A/N: I have a couple other projects going at the same time, and I didn't want to shortchange this story by having my attention distracted in two different directions. But once I started this, it got pretty easy to write, so it's my hope to have it completed within a couple of weeks at the most. (Training for stepmotherhood is very time-consuming.) I think it's time to repeat the disclaimer, to wit: Mr. Roarke, Julie, Tattoo and Lawrence (wherever mentioned in the latter two cases) are all the property/brainchildren of the late Aaron Spelling and/or Gene Levitt. Everybody else is mine, unless I inadvertently borrowed from some poor nameless fellow scribe. Thanks go as always to Harry2, PDXWiz, jtbwriter, Bishop T and of course, Mishee. :)

§ § § -- July 25, 2005

"Oh, Leslie, you really got King's Castle?" exclaimed Michiko and laughed. "I didn't even know it was out."

"For my birthday," Leslie said, nodding. "We've had to sneak in episodes when the triplets are asleep. Now that they're all walking, we have to watch them every single second—almost literally!" Michiko laughed, nodding knowingly.

"It gets better, I promise. So come on, you can't tell me you haven't got some other vintage TV shows in there." She rose to her knees long enough to awkwardly walk on them, so she could get closer to the DVD rack where Christian and Leslie kept their collection.

"That's all we own," Christian wisecracked from the kitchen, where he was cleaning his little coffeemaker. "Leslie refuses to consider anything filmed after about 1985."

"Hey, you're the one who insisted on special-ordering some obscure little jordisk TV series you claimed to watch religiously when you were ten or eleven," Leslie retorted with a grin, and he laughed good-naturedly and turned back to the coffeemaker. Michiko chuckled too and made herself comfortable on the floor while Leslie tugged out a DVD they had been sent for the triplets' birthday nearly two months before. "And then there's this—something called Katrina Kattunga. It's a program aimed at preschoolers, just the triplets' speed. They have a CD that Carl Johan and Amalia sent them for Christmas; now they can see this little animated kitten rather than just hearing her sing at them."

"That looks adorable," Michiko said, grinning, examining the DVD. "How much of it can you understand?"

"Barely more than the triplets do," Leslie admitted cheerfully. They both laughed, and just then the doorbell rang. The triplets promptly climbed to their feet and scuttled for the door, yelling enthusiastically all the way; Michiko teasingly covered her ears with her hands. Christian managed to beat the triplets to the door while Leslie snickered resignedly at the cacophony. "That must be Nick and Myeko."

It was; the Okadas laughingly dodged the excited triplets and made their way into the living room while Christian tried to herd the three toddlers into the kitchen with him. Michiko got up and hugged Myeko, shook Nick's hand, and settled into chairs with them while Leslie put away the DVD sets and half-jogged into the kitchen, waving to Myeko and Nick on the way. "You look great, Michiko," Myeko remarked with some envy. "Actually, you always do."

"That's part of the trouble I have to go to as a public figure," Michiko said with little rancor. "I admit, sometimes it's a pain. There are days when I'd give everything Errico ever gave me just for a day when I can go out without putting on makeup and wearing just jeans and a T-shirt. But not in Arcolos, and especially not for an Arcolosian royal. It's a habit now to put on makeup even if I'm just spending the day in the palace."

"I should have your problems," Myeko said, rolling her eyes, while Christian and Leslie trooped through, loaded down with triplets.

"Oh, give me a break," Nick snorted, grinning. "You'd never want that kind of life."

"That just shows what you know, Okada," Myeko returned, making a jovial face at him. "I was thinking of asking Mr. Roarke to let me and Michiko switch places for a week, even a day, if Michiko was willing."

"Hey, that means you'd be with Errico," Nick protested, "and I'd be with Michiko. Uh, no offense, Michiko." They all laughed, including Christian and Leslie, who had paused with their children. The triplets were complaining about being removed from the scene, and Michiko sat up.

"Oh, let them stay awhile," she coaxed. "I wanted to get pictures of them for Errico anyway. Please?"

