Summary: Nozomi wakes up, Maki should have stayed asleep, and You and Dia discuss a danger.

Dia woke up first, but she'd learned, so she took a moment to orient herself in time. Yes, she was at the Malibu mansion, but no, her mothers were not yet her mothers. So she had to be be very careful not to just collapse in a heap of tears and rage. This was all the fault of that Yohane person...if Dia ever got near her again, feathers would certainly fly, Dia had no intention of ever getting near that distress of a disaster again, but then, how would she get back to…

"BZZZZZTTTT!" Dia hissed, flinging her arm out.

Nico and You both rushed in from the kitchen, concerned. Maki grunted and rolled over, distracting Nico briefly while You approached Dia.

"Nightmare?" You asked brightly.

Dia closed her eyes, it was far too early for cheerfulness. "Yes, this is still the nightmare."

"Does your head hurt?" Nico asked.

Dia gritted her teeth, almost deciding to revert to Japanese and plead confusion. But then her grandmother walked in, dropping purse and jacket on the counter, quickly taking in the room.

"Guess I came home at the right time."

"Oh, hey, Doc." You waved. "Our patient just had a nightmare. And I made my dad's legendary French toast."

"What a treat." Dr. Nishikino detoured to the plate You had left on the counter, leaning over to sniff, "Could I convince you to move in as a full time chef?"

You chuckled.

"Hello." Dia snapped. "Does anyone remember me?"

Nico rolled her eyes, "Nico will get you a plate."

Dia stood, "I can manage."

"Well, you didn't collapse so I guess my exam can wait until after we eat something." Dr. Nishikino decided as she cut through crispy fluffy gourmet breakfast bread with a fork and debated whether to wake her daughter. Best to let sleeping DJs lie, at least until the second round of French toast.

Dia, arms wrapped around her torso, stepped around You, and shuffled toward the kitchen, The smell of warm, cinnamony sweetness was a definite pull.

"How was your night, Maki's Mama?" Nico asked, as she took her own stack of slices.

"Not too busy, but there…" Dr, Nishikino looked to You, "is an increase in the number of assault victims who are coming in…"

Nico paled, "Assault?"

You stepped in, "Gang fight type of things, but we can't figure out the gangs. There's no pattern."

Dia was enjoying the French toast and trying to remember stories her parents had told her about when they'd met. And Eli and Nico's adventures in LA. Had Eli made her final transformation yet?

"How many tails does Eli have?" Dia muttered as Maki distracted most of the room by throwing herself off the couch with a shout.

You handed Dia the maple syrup and whispered, "Shhhh….And tell me what you mean. LATER."

###

Nozomi woke up with a pounding head, in a warm pile. She opened her eyes. She was splayed across the head of a bed, pilllows bunched underneath her, the fair hair of Hanamaru and the midnight darkness of Yoshiko's mingling a few inches off her nose. Nozomi giggled and blew out some air, to see how much she could stir. Yoshiko grunted and swatted at something to her left, but Hanamaru's eyes snapped open and Nozomi was suddenly caught in an ancient gaze.

"No, Zura." Hanamaru whispered.

"Hanamaru, you're so cruel." Nozomi whined.

Hanamaru's lips pursed into her stubborn pout, which both Nozomi and Yoshiko found adorable. Hanamaru reached up with the hand furthest from her sleeping lover and poked Nozomi on the cheek. "Coffee."

Nozomi groaned and sat up, careful not to disturb the snoring angel. Hanamaru wouldn't make the good Turkish coffee if Yoshiko was discomfited at all. Nozomi took a pillow she could curl up around in the beanbag chair as Hanamaru shuffled around the small kitchen, "Scone?" Hanamaru asked.

Nozomi shook her head, "Hangover. Just coffee."

"Eat something. It'll help."

"Oatmeal? Soup? Something mushy and warm?" Nozomi asked.

"Chicken noodle porridge?" Hanamaru giggled.

"Sure." Nozomi yawned, her headache intensifying with the muscle movement, "As long as I can just sip."

"Oatmeal through a straw."

"Just put everything in the blender."

"No noise." Hanamaru grumbled.

"Right." Nozomi shoved her chin into the pillow, wondering if Eli was up, what she had for breakfast? Blintzes with a blonde? What would that taste like?

Hanamaru shoved a glass of juice in Nozomi's face, "You'll never know if you don't ask her out."

"Are you telepathic now?"

Hanamaru shook her head, "You're just obvious."

Nozomi raised the glass, "Kanpai!"

###

Nico and Maki were sitting on a deck down the slope from the house, staring out at the ocean, the quiet comfortable after all the bustle of the long night.

"Weird night, huh?" Maki yawned.

"One of the weirdest…" Nico acknowledged, "Although I've been to stranger parties." She reached out for Maki's hand, "I bet you have too."

Maki shrugged, "A DJ never tells."

"Good to know." Nico squeezed Maki's hand.

