Trigger Warning: Mentions of miscarriage

Information: Elephants are pregnant for 20-22 months, almost 2 years.

Part 24

After getting to meet the new piggies and give Rosita and Norman several great big hugs, the troupe all split up to go home. Johnny and Ryan chose to join Eddie and Miss Crawly on their walk home.

"Weren't the piglets so cute?" Johnny said with a proud smile. "I want one."

Ryan laughed. "Yeah, maybe someday… I could see us being parents." He seemed to be thinking.

"How?" Johnny asked. "What would we have to do?" Ryan realized he was being dead serious.

"Well, there's adoption and there's surrogacy." Ryan smiled at the idea. "Do you think we're ready for either?"

Johnny thought about it. "I think we will be." His hand entwined with Ryan's. "Maybe not yet but soon."

Eddie watched the pair with a little envy. Why couldn't he be so open? Why did he have to hide it and live a lie? Why did he listen to Buster?

"Eddie, they're your parents, they love you and want what's best for you. Don't sacrifice that for me."

He clenched his fists. "Damn it, Buster. Not everyone had a great dad like you did!" He didn't notice the younger couple looking back at him with empathy. He had been doing well but he was backpedaling fast. Ryan hoped his parents would be there so he could deal with them personally.

He wasn't disappointed. It was like Gunter and Miss Crawly said. It was almost 9 am and the Noodlemans and a ewe who was easily ten years younger than Eddie were waiting at the theater entrance. They turned to glare at Eddie.

"Edmond C Noodleman! Where have you been? We've been knocking and ringing the bell!" His mother demanded.

Ryan looked at Johnny. "Take him upstairs to his apartment." He kissed his boyfriend to the disgust of the snooty sheep.

Johnny nodded and guided Eddie away from the offensive snobs. Miss Crawly followed them but not before glaring at the Noodlemans briefly.

Ryan blocked their access to the building. "Don't you think you've done enough damage?" He looked at the young female sheep. He supposed she might be considered attractive to the right person. "Look, I don't know what they told you but Eddie isn't interested."

Mrs Noodleman sneered derisively down her nose at the tiger. "Out of our way, you common piece of filth. We are taking my son home and he will do as he is told."

"You aren't taking him anywhere," Ryan wasn't afraid of them. Let their remarks make their shallow cuts. Their opinions were worthless. He looked at his phone and grinned. He began herding them subtly backwards until they were just under the awning. "Eddie is doing better off without either of you."

"Our son is coming home. We're done playing games. It's time for him to stop wallowing in his misery, get married to a nice girl and continue our family line," Mr. Noodleman argued.

"He's not going to be getting married to anyone if he doesn't want to. When will you get it? He doesn't like girls. You mean you can't find one richy-rich guy around his age? Not one? I find that hard to believe. Now leave before I get my teacher involved," he gestured across the street to where Kickenklober was standing, his arms crossed and tapping his foot impatiently.

Mrs. Noodleman opened her mouth to speak but could only sputter and cough when a gallon of ice water rained down on her from the awning. Her husband was soaked too. The young woman they were with had, wisely, stepped out of the way when she saw what the boys were doing in the above window. "Edmond! You're only making this harder on yourself!" She shouted. "We will be back."

Ryan laughed boisterously. "Beautiful! Brilliant! I love it!" He shouted. "Get out of here and if you know what's good for you, you'll stay away." He ran inside the theater and locked the door before they could try to follow. He gave Klaus a grateful nod for his help distracting them before going up to the office. Johnny was helping Eddie breathe into a paper bag. "They're gone but damn, they are relentless. And they do this everyday?"

Eddie nodded. "They're not afraid of Miss Crawly." He looked away, embarrassed that he couldn't fight his own battles. "I'm sorry guys. You shouldn't have to protect me."

Johnny shook his head. "Believe me, we're happy to do it."

