you murder someone! And she thinks it's her fault!"

The wolf looked down, visibly trembling. "I… I didn't… I wasn't thinking, I was so angry. He… he…" He was running out of things to say, the shock of what he did finally setting in, the reality. He had made threats before. But with one or two exceptions, he had never acted on them before. Usually the threats were enough. All he could see that night was Moon. Moon hijacking his theater and turning his own daughter against him, trapping him in that cage below the stage. When Jerry cut the chains off, all he wanted was to rip that koala limb from limb but he settled for the catwalk. He didn't even hear his child begging him to stop as he rode the lift up to the catwalk with Moon.

"I am not a loser. We did what we came here to do. And there's nothing you can do or say to change that." He was amused when Moon tried to stand up to him, acting like he wasn't scared.

In that moment, it felt like he'd jumped out of his skin to watch himself toss Moon off the catwalk like it was nothing. A flash of remorse crossed his mind but it was too late. He watched the mommy pig jump in her ill-fated attempt to save him. The red lenses that colored his vision lifted when he was forced down the lift by the smaller gorilla where he could see the largest of their number holding the broken creature. Watching as Moon fought for his life just long enough to see the ending of their magnum opus.

"And you didn't just take an innocent life! You ruined your own life and you ruined Porsha's life too!" Suki shouted.

He shook his head. "I did not ruin Porsha's life!"

"You killed someone. You're going to be arrested, your entire estate seized, your assets frozen. Everything will go to the authorities to prevent you from buying your way out, leaving her with nothing but the knowledge that daddy dearest is a cold-blooded murderer!" Her words had the desired effect.

He shook his head. "No, they can't leave my baby alone and with nothing! You can't let them."

The office door slammed open and Marcus stood, his expression nothing less than bloodthirsty. "Your daughter will be fine. There's one way to make sure your fuck up doesn't affect her." He stalked over to the tycoon's desk. "Miss. Lane, you might want to leave."

She shook her head. "No. I can't leave. I won't stop you but I can't leave." His dark eyes met her brown ones. "I can't leave him."

He nodded in understanding as he opened the desk. "As I was saying, there is one way to ensure that your daughter isn't affected by your crime tonight." He pulled out a piece of pretty stylized stationary and a pen. He thrust them at the wolf. "Write!"

"Write what?" The question wasn't in earnest. Crystal wasn't a fool.

"Write your goodbyes. I suggest you include some apologies for your actions and make sure she knows that you love her. Make it believable of course," he rationalized. "Because if you choose jail, trust me, it's hard labor and while you think you're hot shit out here, you're not shit in there. Although you might get lucky. After all, you're so pretty, some big gorilla or bear might decide to make you his boyfriend." He taunted, earning looks of terror from the big bully. "Write."

Crystal looked at Suki. "And you have nothing to say? You're really going to let them do this?"

She sighed. "I tried to stop you sir. I can't save you this time. Protecting Porsha and her best interests is all I can do for you now." Quickly, suddenly, she kissed him before turning to the fireplace. "Do what you must." She told Marcus. "I'm sorry sir but I can't let you get away with this."

Crystal realized that she was serious. She wasn't even going to try and talk them down. And he knew he stood no chance against the silverbacks. Running wasn't an option. He picked up the pen and began writing.

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She wanted to stop Marcus from acting but she understood his reasons. She couldn't keep saving Crystal from himself and had just gone too far.

She wondered if she shouldn't at least try to get the New Moon clan to come back. A lot of work had gone into their show. She looked at her watch. It was time to go home. "I need to get packed. I promised that I'd be at the concert tomorrow night."

Jerry shook his head, making a tut-tut sound. "You're a traitor, Miss. Lane. There's got to be proof and I'm going to find it. I won't give up until I have justice for Mr. Crystal."

The Saluki rolled her eyes. "You're sad and pathetic, Jerry. Stop pushing this before you hurt Porsha. You know Mr. Crystal wouldn't like that." She left the office. She hoped he would take her advice.

