Breakdown
by Steph
Pairing: Kelly/Toby
Summary: Sometimes all it takes is someone listening. This is a companion piece to my What the Kids Are Watching piece (the Sasha section that hinted at both Toby being hospitalized and him having a relationship with Kelly).
Timeline: After Did I Stutter
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
----
Did Kelly watch the documentary at first? She totally did. Most everyone at work did. Toby didn't though. When she asked him why not, in the break room, with Pam and Oscar chatting behind them, he shrugged and said, "It was hard enough having to live it. Why would I want to watch it?" But Pam and Oscar weren't really paying attention to them so he gave her a slow, private grin and she felt her face grow warm.
"Aren't you curious though?" she asked him later that night in his apartment. They had just come back from the movies; something independent and intellectual, which they had both hated. "About the documentary?"
"No," he said. "Last year was horrible for me and I don't need to see what led up to..." He didn't continue only frowned slightly.
"Well this year's totally better for you, right?" As she asked this question, she pushed at his sweater, helping him getting it over his head.
"This year is much better," he said and pulled her into his arms.
--
Last year, a few days after he had caressed Pam's knee in front of everyone and then jumped a fence, after he had sat back and watched Ryan put Jim on probation without a word of protest, Toby went to bed one night and decided not to go to work the next morning. Or the next morning. Or the next. He didn't call in sick; didn't talk to Pam or to Ryan or anyone. He didn't leave the house, and mostly stayed in bed, sleeping off and on. He didn't answer the phone or pick up his mail or even go to his daughter's ballet recital. It was after the recital that his pissed ex-wife drove over to his apartment ready to curse him out when she noticed the overflowing mailbox, the drawn shades. Worried more than angry, she banged on the door until he opened it. When he finally answered, exhausted-looking, pale, showered but still sort of unkempt and unshaven, his ex had become concerned. When he had come clean about how he had spent the last few weeks, how difficult work had become, how much of an asshole he had been to everyone especially Jim and Pam and how sick he was of his life, she had driven him to the hospital. It was the most time they had spent together in years.
--
People had talked when Toby disappeared. Some people assumed he had made good on his promise for Costa Rica. Some thought he had just quit. Michael had his own theories he was only too happy to share - Toby had gone on a killing spree, Toby was in jail. Kevin asked Jim if he had beaten Toby up for touching Pam's knee. Jim had said no.
Toby's ex was the one who called the office one day. Spoke to Pam and told her that Toby was in the hospital for depression; said that Toby was very upset about the way he had acted the last several months, specifically naming Pam and Jim as victims of his inappropriateness.
Pam and Jim agreed to keep it secret. They wouldn't tell Michael. They wouldn't tell Dwight or Phyllis or Oscar. They wouldn't tell Kelly.
--
Kelly found out though. Pam and Jim had been gone for most of the morning. And when they came back, Jim was especially quiet; Pam's eyes were red.
"What's going on?" Kelly asked Pam later that day in the restroom. "Where were you and Jim?"
"Nowhere."
Kelly didn't believe her, but she didn't really care that much. Trying to find a topic of conversation she said, "So did Toby quit or something?"
Pam didn't meet her eyes. "I don't... I don't know."
Kelly shrugged and put some lipstick on. She needed to go makeup shopping soon. "He's been acting so creepy lately. What's with that?"
Pam eyes welled up. Okay now Kelly was really curious. "What?" She gasped. "Are you and Jim breaking up?"
"What? No. No. It's just that..." She wiped at her eyes again. "Toby. He's in the hospital. For depression."
"Wow," Kelly said. "How exciting. Did you guys visit him?"
"That's where we were today. I shouldn't have said anything though. Promise me you won't tell anyone. Especially not Michael."
"Oh yeah. I totally promise." She looked at herself in the mirror again. "Maybe I'll visit him too."
"That's a good idea," Pam said. "I'd bet he'd like that."
"Yeah," Kelly said. "I'll visit him tomorrow."
--
Jim and Pam had talked to her before she went to the hospital. Warned her that Toby might seem a little different. Told her he might not be very talkative.
Kelly had laughed. "What else is new?"
When neither of them had laughed with her, she had asked if they talked at all.
Jim looked at Pam before saying, "He mostly just apologized to us."