Ryan shivered at what Eddie was dealing with. "Come back to our apartment tonight. That way they can't get to you tonight. Clay is already planning to be there tomorrow with his bike and paint gun."

"You know, we should get up a paintball game sometime," Johnny suggested. "I bet he's an awesome teammate for paintball."

Ryan grabbed a bag and threw a change of clothes in it for Eddie. "I bet. Come on, let's get you out of here." On the way out, he informed Miss Crawly, "Eddie is staying with us tonight." Hopefully, together they could convince the Noodlemans to stay away.

When they reached the dance studio, Klaus blocked the stairway. He threw Eddie a familiar set of practice wear.

Ryan tried to give it back for the sheep. "Sir, this is Eddie. He's a friend and…. He's been through a lot."

"I can see that. And what do we do when we have 'been through a lot?'" Klaus jabbed his stick at the tiger. "When we suffer? Put that on and get in that classroom. We start in ten minutes. Johnny, Ryan, I have someone I want you to meet."

Eddie looked at the sharp yellow pants and white tank top. "Um, I don't know how to dance." He tried to explain as the teacher led them into the classroom.

"And do you think a dance class is only for those who know how to dance? What do you think I'm here for? Looking pretty?" Klaus just pointed at the door with the blue stick figure on it. "Get changed." He commanded. "Johnny, Ryan, you'll see we have a couple more students today. Ryan," he gestured to a young mountain lion. "This is Yusef Hakim. And Johnny, this is Kia Abara."

She appeared to be a year or so younger than Johnny with brown eyes that shimmered. Johnny wasn't stupid, she was very pretty. He sighed. "Okay, hi."

She smiled flirtatiously at him. "Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you. Mr. Kickenklober thought you might be able to help me get started. It's my first time in a real dance class."

Ryan looked at the proboscis and chuckled. "Really, we're doing this?"

Klaus glanced back. "I need to rebuild my class. You and Johnny will help with new pupils. I will focus on Mr. Noodleman."

Johnny all but yelped. "Sir, please, work with me. He's been through enough. He doesn't need your stupid stick." He hissed.

Klaus sighed and held up his stick. He walked over to the wall and hung it on a set of waiting hooks. "I'm not a monster, Johnny. I know that's not what he needs right now." He looked at Ryan, silently reminding the tiger of the kind of monkey he could be. The monkey who gave him a home and the room to recover after his parents disowned him.

Ryan looked at Johnny. "If anyone can help him, he can." He said simply. "Would you be more comfortable switching with me?" He'd seen the lady gorilla's attempts at flirting.

Johnny breathed a sigh of relief. "Please. I don't know what he told her. Doesn't mean we shouldn't get to know her. It's not her fault." He said rationally, kissing him on the cheek.

Klaus glared over as he saw them switching partners. "Ryan, I chose your partners for a reason. Similar body types learn best together at the start."

Johnny sighed. "It's okay, Ry. I can handle her. I think I know what he's up to and it's not going to work." He punctuated his statement with a full kiss. "I swear." Klaus was not good at subtlety but he wanted to earn his respect again anyway he could. It would be nice if he could respect him by virtue of being Ryan's lover but if he couldn't get that, he would find a way to re-earn it. Even if that meant taking his test. It was the War Planet all over again.

"Alright! Time to begin! One, two…" the teacher began counting as he turned on his trusty metronome.

Eddie came out. looking terrified in his new gear. "I don't understand. What am I supposed to do?"

"You're supposed to dance. Follow me and stay on point!" Klaus instructed him.

Johnny watched out of the corner of his eye as Klaus began guiding Eddie through the beginner steps. The monkey confused Johnny. He could be harsh and cruel but there was a kindness hiding deep inside him that clearly wanted to be allowed out.

"So, what do we do?" Kia asked as she stood in her own light blue pants. She batted her eyelashes in a way he figured was supposed to be flirtatious.

Johnny sighed. "Just follow me…" He had hoped that he had effectively communicated his interests to the room before but she must have missed it. "Warning, I've been up literally all night so I don't know how much I got in me."

