Disclaimer: I do not own the Banana Splits or other characters from the series; they are the property of William Hanna and Joe Barbera. I do own Stella.

Notes: So, I decided to write a story in which Fleegle makes peace with one of his siblings. This follows after Sharing Stories of the Past, so it might help to read that first to understand what's being mentioned in relevance to it. You don't have to, but it might help you to do so.

No slash. This is friendship only. There may be OOC moments, and there is mention of bullying. Snorky's speech will be translated for your benefit. I hope you enjoy!

A female beagle watched the concert, cloaked in the shadows so as not to be noticed. She had pale pink bows sitting atop her ears, a pink handbag and her long coat flowed much like a dress.

The canine kept her eyes on one member of the band in particular; the beagle currently performing lead vocals as he played lead guitar. "So, this is what Mother was talking about. Fleegle's done well for himself," she murmured.

Fleegle looked around. For some reason, he felt like he was being watched...and not by the audience dancing near the stage. Hmm, my ears suddenly feel hot. Either I need to see the doc or someone's talking about me. He decided to think about it later as he launched into the final chorus of the song accompanied by Drooper.

The concert was over, and four tired but happy animals entered the Banana Pad. They set their instruments in the corner of the room.

Fleegle made his way to the podium on the other end of the room, picked up the large gavel and pounded the podium twice, causing the room to shake. "Time for a meeting of the Banana Splits Club!"

Drooper, Snorky and Bingo hurried to the block bench before Fleegle caused the room to tremor with another bang of the gavel.

Once the other three were seated, Fleegle set down the oversized gavel. "Alright, time to discuss club business. First order of business is what we thought of the concert we just finished and if we should change anything for future performances."

Meanwhile, not far from the Banana Pad, the female beagle from the concert looked at the map she was holding before looking up at the houses standing before her. "Well, Mother's sure it's around here. But, gee whiz, she didn't tell me the actual address! Now, how will I find the pad?" She spotted an adolescent girl wearing a purple dress, pink tights and white go-go boots. Oh! Maybe she knows! She approached the girl. "Pardon, young lady, but could you please help me?"

"Me? Guess so."

"Groovy! I was wondering if you knew which of these pads a beagle named Fleegle lives in."

"Fleegle? One of the Banana Splits?"

"Right, that's him."

"We're standing in front of his pad. I gotta get going now." She started to leave in a strange manner; she danced away. Gonna have to tell them we'll have to wait before we spring our next surprise.

She cocked her head in confusion at her strange behaviour. "What an interesting child. Oh well, at least I now know which pad he lives in."

"Okay, so all in favour of not changing our routine, say aye!" Fleegle declared.

"Aye-aye, Fleeg!" Drooper called.

"Aye-aye-aye!" Bingo sang.

"Beep-beep!" Aye also say aye! Snorky concluded.

Fleegle facepalmed at his friends' recurring silliness. "Oh, someday I will split from this silly bunch," he murmured under his breath. He soon gave in and chuckled as the silliness continued. He was used to it after all, and he really wouldn't have his best friends any other way.

The four fell silent as they heard a knock on the door. Drooper frowned, picked up his tail and held it close as if protecting it. "I hope that ain't the Sour Grapes Bunch again; I really don't wanna see 'em."

Considering what happened to Drooper the last time they paid a visit, it was hardly surprising the lion felt that way. "Don't worry, I'll get the door this time," Fleegle volunteered. He made his way to the door as three more knocks sounded. He opened the door a crack, slammed it shut and pressed his back against didn't appear wary, but he did appear troubled.

The other three were surprised with the canine's reaction. It definitely meant the Dilly Sisters hadn't returned, otherwise the door and all windows would be wide open so they could hear the two girls singing and strumming their guitars. That meant there was trouble outside; it was either an animated somebody or the Sour Grapes Bunch. "Everything okay, Fleeg?" Bingo asked.

The knocking changed into pounding. "Someone answer the door!" Banana Vac demanded.

"Fleegle, I know you're in there!" a female voice called.

Fleegle frowned deeply. He hurried to the stairs that led to the floor their bedrooms were located. "Tell her I'm not! Don't let her in until I'm outta here!" He ascended the stairs, ignoring the questions his friends were asking.