"Did you accept his apology?"
Jim had nodded. "Yeah. He was sick."
She went to the hospital bearing gifts. Candy bars and magazines. People and In Touch and US Weekly. If she were depressed and someone brought her gifts like that, she would feel so much better. She decided she should wear a happy color. Yellow was a happy color, but she looked horrible in yellow and if she wore yellow then no one would be happy. Instead she wore pink and a wide, happy smile as she opened the door to his room.
When people on TV or movies were depressed they cried a lot. She wondered if he would be crying. Or maybe he'd be all restrained so he couldn't hurt himself.
But no, he was in bed looking through a newspaper. He met her eyes for a second before saying softly, "Kelly."
"Hi!" she said. "I decided to come visit."
"Does everyone at work know?" he asked.
"No," she said. "Just Pam and Jim. And me." He nodded. "Oh and Darryl. But he was sworn to secrecy. And he said to say he hopes you feel better."
"Oh," he said. He put his paper down. "I was hoping to keep this as private as possible."
She mimed zipping her lips and sat on the edge of his bed. "I brought you some presents." She handed him the bag.
"Thank you," he said. He pulled out the US Weekly with Heidi and Lauren on the cover. "Well now. Thank you."
And it was all so normal, but so weird at the same time. Because he totally looked and seemed fine. "Toby," she said. "This wasn't all because of Pam, was it? Because she's so not worth it. You could find someone so much hotter who'd be into you."
Well, maybe not, but she figured it was the right thing to say.
He frowned, looked away from her. "Kelly," he said and then he stopped. Sighed. "You have no idea what it's like, do you?"
She pouted, not quite understanding either what he meant or his defeated tone. "I don't know."
"Thank you for the gifts," he said, meeting her eyes and she realized that he did look different. Not normal. Not fine. He looked lots older. Exhausted. His eyes looked different too - off somehow, almost blank and something in her tightened. Something, she was just now realizing, was really, really wrong.
"I'm sorry," she whispered and quickly said goodbye.
--
She told Pam everything about her disastrous visit. Pam listened somewhat sympathetically between phone calls before saying that maybe next time instead of visiting she could try calling or writing him a letter.
"Writing?" Kelly had asked. She laughed. "Be serious."
Instead she went to her parents' house because her mom always had leftovers and picked up some bread and some vegetables and some chicken. She packed everything up and went back to Toby's room.
When she got there, arms full, she noticed he was reading the In Touch she brought.
"So," he said. "I took the 'Which Hills Girl Are You?' quiz and I turned out to be Whitney. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
She set the food down, giggling. "As long as you didn't get Heidi, it's good."
"What's that? It smells good."
"I brought you some food my mom made. Are you hungry?"
"Sure. Thanks."
When she came back after microwaving a plate in a common area, he was looking at her thoughtfully. His eyes looked a little better; more focused. "I'm sorry, Kelly," he said taking the offered plate. "About what I said yesterday."
She waved him away. "Whatever. Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have brought her up."
"It was a lot more than that... than her Kelly."
"What was it then?" she asked. "No, I'm curious, because you seemed okay to me."
"I... I don't really want to talk about this," he said uncomfortably. He took a bite of the food. "Wow. This is really delicious."
"Good," she smiled.
And though he never did answer her question, he did seem to relax a little bit and she vowed she would visit him the next day.
--
The day after she brought him Indian food, she visited him again. Brought him a French Dip sandwich because she thought she remembered him saying once that he liked them. She also brought some movies - funny ones recommended by Jim and Kevin. They decided to watch Airplane.
And it was kind of funny, but kind of stupid too and she laughed at some parts and he smiled at something and she met his eyes once and she suddenly had the feeling that she was doing something right.
The next day she visited him she brought macaroni and cheese which he wolfed down like he hadn't eaten in weeks. In the middle of Naked Gun, she asked him to tell her what depression was like. She knew what it was obviously and had felt really sad when Ryan had left and had PMS sometimes, but what was it really like?
"You really want to know?"
"I totally want to know."
"It's like," and he paused to finish the last of his food, "feeling that everything that sucks in your life is going to continue sucking and it's all your fault that your life is this way. And you start getting upset about it and get sadder but also angrier at yourself for having a life that sucks so much and you get angry at people who have what you want. And even if you know you're behaving inappropriately it's like you can't stop, because at least you're doing something and maybe if that something works, your life won't suck as much."