She nodded with understanding. "Why were you up all night?" She asked curiously. "On a date?"

He shook his head. "No, no… my… well, my surrogate mom, sort of, went into labor and she wanted us all there." He yawned. "She had five little piglets!"

"Awww, that's so sweet," Kia smiled. "So how long have you been studying with Mr. Kickenklober?"

Johnny mentally counted. "Only a few months, really. But don't worry, you'll get the hang of it."

"And is it true that all of the dancers are guaranteed at least a role in the chorus?" She asked. The hardest part of the industry was getting the experience to be considered for the better roles.

Johnny nodded. "Yep." Rosita and Nana had both loved the idea of not needing to audition the chorus with each show. "Kind of like an internship, sort of, but for the theater."

"That is great. I've dreamed of dancing on stage since I was little," she struggled to perform the turn Johnny just made. "Oh, I'm sorry, can you help me?"

Johnny gulped. "What?" He asked most uncomfortably.

Reluctantly, Ryan left Johnny to work with Yusef. "So, I'm Ryan. Have you done any dancing before?"

The other dancer nodded. "A little but my previous teacher was a real hack from this tiny theater in Lincoln Heights. So I came here. I heard Klaus is one of the best. And he thought you and I might get along?" He cocked an eyebrow right before Kia came dancing by them, his eyes went directly to her rump and followed her away.

Ryan had to stop himself from responding. His teacher would not appreciate it. "She's pretty, isn't she?" He could admit that much.

Yusef nodded. "Gorgeous… I didn't think I could be interested in a gorilla but she is definitely tickling my fancy."

"Believe me, I understand. But you should go ask to be her practice partner so Johnny and I can go up to bed because we were up all night! Our theater mama was having her babies! We're TIRED!" He begged. "I'm sorry but we are. I bet Eddie's exhausted too." He didn't give the new pupil a chance to argue. He simply grabbed his gorilla and marched him out. He looked back to see Eddie struggling to dance. "Klaus, he can join your class tomorrow. We want to sleep!"

Eddie breathed a sigh of relief for the rescue.

"Ryan, I have never known you to skip class!" Klaus shouted in shock.

He glared. "I've never known you to work your students to exhaustion and pair them with someone they're clearly not comfortable with. We haven't slept in 36 hours!" He dragged Johnny up the stairs with Eddie in tow.

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Ash got Clay the key to the storage closet as soon as they got home and went to bed. The lion dug out his paint gun and his buckets of multi-colored paintballs. When he got the text from Ryan telling him about their arrival home, he knew he couldn't not do something. He found his trap-making gear, his trip-wires and his rockets. "At least I'm using it to help someone this time." He groaned as he remembered how badly he scared Miss. Crawly. The poor old lizard didn't know why he wanted his privacy. He could have just accepted the gift and sent her away. Instead, he acted like a petulant kid from one of the few Christmas movies he actively hated. Sure the first one had some cute ideas and he and Ruby had both laughed so hard but the sequels were awful. "Miss. Crawly didn't deserve that…" Did grief over his wife really give him the right to traumatize an old lizard?

No, this time he needed to use them to protect someone who was in no condition to protect himself. No one wanted to know what might happen if the Noodlemans were able to keep harassing Eddie. The polled sheep was at a critical juncture in his life. And the old lion was determined that they finally get a clue.

He was grateful when his phone rang and Sitara's picture appeared. He needed a distraction. "Good morning, Sitara. And how are you this morning?"

"Doing very well. I just wanted to see how you were doing? Meena told me the birth went well." She replied.

"Very well, the new mother and piglets are doing just fine," he confirmed. "We just got home." He put the rest of the junk back in the storage closet. "Well, that sounds like a great idea. I bet they'd really appreciate it. Hospital food is nasty." He said, the voice of experience. "Yeah, the hospital wants them to stay overnight just in case. Nurse on duty said it's SOP. Gunter is taking care of the rest. What if I meet you at the hospital later and we go get dinner?" He nodded. "Say 6? Great, I'll see you there." They disconnected and he smiled to himself.