"It's close to their bedtime, but okay," Leslie agreed. "It's kind of a special occasion anyway. Christian and I are headed for Lilla Jordsö in a couple of weeks for our usual vacation and to be at Gabriella's wedding, but the triplets are staying at Father's house while we're gone. It's going to be quite a change in routine for them."

Michiko tickled Susanna under the chin as Leslie settled her onto the sofa beside her. "Why aren't you taking them with you?"

"It's nearly a full day's worth of series of commercial flights, and I don't think it's very wise to put them through that," Christian said, taking a seat with Tobias on his lap. "Not to mention all the other passengers. I'm not exactly making enough money to be able to afford a private jet, after all. They'd be happier staying here, I think."

"You've never had separation anxiety with these little characters?" Myeko asked in surprise, lifting Karina onto her lap while the little girl peered curiously at Myeko's facial features and jet-black hair.

"Not so far," said Leslie and made a face. "Now that I've said that, we will. Father claims he's looking forward to an entire month of spoiling his grandchildren, but I've been wondering how he's going to work with three active toddlers underfoot, Mariki or no Mariki. And oh geez, speaking of Mariki…"

Christian laughed aloud. "Leslie's afraid Mariki's going to concoct some peculiar new diet for the triplets, and that when we get home she'll find they're addicted to jordsklockor and strange Hawaiian dishes Mariki claims have been in her family for generations on end. I tried to tell her Mr. Roarke will keep her in line, but she isn't convinced."

"My love, you know Mariki's got a mind of her own," Leslie said.

"I do know, but she's still his employee—and besides, they're his grandchildren, not hers. She has to defer to him, and he knows what we usually feed them and what they're not yet old enough to have. He'll keep her in line, my Rose, trust me."

"He'd better," said Leslie fiercely—in perfect unison with Michiko and Myeko. All the adults burst out laughing; the triplets chortled in response, and Michiko fished out her digital camera and started reeling off snaps of the toddlers, trying to catch their animated facial expressions. Eventually, when Karina began to yawn, Leslie laid down the law, and she and Christian carted the triplets up to bed for the night.

"So Michiko," Myeko began once they were comfortably seated and Ingrid had delivered iced tea and a slightly altered version of Lilla Jordsö's signature summer drink, cherry seltzer, "what're your plans while you're here?"

"First things first—killing off the jet lag. I used to have no problem with it at all. I could hop a plane and jet off to Europe in my singing days and never notice the time difference. Now it's another story entirely."

"No way," said Nick in disbelief. "I get jet lag going from one end of this island to the other. How can you keep from getting it going halfway around the world?"

Michiko snickered. "At the time, I wasn't going halfway around the world, just half a dozen time zones or so. I did it because of my total inability to sleep on a plane, no matter how tired I am. I just can't sleep in a moving vehicle. So I'd stay awake throughout the flight, all night long, and then go about my usual day once I was back on the ground. By the time local night fell, I was dead tired, and I could drop into a bed at my usual time and go right to sleep. And just like that, I was adjusted to the local time zone."

"That's ingenious," Christian remarked, impressed. "Most of the time I made the mistake of sleeping my flights away. Usually flying itself wears me out so much that I sleep not only while I'm actually flying, but for a full night when I've landed. The problem is that we have to cross twelve time zones, not six. The family generally gives us a couple of days to get readjusted…supposedly. My nieces and nephews are around in no time clamoring for life advice. They apparently find their respective parents lacking, so I have to dispense sage suggestions and time-tested wisdom. I even told a niece once that I'm not Confucius, but truly, I think they believe I'm his reincarnation."

They all laughed. "That's just their way of showing they love you, Christian," Michiko teased him.

"Ach," Christian grunted, evoking more laughter. "Well, in any case, once you've got yourself accustomed to the local clock, what happens then?"

"I've been thinking about this for a very long time," said Michiko slowly. "Leslie, you might remember this from last year. I still want to have a complete Tokita family reunion at my parents' house—all five of us, spouses and children, and Kiichiro and Kayoko's grandson too." Myeko tensed.

Leslie caught it, but said only, "Do they all know about it?"