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Mrs. Patel, Grandpa and Grandma were waiting when Meena got home. When Alphonso came in with her, they exchanged glances.

"Did you kids have a good time?" Grandpa asked curiously.

Meena nodded, sharing a loving gaze with her bull elephant. "We had a great time… We went for Italian. Mom, Grandpa, Grandma… we have something to tell you."

Alphonso squeezed Meena's hand. "We would like to ask… well I would like to… to ask for your blessing to marry Meena." He smiled at her.

The room was quiet for a few moments before Mrs. Patel squealed. "Oh! My baby! This is wonderful!" She clapped.

Meena giggled and blushed while her grandfather nodded. "I wondered how long he could go before popping the question." He folded his hands together. "You have my blessing as long as you promise to take good care of my Meena and you promise never to hurt her."

Alphonso blushed. "I would never hurt Meena. I couldn't without hurting myself because I love her so much."

The young cow-elephant sighed happily. "We know it's really soon but it just feels right." She admitted to what they knew was a good argument against it but she couldn't let that stop them.

Mrs. Patel hugged her daughter. "Darling, of course you have our blessing. This is terrific."

Grandma grinned. "I can't wait to tell everybody! Our Meena is getting married!"

And she would tell everybody. Everybody on the whole block would know by the end of the following day. Meena didn't mind. Her family loved her. Alphonso loved her. She had everything she ever wanted. She couldn't wait to tell the guys.

Alphonso green eyes gleamed with joy. "I should get back to the hotel. I'll see you tomorrow, Meena." A chaste goodnight kiss and he was gone.

Meena hurried to her room and picked up her phone.

———————

To make sure she'd done as he said, Marcus asked Nooshy to show him the clothes she found. A few hoodies and jeans with a couple of very basic shirts. Porsha had even made her get a couple of dresses just in case. She didn't have the heart to tell Porsha that dresses weren't really her style. She could wear a dress when appropriate but she wasn't fond of them.

He nodded with satisfaction. "Good. I hope you understand. I know it's hard to accept help but that's literally what I'm here for." He reminded her of the reason for parents.

"Thank you, Mr. G…. Marcus," she caught herself. "I guess I'm not used to this. I've been alone for so long."

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Not anymore. You have a family now."

Eating a small fast food meal, Porsha sat at the round dining table when her phone rang. "Meena! How was it? What happened? Did he kiss you? Tell me everything. No way! Oh MeeMee, that's awesome! I'm so happy for you! Thanks for calling to let me know. No, I won't tell anyone else. See you tomorrow." She hung up.

Nooshy looked over. "What aren't you supposed to tell anyone else?" She asked.

"Meena's engaged!" She screeched before covering her mouth. "Sorry. Pretend I didn't say anything."

Nooshy shook her head with a chuckle. "Wow! That's fast ain't it? Wasn't tonight their first real date?"

Porsha finished her meal just as music started emanating from Johnny's room followed by loud moans. "You know, I'm so happy for Johnny too. I think I'll take a bath." And put in her ear buds. She was supportive. Really. She really was happy for him. She just wished the walls were thicker. She'd woken up in the middle of the night to the same sounds and struggled to get back to sleep the rest of the night. At least he tried to mask the noise but she didn't think he knew how loud he got.

———————

The rest of the day, Eddie seemed to be coming out of the fog that he had been lost in. Her kids and her husband did their best to make him feel welcome. Then night came and they had just finished dinner and were gathered around the television watching a family sitcom about a recently widowed lion trying to raise his three daughters with his best friend and brother-in-law. She noticed he was growing quiet and thoughtful, looking out the window. She craned her head to see what had his attention. A full harvest moon was shining as bright as an orange.

She gestured to Norman who couldn't help looking at the sheep with sympathy. "Hey kids, let's go get our jammies on and brush our teeth." He pulled them away to prepare for bed.

Rosita scooted herself over to Eddie. "I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now. I've been mourning a dear friend and employer. But you…"

He looked down, trying to keep it together. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be burdening you. You're so nice but…" When her hand began rubbing his shoulders, he was close to losing it. "I'm acting like a kid…"

"Don't keep it in, sweetie. Talk to me. Tell me how you're feeling, please," she encouraged him. "Don't suffer alone."