She looked away from the TV. "And then you just decide one day it sucks too much to continue."
"Sometimes."
Her lip quivered. "I'm sorry I thought you were creepy, Toby."
"It's okay. I was creepy. Like Michael always said."
"But you couldn't help it. You were sick. That's what Jim said. He accepted your apology because you were sick. Are sick. Are you getting better Toby?"
"I don't know. The doctor seems to think so. They want to release me soon. With a hefty dose of antidepressants, lots of therapy and a good support system of course." He shook his head. "My good support system right now consists of my ex and her husband. How sad is that?"
It was really sad. She looked at him and said, "I can be your support system."
"No, Kelly, I wasn't asking..."
She flashed him a wide smile. "I know. But I was totally offering."
--
She found that she enjoyed visiting him, bringing him magazines and books and food and movies.
And he always seemed really happy to see her. Which was sweet. He didn't seem to mind it when she talked a lot. Seemed to enjoy listening actually. And then one night, she was gathering her stuff to go home and he asked, somewhat shyly, if she could stay just a little bit longer.
And even though she had work the next morning, she happily agreed.
--
She met Toby's ex once at the hospital. Kelly had come on a weekend morning and had brought some cinnamon rolls and coffee and they were eating and watching the second Naked Gun and the ex walked in and looked a little confused when Kelly stood up and introduced herself and said that Sasha was so, so cute.
"Thank you," the ex said, still looking a little confused.
"Cinnamon roll?" Kelly offered.
"No thank you."
And Kelly excused herself, but listened in as they talked about him being released tomorrow (Kelly gave an internal squee when she heard that) and when he'd see Sasha next.
When she went to work on Monday she told Pam and Jim everything. She said Toby seemed a little better and he still had to be medicated and everything, but he was being released and he was going to hang out with Sasha and he would probably be coming to work soon and how awesome was that?
"Awesome," Pam said. Then, "I didn't realize you were spending so much time at the hospital. That's really sweet of you."
"I know. Right."
Pam wasn't the only one who noticed how much time she was spending there. Darryl did too.
After a long talk, they decided to break up. And she was completely fine with it.
She didn't cry once.
--
Somehow Michael had found out what had happened to Toby. And the day before Toby was set to return to work, Michael made a speech about how Toby had been in the loony bin which shouldn't surprise anyone. Kelly felt like saying something, but didn't.
Toby arrived at work the next day. He didn't meet Pam's eyes when she greeted him with a friendly hello, only mumbled another apology for his inappropriate behavior which she waved away. He looked even more uncomfortable when Jim said hello.
Michael came by to welcome him back. He asked him how the loony bin was and said in a very loud voice that everyone had better be nice to Toby or else, Michael said sneering, he might get sad again. Then Michael asked him if he needed to go to the women's room to cry. Or if he needed a hug. And if he did need a hug maybe someone could hug him, not Michael of course, but someone who didn't hate him. Then Michael had laughed, because good luck finding anyone like that.
Kelly had heard that part so she went right up to Toby and hugged him hard. "I am so, so glad you're back!"
Sure it was for Michael's benefit, but she really, really meant it.
--
Toby was different at work. He had always been on the quiet side, but now he seemed even more closed off, stiff around coworkers. He just kept quiet, kept his head down and focused on his work. She got the feeling that if everyone would ignore him he would be perfectly fine with it.
But people kept coming to the annex. Phyllis made him some cheery yellow mittens and extended a dinner invitation from her and Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration. Oscar came by with some book recommendations (lighter stuff, he promised), Meredith told him if he ever wanted to go somewhere and get hammered to let her know. And then she gave him a look that really bothered Kelly for some reason.
Angela came by too. She only spoke when directly addressed and said, "While I don't approve of you fondling Pam's knee and your other misdeeds, I am glad you got the help you so obviously needed."
From her side of the annex, Kelly giggled.
And then there was Andy. Andy, so desperate to be liked by anyone, told Toby he knew what it felt like to need help in the emotional department, what with the wall punching incident and all. Toby had nodded politely which was all the encouragement Andy needed. So Andy now came by the annex several times a day and told Toby now they were like brothers. Oh and one day Toby and Kelly were eating together - Toby was eating some kind of vegetarian wrap so Andy felt the need to give him a nickname.