"Honestly, Fleegle! Is this any way to treat someone who comes to visit their little brother?"

"She's his sister?!" Drooper and Bingo exclaimed.

"Beep..." That explains everything... Snorky commented as he shook his head. "Beep!" What should we do?

Drooper looked to the stairs, then back to the gorilla and elephant. "You two let her in and stall her best ya can. I'll talk to Fleegle and try to get him to come down. It'll be hard though..." He hurried to the stairs and ascended them.

Bingo made his way to the door and opened it. "Sorry 'bout the wait, Miss Beagle." He stepped aside so she could enter the building.

"Oh, it's not your fault, Bingo. Erm, that is who you are, right?" She entered the Banana Pad.

"Right! Uh, how'd you know that?"

"Mother told me about you fellers. My name is Stella."

"So, you're Fleegle's sister?"

"His oldest. Actually, I'm the oldest of the litter of five."

Fleegle was throwing whatever he could into a suitcase. He didn't plan on going far since he still needed to be around. He just couldn't stand being in the same building as his sister.

Drooper stood in the open doorway and leaned against the frame, arms crossed over his chest. "Headin' somewheres?"

The canine turned slightly towards the lion. "I can't be here while she is!"

"But, hey. I thought you said your ma got your siblings to stop laughin' at ya when ya speak."

He froze. "She tried, but whenever she wasn't around, they'd make fun of me. Thankfully, they soon grew out of it. But..." He turned so his whole front faced the doorway, then sat heavily on his bed. "Come here, Droop. I gots more to tell you."

"What is it?" He sat beside Fleegle. "Somethin' 'bout your sister downstairs?"

"Yeah. Even if Sally, Fred and Fergus did laugh at me, we soon started getting along. I would've preferred seeing them instead of Stella. She's not just my older sister, she's the oldest of all five of us. Because of that, and because of me being the youngest, she felt it was her right to torment me."

"Torment? She never hurt ya, did she?" If he heard of any harm that had been delivered, he would march downstairs and insist that Stella leave the premises immediately.

He shook his head. "Just my pride. One of her favourite things to do when we were pups was dress me in doll clothes. Once I grew out of those, any of her or Sally's dresses were used. It was bad enough at home, but she'd then take me outside! Being asked are you her baby sister? got old real fast. That was another thing! She would always call me Baby Brother to point out I'm the youngest, even when we were no longer pups! If I tried telling her I hated it, she'd start saying she's oldest and I'm youngest, which meant she could do what she wanted to me and I had to show respect because she had authority over me."

"Dealin' with that all your life, it's no wonder you were so eager to move in with us when we discussed gettin' our own pad."

"Wanna know the worst of it?"

"Worst?" What he said is bad enough already! What could she have done?!

He inhaled shakily, his ears drooped and his body went slack.

"Fleeg? What else did she do?"

"What upsets me most is what she didn't do." He felt Drooper's paw on his shoulder.

Drooper clued in Fleegle was pretty upset with the thought of what he was going to speak of. His voice softened. "Hey, Fleeg...what's the matter?"

"I would always try going to her for help at school whenever kids mocked me. I was hoping my big sister would help, but she never did. She laughed about it when we were younger, otherwise she just ignored my pleas for help. One point, I was in tears and she still did nothing about it. Aren't older siblings meant to help the younger ones?" He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt himself becoming emotional from the memories.

"I'm an only child, so I wouldn't know. But, ain't it expected at least?"

"Yeah. I do have other older siblings, but they would laugh whenever I spoke so it's not like I could ask them. Not to mention Sally was too shy to stand up to anybody. So, thanks to Stella ignoring me, I really felt alone."

"Did she ever realise how she's made ya feel?"

"Nope. She never even listened."

"Looks like ya have a chance to try again." He reached behind the beagle and shut the suitcase. "Now, I may not be the smartest of us, but even I know runnin' away ain't gonna fix things. She's downstairs right now, so you should tell her once more how she's made ya feel over the years."

He slowly opened his eyes and turned to the lion. "You're absotively posilutely right, Drooper! We're adults now so surely she'll listen this time!"

Drooper noticed his friend's eyes appeared moist, but chose not to comment on that. "If she don't, I'll personally show her the way out myself!"

"Thanks, Droop."

"Just returnin' the favour."

