A/N: Sorry for the short hiatus, just had to recharge the old batteries. Still, at least I didn't take a three/four month season break right? Hope you enjoy it.

In Ocean Bluff, Jayden was upstairs in JKP, taking advantage of RJ's extensive gym, while Antonio looked over the books with Lily. Since they had arrived the previous morning, he had loved spending time with his old friend, but he wasn't purely on a personal visit. He was there to find out how he ran a business on the scale of JKP.

He had run his cart for many years before he arrived in Panama City, but he knew that there was a whole different level of paperwork involved in running an actual restaurant. RJ had explained to him that one of the real secrets to his success was in letting Lily do his books. Since her tenure as a Ranger had ended, and she had gotten together with RJ, the business was now a joint venture, so she was a lot more invested in its success than she had been. It turned out that she had a real gift for the paperwork.

"So you see, the service period pay-ins are just the same, there are just a lot more transactions." Lily explained, stapling some paperwork together. "So, by doing one pay-in for the lunch service, and one for evening service, and checking the receipts, you can keep track of the takings. It's just exactly the same..."

"There's just a lot more paper." Antonio stated as she put the sheets aside, putting the last figures into her computer spreadsheet. "Now, since it's the end of the week, I like to do the payroll, since that'll give me a better idea of the outgoings..."

Jayden had stopped listening a long time ago. Antonio was there to learn how to run the business, but Jayden was only too happy to just invest the money and be done with it. All this talk of spreadsheets, paperwork, receipts...it all sounded like a very quick way to a chronic headache. Taking full advantage of RJ's equipment to have a workout helped him with his frustrations over his own situation.

He was still a little hurt by the fact that Lauren had been spending so much time with Jeremy. Since he had left to go to Ocean Bluff, she hadn't even sent him a text to ask if he'd arrived safely. He imagined she had to be too busy with Jeremy. Considering the fact that she had the apartment to herself...he had to try hard to keep that image out of his head. She was his big sister, and while she'd only been back in his life a couple of months, there were some things that he could really live without visualising.

"Whoa, whoa, ease upon the bag there, I just got it for Christmas." RJ said, putting a hand on Jayden's shoulder as he came in from the restaurant. "I'd like it to last a couple of years at least."

"Sorry." Jayden answered, easing up a little on it. RJ just sighed.

"Look, whatever you're upset about, maybe you'd like something a little more resilient than my poor punching bag to work it off." RJ suggested. "Give me ten minutes to get changed. We can have a little friendly Pai Zhua/Samurai competition."

He made his way over to where Antonio and Lily were doing the books, stopping to give her a little kiss on the cheek.

"Jayden's pretty upset about something." He commented. Lily just rolled her eyes.

"So that's why he's been treating that punch bag like Master Xandred." She sighed. "It's kind of hard to concentrate when it sounds like a nuke going off every few seconds."

"He's just...he's just having a rough time with the whole family thing." Antonio explained.

"The mysterious Shiba sister?" RJ asked in response.

"She's been spending a lot of time with her boyfriend." Antonio told them. "I guess he just feels left out."

"Well, the first boyfriend is kind of a big thing for a girl." Lily reminded him. "It might not have ended too well, but what I had with Theo was a really big thing for me. It killed me when we fell out, but now we're talking again, it feels more like we're family than friends."

"Well the thing is, Lauren's only been in his life a couple of months." Antonio reminded her, defending his boyfriend. "He asked her to stay in the house because he wanted to get to know her again, to make up for lost time. It's not been that easy for either of us. I love Lauren and everything, but do you think it was ideal giving up a house to ourselves to let his sister stay with us?"

"As much as we love the guys, we do like having our own space now." RJ agreed. He looked to Antonio.

"I'll have a word with him later." Antonio told him. "I can't imagine this trip is much fun for him, I haven't had much time either."

"Well, I'll keep him occupied until lights out." RJ answered. "Just remember, market first thing. All the good stuff's gone by 5:00"

"5:00?" Antonio asked. While he had been used to getting up early to go fishing, he didn't have a business on the same scale, so he needed a lot less stock. He didn't need to get up QUITE that early. RJ just slapped him on the shoulder.