Big Veggie.
Kelly liked it best when Andy wasn't around.
Kelly liked it best when it was just the two of them.
--
The fourth day Toby was back, he placed a wrapped box on her desk.
"Thank you," he said. "For everything you've done recently. I really appreciate it."
She unwrapped her gift. Pretty pink and silver earrings. She jumped up and hugged him telling him that she loved them and they were awesome.
He was a surprisingly good hugger and when they stepped away from each other their eyes met for a second before they both looked away and neither of them said anything but she definitely felt something.
Weird.
--
The phone calls started the second week he was back. Michael had made a comment about Toby getting shipped off to the funny farm (complete with the oh-so-charming "They're coming to take me away..." song) and Toby had looked so sad afterwards. She had stopped him before he left, grabbing onto his arm. "Are you okay?" she asked.
If he wasn't, she would have no problem going to Michael and kicking some ass.
"Yeah," he said. And he gave her an almost smile that didn't reach his eyes.
That night she called him before bed. And after a few awkward moments of silence, she launched into all kinds of topics: celebrities, what skirt she was going to wear with a new pretty shirt she had bought, something she had just seen on TV. And she kept talking until she realized she had been speaking uninterrupted for a good twenty minutes.
"Sorry," she said. "That probably bored the hell out of you."
"No," he said. "I liked hearing the friendly voice before bed. It was nice."
"Goodnight Toby,"
"Goodnight Kelly."
She called him the next night and talked his ear off again.
On the third night she called she said he had to talk this time. And he said he didn't know what to talk about so she asked him questions. If he was feeling better, if it hurt him seeing Jim and Pam together and happy.
"Sort of," he said. "But it's better than it was. I feel a lot less angry. And I know she'll never feel any differently about me. Which is okay. I'm okay."
"Good," she said. "You need a girlfriend. Someone hot and fun who will make you laugh and think you're pretty awesome."
He laughed, sounding very embarrassed. "And where will I find someone like that?"
Me, she thought. Which surprised her.
"Toby, did you ever think I was hot or have a crush on me?"
After another long silence, he said, "You're a beautiful young woman, Kelly."
Which was nice.
"But you never had a crush on me like you did with Pam?"
"This isn't... I mean we shouldn't really be talking about stuff like this."
"Why not?"
"Kelly," he said, sounding very serious. "I really appreciate all you've done for me. More than you know. But you should go out and have fun."
A little hurt, she didn't call him the night after that and found she couldn't sleep. She really liked the way his voice sounded when he wished her goodnight.
--
Taking Toby's advice she went out on her first post-Darryl date. The guy was smoking hot, funny, smart and really fun. And he took her to a really nice place (better than anywhere Ryan had taken her).
And yet when the guy was talking to her she had the most startling thought.
She wished that she was there with Toby instead.
--
Toby apologized to her, said he didn't mean to sound so ungrateful, because he was so appreciative of the kindness she had shown him, bringing him food and movies and checking up on him. It was very unexpected.
"Why?" she asked, insulted. "Because I'm usually such a bitch?"
His mouth tightened slightly. "I never said that or thought that."
She put her hands on her hips. "But you don't think I'm compassionate or kind or anything, right?"
He looked at her, confused. "Why are you so mad at me?"
She took her hands off her hips and answered him honestly. "I don't know."
--
And she didn't know. Not really. All she knew was that she was upset and kind of frustrated with herself and kind of annoyed at him although she truly did not know why.
She didn't say anything when he said goodbye at work, just stared at her computer screen and pretended to be really focused on her work.
Yeah. That would be a first.
Later when she's ready to leave, she noticed a pamphlet on his desk. Curious (nosy) she picked up. It looked like it was from the hospital.
100 Mood Boosters.
She flipped through it.
Eat a favorite food. See a funny movie. Go out with friends who are generally positive people. Go shopping once in awhile - splurge. You're worth it.
That one she would agree with. She loved shopping. Maybe she should go with Toby. Help him update his wardrobe.
Get a massage.
And her mind started going to a very, very odd place.
She quickly placed the pamphlet back on his desk.