He could almost feel Ruby smiling down at him. All during Ash's attempts to convince him to do the show, he had felt her. Heard her scolding him for hiding his God-given talent from the world. The time to heal had come even as much as he wanted to fight it. And she did not want him to be alone the rest of his life. He wasn't sure if Sitara was the one she wanted him with but he was willing to give it a chance. They both knew the same heartache. Maybe they could help each other.

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Marcus put his phone down after talking with his son. He hated those snobby sheep. He especially hated how they treated anyone they deemed less than them, and that included their own flesh and blood.

"Last time I saw that face… What happened?" Suki asked, her arm draping over his bare chest, the blankets wrapped around her shoulders.

He rolled his eyes. "The Noodlemans are still trying to bully Eddie into going home with them. Johnny just told me they come every morning. Worse, with a new woman every time."

"Ugh," Suki said in disgust. "Really? I mean I don't know everything that's going on with them and I don't know Eddie that well but that is horrible. It should be his choice if and when he gets married. And he's still grieving for his best friend."

Marcus held her close. "We're going to meet Clay tomorrow morning. Maybe between the four of us, we can convince them to use their time more wisely."

She giggled. She remembered when the lizard assistant got back. Crystal was pissed at being lied to but the poor woman had been covered in paint. It was unkind to laugh but how could one see someone else covered in paint and not laugh? "Make sure you get that on video. I have to go back today? I have to at least pretend to do my job."

He sighed, knowing she was right. "When can you come back?"

"Not until the weekend I'm afraid. I'm hosting auditions this week. The theater has been without a show for too long," she explained. "'Out of this World' should have run the entire summer. Now it's too late to get something for fall. But I have a few hopefuls. A Santa Claus musical, a nativity ice show, and a Christmas choir are auditioning among others."

Marcus listened. "A nativity ice show? They're gonna put Mary on ice skates? I'm not sure how safe that would be for an expectant mother." They both chuckled.

She nodded. "Believe me, I know, but it would be different and big so…" Suki laid her head against his chest. "I never realized how big of a job it is. I usually sample shows out of town and invite them to audition if I think they're good enough. I'm flying by the seat of my pants with these auditions."

He rubbed her shoulders. "Well, I think you're doing great at it. You'll find the perfect show and then you'll come home." He blushed, realizing the implication. He meant it though. He wanted this to be home for her. He wanted to be home for her.

She blushed and kissed him. "Home…" She took a deep breath enjoying his natural scent for just a few minutes longer before making herself get up. How had this gentle giant got to her this way? It was different from what she felt with Crystal. That was toxic. Marcus made her feel good about herself and what she did. He took her opinions seriously. With him, she felt like she mattered. She just hoped this would turn out better for both of them.

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Jerry sat with Nana in her parlor. If she was awake, he had to be with her. They either watched television or played checkers or cards. And she always made him eat something even though it was still hard to find his appetite. She was very strict about his eating and bathing habits.

When Nana took a call from Eddie earlier, she had seemed very pleased and he understood when she told him about the conversation. It was strange to think of new life being brought into the world. He was afraid she'd make him go out to the hospital with her but she assured him they needed to give the Suarez's space and time to get to know their new bairn. However, they would be going to visit the next day with a gift.

They were getting ready to have lunch when their doorbell rang. He looked at his bowl of soup and his grilled cheese sandwich while Hobbs went to answer it.

"Yes, you must eat it," she told him firmly. "You are allowed to grieve but you are not allowed to pine away to nothing."

"Your son and daughter-in-law are waiting to see you, ma'am," Hobbs announced.

Nana looked at him. "Funny, my son and daughter-in-law are at the hospital with their new piglets." She stood up. "Eat! I want at least half of that sandwich gone by the time I return. Hobbs, make sure he eats."

