A/N: Ey! Hey, hey! Sorry for the delay! No, mean it. Sorry. College bit me in the butt for the entirety of the second semester and, also, I'm working on an all-original novel! Whaaat?! So yeah, both of those things got in my way. I'll try to wrap up this story as soon as I can. We're a little after half of it. Hope you enjoy the 33rd chapter of The Koala and the Porcupine.

"No freaking way. Seriously?"

"Telling you so, am I not?" Laura chuckles.

"Dude, it's not freaking possible that the ISS has videogame consoles!"

"I'm telling you, I played with them. It was an entertaining day."

"Dude, you get cooler and cooler. You've been to freaking space! How did you manage that one?" Ash asks.

Both of them are inside Laura's car, directed towards her and Munro's apartment. Laura checks the rear mirrors, and just lets out an amused sigh at the LASPOD car that is following them. Well… it's not a LASPOD car. But there are two operators escorting them.

"Back when I was a sophomore, this many years ago, I had to present this project I developed with some of my classmates. I believe I told you about that. The one that I..?" Laura motions to her heart.

"Uh, yeah. You did. So..?"

"So yeah. Well, Munro's sister, Maryanne, was an astronaut and aerospace engineer and she was the one who was going to evaluate the projects. I didn't know him or her back then, so you can't say it benefited me in any way, Ash," she laughs, raising her eyebrow.

The girl was already giving her a cheeky grin. "That's what I was about to imply."

"Called it. But anyways, I was the assigned one to present the entire project, and that scared the living daylights out of me, because I hate speaking in public. But I did surprisingly well, Mary was friendly, she put me at ease, and God help her, she saw whatever in me that she told me to tag along her for the day. Mine was one of the very first projects presented. But anyways, many, many projects later, we reach this senior's project–"

"Ohoho," Ash says, elbowing her side.

"I think you are guessing what happened then. Okay," Laura laughs. "Well, it was a project for… if my memory doesn't fail me, a solar energy-driven particle accelerator. It had nitrogen to it and whatnot, and a heat–" Laura, who had been alternating between looking at the road and looking at Ash, quickly catches the girl's confused expression. "Well, not going to bother you with the specifics. Anyways, they started the theoretical part of it, everything was doing fine, but at the moment they turn it on, it just… explodes. Well, not entirely. But the inside of the machine explodes, and they're stunned. And then, they turn to Mary and tell her to wait just a second and they start whispering, 'hey, what the hell?', 'hey, what went wrong?', 'hey, thought you two tested it', yadda yadda yadda."

"Me trying to present myself to an audience for the first time," Ash laughs. The woman soon follows suit.

"Well, there's a story I want to hear! But anyways, I was nosy as hell. And you know what? Something about the theoretical part just didn't sound right, so..." she giggles. "Imagine this, me, a sophomore, in a room I wasn't supposed to be, surrounded by people who had been doing research for longer than I'd been alive and many seniors, and I just start analyzing the chalkboard. And what do you know? There was a mistake there. F that equals G multiplied by M multiplied by m divided by r squared, in which F is the force of gravity between two masses–"

"Dude, you literally just spoke Chinese there," Ash chortles. Laura looks down, grinning.

"Alright. Well, that became F that equals G multiplied M divided by r squared multiplied by m." Ash makes a weirded out face. Laura merely lets out an amused chuckle. "Anyways… it was the wrong equation, and it crucial to make the entire device work. So I just poke this senior on the back, he turns to me and I just stutter a little to tell him that the equation was wrong. And then he turns to his friends, they check the board, and then he just turns to one of them and says 'well, we might as well replace Robin with the sophomore, because he couldn't catch this one!' and laughs."

"Smooth," Ash says.

"Totally. Well, I could feel my skin burning and I just wished the ground would swallow me. But anyways, they do last minute arranges, fix the prototype, it now works perfectly, and I guess that impresses Mary. At the end of the day, she just pulls me aside and asks me if I'd like to go to the ISS with her, if I passed all the physical requirements."

"Didn't know they let midgets go to space," Ash teases. Laura slaps her arm, playfully.

"I'm 5'1"!"

"Okay, almost-midgets go to space," she keeps on.

"Ha ha. Now I know what Munro and you keep giggling about when you think I'm not looking," Laura says, raising a brow.

"Hey, in your defense, I mock him too," Ash says, lightly punching the woman in the shoulder.

"Me too," she laughs. "But well… that's it. That's the story of how I ended up in the ISS."

"You're the luckiest person alive. Did you even imagine that fixing that one minor mistake would spiral into that?"

"Minor?! Ha, how dare… but no. Absolutely not. It came as a huge surprise, but it was fun. I had fun. I still have a NASA jacket with a golden pin to it. I did my internship there but never applied to become actual personnel."

"Why?" Laura shrugs. "Ah, well. Must've been a surprise when you found out she was Munro's sister."

"I didn't meet Munro until many, many years later, but indeed, it was," she laughs. "When he told me his last name was 'Belleville', it immediately shot my mind back to Maryanne. And then he told me he actually was, indeed, her brother and it was just amusing."