--
He had left her a message on her phone apologizing. Again. Saying he wasn't sure what he had done, but if he had offended her in any way he was sorry.
Which made her feel bad because he hadn't really done anything wrong.
So she drove to his place and told him she was just being weird and she wasn't really mad at him and he hadn't really done anything wrong and then she said maybe when he was 100% back to normal they should go on a date.
He opened his mouth slightly. Closed it. Blinked. "What?"
"I think we should go on a date."
"Why... would you want to go on a date with me?"
She answered him truthfully. "I don't know. But I kinda do."
She didn't know why exactly. He was lots older than her. And while he wasn't bad looking or anything, he certainly wasn't gorgeous. And he wasn't fun or anything.
But she was fun and she could help him have fun and be happy.
Could work. Stranger things have happened.
"Yes," she said, nodding. "We'll do that. Once you're more balanced."
And then she waved goodbye, leaving him still looking a bit stunned.
--
She didn't mention it again. Neither did he. Every once in awhile at work during a meeting or something she'd catch him looking at her, a strange expression on his face as if trying to figure out her motives.
No motives over here.
They still called each other at night though. At work, no one would have ever guessed there had been any kind of change in their relationship. At night they had really good conversations about serious stuff.
She told him about her sister dying; he told her about his divorce, his worries about how everything would affect Sasha. She told him about her relationship with Ryan, with Darryl.
She liked talking to him, because he was a good listener. But she found she actually liked listening to him too. His voice, soft and sweet when he talked to her at night, made her happy.
--
They were watching a movie at her place. Legally Blonde which was awesome and she had made popcorn and root beer floats and she told him she had seen the pamphlet on his desk. Mood Boosters.
"Yeah," he said. "What did you think?"
"I totally agree with some of them. The shopping one obviously. Speaking of which, we're going to the mall soon. You need snazzier clothes. And better shoes."
He looked at what he was wearing. "Perhaps."
"Nope. No perhaps about it. And don't try arguing. It's useless."
"Well..."
"Oh!" she said. "I remember another one. It says you should get massages. Which are also awesome."
"I don't know if I'm up for going to a spa or anything."
She smiled. "Spa?" And then she reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder. He nearly jumped a foot off the couch. "Kelly. Maybe you shouldn't..."
Maybe she shouldn't. But she did. She took her attention off Reese for a minute and began rubbing his shoulders. She could hear his breathing quicken just a little bit.
"Relax," she said laughing, pressing just a little bit harder. "Relax."
And he leaned into her slightly and she kept on kneading out knots as his breathing relaxed, the whole time waiting for some kind of protest from him.
It never came.
--
The next day at work he was different around her. Shy. Twitchy. She finally got him to say that what had happened last night probably wasn't the smartest idea.
"Why not?" she asked. "I was just doing what the pamphlet suggested. And it relaxed you right?"
"Yeah," he said and his cheeks colored a little.
It was actually kind of cute.
She was going to have to take charge of the situation.
"I'm going to kiss you, Toby."
"What?" he hissed. He looked around nervously, his face getting even redder. "You don't... you can't do that here."
"I didn't say it would be here. God. Stop being so nervous."
And he started talking - well mumbling actually - about he didn't think this was smart. After all look how awful he had behaved when he had developed feelings for Pam. He didn't want to do that again. Couldn't risk screwing everything up again.
She shook her head. "So not the same thing. That was super unrequited. One sided. This wouldn't be like that at all." She looked at him, batting her eyelashes just the slightest bit. "Unless you're completely uninterested in me."
He sighed. He mumbled something. "What?" she asked.
"You're right," he said. "It wouldn't be the same thing."
She grinned. "Just tell me you're not in love with her anymore."
He sighed again. "I'm not. It finally happened. I'm not in love with her anymore."
That was good enough for her.
--
She knew he wasn't completely normal yet. She knew from their phone calls that he met frequently with a therapist, knew that he took some pills. But she was impatient and one night when they were watching a marathon of The Hills ("This is the show you like so much?" he had asked, seemingly in shock), she said, "I'm doing this now."
His eyes were still on the show. "Doing what?"
And she leaned over and kissed him softly, sweetly. And he sighed her name so she kissed him again. Touched his cheek lightly - waited for him to kiss her back. Which he did.