Jerry looked at the penguin butler while she left. "Half?" He asked. It seemed like so much.

"Mom, you have got to talk to your grandson! He's friends with criminals and filth," Jerry heard from the hall.

She laughed. "Criminals? Really? And don't call me Mom. I am Mrs. Noodleman to you. Both of you."

"I'm your son!" A male voice shouted.

"My son would not treat my grandson in such a deplorable manner! I did not raise my son to be a spoiled rotten snob!" She growled. "Eddie's found a real family now." Her footsteps could be heard as she came back. Quickly, the eavesdropping cat started stuffing his face with his sandwich. "Not so fast, Jeremiah, you don't want to choke."

"Ugh, and you've taken in another of those miscreants?" The other female sheep said with derision. "Nana, just because you let yourself be fooled by that delusional koala doesn't mean we're just going to sit idly by and let them all take advantage of you."

"Tut-tut, Adelaide, be careful how you speak in my home. Actually, you should just leave my home. Neither you or Frederick are welcome here any longer," she pointed to the exit. "Hobbs, remove them. Ignore them, Jeremiah and eat."

He realized he'd been watching the fight a little too closely. He dipped a corner of his sandwich into the rich red soup.

"Mom! You can't let this go on!" Frederick shouted but Hobbs forced them out. Finally, he looked at his wife. "We'll get our son back, Addy. We won't let them turn him into one of them." He left with his wife.

Jerry looked up at Nana. "They're your kids?" He asked incredulously. They looked like her but didn't seem like she would be related to either of them.

"Frederick was my only son and that was his wife. However, they abused my grandson and I can no longer call them my children in good conscience," she explained. "All they care about is my will. Well, they're in for a rude awakening when my time eventually comes."

That thought made him sad. He could only hope that wouldn't come for many years yet. Eddie was the only person who really took the time to understand where he was coming from. Neither he nor Nana judged him for what he did. They just tried to help him.

She touched his tray. "Keep eating. You need the calories even if your body doesn't think it does. And drink your milk."

Obediently, he ate, feeling a burst of gratitude for the woman's forcefulness. She reminded him of his grandmother who raised him after his single mother abandoned him. Until she died and he was left alone. Then he got a job with Crystal and busted his ass to earn a spot at his left hand. Suki was always at his right.

She watched him eat, worrying quietly to herself. What did her wayward son have planned? They just kept pushing at Eddie. Pushing and pushing. He couldn't always be surrounded by protectors. How could she protect her grandson without taking away his newfound independence and freedom?

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They ultimately decided not to open the ice cream truck that day. It was too cool to attract much of a crowd anyway. "So what do you guys do during the cold season?" Meena asked when they met Tyler for lunch.

"Oh, we'll switch from ice cream to stuffed crepes and hot chocolate, coffee, stuff that's great on cold days," Tyler explained. "Usually we've made enough that we're able to take the next month getting things switched over."

Alphonso smiled. "I'm going to do the cherry-cream cheese filling that they used in our wedding cake." He announced. "Or at least my version. And for Christmas, I make a peppermint-chocolate with hazelnut chocolate spread."

Meena clapped. "I could bake some cookies, cupcakes and muffins, that sort of thing." She offered. "Ooo what about tiny hand-held pies?"

"I love it!" Alphonso hugged her.

Tyler nodded. "Told you, you hit the jackpot with her. And what do you think of our job posting?" He showed Alphonso the mock-up of the flier for their truck and their social media pages.

Alphonso read it. "Now Hiring 15 an hour starting." He nodded. "Flexible scheduling, access to fun events, fun work atmosphere… Holiday pay, PTO. Great, post it."

Meena nodded. "I forgot, Ash might send Lance your way. He's been having trouble finding a new job ever since…"

He took her hand. "I'll happily give him a job if he asks. It was sort of our fault…" They laughed at the memory.

