So, I may have been watching a little too much Law & Order SVU lately, but nonetheless, I think the topics of both mental health and harassment are very serious and need to be addressed, especially because there are a lot of horrible real-life stories of younger victims. Just be warned, there are mentions toward those very issues, but I've done my best to be as subtle as possible.

___________________________

Katia looked at a picture of Garrett and asked herself, "What does this Mariposa have that I don't?"

Katia kissed Garrett's picture and basically made out with it.

"Oh, Garrett. You're just confused. You know as well as I that we're meant to be." Katia sighed. "Somehow you'll see it. You and me, we're meant to be."

Just then, there was a knock on the trailer door.

"Katia, Ms. Diamond wants you on stage for rehearsal." said a voice outside the door.

"Tell her I'm on my way," said Katia.

She took the picture to her wardrobe, where inside was a shrine she built for Garrett.

"I'll be back soon, my love. And soon we'll be together forever.

___________________________

Katia shuffled her cards to practice for the big show. Her shuffling was a show-stopper, and so was pretty much any trick she could muster.

Play the cards right, you're ready for the spotlight, that's what Katia's first magic teacher used to say. Katia took great pride in playing the cards right in more ways than one. You definitely don't want to play Poker or Blackjack with her. You're bound to fall into deep debt if you do. Before she joined the circus, she was a con woman who took money from people with pick a card type games where people had to pick the black card out of three cards, two of them being red, but in actuality, she rigged the game with three red cards so no matter which one people picked, they would always lose. She did some time, but after she was released, she was mentored by a magic teacher, The Great Bandini, who taught her how she could use her card skills legally, by doing card tricks as a magician, which helped her get a job in the Diamond Ring Circus as the magician's assistant.

Unfortunately, even with her job as a magician's assistant, and then becoming the new big top magician, Katia remained a trickster.

Most of the performers would describe her as... shifty.... manipulative.... hard to read... self-centered, seductive, strange... someone sneaky saying stuff to snag something she wanted.

And at the moment, what Katia wanted was Garrett. She wanted everything to do with him. His charm, his brains, his body, everything! She wanted to be the one whose finger he placed a ring on. But with Mariposa in the way, that wasn't possible. Or was it?

Katia finished her rehearsal and put on some normal clothing to go out into town. She told Jenine she was taking on errands, but she was actually doing something else.

___________________________

The dance was just two days away, and there was still the matter of food. Strawberry Sundae and Mace were taking care of the dessert table, but they still needed some chips, ingredients for dip, soda, and some plastic cups. Since shopping duty was left to the royal family, it was Garrett and Mariposa's turn to take care of grocery shopping today, which meant they also took care of watching the children while their parents continued to assist with the decorations.

The babies babbled and cooed as they were placed into the cart seats.

"Someone's excited today, aren't they?" cooed Mariposa, playing with Luke and Leia.

Garrett just finished buckling Charlotte into her seat, and went over the rules with the other kids.

"Okay, children. Remember the rules of grocery shopping. No running off, no grabbing things we don't need, and no fighting with employees or other customers."

"Yes, Teacher Garrett," said all the kids like a bunch of little kids.

"I mean it, kids. We don't need to stir up any trouble today." Garrett said. "The dance is the day after tomorrow, and we need to finish preparations quickly."

"And remember, kids." Mariposa said. "If any of you gets lost, you should only go to someone who works here for help."

So, the Heartwoods split up into two teams. Garrett took Anakin's kids, while Mariposa took Carmine's and her own.

Mariposa took to the produce since she was an expert in that area, while Garrett took the kids to pick some chips for the dance.

"How about these?" Boba suggested, picking up a couple different bags of barbecued potato chips.

"Those are good choices. Girls, see if you can find something else good."

So, Omega and Gabby looked at some of the other flavors.

"Ooh! Sharp Cheddar Cheetah Chips." Gabby licked her mouth at the sight of that bag. But they were too high for her to reach, but not after Omega let her sit on her shoulders. "Thanks, Big Sister."

"Be careful, girls." Garrett said. "Omega, put your sister down before she breaks her neck."

"Yes, Daddy." Omega joked, getting her sister back to the floor.

But Garrett didn't know that there was another shopper paying special attention to him, and taking pictures of him on her cell phone when he wasn't looking, and inconspicuously following him everywhere he went in the store. Of course, like any stalker, even one with good hiding skills, she didn't go totally unnoticed.

