Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter twenty-eight of "Not Here II: The Journey Continues." I didn't mean to take more than three weeks to get it out. I had a bad case of writer's block. This chapter features Kinwon and Tykwa trying a new drink. The one after the next will feature the trip to the beach. Some familiar troublemakers may make an appearance. I started a new Mighty Morphin Power Rangers fic called "A Mix of Clouds and Sun." It is AU where Rita never acquired the Green Power Coin, but Zordon and Alpha have it and are searching relentlessly for a Green Ranger due to her increasingly brutal attacks while Tommy has just moved to Angel Grove with his parents and sister. Thee chapters have been posted. I would love for you to read it and tell me what you thought of it. Stay tuned for chapter twenty-nine.

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Chapter 28: Done With the Bathroom/Trying Coffee

Kinwon was waiting outside the bathroom six minutes later. He tapped his foot on the floor while putting his hands behind his back. He heard the toilet flushing, followed by footsteps approaching the door. The door opened with a slight squeak. Tykwa came out while turning off the lights. She adjusted the waistband of her black shorts. He tilted his head somewhat.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked.

"Much better," she said with a smile. "I am already missing our self-flushing toilets on KO-35."

"Me too," Kinwon agreed. "At least it isn't hard to make Earth's toilets flush."

"Tyson mentioned the Angel Grove Aquarium has self-flushing toilets last night," Tykwa pointed out while furrowing her brow. "I am looking forward to seeing that place."

"So am I," Kinwon said and chuckled softly. "Andros told us he was fascinated by so many different types of animals when he visited it for the first time."

"I have little doubt we will be just as fascinated by the animals," Tykwa whispered in much eagerness. "Perhaps we will get to interact with some of them."

"That would be really nice," Kinwon commented with much warmth. "Kendrix said Professor Phenomenous declared he would prove belugas were space aliens the last time she and her uncle visited the aquarium. From what she described, they could pass for aliens."

She giggled. "Andros said Professor Phenomenous is known to be quite wacky, but he is a very sweet man."

"He mentioned Bulk and Skull kept him in line while they were working for them," Kinwon murmured.

"He said those two were bullies at one time," Tykwa responded in amazement. "Who would've thought two sea lion trainers bullied people when they were in high school?"

"When karma hits a bully enough, it makes him or her change their ways," Kinwon said bluntly.

"I wonder if the teens who have given Andros, Ashley, Zhane, Karone, TJ, Cassie, Justin, Carlos, Leo, and Kendrix so much trouble will ever change," Tykwa said very curiously.

"I have no idea," Kinwon admitted.

"One thing is clear. Bianca, Tara, and Brian are destined for very lonely lives if they don't change their ways," Tykwa hissed in fierceness.

He nodded sharply. "They sure are. Johnny's troublemaking behavior landed him in jail. His trail will start early next month. I pray he doesn't make a scene in the courtroom and cause Ashley any stress."

Tykwa sighed heavily. She hated that Johnny smuggled a switchblade into school and tried to stab Andros with it. She was glad he was denied bail due to being a danger to the public. She knew he would've likely disobeyed any restraining orders he had been slapped with or tried to pry an ankle-monitor off if he had been given house arrest. She didn't doubt his parents blamed Andros and Ashley for his predicament.

"It is hard to believe that it is only two months until Ashley's due date," Kinwon whispered in much gentleness. "We won't be here for births of the children."

"Yes, but Andros and Ashley will bring the babies to KO-35 three months after their birth. They will show us pictures of them as newborns," Tykwa pointed out matter-of-factly.

"It will be nice to see them," Kinwon said, a small smile forming on his face. "I bet they will be very curious by everything around them."

"They won't even realize they are on another world," Tykwa added and moved her eyebrows up and down.

"Andros and Ashley mentioned people have told them they should give up their children for adoption because it is best for them to be raised by married parents. Adoption is a wonderful thing, but it isn't for everyone," Kinwon commented in much seriousness.

Tykwa emitted a snort. "That's right."

Kinwon cleared his throat. "They mentioned it can take years for couples to adopt a child. Even if they do, the birth parents can change their minds in a flash."