Stella's conversation with Bingo and Snorky had been identical to the one taking place between Fleegle and Drooper. "So, I came to try to make amends with my brother."

Bingo wasn't happy with what Stella had confessed. "Wow. No wonder Fleegle acted like that. You were a bad big sister," he remarked, his arms crossed over his chest and a serious expression on his face.

"Beep!" I agree! Snorky tootled. He too was far from happy.

Stella hung her head in shame. "You're both right." She couldn't understand Snorky, but had a feeling he was agreeing with Bingo. She looked up at them again. "That's why I'm here."

"In that case, we're gonna have to talk," Fleegle commented as he and Drooper descended the stairs. "I've got a lot to say to you, Stella."

"And I promise to hear you out for once, Fleegle."

Because the other three already knew everything, the conversation between the siblings wasn't in a private area. They still kept their distance to give the beagles a chance to have their long overdue talk.

Drooper looked over to the beagles sitting on the block bench while Fleegle launched into saying everything he needed to. "I take it Stella told you fellers what Fleegle told me?"

"Dress-ups, callin' him Baby Brother, being bossy about authority over him, ignoring him," Bingo summed up.

"Yup. Same thing. While Fleegs was angry about the first lot of problems, he was most upset about his cries for help bein' ignored." His serious expression melted into one of sympathy. "Actually, as he told me that, he came pretty close to..." He trailed off, knowing he need not say more for the other two to understand.

"Beep, beep-beep..." Sounds like it really upset poor Fleegle...

"I hated all of that, you know."

"I did realise it over the years. Goodness, I really was a brat..."

"Yes, you really were. Glad you realised that. Seems you've grown out of it though, otherwise we wouldn't be talkin' like this." He sighed. "But as much as all that annoyed me, it wasn't the worst of it. No, to me, the worst was being ignored when I went to you for help. Even those times I was crying and pretty much begging, you did not a thing to help me. I went to you because I thought that as my oldest sibling, I could turn to you for help; that maybe you could get the kiddies to quit mocking me. Couldn't go to Sally, Fred or Fergus because they'd still laugh at how I spoke whenever Mother and Father weren't around. Not to mention Sally was too shy to stand up to someone. Thanks to you, the last I felt I could go to ignoring me, I felt alone. I couldn't make friends because everyone laughed when I spoke. Did you know I nearly went mute?"

Stella tensed. "What? Mute?"

"Right. Mute. Folks kept givin' me a hard time, and I started closing myself off. It seemed talking made things worse for me so maybe not talking would at least get everyone to lay off. I was on the verge of doing so."

"Mother never said anything about it. Father probably wanted to..."

"I asked them not to."

"So, things really were that bad?"

"And it's exactly why I kept asking you for help, hoping you'd listen and do something."

"What helped you keep your voice?"

He cast a glance to his friends, knowing they stood nearby and watched the conversation just in case they needed to step in. "I met three fellers who never once even snickered at me for my lisp. I gotta tell you, Stella, the day I met them was the best day of my life. I finally had friends, I was finally free from being bullied by folks I just met and above all, I no longer felt alone."

"Fleegle, there's something I wanna say that should've been said long ago."

"What's that?"

"I'm sorry."

He'd been waiting to hear those words from her for many years. It seemed the day had finally arrived.

"For forcing you to wear dresses, calling you Baby Brother just because you're the youngest, laughing at your lisp and for being bossy. But, I'm feeling the most remorse about not being there to help you when you needed it the most. I admit, I was very self-centered when we were puppies. As we got older, I found myself thinking about the things I'd done to you and realised it wasn't as fun for you as it was for me. But, never did I realise the consequences of ignoring your cries for help. It was obvious you needed it, but never did I think things would be so bad. It's no wonder Mother would fret about you even after you'd moved out."

"Realise it now?"

"Yes. That's why I offer my sincerest apologies. I understand if you hate me or choose not to forgive me."

"I don't."

Her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to say something, but Fleegle beat her to it.

"Hate you, I mean. You're my big sister. I hate the way I was treated, but I love you. That's what made your ignorance all the more painful."

"Fleegle..."

He wrapped his arms around his sister. "There's still gonna be some bitter feelings about the things you did. But, they were all in the past so I'll get over it someday. I accept your apology and forgive you."