"I… it… it's…. It's like someone took a knife and carved out half of what makes me me. And I don't know how to get it back," he bent in half, holding himself, looking down at the floor. Tears fell to the carpet making tiny wet spots. "I'm trying. I really am. I'm sorry."

She only rubbed his back. "It's okay to cry, sweetie. I just wish I knew what to say. It seems trite to say it'll be alright or it'll get better." She sighed. "I am so sorry for what you've lost. I'm sorry I couldn't…" She stopped, remembering the deal she made with Nana. "It's not my fault…" She whispered softly.

"I just always assumed he'd be there. Driving me crazy with his insane ideas. Then I wasted way too much of the last five years letting my parents keep us apart," he wept. "What if he spent the last five years thinking, believing that… My parents never missed a chance to make him feel small and insignificant. Even when they let me give him a place to stay after the theater flooded… it was only so they could rip him a new one. It's bad enough knowing he never knew how I felt but… what if he thinks I hated him too?"

"I really don't believe he thought that. Not for a second. Buster was looking forward to inviting you to the show…" Her breath hitched. "You are not your parents. He knew that you were stuck between a rock and a hard place. I think he was trying to convince them."

Eddie shook his head. "And I could have told him that wasn't going to work. They were never going to accept him. And I knew that and I just let them. I let him leave." He punched the decorative pillow on the couch. "I let him leave even though he was the only one among them who actually cared about me. The only one who really loved me. How could I do that?"

She nodded. His parents had robbed him of even the chance to see him one last time, of one last conversation, one last chance to admit how he felt. Robbed him of his chance at a happily ever after. All she could do was give him a safe place to cry and be vulnerable.

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Johnny was still trying to breathe normally as he lay beside Ryan. He put his hand on Ryan's cheek. "Wow…. You sure know how to make a guy feel good."

Ryan smiled at his lover. "It helps to have a partner who knows the steps." He leaned over for a kiss.

Johnny returned the kiss before asking. "You know, you know more about me than even my best friends do, but… I know very little about you… Aside from what you told me this morning."

Ryan nodded. "Fair enough… Well, I grew up in East Albuquerque with my folks. I was forced to play on almost every organized sports team available for my age group. Then in high school, I was captain of the football team and basketball team. I got scholarship offers from all kinds of schools, not just my dad's alma mater."

He listened, hanging on every word. "How'd you get into dancing?" "How did I get so lucky to find you in Klaus' class," was the silent question.

"It was an accident. I was looking for the football sign ups and I stumbled onto the dance team's practice. I was so embarrassed that I pretended I was there to join them and… they bought it. And turns out, I'm a natural," Ryan chuckled. "Dad was pissed. And I never looked back. I knew I belonged there. Then after high school, when my parents kicked me out, I met Klaus and he made me one of his students. Then one day, a handsome, young gorilla came to class and struggled. And watching him struggle, so unsure of himself, to slowly master the steps, I fell in love. With his tenacity and determination and passion." He pulled Johnny close, kissing him. "The first time you really mastered that final step, I wanted to kiss you then and there. But I restrained myself for obvious reasons."

Johnny blushed, remembering the first time he saw Ryan. The first time he knew that Ryan was to be his dance partner. "Too bad… I bet Klaus would have had a fit."

Softly, the tiger laughed. "When you get to know him, he'll start to make more sense." He stroked Johnny's head in that way he liked. He sighed and cuddled within Ryan's arms as sleep started to beckon. "I love you, my silverback." He whispered as he felt his breathing starting to even out.

Johnny just barely managed to whisper back "I love you too…" before sleep finally won.

Ryan knew he should sleep too but for now, he just wanted to watch Johnny sleep. Such a handsome gorilla and he was his. He kissed Johnny chastely before, at last, letting sleep take him away.

AN: I promise we are getting to the concert scene. Eventually. Please review. I love concrit.