Once the twins were asleep, Monika felt it was time to turn the television off. She didn't have the volume very high, but Rob had spent a lot of time trying to get them calm enough to sleep and she didn't want to be responsible for sending him back to square one. Now she was reclined on her bed in her new warm pajamas reading some of the travel guidebooks that were in the basement. The Planet Earth episodes had really gotten her interested in her new world's geography and culture.

When she first arrived, Monika expected that she and Rob would spend all of their time together. Of course, she also expected him to be single. After just a couple days here, however, she was pleased to have her own space where she could have some downtime. Given how hectic this house could be, she imagined Rob valued his downtime even more.

Monika heard a door open and then footsteps coming closer to the basement stairs. Kate must have finally come home.

"Did you do the laundry?" Monika heard her ask.

"Yeah."

"Where is it?"

"It's downstairs."

"You didn't bring it upstairs?"

"Lost track of it, I guess."

"Well, that's not very helpful."

"For fuck's sake," Rob grumbled after a brief pause. Monika tentatively climbed out of the bed and inched closer to the stairs.

"What are you so cranky for?" Kate asked.

"I made the boys dinner and put them to bed by myself. You come home, you barely say hello and then you zero in on whatever I didn't do right. It's never fuckin' good enough."

"Yeah, well that's how I feel too."

"What?" he asked. "I don't ask you for anything."

"I work my ass off and you're still not happy with me," Kate shot back.

"I don't go to your church and nitpick your work, do I? Why do you have to do it when you're home?"

No wonder he was playing a dating sim, Monika thought. Well, maybe that wasn't fair. Rob appeared at the top of the stairs and she ducked out of the way lest her eavesdropping be exposed. She sat back on the bed and did her best to look busy.

"Monika, I have a couple things for you," he said, peering into her room.

"Really?"

He dragged an electric keyboard into her room. "We've had this for years but I never have time to play it anymore. I was never that good, but I could tell that you have a lot of musical talent."

She walked over and examined it. It was a far cry from the grand piano she had used at the school inside the game, but more reasonable given the small size of the house.

"I also remembered I had this," Rob said, lifting a laptop computer out of a small box. "It's a few years old, so you won't be able to play any major video games or anything, but it will be fine for using the internet and stuff like that."

After he set the laptop down on her desk, Monika pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you for everything. I really appreciate it."

Rob looked a little embarrassed, but she felt like he needed to hear something like that. She gently caressed his cheek until he took a step back. He said good night and headed upstairs with the laundry basket. She read the Lonely Planet guide to New Zealand for another half hour or so before drifting off to sleep.

Monika dreamed of her old life, or at least some idealized version of it. She was back in the classroom with Natsuki, Yuri and Sayori, discussing poems and snacking on some cupcakes. The only difference was that the narrator of Planet Earth was describing all of their activities in great detail. She was the only one who could hear him; the others simply gave her bizarre looks when she mentioned it.

The wacky scenario ended immediately when a piercing noise woke Monika out of a sound sleep. Loud coughing and crying rang throughout the house. She rushed upstairs to find Rob rummaging around the counter. He was wearing red pajama pants and a T-shirt that said "Papa Bear."

"What's going on?!"

"Andrew's having an asthma attack," Rob answered quickly. "I've got to get him his inhaler."

"Is there anything I can do?" she asked.

"Well, I guess you can try to calm Lucas down."

"Sure," she replied. Rob found the inhaler and rushed back into his bedroom. Monika followed and saw Kate sitting up on the bed with Andrew in her arms. He coughed hard several times in a row before making a horrible wheezing noise as he struggled for air. She had only known this little boy for a couple of days, but her heart ached to see him this way. When the coughing subsided, he began crying hysterically.

"I have bad cough," Andrew said through his tears. Rob wrapped one arm around his son and brought the inhaler close to his mouth.

"No inhaler!" Andrew protested.

"You need it, buddy."

Monika heard Lucas cry out again and realized she had better go to him. As she walked into the boys' room, Andrew's coughing and crying stopped for a few seconds, meaning that they must have managed to get him to take the inhaler. Upon seeing her, Lucas got quiet, although it looked like he could start his crying again any time.

She sat down in the little rocker next to his bed. "It's going to be okay."

"Momma needs to come," he said with a little lip quiver that almost got Monika crying herself.

"Your mom and dad are trying to help Andrew."

Lucas thought about this for a bit. "Andrew is sad."