Gabby, being a champion at Hide and Seek, even though she grew too big to hide in her toy box anymore, could spot someone acting suspiciously a mile away. She didn't need Force sensitivity for that either. And when she realized there was someone following them, she knew what she had to do.

Gabby took out her phone and sent a text message. Then Garrett's phone beeped, and he checked it to find a message: Garrett, I think we're being followed! Followed by scared face emoji.

Garrett acted natural, but he set his phone as if he were taking a selfie and spotted the stalker. He had to protect the children. So, he acted natural again, then texted the teen twins to take the babies and Gabby and go to a security guard for help, and he also texted his wife about what was happening. But they had to split up carefully.

Garrett thought this stalker was after the royal children; this was exactly the kind of thing their parents were afraid of them encountering, which was why they were hesitant to let them go out without Carousella or Crescent or any of the Batch as bodyguards.

"Come on, Luke." Omega cooed. "Out of the cart and into my arms."

Luke responded by cooing and putting his little hands on his sister's face. Leia, on the other hand, took handfuls of Boba's hair.

Carefully, the kids split up. Boba taking Leia down one aisle, and Omega, Gabby, and Leia going down the other. If this stalker was after the kids, they would be a lot harder to catch if they were split up. Except, the stalker didn't follow the children, and instead was following Garrett, so Garrett moved a little faster, trying to lose this stranger, but they moved a little faster too.

This wouldn't be the first time Garrett dealt with stalkers either! Because he was part of a wealthy family, his parents had a strict curfew for him and all of his siblings, and it was also why he and all his siblings took martial arts and self-defense from a very young age. And Koa was a cop, so he dealt with this kind of thing almost all the time, and gave guest lectures at schools sometimes regarding this matter.

And Garrett realized this person was getting closer and closer. It felt like something out of a horror movie, and Garrett jumped into defense mode when he felt someone tap his shoulder.

"Gotcha! Just like old times." said a familiar voice from underneath a red hood.

"Katia?!" Garrett said. "Don't scare me like that. I thought the kids were in danger."

"No danger here," said Katia, getting awfully close to Garrett. "Just a girl running errands for the circus."

"Well, do you have to do it dressed like you're hiding? You probably traumatized my students."

Garrett started to walk away, but Katia followed him.

"In that case, it looks like we're finally alone."

"And in a public place where my wife is likely not far away."

"Who says she has to know?"

"I do. And I also say you need to know, Katia, I am married, I have a family, and I love them. I don't love you, and we're not going to be a thing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find my kids."

But Katia was insistent that Garrett spend time with her, and she pulled him away from the cart and held him in a dip.

"I'm sure they can wait." Katia placed her hand by Garrett's ear and pulled out a two of hearts card. "Two hearts here as one, we can be in secret."

"Katia! That's enough!" Garrett said, getting himself free of Katia's grip.

"Oh, Garrett. Don't act like you don't remember. That romantic dinner we shared, the candlelight, the magic of the dark, just us two?"

"That was one date, and it's not one I tend to look back on."

Garrett rushed off to go and find the children, but Katia just appeared at the next aisle he got too. She was shuffling her cards when he arrived and still behaving flirtatiously.

"Don't disappear on me, Garrett. You know you don't like being trapped with the same thing every day." Katia flirted. "I don't know why you seem fine with a girl who wears a cloak all the time, when you could have all this."

Katia opened up her trench coat to reveal the strapless and tight red dress she hid underneath, hoping Garrett would be turned on by it, but he wasn't.

Garrett just walked away, to the woman's disgruntledness, but other men who saw her were turned on.

"Who you trying to impress?" said one man flirtatiously.

"Pick a card," said Katia, holding a deck of cards.

The man picked a card, looked at it, and placed it back in the stack, but when Katia shuffled them, the guy got hit in the face with some gas that smelled like the worst smelling perfume you can imagine, and it had the man coughing and gagging as Katia walked away.

___________________________

Garrett managed to find the kids and meet his wife at checkout so they could leave, when Mariposa noticed her husband seemed agitated, seeing his eyes change to look like those of a wolf and the fact that he was breathing heavily.

"Garrett, what's wrong?" Mariposa asked.

"You won't believe who I ran into." Garrett said, not sounding happy.

Mariposa had a bad feeling about this.

"Please say it's not who I think it is."

"I would say what happened, but I don't think it's appropriate to say it in front of the children."