"See," she said, smiling. "This is so going to work."
--
So she guessed they were dating now. It was a little weird. They went out occasionally, watched movies still and no one at work was the wiser. It wasn't like any other relationship she had ever been in.
But he was always nice to her. Never told her she was stupid or annoying. Seemed to listen to her when she spoke instead of just pretending.
He was a gentleman with her too. So much so that she was the one to kiss him hard one night, the one to slide her hands under his shirt, to undo his belt.
She whispered "Yes. Yes" when he asked her, hands landing on her hips, if she was sure this was what she wanted.
And she was.
--
The documentary came out a few months after that. She watched it and mostly loved it. Loved seeing her outfits and hair and in general how cute she was (even though she could have lived without ever seeing her hair in a severe Angela-like bun again). But she hated seeing herself with Ryan, how needy and clingy she was; how dismissive he was of her.
She was so different now. She still wore cute clothes, but now had a boyfriend who actually seemed to like her. Who returned her calls and who smiled when he saw her. So what if he was older and not super hot?
He was a very good kisser (who knew?) and she had no complaints in any other departments.
Quite the opposite in fact.
Kelly was a very happy woman.
She had matured though. She knew that when he had Sasha over, she was his priority. She knew sometimes after a hard day he needed to be alone just for a bit before going to see her.
And she was okay with that.
She knew how to make him feel better too. Oh he still needed professional help - still took pills and everything - but she knew how to make him laugh.
This could really work long-term she thought to herself smiling one day. She brought it up subtly, hinted about rings and white dresses.
He had looked surprised, but did not run screaming out of the room.
She considered that a good thing.
--
One night they were at his place. He had cooked and they were just cleaning up and she was telling him about this show he had to watch when his phone rang.
"Hello," he said and then his whole face changed. Looked angry. "What? No. How could you--? We said... Yeah, I'll come right over."
He hung up the phone. "That was Sasha's stepfather. She saw part of the documentary. One where Michael was being particularly Michael to me. And now she's sobbing." He shook his head. "I never wanted her to see that. To see me like that."
Kelly didn't say anything. But she felt like crying. She touched his arm. "Sorry."
"I'm going over there," he said. "To talk to her. I can drive you home if you want..."
"Do you want me to stay here? That way I'll be here when you get back."
"Yes," he said. "I'd like that."
He was gone for a few hours. She was on the couch, half-asleep when she heard the key. He sat down next to her looking exhausted. She took one of his hands in hers, brought it to her lips, listened to him sigh sadly. And she stayed completely quiet as he told her everything. Told her how it broke his heart to see his daughter like that, knowing that she finally had proof that her father was a loser.
"Shut up," Kelly told him. She snuggled up close to him. He put his arm around her.
"She knows about you," he told her. "I don't know how..."
"What did she say?"
"I told Sasha that she makes me happy. And then she said Kelly made me happy."
Kelly grinned. "Which I totally do."
"And then she told me that she thought I should marry you."
"Oh my god!" Kelly said. "Sasha is seriously the smartest person ever. I love her. I want to buy her like a million presents. Please tell me you didn't tell her no."
"I said something like that wouldn't happen for a little while."
"Oh," she said. "But it might happen?"
"Yes," he said.
She clapped her hands excitedly, hoping it would make him laugh. It didn't. It was only after she kissed his cheek, his mouth, that she realized he was crying.
This time she didn't do something stupid to try to make him laugh; instead she hugged him hard, murmured how good he was - so not a loser - told him that she loved him. That Sasha loved him.
After a few shuddering breaths, he whispered a thank you and told her how much she meant to him. That he loved her too.
It was kind of crazy. How this had all happened. How they were together.
"Someday," Kelly said. "You're totally going to marry me. I know it."
"Yeah," he said after a few moments. "Someday I totally am."
the end
Story Notes:
I can't help it. I still like Toby. And I still stand by the theory that he was close to a breakdown or severe depression rather than him just suddenly turning into a creep. And I still ship him with Kelly. That one I can't explain at all.
Steph is the author of 37 other stories.
This story is a favorite of 6 members. Members who liked Breakdown also liked 486 other stories.
This story is part of the series, What the Kids Are Watching. The previous story in the series is What the Kids Are Watching. The next story in the series is Fancy New Flenderson.