"Welcome to the wonderful world of the restaurateur." RJ answered, heading to get changed. Antonio just groaned and shook his head.

"Alright, so you were going to show me the pay roll?" Antonio remarked. Lily just pulled up another spreadsheet.

"OK, this is where the fun really starts." She answered.

"Why do I doubt that?" Antonio muttered under his breath.

In Panorama city the following morning, Lauren woke up, finding Serena sitting at the end of her bed, wrapped in a blanket. She wasn't much of a drinker; in fact, this was the first time she had ever really gotten drunk, which was something of a good news/bad news situation. It was good news, because it meant that her hangover wasn't especially bad. She had a slight headache, and her mouth was a little dry...and had an aftertaste of...oh God, she remembered she'd puked on Jeremy's shoes! That was the downside; unfortunately, she remembered everything about the night.

Pulling back the covers, she found herself dressed in her red, silk pyjamas. She got to her feet, making her way over to Serena and shook her gently to wake her. It didn't take much, the chair, while comfortable was no substitute for a bed.

"Serena?" Lauren asked her. Serena started to stir, and looked up, smiling at her.

"So...how are you feeling?" She asked. Lauren just groaned.

"Not brilliant, but I'll live." Lauren answered. "I'm definitely never drinking again."

"Famous last words." Serena chuckled, remembering saying much the same thing as a teenager the first time she'd gone to a party and gotten a little drunk. Needless to say she hadn't stopped drinking; she had just learned how to be more sensible when she did. "Lauren, what do you remember about last night?"

"Sadly, way too much." Lauren told her. "I puked on Jeremy."

"Yeah, you really did." Serena agreed. "You both talked for a bit, and then we poured you into a taxi."

"So...you came with me?" Lauren asked her. Serena just nodded.

"I figured it was best not to leave you alone." Serena informed her. "I'm not the only one."

"What do you...?" Lauren sniffed the air, and realised she smelled bacon and sausages cooking. She had to think for a moment about this. Jayden and Antonio were in Ocean Bluff, Mia and Kevin were in Rio, and Mike and Emily were on the farm. She looked to Serena in panic.

"He..."

"He's here, he slept on the couch." Serena informed her. "I said I'd stay here to keep an eye on you, but he said he wanted to make sure you were alright, so he stayed over."

"He didn't...?" Lauren asked, gesturing to her pyjamas. Serena just shook her head.

"Um...no, that was my lovely task." Serena assured her. Lauren headed to the bathroom, and was never more grateful that she had an en suite. It meant she could get cleaned up before heading out to see him. She already had a bit to apologise for, the last thing she needed was to look like a complete mess.

After a shower, she started to get dressed, but as she reached for a cardigan, she remembered one of the things that started the whole argument in the first place. It was her insistence on pulling away from him, of hiding so much of herself from him. He already knew about the scars, he just didn't know how far they extended. She decided not to bother with the cardigan, taking Lauren's advice to give him a chance, instead wearing a sleeveless t-shirt. She hated looking at the scars, it was the main reason she always wore long sleeves. Tying back her hair, she went out into the kitchen, finding Jeremy and Lauren sitting at the counter.

"Lauren?" He asked her. Serena looked between Jeremy and Lauren.

"I think I'll just...eat this outside." She stated, making her way out to the garden with her plate. Jeremy just gestured Lauren over, at which she sat down. He served her up a plate.

"I know you don't normally eat this kind of stuff, but trust me, it feels good once in a while." He stated, piling her plate up with sausage, bacon, beans and scrambled eggs. Lauren didn't usually eat stuff like that, but she had to admit, it did smell amazing. She sat down with him, at which he just looked to her.

"So...you really weren't kidding were you?" He asked her, seeing the massive collection of burn scars on her arms. It was far more than would be likely to occur as a result of any accident. "You really were kidnapped."

"It's something I don't like to talk about." Lauren replied sadly. "I know I'm not the easiest person to be with. I have more than a few hang-ups..."

"Hey, everyone has baggage, but this is something else." He answered. "You were kidnapped? Someone tortured you? I can't even imagine what that was like."

"It's something I'd never wish on anyone; no matter how much I hated them." Lauren answered him. "Every day, I'd wake up, and every day they'd hurt me. I never once begged for mercy, but only because I knew that they'd never show it. I can't count the number of times that I'd wished that one of them would make a mistake and take things a little too far, just so I didn't suffer any more."

