Over dinner, Serena got caught up on what had been going on in Emily's life in the last two years, and for the first time since this symbol spell had started, she could not know something and not look like an idiot.

However, she felt like an idiot. It seemed the time without her sister had really gotten Emily to blossom into her own person. With Serena out of the picture, Emily found her own way through the remaining years of high school; she had made her own friends, and was going out every night. She even had a boyfriend whom she spoke very highly of, though Serena thought it was weird that Emily was dating someone other than Mike. Fortunately, there was some normalcy as Mike seemed to be a little jealous. It looked like he had a little crush on the second-string yellow.

"Is there a universe where they don't have feelings for each other?" Serena whispered to Storm as she fed the dog a piece of steak from her plate. Storm shook her head.

"When it's meant to be, it's meant to be. Bigger pieces, please. Your dad makes a mean steak."

When dinner was done, Serena and Emily both offered to clear the plates while Ellie and Jack insisted the Rangers stay a couple of nights at the farm. At first they were hesitant, but Serena noticed Storm doing a little dance (it looked a lot like she was chasing her tail, though) and suddenly they all agreed. Serena knew why Storm was doing this. She needed time to see what changes she had made by not being sick. The only way to know the truth was if she spent a little time with Emily. Serena wasn't happy to lose Terran or James, but if life was truly better here, she could make a new family. Besides, it wasn't like she didn't know where to find James. Without her in his life, Marissa never would have gotten jealous and never would have posted the pictures of her and James, and James never would have quit the school. He was likely still working there, and hopefully still single. And Storm's words did echo in Serena's mind. If she and James were meant to be, a relationship between them would happen in this universe.

She would miss Terran though. She already did. But even without his Nighlok life, he was still in for a rough road. Nothing would ever change the fact that his father was Dekker. Maybe it was all for the best.

"So, things have really been working out for you, huh?" Serena handed her sister a dish to dry. Emily nodded her head and stared at the dish as she wiped it down with a towel.

"Yeah. It took a little while, but it turns out you were right. People started to see the real me."

"I'm proud of you, Emily. I really am. You like how things are going for you?"

"Yeah," Emily still didn't look Serena in the eye, even to receive another dish. "I mean, I've got a great boyfriend, amazing friends, my sister's an awesome Samurai Ranger, so she's practically a hero. What more could I ask for?"

"I have an amazing older sister, and an amazing surrogate for when you do screw up. I have awesome brothers, a beautiful, and much younger nephew, and the most incredible fiancé, and that's all thanks to you."

Serena knew it wasn't word for word the same, but it was definitely similar. Good friends, good family, and good times all around. It sounded like Emily really was happy.

Dish soap and water made the bowls slippery. As Serena handed Emily another dish to dry, the bowl slipped from both of their hands and shattered on the floor.

"What was that?" Ellie called from upstairs. Serena and Emily both looked to each other in panic. No matter what dimension they were in, their mother would get pissed when a dish was shattered. Don't cry over spilt milk, but the world ends when you break a glass or drop a plate.

"Nothing!" they both cried and then scrambled to pick up the pieces before she could know they were lying. As they hurried to pick up the pieces, Emily, as usual, cut her hand.

"Ow!"

"Here," Serena took the dish towel from the sink and then grabbed Emily's hand. She pulled her a little to bring her hand closer to clean it off, and then noticed a bruise around Emily's wrist, which had been hiding under a long sleeve shirt. Serena hadn't noticed it before, but despite the fact that it was summer, and it was hot, Emily was wearing a long sleeve shirt and pants.

"Farm work," Emily pulled her hand away to take care of her cut. She knew Serena had seen the bruise and she knew her sister would worry. "With you gone, dad has me doing a lot more chores. You can ask him."

"It looked pretty bad. Want a bag of peas?"

"I was the accident prone one, remember?" Emily chuckled, "I know how to take care of my bruises."

"Can I at least have a look at it?"

Emily sighed and then rolled her eyes and her sleeve. Serena examined the bruise and hissed. It was pretty big.

"Lifting saddles," Emily explained. "You know me."

"Be careful," Serena gently poked her sister's nose. "I'm supposed to be the one getting banged up and bruised."

"I'll be careful, I promise," Emily then pointed to the ground, "We should really get this all cleaned up. Mom's not going to believe the bowl just went missing if there are shards of glass on the floor."

"Get a bandage," Serena chuckled, "I'll finish here."

Emily nodded and then gave her sister a kiss on the cheek, "I'm happy you're home."

"You have no idea how happy I am to be home, and with a better you."

"Better?"

"You've done well for yourself, Emy. I really am proud of you."

"Thanks, but…"

"Bandage, Em, before you bleed to death."

Emily nodded her head and hurried out of the room. Serena finished picking up the pieces of the broken bowl and then buried them in a bag in the garbage.

"Maybe you should meet her friends."

Serena turned around and saw Storm walking into the room. She sat down on the floor beside Serena while the yellow-white Ranger finished the dishes.

"People tend to leave rather than come. I'm pretty sure I already know who they are."

"You don't find it weird, at all, that your leaving suddenly means Emily's the most popular girl in town? You heard your mother, she's being asked to hang out with her friends every night."

"I was most popular when I was here," Serena shrugged. "Maybe my little sister takes after me more than you think."

Storm lowered and shook her head, "Serena, the whole point of this little experiment is for you to see what'll happen if you make your life better."

"I don't care about my life," Serena looked down at the dog, "I want her life to be better. So far, it looks like that's it."

"Appearances can be deceiving."

"Emily would never lie to me, and you said she's the same person I know."

"Serena, this life is different because you want it to be different. Emily told you she was happy. You're ignoring her because you're not happy with the way you've treated her. I've erased all that, and now you have to see what you're left with. If you take everything she says at face value, you're more likely to make a bad decision."

"Are you saying she's not happy?"

"I'm here to make sure you're happy. You'll be happy if you make a smart decision, right?"

"Of course."

"Then figure out as much as you can about this world. You wouldn't buy a house without checking out the neighbourhood first, right?"

Serena put the last dish in the sink and nodded, "Alright, but I'm sure Emily can stand on her own two feet. She managed it at the Shiba House without me."

"Does insanity work both ways?"

"What?" Serena looked down at the dog and put her hands on her hips, "I am not…"

"You're doing things differently and hoping for the same results. The Samurai are different people."

"You know, I've got a muzzle in the barn that would fit perfectly around that little mouth of yours," Serena picked up Storm, "I'll ask her if she can introduce me to her friends, but I have confidence in my sister. She's a good judge of character."