She let out a long yawn and smacked her lips. She stretched her arms above her head. She did the same behind her back. She placed them at her sides before clearing her throat.

"Andros and Ashley said adoption doesn't have a pretty history in the United States. Georgia Tann ran an illegal adoption ring out of Memphis, Tennessee. She used the Tennessee Children's Home Society as a front for it. It is estimated she stole and adopted out five thousand children from 1924 until 1950," Tykwa explained, shuddering in disgust.

"She pretended to be a caring woman. In reality, she didn't give two shits about children," Kinwon grumbled angrily.

"She and her associates targeted poor and uneducated families for their children. Their favorites happened to be widowed, divorced, and single mothers," Tykwa replied. "They would threaten them into handing over their children. They even kidnapped some of them from their doorsteps. Most of the children were little babies."

"They would meet with potential adoptive parents in hotel rooms. Many couples were wealthy and paid a lot of money for the children," Kinwon added.

"Georgia forced caregivers to neglect babies she deemed unworthy of adoption," Tykwa said and gritted her teeth. "Many rejected babies were given to untrained caregivers."

"The caregivers abused and neglected 'unruly' babies as their way of dealing with them," Kinwon said and hissed to himself. "One even placed them in strollers in the direct sun. The babies literally baked to death."

"How horrid," Tykwa muttered.

"Yep," Kinwon agreed.

"Judge Camille Kelley assisted Georgia in her little scheme. It's believed five hundred children died due to neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse," Tykwa hissed, curling her hand into a fist.

"Unfortunately, Georgia got away with what she did. She died of uterine cancer before her secrets were exposed in September 1950," Kinwon said, flaring his nostrils. "Camille retired in 1950. She died in 1955 without ever being charged for aiding and abetting Georgia."

Tykwa tightened her fist. She wished Georgia and Camille could've been brought to trial for what they did to those children. She believed they deserved the harshest punishment. She hoped the adults who learned they had been adopted through the black baby market were able to find their parents. She touched her stomach, as did Kinwon with his.

"We should get downstairs," Kinwon said truthfully. "I am aching for some breakfast."

"I am too," Tykwa commented and smirked. "I bet I will eat more than you will."

"Sure, you will," Kinwon replied sarcastically. He and his friend headed for the stairs. They proceeded to go down them.

00000

Minnie poured coffee into the first of three mugs in the kitchen. She stopped once it was nearly full. She filled the second and third mugs to more than halfway full. She returned the kettle to the coffeemaker. She gazed toward Tyson, who was sitting at the head of the table while reading a newspaper. She observed him grabbing a coffee-filled mug and sipping some of it.

"Anything interesting in the newspaper?" she wondered.

"Nope," he answered as he put his coffee down. He folded the newspaper and laid it aside. "Sometimes, I wonder why newspapers are printed when there isn't really anything interesting to report."

"They have to be. Newspapers are the only source of news many people get," Minnie said, sighing heavily. "They don't even have internet like we do."

"The internet has expanded in size since Netscape's official release in 1994, but it is still small," Tyson pointed out honestly.

"Despite the small size, it does contain a wealth of information," Minnie commented, a warm smile crossing her lips. "Sometimes, we learn details about familiar subjects we never knew about."

"For example, Frank McCallister was supposed to be the mastermind behind the robbery in the original script to Home Alone. There was to be a scene where he called the Wet Bandits and told them to rob the place," Tyson explained.

"Peter would never have known his brother was behind the robbery had it taken place. However, Marv was known to have a big mouth. He would've ratted Frank out right after being arrested," Minnie said and made a funny noise. "He ratted himself and Harry out in both Home Alone movies."

"Alleged criminals do have the right to remain silent, but Marv couldn't keep quiet. He had to blab everything he and Harry did," Tyson commented while shaking his head in disbelief. "That landed them in the slammer for a very long time."

"If only Harry could've stuffed a sock in Marv's mouth," Minnie said and spoke gibberish. "It would've spared them a lot of trouble."

"Of course, Marv would've found a way to get the sock out of his mouth," Tyson said matter-of-factly.