"I bet. Oh, it's this one on the right."

"Oh, okay."

The car comes to a halt in front of Ash's apartment. As the girl prepares to get off, however, she freezes in place at who's waiting for her. Lance.

"What?" Laura asks. She then sees the man. "Oh, for Heaven's sakes."

"He has gotta be kidding me."

"He's like a dog with a bone," Laura sighs. "Want me to walk you inside?"

"No. I need to face him alone. But thanks. Shouldn't take long," Ash says, already hopping out of the car.

Ash never needs help. Laura prepares herself to intervene, however, in case things get out of hand.

The argument extends itself for almost half an hour before Ash finally has enough and goes into the building. Lance tries following suit, but the girl smacks the door on his face in a quite literal way. Then, he starts yelling for her to come down, and that's when Laura feels the need to intervene. Hopping out of the car, she quickly approaches the man.

Lance soon starts banging on the door once again.

"Hey!" Laura says. He turns to her.

"Uh… hey?"

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced. Laura. Laura Fisherman," she says, extending her hand.

"Huh… Lance," he says, taking her hand.

"I know. Now that we've exchanged greets, I believe Ash told you she didn't want to see you here. So, leave."

"Ha! Like I will. Listen, lady, I don't know how well you think you know Ash–"

"I know her enough."

"Or our relationship, but she loves me! Deep down, she does!"

"She does not love you. Not anymore. You had your chance, and you blew it. And now, she's with someone who values and respects her like she deserves."

Lance thinks for a moment. "The old man?"

"Buster."

Lance just laughs. "Like that guy is any better than I am! I'm younger."

"And dumber. And about to get out of here, if you ask me."

He chortles laughing. "Oh yeah? Who's gonna send me away, you?" he mockingly asks, putting a finger to her face.

Huge mistake.

With incredible dexterity, she grabs his finger, twists it, kicks him on the shin and pins him down on the curb.

"Ah!"

"Yeah, I am sending you away. And if I don't, you can be sure that my husband, a 6'4" cop, will."

"You're… you're freaking lying," he nervously chuckles.

"Oh yeah? I could call him up right now. Or better, why not just call the police on you?"

"More like I call the police on you. You're the one who's assaulting me."

"I am defending myself against a stalker, which isn't exactly what you'd call a felony. Stalking, on the other hand… six months in jail. Do you think you can last six months in jail, Lance? With the contacts we have inside?" she grimly laughs.

"Wait..."

"Oh, yeah. You must've heard about Johnny's father. You know, 6'4", buff and, above all, incarcerated in the only prison in Los Angeles? What do you think happens then?"

Lance gulps. "Alright, alright! Let me go and I'll bounce!"

Laura quickly lets go of him. "You better."

Lance quickly takes off just as Ash walks out of the building. Laura quickly fixes herself.

"Did Lance go away?"

"You could say that, yes." Ash raises an eyebrow. "Anyways, shall we?"

"What did you do?"

Laura sighs. "Scared him out of here, no big deal."

"Laura!"

"Come on, Ash. It was obvious he was going to keep pestering you, so what's the harm done?"

"I asked you not to!"

"Listen, with the amount of noise he was making, it was either me or one of your neighbors."

Ash sighs. "Fine. Let's just go," she says, getting back in the car.

"Hey, Junior."

"Hey, mom."

"I thought you'd be asleep by the time we got here," Laura comments.

"I actually was, not long ago. But then, I got hungry and am ordering some pizza. Does… uh..."

"Ash."

"Yeah! Do Ash and you want some?"

"We'd love some. If you're ordering from Kent Pizza Hall, half pepperoni, half Doritos with mozzarella. Ash loved that."

"Got it. Where have you two been?"

"We stopped by her house to retrieve her guitar case plus some personal belongings. We figured that, since she's been living here this past few weeks, she might as well make herself at home."

Junior laughs. "Alright, mom."

Flushing can be heard as Ash walks out of the bathroom. "Laura?"

"Over here!" the woman calls. Ash is soon with them. "We're just ordering pizza."

"Oh, good. I'm starving. Hey, man," she says, fistbumping Junior.

"Hey. What kinda soda do you usually order with pizza?"

"Uh… Coke's fine," Laura says. "I'm just going to take a shower. Long day. If you wanna choose something for us to watch while we eat, feel free. We have Netflix and some DVDs on the rack."

"Alright. Thanks, mom."

Laura then walks into her bedroom. Ash just sits on the couch next to Junior. "Munro Jr., huh?"

"Yep."

"Munro always struck me as the one who'd have a kid named after him," Ash laughs.

Junior soon follows suit. "He is. Well… every Munro in the family was. Overall, I'm Munro the Fourth."

"Shut up," Ash laughs.

"Yeah. Me, dad, my grandfather and my great grandfather."

"And before him?"

"Milton."

Both chortle laughing.

"Freaking Milton!"

"This family loves names that start with M," Junior states, still laughing. "There's me, my dad Munro, my birth mother Maureen, my aunt Maryanne, my uncle Michael, my grandfather Munro, my grandmother Mary… you get it," he laughs.

"Family dinners must be fun."