Garrett didn't need to say precisely what happened; to say Mariposa was angry or annoyed would be an understatement. She'd seen women get touchy with Garrett before, and usually Garrett just had to push them away and they backed off, but this time... Mariposa did not know how to describe how she felt, or what words to use to describe this woman that actually fit her level.

"Let's just get going before she follows us home too." Mariposa said, picking up one of the grocery bags so they could get back to the Temple. At least there they had guards. But Garrett told his wife to head there while he made a different stop somewhere else.

___________________________

Garrett thought Katia would've gotten over her crush on him by now; calling it a "crush" was putting it mildly, but he couldn't believe after all this time, Katia somehow managed to get even crazier than he remembered. He decided it was time to set things straight. Mariposa would more than likely strangle Katia to death, and even she didn't deserve that, regardless of the fact that Garrett couldn't say he blamed his wife for being tempted. That would be very much like putting Rush Clovis flirting with Padme in the same room as Anakin and expecting him not to beat the man to the ground.

Garrett got a ride and entered the tent without so much as an 'excuse me'.

"Katia, where are you? We need to talk!" Garrett said.

And that was when Garrett found himself wrapped in a red ribbon and spun around onto a bench, where Katia sat on top of him and fingered at his hair.

"I see you've finally come back for me."

"Katia, what is wrong with you?!" Garrett said. "First you send thousands of love letters to my place of work, then you rack up phone calls at the office, then you flirt in front of my wife, then stalk me in public, and now this?!"

"Don't act like you don't love it."

And then Katia forced her lips against Garret's prompting Garrett to push her off and scream for help! At least, he tried to, but Katia was stronger than she looked, and she kept on pressing her lips to Garrett's each time he tried to push her off. Fortunately, someone heard Garrett when he finally managed to scream louder, and two people pulled Katia off, leaving Garrett to fall on the floor with a slight thud.

"Oh, thank God!" Garrett sighed with relief once Katia was off him.

Rob and Tasha held Katia, while Jenine helped Garrett up.

"Katia! What the hell are you doing?!" said Jenine. "Garrett, are you okay?"

"I... I could be better." Garrett breathed heavily.

Garrett explained to the others that he'd come by because Katia had apparently followed him to the store, and was trying to flirt with him while his wife wasn't with him. Thus, he came here to set things straight and tell Katia once more, this time more firmly, that he wasn't interested in her, and that if she didn't stop with this behavior, he would be contacting a lawyer. But before he even had a chance to do that, Katia jumped in and violated him.

You can bet Jenine was not happy about this. Katia proved to be a great magician, but mentally, most of the performers were pretty sure she needed serious help. At least a couple of times, other performers saw her acting strangely (which was likely an understatement) regarding Garrett.

Once, Tasha needed to use Katia's laptop because hers was being fixed, when she accidentally stumbled on Katia's browser history and found her doing a lot of searching on 'Garrett Heartwood,' and researching where he worked. Another time, Katia stumbled upon a man who looked like Garrett from behind and she immediately started hitting on him in front of his kids, and the man's wife whacked Katia with her purse. In fact, both circus workers and audience members had complaints about her. Jenine wanted to give Katia the benefit of the doubt because her father made her the new big top magician after Garrett left, but this act of harassment and assault was the final straw. She was not going to put her father's legacy in danger because of one magician who couldn't control herself.

"Katia, this is the last straw," said Jenine. "You may be a good magician, but you need serious help."

While Jenine was talking to Katia, Tasha proceeded to call the cops, hoping they would take the card trickster to a mental hospital.

Garrett took that chance to run, which made Katia stop listening to Jenine and try to run after him.

"Stop playing hard to get, Gary." Katia tried to go after him, but Jenine grabbed her.

Except, Katia proceeded to give Jenine a nasty paper cut with one of her cards.

"And that was just a club. Next one will be a spade." Katia said.

"There won't be a next one, because your time as this circus' magician is over, Katia." Jenine said.

"What?! You can't fire me! I'm the greatest act in the show."

"Correction, Garrett was the greatest act. We've received many complaints about you harassing audience members, as well as the performers. I've given you many chances, but I am officially done. My father wouldn't have stood for this, and neither will I."

Katia gave a cry of despair and ran off before anyone had a chance to grab her.

Luckily, though, Garrett managed to get out of sight of that crazy woman. If there was one thing Garrett was especially glad Mariposa was able to teach him, it was how to hide from predators. In Mariposa's case, it was usually humans, especially doresho hunters like Uncle Keanu. But Garrett didn't know if ever, his wife had to hide from a crazed stalker like Katia.