"I still have to notify Saburo and Kalani," said Michiko, "but everybody else knows. Reiko's flying in with Mattéano, and Errico plans to come with her, but he's going to be here only three days or so. He doesn't like to be away from Arcolos too long at a stretch, now that he's the king." The others nodded. "Kiichiro and Kayoko were so much easier to notify since they moved here. They get the responsibility of seeing to it that their kids get here. And Hachiro knows about it too, but I'm not sure if he's coming."

"We didn't know if you'd heard about his new grown-up name," Myeko said, with just enough acid that everyone noticed. "I can't even remember to call him by it."

"Mother and Father always did, so it's easier for me," Michiko said, studying Myeko with a faintly apprehensive look about her. "Myeko…I know it's asking a lot…but I'd be so glad if Alexander and Noelle could be there."

Silence fell in the room, and Christian and Leslie looked uneasily at each other. Nick shifted his weight in his chair, and the movement caught Myeko's attention. "Nick…"

"I can't do or say anything, Myeko," Nick said, shrugging. "It'd be stretching it to call me part of the family. I know they haven't seen him in years…"

Michiko broke in, "Myeko, I know that's really Hachiro's fault more than yours. But I'm not doing this for him—it's for my parents. Mother said some time back that she saw you in the grocery store once and asked about Alexander and Noelle. It thrilled her to death to be able to pass on what you told her about them. Myeko, please—I'm not even saying you yourself have to be there, but it would do my parents such a world of good."

Myeko stared at her, looking pained. "Michiko, seriously. I'd have to be there. They don't really know your mom and dad. I mean, hell, I'm not sure they even know Toki. I mean, uh, Hachiro." She threw her hands in the air. "I don't even know what to call him!"

"Just don't, then," Michiko said softly. "I'm not asking you to try to make nice with him or anything. It may be all he can do to keep up with those five rambunctious boys of his. I'm hoping that now he and Lani are finally about to get a girl, they'll quit having babies. Even Mother's a little alarmed." They laughed quietly, and Michiko tilted her head, her petite, delicate frame taut with tension and hope. "Please. Not for me, definitely not for Hachiro—for my parents."

Myeko slowly turned red, sitting there fidgeting frantically and looking everywhere but at Michiko. When her eyes settled at last on Nick, he instantly lifted both hands as if to ward her off. "Myeko, this isn't my problem."

"You're no help," she said, clearly wounded, and Michiko winced. By now Leslie had a fist against her mouth, gnawing on a couple of knuckles; and Christian's expression was a strange mix of discomfort, worry and apprehension.

"Oh, come on," Nick said, a thread of impatience in his tone. "I didn't sign on to play sides in feuds with your ex. You told me you practically never saw him anyway, and for that matter, we actually haven't seen the guy since our honeymoon at least."

"And that's my fault?" Myeko demanded.

"In a way, I think it is," Nick told her candidly. "When Noelle and Alexander decided they didn't feel like seeing Toki—I mean Hachiro—anymore, you seemed all too happy to give in. If they don't know him or his side of the family, it's because you let them have their way. Since he apparently doesn't come here too much and you have no reason to go to Hawaii, well, that may be one thing…but Mr. and Mrs. Tokita live right here on the island, and Noelle and Alexander don't know them either. Why is that?"

Myeko had gone very pale and was gaping at him as if betrayed. Christian looked grim, and Leslie scraped a knuckle raw enough that she tasted blood. Michiko had turned very red and sat worrying a button on her blouse almost till it came off. Silence reigned for a bit, and then Myeko finally croaked, "You…were supposed to be on my side."

"I am on your side, but I think the kids should know their true family," Nick said. "Don't get me wrong, Myeko, I love them like my own. But I don't think it's fair that they don't know their own family."

"Why haven't you ever said anything before?" Myeko cried in disbelief. "You were just as happy to play stand-in dad to my kids, and I never saw you put any pressure on them to go visit their father. I really don't want to see Toki—"

"Hachiro," Nick corrected.