She looked to him, looking in his eyes.

"There are still some nights I remember what happened." She told him. "I get nightmares, and I wake up screaming."

He reached over, touching the one scar that was the harshest reminder. It was the brand of the Forge Master, burned into the back of her right shoulder. Lauren pulled away at first but looking to Jeremy, she felt a lot less self conscious. He ran his fingers over it.

"I really hate that one." She informed him.

"I can understand why." He said sympathetically. He cradled her face, turning her towards him. "I meant what I said last night. You never have to be scared like that again. As long as I have anything to do with it, no one will ever hurt you like that again."

"Thank you." Lauren whispered, before drawing in, kissing him softly. "Um...I still owe you for a pair of shoes right?"

"OK, whatever you do, never become normal." He chuckled as he turned his attention back to his breakfast. "It's what I love about you."

Lauren just smiled, hearing him say that. She drew in, kissing him again. Seeing them from her vantage point just outside the door, Serena just put her plate on one of the benches outside, knowing that Lauren would likely get it later, and quietly made her way out of the yard. As she did so, she turned on her cell phone, and it promptly blew up with messages and missed calls. She'd turned it off so she wouldn't disturb Lauren as she slept off the night before. Opening one of the messages, she saw it was from Mike.

"Mike, its Serena." She told him. "I had my phone turned off. What's...?"

"Serena, where were you? I've been trying to get hold of you all night!" Mike told her. "Look, it doesn't matter. We're on our way to the hospital."

"The hospital?" Serena asked. She didn't like the sound of that. "What's my little disaster area of a sister managed to do to herself now?"

"Serena, just...get there as soon as you can." Mike told her. "The doctor's sending her for some tests. She really wants to see you. Your parents are already on their way."

"I'll be there in half an hour." She answered, hanging up. She hated hospitals, everyone knew she did. However, she had been through so many tests, she knew how terrified Emily had to be, especially if her family was on their way. Hanging up, she called Terry to let him know what was going on.

Meanwhile, over in Rio, the holiday had taken a different turn. Kevin and Mia had already agreed not to tell anyone back home until they could tell them the news in person. In the meantime, Kevin was doing everything he could to make Mia feel better about the pregnancy.

She loved Kevin, and she loved the thought of having kids with him, but as soon as she had heard, the first thought across her mind was remembering what had happened to Evan. It terrified her to think that it might happen again, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get past that thought. She knew it wouldn't be good for her or the baby to stress over it so much. Kevin was doing everything he could to keep her happy. He was really pulling out all the stops since she had told him what was troubling her. He was always fussing over her, making sure she was comfortable, and checking she had everything she needed. They had left the suite a couple of times, but other than that, her world had become a shower of cups of tea, back rubs, and nutritious snacks.

She was watching a movie on the TV, when Kevin came over to her.

"Kevin, weren't Vikings and Romans separated by a few centuries?" Mia asked him. "That one guy claimed to have fought Romans, and another claimed to have vanquished Vikings."

"I don't think the point of 'Brave' is to be historically accurate." He chuckled. "To the best of my knowledge, bears were never native to Britain either."

"I thought so." Mia said with a smile, gesturing to the bed. Kevin climbed in beside her, putting his arm around her. "Thank you for all of this."

"Hey, it's what I signed on for when we said I Do remember?" He asked her. "Whatever happens from now on, whatever we face, we face it together."

"I guess when we get home..."

"When we get home, we'll take you straight to a doctor." He assured her. "We'll get every test done, and we'll make sure we know exactly what's happening every step of the way."

"I love you so much right now." She told him. Kevin turned his attention back to the film, watching the three little red-headed terrors causing chaos on screen.

"Say, if we have..."

"We better NOT be having triplets!" Mia grumbled. "I might be looking forward to have a family, but I do not want to go through that more than once in one day!"

"Well, there's no history of multiple births in my family." He told her, holding her gently in his arms. "So if it happens..."

"It better not." She told him, kissing him softly. "That's the end of it."

"I don't think that's how it works, but we can only hope." Kevin assured her as they continued to watch the movie.