Of course, most stalkers probably didn't catch the eye of the scariest stalker of them all, who didn't even leave her house to do the stalking.

___________________________

"Such anger. The jealousy within her is so strong. Lusting for what she can't have, wanting what she will never get." Mariverde chuckled.

She called a butterfly to her hand, and turned it green and black.

"Go on, my little mariclava. Show Katia what real magic looks like."

___________________________

Garrett could not feel more relieved to have finally arrived back at the Temple. But he told the guards to be on the lookout for Katia. He'd taken the long way just to be sure he wasn't being followed, and used a couple of transportation spells to random spots so Katia wouldn't know where he was going. But, he was also traumatized.

I know what some of you are probably thinking. A grown man traumatized? But it's true; trauma can happen at any age. Mental health doesn't have age limits to who can have problems, need help, or who can get help. Maybe you experienced a traumatic event when you were little, but even after twenty years it still haunts you sometimes. But, with a little help and support, you're able to overcome it.

All kinds of things can traumatize people of any age. Sometimes it's something big like getting into an accident, watching your parents fight and then get a divorce, public humiliation, sometimes even something as seemingly simple as watching a violent movie or falling off a horse. All of these things, trauma is not really a surprise as a result, but it's also no joke. Trauma, though it's a mental issue, is like a virus. If you don't treat it, it'll grow and worsen, thus making it harder to treat. But the answer doesn't have to be complicated.

If you or someone you know is traumatized, a big hug can go a long way. Sadly, as simple as that solution is, when the trauma is caused by being a victim to a heinous crime like Garrett was not three hours ago, it can be a little harder to ask for help.

You've probably heard stories of women being victims of such a crime, and then they've had to go through nasty court battles and demeaning questioning. People asking things like, "What were you wearing?" or "Why did you agree to go with them if you didn't want to do it?" and then the perp says "She wanted it," "It was consensual," and things like that.

But when a man is the victim, although the response is similar to that of a female victim, it was a bit more challenging to face due to societal stereotypes. For a man as big and strong as Garrett, most would think he could fight anyone off easily. But, Garrett wasn't the violent type, nor was he an exception to Fight or Flight.

Even though Garrett's case involved mainly forced kisses, it was still traumatic, and probably would've escalated into something more violent had Garrett's old friends not arrived when they did. He felt so foolish, so stupid, so weak for not being able to fight her off himself. But he felt even worse because he had no idea how he was going to explain this to his wife. He was sure she'd be furious that he was kissed by another woman, and didn't use a spell or anything to get her off.

Garrett couldn't do this right now. Garrett found a closet to hide in, and he curled up in the corner to cry out his feelings for a while, but he wasn't alone for long, as someone came to the closet looking for a broom.

"Oh! Garrett, what are you doing in here?" said Obi-Wan.

"Nothing! I was just leaving." said Garrett, standing up, only to bump his head on a shelf and get a mop knocked on his head. "I meant to do that."

Obi-Wan carefully removed the bristles from Garrett's head.

"This wouldn't be the first time I've walked in on someone hiding in here." said the Jedi.

It was true. This particular closet seemed like a favorite hiding spot both in the old and new Jedi Temple. Anakin would hide in there to get away from the kids picking on him when he first arrived at the Temple, and occasionally the kids hid in there to get away from everyone else when they were experiencing emotional problems. Maybe it was that most of the cleaning products in there smelled like lavender that made this closet so appealing.

"So, either you're in here playing Hide and Seek, or you have something on your mind and you wanted to get away."

"You sensed all that?" Garrett said, getting the mop off his head.

"No, I just spent years raising Anakin."

That, Garrett could believe, taught Obi-Wan a lot of signs when someone was moody or something.

"What happened?"

Naturally, Garrett was hesitant to say anything. He wasn't sure who to turn to in this situation. He was terrified to tell his wife, he wasn't sure how his family would react if he called and told them what happened or even if he just called Koa to see if he could help since he was a cop, and he dreaded telling even his adult students, fearing they might think less of him, being the teacher who taught them all kinds of defense techniques and yet he was unable to protect himself. He just covered his face and tried to hold back from crying in front of Obi-Wan.

"Garrett, you can tell me. Teacher to teacher?" Obi-Wan said. "Whatever is on your mind, you can tell me."

"I don't think you'd understand it." said Garrett. "Not unless you're afraid of how your wife would react to something bad happening to you."