She returned the embrace. "Thank you."

"No, Stella. Thank you for finally listening to me."

"Looks like they made peace with each other," Drooper commented as he saw Fleegle embrace his sister. Considering he was ready to run away just because she'd decided to stop by for a visit, that was a pretty significant change in their relationship.

"I'm impressed. If I had a sibling do all of that to me, I doubt I'd be as forgiving," Bingo replied. He still wore a serious expression, but his body was more relaxed than earlier.

"Guess Fleegle was just waitin' for her to hear him out for once."

"Beep-beep. Beep beep!" I'm with Bingo. I'm impressed too!

The rest of Stella's visit was amiable. Since Fleegle had decided to forgive his sister, the other Splits decided there was no need to hold grudges.

Soon, it was time for her to leave. "I'm glad I can actually say it's been great seein' you, Sis. Say hi to the family for me, would you?" Fleegle said as he shared an embrace with his sister.

"Of course I will!" Once the embrace was broken, she looked to the other Banana Splits. "Thank you for everything you've done for my brother. Keep being great friends to him?"

"Natch! You don't even have to ask!" Bingo responded, his usual grin back in place.

"Been nice meetin' ya too, Stella. Have a safe trip home," Drooper added.

Snorky waved with his trunk.

"Oh, before you leave, Stella, somethin' I gotta ask. Mother has a habit of forgetting to write house numbers, so how'd you know this is the Banana Pad?" Fleegle asked.

"Some strange girl in purple told me, then she danced away."

"Purple? Danced? She was one of the Sour Grapes Bunch! If you see her or other girls dressed like her, could you make something up to keep them away? They're our rivals, and after their last visit, we'd rather not have to deal with them."

"I guess so."

"Thanks."

"Well, I'm off. Later, fellers!"

The Banana Splits bid Stella a fond goodbye and watched her leave before heading back inside and closing the door. "I'm glad things worked out between you two," Drooper remarked.

"Me too, Drooper. In the end, just having her listen to me really helped," Fleegle responded.

"Hey, if the Sour Grapes Bunch really are nearby, what do you think Stella will do?" Bingo questioned.

Stella spotted the girl from earlier. "Hello, thank you very much for helping me earlier."

"It's okay."

"By the way, you wouldn't happen to be planning on causing trouble for the Banana Splits, would you?"

The girl crossed her arms, not appreciating the canine being nosy. "So what if we are? Aren't you just some fan who should mind their own business?"

"Actually, I'm Fleegle's oldest sister. I won't let you get away with causing trouble for my brother or his friends, so I suggest you leave for today." Her voice was firm.

The girl sighed and chose to obey the canine's suggestion. "Very well, since family insists." She danced away again. How will I tell them this time?

Stella looked back to the Banana Pad and smiled. I finally did something to help you. She continued walking down the road, on her way home.

Fleegle smiled. "Whatever she does, I'm sure it'll work. Now then, let's get back to club business, shall we?"

"Right!" Bingo and Drooper concurred while Snorky tooted the same as the four of them hurried back to the meeting area.

After-notes: If you're reading these, you either chose to skip through the story to read what was at the bottom, or actually read the story and reached here. If you did read it, thank you for doing so.

It's my headcanon that Fleegle is the youngest in a litter of five. I also have names for his siblings and his parents.

Mother - Felicia (kind, doting parent with a love of dance)

Father - Stan (outspoken but gentle with a love of music)

Oldest - Stella (bossy brat when young, mature and ladylike once older)

Second oldest - Fergus (bookworm who helped Fleegle develop interest in inventing)

Middle - Fred (sporty and very outspoken)

Second youngest - Sally (shy and quiet, very close to Fred)

Over the years, Fleegle did start to get along better with his siblings, as he'd told Drooper.

I plan on writing more fics including the Beagle family in the future. However, I next plan on...

Snorky has a cold, so the other three tell him a story that gets very strange.

Drooper's mother plans on a surprise visit for his birthday, so she gets the others to help keep it a surprise.

A multi-chapter detailing my thoughts on how they met.

Well, that's it for now. Thanks for reading! I'm not going to beg for reviews, but feel free to leave one if you want. But, please, if you have anything bad to say, don't flame. Constructive criticism is more than welcome however.

Thanks again for reading! Bye!