Little Freddy was sitting in the drawing room of the Landsdown's mansion while Summer played with her doll's house, passing the time. On this occasion, Andrews was watching them, not Mrs. Kitchner. She had been away with his younger sister Julie for some time.

He still didn't know why they needed to go. She had explained to him that now Julie was growing up, she was going to be taught how to do more for herself. She had gone with her mother to a hospital to learn how to walk around by herself. He wasn't sure exactly how she was meant to be able to do that, and was a little worried about her. Ever since his dad had left them shortly after she was born, he'd helped his mom look after her. He had been with her, and helped her for virtually everything for the first six years of her life. He helped walk her everywhere, and he took his responsibility for her care very seriously. As he cast his gaze towards the door once more, Andrews placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"They say a watched pot never boils Master Frederick." He said soothingly to the young boy. "They'll be back soon. You got the call."

"Why did they go?" He asked him in a small, weak voice. "Wasn't I doing a good job? She hardly ever gets hurt, I never let her..."

"Your mother explained this already. Your sister has to learn to fend for herself." Andrews explained again, rubbing his shoulder gently. "No one here doubts how much you love your sister, or that you take excellent care of her, but you can't be there all the time. Sooner or later you'll want to live your own life, and she'll want to live hers."

"I want to take care of her." He reiterated a little more forcefully. "I'll never leave her, I'll always..."

"Do you really think that will make her happy?" Andrews asked him. "You and she are already different people. You are very close, and you share some interests, but you aren't the same people. Are you really planning to drag her everywhere with you for your whole life?"

Freddy didn't answer. As he looked downwards, Summer came to his side, and hugged him as she saw he needed some comfort. Andrews smiled a little at the display. He knew that despite her parent's reluctance, Summer had grown closer to the housekeeper's kids. He was pleased that she had some friends out with the exclusive world her parents were raising in; to show her that there were people that weren't like all the people she normally met.

"Your mom wouldn't do anything she thought might hurt her." Summer told him. "She's only doing this to help her."

Freddy heard a car pulling up outside and ran over to the window. He peered out in time to see Mrs. Kitchner getting out the back of the Landsdown's limo. After a few more seconds, he saw his sister climb slowly out of the car. She was carrying a white cane, and moved a little slowly at first, securing herself against the door frame of the car, before readying herself on her feet, and taking a firm grip on the cane, moving it around in front of herself.

"They're home!" He called out in his excitement. He burst from the drawing room so quickly that Summer and Andrews couldn't stop him. He barrelled down the stairs to see them, almost falling headfirst down them in his frantic dash. He went to the front door, throwing it open carelessly and rushed out towards them. His mother wasn't touching Julie, instead simply explaining to her where she was so she turned in the right direction.

"Julie!" He called out in his excitement, running towards her. Julie's face lit up, and she forgot her search for a second, turning towards his voice and making a large step forward. She caught her foot on an edging stone to one of the flowerbeds and fell forward, landing on the gravel path. Freddy started to rush towards her to see if she was alright, but his mother held up a hand to stop him.

"No Freddy, stay there." She told him. He looked at his mother in amazement as he heard Julie grunting a little. He could see that a hole had been torn in the left knee of her trousers, and it was badly grazed, and the heels of her palms had been too. "Let her do it herself."

"Mom she's hurt!" He complained, gesturing to her. He wanted to rush to her side, but he wasn't going to simply disobey his mother, he just wanted her to understand. "This would never have happened if I'd led her..."

"She needs to learn!" Mrs. Kitchner told him. He looked back to his sister, seeing that she was handling her pain bravely. There was no whimpering, and no tears. Instead, she started to slowly pull herself back to her feet and retrieved her cane, beginning to use it to search again, finding the stone she had tripped over. She gave it a small, unnecessary whack with the cane out of frustration, before continuing to search, and moved forwards. Freddy watched her come over towards him, reaching out her hand. As she got within arm's length, his mother nodded to confirm that he could reach out for her. They hugged each other, greeting each other like they hadn't seen each other in years.

"I missed you." He whispered to her. "Are you alright?"

"It's alright; it was just a little fall." She told him softly with a smile. "Until I get used to a place and get to know its layout, there'll be a couple of accidents. I'll be alright."

As they turned to head back towards the house, Julie beginning to tell him enthusiastically about her time away, learning how to get around with the new cane, Freddy couldn't help but be impressed by the change in her in this short time. He rushed forward as they got to the door, opening it for her. Julie just stopped short and didn't move.

"Freddy, Julie only knows where something is if her cane hits it." His mother informed him. "If you open the door, she won't be able to find it."

He closed the door and stepped aside, at which she moved forward. Feeling the cane connect with the door, she reached up with her hand, finally finding the door handle, and opened it, stepping inside. Freddy followed on feeling a little conflicted. In many ways a lot of his identity was defined by helping his sister. He had been her eyes since she had learned to walk, and they had been very close as a result. He felt a little sad to think that she would need him less, but as she continued to regale them with her time at the institute, he couldn't help feeling uplifted. There was a change in her, a new confidence and happiness that hadn't been there before.