"Yeah," Monika replied. "But he'll be okay." She hesitantly reached over and ran a hand through his hair. Andrew kept crying and coughing and Lucas still looked upset, but he stayed still. After what seemed like hours but was in reality about twenty minutes, Andrew was quiet. Whatever medicine was in the inhaler must have started to work. Monika glanced over at Lucas and saw that he had fallen back asleep. She gently rubbed his head one more time and stood up.

Kate walked down the hallway holding Andrew. Monika watched her sit in a recliner in the living room and pull the lever on the side. The bottom popped out and she rested her legs on it. Andrew was already asleep.

"Lucas is asleep too," she said.

"Thanks," Kate said back. "It should be okay now. You can go back to sleep."

Monika wasn't quite ready for that. She sat down on the nearby couch and rested her head against the back. That had been an intense way to wake up. Neither of Andrew's parents had mentioned his asthma to her and she wondered how often this happened. Hopefully it was rare for all of their sake. Monika turned her head to say something to Kate but saw that she was fast asleep.

Maybe if everyone was out, it was time for her to head back downstairs. She peeked into the master bedroom again and saw that Rob was sitting on the edge of the bed. He was leaning forward with elbows on his knees and hands on his forehead, with hair poking out from between the fingers. She approached quietly but he still noticed her presence and looked up.

"Oh," he said quietly. "Good job with Lucas. I'm…I'm glad you were here." A lamp in the room was on and Monika got a good look at his face, observing that his eyes were red and puffy. Realizing that he'd been exposed, Rob quickly reached over and turned the lamp off. She sat on the bed next to him and held both his hands in hers.

"It's all right," Monika said. "He's asleep now in the other room."

Rob managed a weak nod. "Yeah, the worst is over." His body shook suddenly as he fought off his feelings. Some tears made it through regardless. Monika looked at him but didn't say anything.

"It's just hard to see your kid like that," he finally said. "If I ever lost either of them…well, I think that would be the final blow."

The final blow? What did that mean? As he seemed to be teetering on the verge of tears again, Monika couldn't stop herself. She rested one hand on his cheek and began to plant soft kisses on the other.

"Monika…"

"Don't push me away," she whispered. "I love you." She turned his head towards her and kissed his lips. This time, he didn't fight her. After several moments, she pulled back and looked at him. His eyes were barely open. Maybe this wasn't the best time.

"You rest now," Monika said, helping him get onto the bed and lowering his head onto the pillow. She laid her head on his chest and snuggled close. As Rob drifted off, he wrapped one arm around her. She nearly gasped in surprise and nuzzled his chest. There was no reaction; he was completely out now. Monika cherished the moment until she too fell asleep.

The next morning, she opened her eyes to see Kate standing in the doorway of the bedroom. Monika was amazed that the look on her face didn't immediately turn her to stone. One of the twins asked for her and she left. Monika knew she was in trouble and Rob was still out cold. She stood up and walked into the living room, ready for anything.

"You've got a lot of nerve, you know that?" Monika didn't reply.

"I could understand it if you fell asleep on the bed," Kate said. "But it's a king size bed. You didn't need to be right on top of him."

She thought about apologizing, but didn't. She wasn't sorry. "He was really upset. I just wanted to comfort him."

"Take advantage of him, you mean."

Monika was weighing the pros and cons of slapping Kate for that comment, but she was distracted by the sight of the boys all dressed for school. Lucas was milling about the room while Andrew sat on the couch, unusually calm.

He looked at her. "I have the big tired."

"You're getting them ready by yourself?" Monika asked.

"I'm giving Rob a chance to recover. It's hard enough to get him out of bed on a normal day, let alone after a night like that. I'm going to take Andrew to spend the day with my parents and then I'll drop Lucas off at school."

As much as she hated to admit it, Monika was impressed. "Aren't you tired?"

"I'm ffff….flippin' exhausted," Kate said. "But someone's got to keep food on the table. Especially when we have another mouth to feed." She got the boys into their shoes and jackets and they walked out the door. Kate turned to Monika before leaving.

"I'm trying to be sensitive to whatever your situation actually is, but I know plenty of people at my church who would be willing to take you in. That's what we'll have to do unless you learn a thing or two about boundaries."

She shut the door hard and Monika was left seething. How dare she threaten her like that when all she did was try and console someone she loved. As the car left the driveway, she cursed quietly to herself.

"Bitch."