"Yep," Minnie agreed. "Where there is a will, there is a way."

Footsteps caught the couple's attention. They spotted Kinwon and Tykwa coming into the kitchen. They smiled at the duo as they came to Minnie's side. Tyson peered over his shoulder at them.

"Good morning, Kinwon, Tykwa!" Minnie greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning yourself, Minnie," Kinwon responded in much sweetness.

"How are you two doing this morning?" Tyson wondered with much curiosity.

Tykwa smiled very happily as she and Kinwon gazed at him. "We are doing just fine. What about you and Minnie?"

"We are doing just fine too," Tyson answered, giving the duo two winks.

"Great," Kinwon said, nodding at him. He and Tykwa turned to the mugs. "Those mugs are filled with coffee, right?"

"Yes, they are," Minnie admitted. "Would you like to try it now? It's freshly brewed from the coffeemaker."

Kinwon chuckled. "Sure."

Kinwon grabbed the second mug, as did Tykwa with the third one. They took tiny sips of their coffee. They made disgusted faces and shuddered badly. They gazed at Minnie.

"The coffee tastes very bitter," Kinwon said, swallowing hard.

"Unfortunately," Tykwa agreed.

"I can fix that," Minnie said, going over to the silverware drawer to get a spoon. She put three spoonfuls of sugar into Kinwon's coffee. She did the same to Tykwa's. She stirred the contents of each mug. "Taste it now."

Kinwon and Tykwa sipped their coffee again. They smacked their lips and nodded in approval. They looked at Minnie, who smiled at them. She slipped a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Is that better?" Minnie asked with a giggle.

"Much better," Kinwon said, sighing contently. He placed his other hand on his mug. "We should've asked how black coffee tasted first."

"However, we were too eager to try it," Tykwa said and blew a raspberry. "We know black coffee tastes bitter now."

"Minnie and I like our coffee black. It doesn't taste bitter to us at all," Tyson replied with much pride.

"We will put sugar in our coffee every now and then," Minnie said as she took the spoon to the sink. She laid it there and returned to her houseguests. "We usually just need one cup of coffee to get us going."

"Many people are the same way. Others need two cups of coffee to get going," Tyson commented, getting up and coming to Tykwa's side. He slipped his hands inside his pockets. "Coffee is the perfect drink to warm you up on a very cold day."

"I am already feeling more awake after sipping some of this coffee," Kinwon admitted in happiness.

"I do too," Tykwa added, letting out a delighted squeak. "Do you think we could some coffee back to KO-35 with us? We would like to share it with our fellow citizens."

"Sure," Minnie said with much warmth. "We'll buy you a coffeemaker, so you can take it back with you."

Minnie winked at the duo before giving them a thumbs-up. Kinwon and Tykwa mimicked her with their thumbs. Tyson chuckled, causing them to look at him.

"Look at you two. You are already doing an Earth custom," Tyson said in glee.

"Andros told us giving someone a thumbs-up was a way of saying you agreed with what they said or giving them an okay on something," Kinwon answered as he, Tykwa, and Minnie put their fists at their sides.

"He's right," Minnie murmured and took a deep breath. "Not only will we send a coffeemaker back with you, we will also send coffee filters."

Tyson stroked his face. "You need ground coffee to brew coffee. Instant coffee is made with boiling water."

"I would like to try instant coffee while we are here," Kinwon said and took another sip of his coffee.

Tykwa suppressed a yawn and smacked her lips. "So would I. I have no doubt it is just as good as ground coffee." She sipped a little more of her coffee. "Damn. That coffee tastes so good with sugar."

"It sure does," Kinwon commented with a very contented sigh. "I would like to try it with…with—what was that word?"

"Cream?" Tykwa said, appearing amused.

Kinwon laughed. "That's it. Anyway, Tykwa and I am getting hungry for breakfast."

Minnie rubbed her hands together. "I am going to get to work on fixing bacon and eggs."

Minnie went to the refrigerator and opened it. Kinwon and Tykwa went to Tyson's left and sat down. They set their coffees on the table. They started talking about the trip to the beach.