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Rosita slept most of the day, intermittently nursing and loving on her new piglets. Norman stayed with her, grateful for Uncle Gunter. He gazed lovingly down at his sleeping wife and little Elisabeth and Buster who lay in either arm. He held Ruby while Lakshmi and Marian lay in their beds. He would alternate holding each one.

He was surprised when a knock came at the door. "Good evening Mrs. Patel, Mr. Calloway. Thanks for coming." He wasn't expecting the visit but was still grateful.

Sitara held a casserole dish. "It's a pleasure. I figured you both might want something more satisfying than what the hospital has to offer so I made you a baked ziti."

Rosita moaned into wakefulness as she heard voices. "Hi… thank you…" She said tiredly.

Sitara smiled. "I just wanted to see how you were doing for myself. Ohhhh, they are so precious." She gushed. "I remember when Meena was born. It was the happiest day of my life."

The sow giggled with glee. "It never gets old. Their brothers and sisters were so excited to finally get to meet them before Gunter took them home."

Norman laughed. "And Caspar said 'only one boy?'"

The white-maned lion laughed along. "You two are very blessed. Ruby and I wanted children but it was not to be." He stroked Lakshmi's head tenderly.

Sitara put a comforting hand on his shoulder. She and her husband had planned on at least one or two more after Meena. Until he got sick about a year before she was born. "We won't stay and bother you. We know you're tired. Enjoy that casserole. Congratulations again." She hugged both pigs before she and Clay left. "You know, I made a lot of that casserole. There's a dish of it at home. How about we do that for dinner?"

He smiled gratefully. The benefit of dating a fellow widow was she understood when he needed privacy for what was on his mind. He wanted to talk but not with two people currently going through their own issues and couldn't quite understand his pain. And he couldn't share this with Ash. Even she, despite her initial reaction, sort of had kids. At least two kids who wanted her to be their mom. But more importantly, it wasn't an appropriate topic at this level of relationship. He couldn't very well picture Norman talking about something like this with any of his piglets or even Eddie.

Sitara had been reluctant to change Meena's bedroom but Clay and Mr. Gupta convinced her that it was time so they converted it into a private sitting room for the older elephants and gave her and Clay the living room.

She served them each a large hunk of hot, cheesy, meaty, melty baked ziti, alongside a salad and a slice of garlic bread. "Sitara, this looks delicious." She poured them each a glass of white wine.

The cow smiled and sat down beside him. "Cooking is an escape for me. When I'm feeling low, I cook. Meena bakes." She explained. "What do you do?"

He sighed. "Before Ruby died, I played and I sang. After… I was almost afraid to escape. Afraid to let myself heal. Sorry, the babies just made me remember…"

She touched his paw. "What do you remember?" She asked him kindly. "Tell me about her. A burden shared is a burden halved."

He took a drink of his wine. "All the dreams we had. Children were the only thing we needed to make our lives complete. And we were so excited when she became pregnant but…. Halfway through, she miscarried. She had developed a molar pregnancy and that developed into a tumor…" He didn't need to explain. She squeezed his paw. "We tried chemo but it just made her feel worse and wasn't having much effect so she ultimately decided to stop."

She rubbed his back, just letting him share his pain with her.

"I was halfway through my pregnancy when they found a tumor on Naveed's brain stem, completely wrapped. It couldn't be removed safely. Chemo was only a temporary relief. But his last wish was to see his daughter, just once," Sitara looked at a photograph of a very sick elephant with a bright smile, despite all of the tubes and wires, holding a brand new baby elephant. "He got to hold her, then that night, he fell into a coma and just never woke up."

Clay looked at the photograph and held her hand. Together they sat, mourning their lost loves and leaning on each other for support.

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AN: Okay, I've taken this day long enough. Time to let my characters sleep here and start the next day lol. Warning: there will be an attempted suicide at some point in the following chapters. Just not sure where. Please comment and review.