"Wonder what'll happen Saturday?" Maki said, sitting back with a half grin. The mood was a basking one and then suddenly the ease was blasted.

"Saturday?" Nico turned, "Nico hopes nothing too exciting. Nico's got a gig."

Maki tensed, "A gig?"

"Convention appearance. Flying out Saturday morning for a day of meet and greets."

"But the party…"

"What party?"

Maki stood, "We talked about it in the music room, you like crazy parties, food trucks, rafting, I'm throwing one for us Saturday."

"But Nico's booked."

"You didn't say."

"Who just decides to throw a party?" Nico frowned, "Have you actually invited anyone yet?"

Maki humpphed, her arms holding her torso, "You. Rin." A hesitation, "My TWIG followers."

"Ugh." Nico groaned, "Just postpone it, Nico promises to come to the next one."

"No." Maki turned away, pouting.

"Nico is sorry, but…"

Maki whirled, arms flying out, words coming out in a tangled snarl, "Nico is always sorry...you, you make yourself follow Eli everywhere, you're always busy, we don't get any time alone...:"

"Nico didn't make anybody fall into the pool. Or get a concussion. And a party isn't time alone.'

"You're perfectly happy when there's a house full of people, or Eli needs you or...You...or Dia.. I can't even...you just run from person to person...but you never…" Maki spluttered.

Nico stepped in, but Maki stepped back, snapping "There's never an us."

Nico tried to reach for a hand, "That's not true. I want to spend time with you. You, on my couch, working on Nico's music was the best..."

And that was it…"On Nico's music." A snort and Maki got very calm. "Everything for Nico. Not Maki. The car should be here soon. For Nico. Good night."

And Maki charged toward the house, as Nico's futile "It's morning" got lost in a crash of the surf. Nico dropped into a chair, exasperated. It had been a long night and this explosion, at least the part over Eli, had probably been hovering for several days.

###

You and Dia were on the balcony and Nico and Maki's shouting was as clear as if they were in the same room. You was shocked at the volume and the emotion, stunned silent until Maki returned to the house with a door slam that in a less well braced location would have caused a landslide. They watched Nico sit for awhile, staring up at the house, then approach the car pulling up to the garage, exchange a few words with the driver and step inside.

"She's not going to chase down Maki? They're just leaving it like this?" You was tempted to poke Dia, to make sure this past wasn't unravelling her existence.

"Momma usually makes Mama keep…" Dia paused, "talking it out until everything's calmed down."

"But they love each other right?"

Dia looked amused, "To the death, almost."

You leaned into the railing, "I thought love was supposed to be calmer?"

"Maybe it is for some people." Dia leaned in parallel, a respectable distance away from You, "but my sister and her wife clash all the time, over the silliest things. Just like they do. Still."

"What about you?"

Dia turned her head, green eyes clear as a crystal sea, "I don't have a wife."

"Noted." You chuckled, "So what's your flirt style?"

"I do not believe I have one."

"Everyone does."

Dia held You's glance for a long moment, then turned away with a shrug, "I keep busy."

Like Nico, You thought. "So what's dating like in the future. Sexbots? Virtual dates on Mars?"

"I thought the future was off limits as a topic, Lt. Commander Watanabe." Dia's tone was arch.

"Oops, you caught me." You chuckled and ruffled her own hair, "So what did you mean when you said how many tails did Eli have?"

Dia sighed, pausing to remember old family stories, "At some point, Eli transformed...less wolf, more kitsune...something about her family tree...they used her blood for the vaccine."

"Vaccine?" You grabbed Dia's shoulder, startling the taller woman, "vaccine for what?"

"Aren't we breaking fifty rules of time travel or something?" Dia asked coldly.

"I don't care." You's intensity had a contagious quality, Dia felt her pulse rate increase as blue eyes demanded a response

Maki slid the door open, startling them, and You dropped her hands and hopped back. Maki sounded like she'd been crying, "Mama needs to go to sleep but she wants to make sure Dia doesn't have a concussion."

"Of course." You nodded, then whispered at Dia, "Vaccine for what?"

"I'll be right there, Ma…" Dia stopped herself before she finished saying Mama and Maki nodded and slid the door shut, "Some kind of mutagen or a rabies like virus, I don't exactly remember details, but it was affecting the cryptid community in LA." Dia's eyes widened, "We're in LA."

"Yes."

"And Grandmother mentioned increased assaults."

"Yes." You bit her lip. "Do you remember anything else?"

Dia shook her head, "I might have some old notes, if I could get to them…"

You didn't want another interuption and pointed to the door. "Go let your grandmother look you over before your mother throws me into the ocean."

"She might." Dia nodded, tossing her next comment with a sunrise stunner of a smile as she stepped into the house, "But then she'd feel better. So I'd thank you after you swam back to shore."

You leaned back, staring at the sky, muttering to herself. "Yeah, there's the family flirt style. It leaves bruises."

A/N: Ah, for an ocean view.