Back in the present, in the Garage, Tenaya looked on in surprise as Dillon told her so much about herself she didn't know. Her most vivid memories were those attached to touches, smells and emotions. She had only ever really remembered being led around and cared for by her brother.

"Ever since you were born, once mom found out that you were blind, she always knew things were going to be hard, but she never wanted you to be coddled." Dillon told his sister as he recounted her past. "She always wanted you to be able to fend for yourself, even though she knew that it would be hard at times."

"I didn't remember much about that." Tenaya admitted.

"It took a lot of getting used to letting you get around by yourself." He admitted as he recalled that time of their life. "For a while you had a few accidents, a couple of trips and falls, and it killed me to see you get hurt but mom always insisted that you needed to learn. In time, the accidents were less frequent. It was amazing watching you grow. Pretty soon you didn't need me to help you get around."

"I can't believe I didn't remember that." Tenaya commented as she considered the new information. "I thought I was coddled."

"Please, that attitude you had as Venjix's right-hand woman? That wasn't his doing." Dillon told her. "Mom wanted to make sure you could take care of yourself, and not just being able to walk around by yourself. Trust me, because of her; you were never raised to be a victim."

It was Julie's first day of High School, and she was just getting off the bus with her brother. Fred tapped her on the shoulder as they walked.

"I'll just show you around. The stairs are just up ahead." He informed her. "I'll take you to the headmistress' office. She'll want to talk to you about..."

"Great, that's all we need." A senior scoffed as he got out of his car. "I know this place struggles to get a budget, but now they're going to start letting in cripples?"

Julie grabbed Fred's arm as he started to turn towards him.

"You better watch what you say!" He warned the other student in a low growl. Julie wasn't happy with the slight, and hated it when anyone made fun of her because of her disability. She had already gotten good grades up until now, one of the main reasons the school was keen to admit her. Having students with her kind of marks would raise the grade point average and secure a better budget.

"What's it to you kid?" The senior asked him.

"That's my sister. If you have a problem with her, you have a problem with me." Fred stated flatly. Julie moved between them, separating them as several of the seniors friends started to become attracted to the scene. Julie could already tell that they were outnumbered, and that Fred was ready for action. He was only going to get hurt if anything kicked off.

"It's only a name. This guy's a moron, just ignore him." Julie replied. "I know I deserve to be here, that's all that matters."

Fred just backed down and started to walk away with Julie. The senior started laughing as he saw this.

"I guess it's true how desperate this school is for funding." He joked. "Now they're applying for disability grants."

Fred turned back, but Julie stopped him, before turning her head a little towards the senior.

"What was that name you called me again?" She asked him.

"Are you deaf as well as blind?" The senior asked her. "Cripple!"

She held her hand in Fred's chest, stopping him, but gripped her cane more tightly.

"Say it one more time." She told him.

"Crip..."

He was cut off as she swung the cane as quickly as she could, whipping it painfully across his face, staggering him. The senior looked at her in shock as his hand strayed to his face. He pulled his hand away, staring at the blood covering it from the gash she had caused to form across his cheek.

"You little bitch, I'm going to..."

"You're going to do what? Beat up a blind girl?" She asked him sarcastically. The senior looked around at all his friends gathered, realising she was right about his situation. He couldn't do anything to her in response. There was no way he would get away with striking back against her; he'd be suspended for sure, possibly even expelled. She smiled at him. "Just remember what they say about sticks and stones. You called me a name, but just remember. I always carry a stick."

"I really did that?" Tenaya asked him back in the Garage. Dillon just laughed a little at the memory.

"That jerk wouldn't show his face for a fortnight after that." He replied as he put an arm around her. "Mom always told you never to let what anyone said about you get to you. She never raised you to be a victim."

"So I was always like that?" She asked him. "You mean...I was always so..."

"Assertive." Dillon put down before she could say anything less diplomatic. "You were always taught to speak your mind. Sure, you were in no danger of being a diplomat, but you were never unnecessarily cruel. You just...didn't let people take advantage."

The scene moved on to a little after Julie and Fred had moved into Keith's mansion. She arrived in the door after another day at college, finding the sound system playing loud, raucous music. She made her way inside cautiously.

"Fred?" She called out, wondering where everyone was. "Keith?"

She made her way down the hall, and onto the balcony. The music made it harder to get a sense of what was happening, but she knew that someone was in the room. She heard the faintest whisper of two quiet voices. She started to make her way down the stairs, and smelled coffee being brewed.