Obi-Wan wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that. But he didn't need Force-sensitivity to know clearly Garrett was afraid to tell Mariposa something that happened to him that clearly had him shaken up really badly.

Obi-Wan thought about it, and he told him that whatever happened, he was sure Mariposa wouldn't blame him for it, especially if it was an accident.

"It was an accident for me. Intentional for someone else."

That was enough to shock Obi-Wan a little.

"Wait... Garrett, did someone attack you?"

This time, Garrett couldn't hold back from crying. And the Jedi Master didn't need Garrett to put the answer to his question in words.

Anakin had behaved this way before, and Obi-Wan came to learn a long time ago there was only one thing to do at a time like this.

Obi-Wan hugged Garrett and encouraged him to just let it all out. And after Garrett sobbed for a little bit, Obi-Wan decided to see if he could get Garrett to tell him what happened.

Garrett told Obi-Wan about what happened at the store earlier that day and about his former assistant from the circus having a crazy obsession with him.

"I thought she'd gotten over it, but I was very wrong. And when I went to confront her, I'm forced on a bench and then she started kissing me. I tried to push her off, but she just kept going! I was lucky someone else pulled her off before she could do anything else."

Garrett breathed heavily as he thought back to this.

Obi-Wan could definitely see why his former Padawan's new teacher was afraid now. He'd heard stories similar to this on the news, although the ones he'd heard usually involved perps doing a little more than just forced kissing. But Garrett's situation was serious nonetheless.

"Garrett, I've seen this before. Victim blaming doesn't just come from peers. Oftentimes, it comes from a victim blaming him or herself. I don't think Mariposa will be mad at you if you tell her what happened. You didn't ask for this to happen, and Katia was the one to attack you."

"It's not just how mad she'll be at me I'm worried about. You didn't see how she reacted when she learned my uncle was the one to attack her father."

Garrett remembered it all too well. When Mariposa thought her father was dead, all it took was one look at her father's bracelet around Keanu's wrist to get her steamed, and eventually expose herself as a maricamba (or doresho gypsy, as hunters called her). She was lucky to make it out alive that time, but if she got angry enough to do that again if she learned what Katia did (which Garrett felt sure she would), she might not be so fortunate.

"True, I didn't. But, she might be able to control herself better if you tell her sooner rather than later."

Garrett sighed. He knew Obi-Wan was right. Still, that didn't make it any easier or less terrifying.

"First, we need to get you out of this closet before you start sneezing."

"Achoo!" Garrett sneezed, having breathed in too much lavender fumes.

"Too late."

But, Garrett got out of the closet anyway, if only to keep from breathing in more lavender and getting blurred vision... but he already got that from the tears in his eyes.

___________________________

Meanwhile, Katia felt like pulling out her hair as she stood in an alley, hiding from the police as she knew they were already on the prowl for her, thanks to Tasha. If it wasn't her lusting for Garrett that made her nuts, it was whenever fellow performers talked about how much they missed Garrett. It was always, "Garrett this, Garrett that! Blah, blah, blah!"

"Garrett's tricks were death-defying!" "Garrett made those kids so happy!" "Garrett advertised through good deeds without even trying"

Katia recalled all the times Garrett received so much praise after a show when he was the big top magician, while she was just the assistant helping out in the act and looking pretty. Many men noticed how pretty Katia looked, but she only cared if Garrett looked at her like that. But he never did, and now Katia was really frustrated, which was an understatement.

Katia looked at the deck of cards in her hand and growled.

"It's not fair! I should be Garrett's wife! Those should be my kids. I'm hot, I'm smart, and just as great a magician as he ever was! But that blue haired freak show had to steal him away from me! If Garrett could see what magic I would make for him, he would leave her and see what he's missed out on! Garrett, his love, his body, his touch, everything. I should be the one having his babies. All that is rightfully mine!"

Katia was so busy ranting, she didn't see the mariclava come in and land on her deck of cards.

"Correct you are, you should have what is rightfully yours. But he's given all of it to a woman who couldn't make nearly as good magic as you."

"Garrett must see that we are meant to be," said Katia.

"Hocus Chaos, I am Mariverde. I give you the power to achieve anything your heart desires. Play your cards wrong, and you shall make right. But in return, you must bring me the crown jewels of the royal family of Solaris. Do we have a deal?"

"We abraca-do!"

And so, Katia was clavatized into Hocus Chaos.