"Fine," Myeko snarled, "Hachiro. Whatever the hell people are calling him these days. The fact is, I don't want to see him. Trouble is, if Alexander and Noelle are going to this thing of Michiko's, I have to go with them—alone, since you've decided to withdraw all your support, moral or otherwise. Instead of trying to help me, you're removing yourself from any hint of fights or confrontations and telling me I'm on my own. Well, you know what, Nick Okada, if that's the way you want it, then that's just what you'll get. I think Alexander and Noelle and Dawn and I are going to go stay with my parents for a while."

"No, you aren't taking Dawn. She's not a Tokita, she's my kid," Nick barked.

"She's my child too!" Myeko shouted, then slapped a hand over her mouth and shot Christian and Leslie an apologetic look through the tears that had filled her eyes. "I hope I didn't wake up the triplets. But I'm sorry…I can't take this anymore. If you two don't mind, I've gotta go. Sorry, Michiko." She got up and ran out.

"How's she going to get home?" Nick snorted, disgusted. "We brought my jeep over here…" He sat up. "Dammit, she's gonna abandon me here, isn't she!" Before Christian, Leslie or Michiko could respond, they heard an engine roar to life outside, giving him his answer, and fade away within a few seconds.

Christian took a deep breath while Leslie quietly sucked on her bleeding knuckle and Michiko sat looking beaten. "Look, Nick, I'll be glad to take you home, but maybe you'd better give Myeko a little space first."

"You mean time enough for her to run off with my daughter as well as her two?" Nick asked bitterly. "Guess that's what friends are for."

"If you're going to blame anyone, Nicholas Okada, then blame me," snapped Michiko all of a sudden, glaring at him. "It was my request that caused all this in the first place. But Christian's right, I think you need to leave Myeko alone. Since you refused to get yourself involved in what you think is entirely other people's mess, then you shouldn't be allowed to leave here till she's had time to pack up the kids and go to her parents' house. And I think that should include Dawn, as long as I'm being frank here. Hachiro's wife is bringing her two kids from a previous marriage, even though they're no more Tokitas than Dawn is. You wouldn't give Myeko the emotional support she wanted and needed from you—you more or less told her to go it alone, and that's exactly what she's doing. So you might as well stick around till she has a chance to leave."

Nick gawked at her. "You do that to King Errico too? Order him around like that?"

"This has nothing to do with Errico, so leave him out of it! Oh, you blind idiot…" She sprang out of her seat and shook her head disgustedly. "I'll be in the guest room, Leslie." With that she left as fast as she could gracefully walk.

"Do you want to wait here, or on the front steps?" Leslie finally asked Nick quietly.

Nick sighed. "I'll wait outside." He got up and went out, and Leslie stared at her still-bleeding knuckle. Christian promptly got up and settled down beside her, drawing her into his embrace and taking her hand to examine the abused knuckle.

"You'd better put something on this, my Rose," he advised gently.

"I know," Leslie murmured and looked up at him with swimming eyes. "I feel a little at fault myself. After all, I agreed to have Nick and Myeko over so Michiko could ask…"

"My darling, you had no way of knowing it would fall apart so," Christian said softly, pulling her closer so that her head rested against his. "Perhaps you did take a bit of a risk, since you knew Myeko wasn't very sanguine about the whole concept. But you couldn't have foreseen that she and Nick would have an argument about it. It was his choice to distance himself from the whole problem."

"Why would he do something like that?" Leslie murmured, bewildered. "I thought they loved each other. I thought—"

Christian broke in, "Just because they had this falling-out doesn't mean they're about to get a divorce. It's possible Nick just isn't willing to get involved. That happens more often than you'd think. Different people deal differently with a given situation, and there's no more you can do but respect the decision he made. Myeko doesn't have to, but I'm afraid you and I do. Unless he comes to us and directly asks for advice, we can only stand by and look on, no matter how little we like what we see."

After a long silence Leslie sighed reluctantly, "Yeah, I know. But it sure stinks."

Christian laughed. "I have to agree with that. Well, come on, my Rose, let's treat that poor knuckle of yours, and then we'll look in on Michiko."