"Hah. Well… there's not many of us anymore. There's me, mom, dad, my sister, and aunt Mary."

"Eh, it happens in the best families," she says, nonchalant. She still pats him on the back, though. "Hey, do you like Jackass?"

Junior's face immediately lightens up. "Now we're talking!"

"Look! The guy's gonna shoot!" Ash calls.

"Horn, horn, horn!" Junior chants, laughing. Soon afterwards, the man sounds a horn, making the other man miss the golf shot, and the two of them chortle laughing, Ash even claps.

Laura, on the other hand, is only mildly amused as she takes another bite on the pizza. "How is that funny?!"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Mom, it's hilarious!"

"It's not hilarious! It's… depressing, even. It just shows how low people will go for a higher audience."

"Don't problematize Jackass, Laura, it's the best show-slash-movies in existence!"

"I'm about to be out-slash-gone from here," the woman jokes, standing up to grab herself some more soda. She lets out an amused chuckle on her way there. Who knew those two would get along so well? But well, she figures, Ash and Munro were the best of friends. Bonding with his son, who bore so many similarities with him, was only natural.

She sighs, moving over to the counter and putting some water to heat up.

"Yeah, I am sending you away. And if I don't, you can be sure that my husband, a 6'4" cop, will."

Lucky to her, Lance was too stupid to call her bluff. Munro was out of it. He had enough on his plate already to help anyone here.

But Lance didn't know that.

And, quite frankly, he didn't have to. Laura had just used that to make the guy leave Ash alone.

She wonders what would've happened if the man had been more stubborn, even when faced by her threats. Her whole ordeal would probably come crumbling down.

She takes a deep breath before opening the cabinet and retrieving a water thermometer, one that she promptly puts in the stirring pot. Huh. 91ºF. Almost good to go. The laughter from the other room finally comes to a stop.

"This ending is freaking epic," Junior says.

"Totally. Wanna watch another one?" Ash offers.

"Not today," Junior says. He then yawns. "I'm tired. I'm gonna call it a day."

"Same time tomorrow?"

Junior laughs. "Absolutely." Soon enough, he's standing against the kitchen door. "Hey, mom. I'm going to bed, okay?"

Laura, having been too immersed in her thoughts, suddenly snaps out of them. A 'uh-hm' is all she can muster out, pulling her hair back.

Junior makes a weird face at that. "You okay, mom?"

Laura just observes him for a moment. "Yeah, everything's fine. Don't worry about me." She then closes the distance between them, standing on the tip of her toes to hug him. "Have a good night."

The embrace is short-lived as the two of them break apart. "You too, mom."

Junior then kisses her cheek and moves away to his own bedroom.

Laura takes a deep breath. She suddenly feels like crying, but refrains from doing so. Ash is just on the other room. Instead, she just moves back to her boiling water pot. Huh. 115°F. Perfect.

Laura takes her time sipping down the fuming cup of coffee before she's done with it. Then, she sets it down, and straightens her hair as she stands up to go to her room. Before she can go inside, however, she hears faint cries. She stops dead on her tracks, and moves over to Junior's room's door. No. Not coming from there. She then moves closer to Ash's room's door. She puts her ear on the oak wood. Oh yeah. It's coming from here.

Slowly, she pushes the door open, and the result couldn't be any other. Ash is curled against a pillow, soaking it with tears. Laura then moves closer, sitting down by her bedside. Upon being touched, Ash jumps.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay," she says, putting on a fake smile and rubbing her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"It's not nothing," Laura replies, laying down on the bed and bringing the girl into her arms. Ash merely holds the arm that is now wrapped around her. "Come on. What troubles you?"

Ash hesitates for a moment. "It's Lance," she finally says.

"Tell me something I don't know," she says, gently holding the teen's cheek. "What did that asswipe do now?"

Ash doesn't say anything. She just passes her phone to Laura, with a particular messages' tab open.

"You know you're never gonna find love outside of me. You know that, don't you, your little [expletive]? You can hook up with the old man, or any other of the [expletive] you were always [expletive]. NONE OF THEM IS GONNA LOVE YOU LIKE I DID! This is your final chance. Either stick to me now, or be unhappy forever."

"Conceited, violent… wow," she says, laying down next to Ash. The younger woman soon takes her phone back. "How did you handle this for more than a month?"

"And you had to… you should've heard the things he said about Buster… how perverted he was… unworthy… an idiot who just wanted young blood in his life," Ash says, sniffing.

Suddenly, something clicks in Laura's head.

"She said Buster is 'using me' and just 'wants some young blood in his life'."

Her blood boils a little inside her veins. She didn't have evidence, but she had conviction.

"You know that's a string of bull since day one, sweetie," she says. She then sighs. "Do you want me to stay here with you?" Laura offers.

"I'd like that… please?"

Without a second thought, Laura brings the teenager into her arms, gently pecking her forehead, but still wary of what she thinks is going on. Oh, yes. Call her a wannabe detective, but tomorrow, she was going to visit a certain pig and a porcupine, and get to the bottom of this.

A/N: BOOM, THAT JUST HAPPENED! If you like it, please let me know.