"Julie, is it that time already?" A familiar voice asked her. It was Gerald Fox, Keith's accountant. He was a slightly jittery little man, barely any taller than Julie, with a bald head and glasses. Since hiring Fred, Keith had insisted that all the members of his staff, and most of the visitors allowed Julie to touch them to get an idea who they were and what they looked like. While she hadn't been keen on him at first, he had truly allowed her to make herself at home here. Only the safe, which was off-limits to everyone but him, and his bedroom were off-limits to her. Other than that, she was welcome to anything in the house. "I wasn't expecting you for a while."

"Where are Fred and Keith?" She asked him. "Who's the other guy? Why is the music so loud?"

"Sorry about that, we're just taking a few liberties with the stereo while we wait for Keith. He had to go into the city for a business meeting; he should be back with your brother any time now." He said to her in a bit of a rush as he started to guide her away from the living room. The music made it harder to differentiate sound, but she could still sense a little tension in his throat, causing a subtle squeak in it that would be largely unnoticeable to anyone else. He all but frog marched her into the kitchen. "I have an appointment with him in a little while. Would you like a coffee?"

"Sure." She replied, smelling it. She smiled. "The stereo isn't the only thing you're taking liberties with is it? This is that good Columbian stuff he gets shipped in especially. It costs him something like 300 dollars a bag."

"You won't tell him will you?" He asked her, reaching across and squeezing her knee a little. She always hated that about Gerald, he was more than a little bit of a creep, especially with her.

"Every employee deserves a few perks." She replied, sweeping his hand off her knee. "Your secret's safe with me."

Just then, she heard another sound. The loud music made it hard to identify, but she could swear it was a heavy mechanical clunk coming from the living room. She strained to hear as Gerald poured the coffee. Something just didn't seem right about this. After some rustling, and another clunk, the music was switched off. A second later, the second man came in. She heard him shoving something into a cupboard, before sitting with them.

"So who's this?" She asked him, in reference to the stranger.

"Oh he's just an intern I'm showing the ropes to." He replied as he took a long sip. "So how's College?"

"What did you put into the cupboard?" She asked him. "Who is this?"

"It's nothing to worry about..."

"Kind of like the sound of the safe opening?" She asked him. "You're ripping him off aren't you?"

The stranger lashed out, punching her to the floor. Julie tried to get up, but the stranger grabbed her, holding her down.

"Get the bag; we're getting out of here!" He snapped at the accountant. Gerald just did as he was told, gathering the ill-gotten goods. Julie struggled on the floor.

"Come on, we've got the goods, let's just go!" Gerald told him.

"Sorry, but we've got a witness." The stranger reminded him, cocking a gun and pressing it to the back of her head. Julie just whimpered a little as she felt this. "We need to waste the girl."

"Leave her!" Keith called out as he arrived. Julie heard a gunshot, at which the stranger fell off her, lying on the floor unmoving. She heard Gerald shrieking in pain as her brother manhandled him to the floor.

"Please, not the face!" Gerald shrieked. "Don't hurt me, please!"

"Are you alright Julie?" Keith asked her, coming over to her. She sat up, wiping away a tear as she did so.

"I'm sorry Keith." She told him.

"You shouldn't blame yourself; you should just have let them take the money." He told her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "It isn't worth your life."

"No, I'm sorry about the coffee." She told him, pointing to the coffee pot. "It's burning."

Keith looked up, realising that they had left it on too long, and the coffee was indeed burning. Julie had just smelled it before he had. He laughed and helped her up.

"You've got some guts Julie." He commented.

Back in the Garage, Tenaya's attention was grabbed as Alex started to murmur. She looked over to him as Dillon finished his story.

"That's the Julie I remember." He told her proudly. "You were easily the most courageous, strongest person I knew. I looked after you, but I never coddled you. Mom wouldn't let me, and neither would you."

Just then, Alex started to cry. Tenaya felt a little tense, but it started to pass, as she thought of something.

"He's hungry." She said quietly. "I know what he wants."

"You know from that?" He asked her, commenting on the hellish sound coming from his nephew's crib. Tenaya just looked at him.

"This is the part you leave." She told him. "I need to feed him."

"It's alright, I can..."

"No, I mean...I...need to feed him." She clarified, crossing her arms over her chest. Dillon just pointed to the door.

"This is one of those things that brothers really shouldn't see their sisters do isn't it?" He asked. "I'll just leave you to it."

With that, he left her alone with her son. Tenaya lifted up Alex a little nervously, still a little uncertain about her future with him, but strengthened by her new knowledge of herself and her situation. She had a family around her willing to help, and she was stronger than she had believed. As Alex started to feed, settling into her quietly, she smiled.

"I'm sorry little guy. I guess your mommy freaked out for a little while there." She whispered to him. "I can't promise anything. I'm still learning, and I can't promise that I'll always have the answers for you. I can't promise I'll not freak again. All I can promise is that I love you and I'll try my best."

Almost in response, Alex squirmed a little in her grip. Tenaya smiled a little as she looked down on him. Things were far from perfect, but she had something now she didn't have before. She had hope, and the will to try.