Luke watched as his cousins returned to where the rest of the family with more than a small bit of surprise. Bo had told him of why Jay had taken off after the completion of his own race. Which explained why the younger twin eyed at his father warily upon his approach. When Kira informed that Jebb would be joining the rest of them for their dinner back at the house Luke swore that he saw the young boy scowl. It was clear that his father wasn't his favorite person at the moment, with good reason. He wasn't quite sure what he'd do in the same situation. In any of those involved places.

It was clear that the other siblings were happy to see their father, ignorant of what had happened down on the track. Mikey had even been able to convince his father to let him ride to the house with him in Kira's truck once his bike was loaded onto the back of it. Kira's and Jay's were on the back of Uncle Jesse's. Once back out at the house the planned celebration seemed to have turned into an event where everyone was walking on eggshells. He knew that if Bo had it his way, he would have tried to pound some sense into the newly returned Duke. However, out of respect for Kira, Jesse, and Jesse, (each of them had exchanged some low-key words with him before Jebb had gotten out to the house) Bo was instead regulated to casting a few harsh glares. Jay, for his part, had taken great pains to stay on the opposite side of the room as his father. An action not missed by any of the adult Dukes in the family. Kira, for her part, looked as if she was running interference between the father and son as well as keeping an eye on her brother. An act that was clearly stressing her out. In the last few hours he'd swear that she had aged. She was tired. She'd been tired but now she wasn't hiding it as well.

After the dinner the family hung around for a little while, discussing Halloween that would be in just a matter of days, now. The parents were preparing how they would handle both the holiday festivities as well as making sure that they got the children in bed at a decent time since they had school the next day. Soon enough, though, everyone started to slowly drift away since it was time for the children to get to bed. As Jo got Faith ready to leave Luke figured that he'd take the opportunity to speak with his cousin, Jebb, privately.

"Jebb, I wanted to see how you are. You know, with everything."

Jebb stepped out onto the front porch with his oldest cousin as he shrugged. "Honestly, I feel like I shouldn't have come back. Jay's mad and Kira keeps giving me funny looks-"

"What did you think would happen, Jebb? You had another woman at the race! Did you once ask yourself how all this has to be for Kira or the kids?"

"Kira was the one who said that I was free to do what I wanted," Jebb insisted in defense as he crossed his arms.

"And you just couldn't wait to test her on it? Dammit, Jebb! I didn't think that you were that naïve with women, even with the mentality of a sixteen year old. They tell you to do what the don't want you to do just to see if you'll do it! Anytime a woman tells you to do what you want that is as good as sending up a flare to abort mission."

"If she wasn't alright with me moving on then why send me a letter telling me that it was okay?"

"Think about it, Jebb. She's been practically bending over backwards trying to see everything from your perspective. To try to make things easier on you. Did you ever once consider how you'd handle things if the roles were reversed? If she'd suddenly didn't remember you or a happy marriage of nearly ten years? If she acted as if she was miserable to be around you and the kids and couldn't wait to get away? How would you feel if she showed up after weeks away with another man on her arm?"

Jebb thought back to when he saw Kira with her friend at the club; the one that she now claims is gay. In that moment he'd not been comfortable at all, and that was without having his memory of their relationship.

"Can I ask you something, Luke?" Jebb waited just a moment before he got his response in the form of a raise of an eye brow. "Was I a jealous person when it came to Kira?"

Luke snickered before letting out a soft chuckle. "You could say that. It took a while before the other men in the family finally were no longer able to elicit a reaction from you when they'd push you just to see that vein in your neck pop out. Coy is among the worst who has always loved to push your buttons. But it was always in good fun. What makes you ask that?"

"I saw the girls last weekend."

"Jo didn't say that you were at the same club that they went to," Luke responded in confusion.

"Well, I didn't exactly go and show myself. I wasn't alone."

"Oh. Alright. So, you saw them. What about it?"

"I saw Kira with her friend. I didn't like it." Jebb gave a long sigh. "Kira told me that she thinks that it was a memory."

Luke considered the unspoken question. "It is possible. Haven't most of what you've gotten back mainly been in the form of emotions?"

"Yes, but... I don't know." Jebb wasn't sure what he wanted to say. Or even why he had brought it up. But at least Luke was talking to him like a cousin rather than a man who had wronged a family member. He doubted that he'd get the same courtesy from his blonde cousin any time soon.

Luke looked up when Jo and Faith walked out to join him. It was time to head home. "I got to go. You're plannin' to stick around for a couple of days, right?"

Jebb nodded then watched as his cousin and his family left; the last of the extended Duke family to leave out after the dinner that had been planned as a celebration. He then reluctantly went inside. Kira was upstairs with the kids somewhere so he just sat in the living area. He waited downstairs for so long that he was beginning to think that she'd decided to go on to bed. Finally he heard her returning down the stairs.

"I wasn't sure if you were coming back down or not. Kind of thought you forgot about me still bein' down here."

Kira took a swallow to try to moisten her throat before replying, "Not likely. It took a while to get the kids down. Crystal, especially. She wanted you go come up to read to her."

"Sorry. I didn't think about that."

"I know." A part of Kira wished that Jebb hadn't come to town today. It was easier when he wasn't in sight. Not within reach. Having him here left a gaping wound that can't heal right in her heart. "Listen, I moved your things to the spare room across the hall. I moved my sewing stuff out so it will be just yours when you are in town."

Jebb hadn't thought about the sleeping arrangements. He and his wife had tried to sleep in the same bed before he'd left. But of course that was long begore she'd had to witness him with another woman, knowing that they weren't just friends.

"Thanks." When Jebb saw that Kira was heading back up the same stairs that she'd just came done from he added, "You heading back up? I thought that we might would, you know, talk."

Kira shook her head. "Not tonight. I'd rather not. I really don't know what we'd talk about, anyway. Nothing has changed, really. You still have no memory that would make you feel connected. And you've already moved on. I won't force you to live a life that you don't want."

With that, Kira finished heading up the stairs. She didn't look back and went straight to her room and closed the door. She went to sit on the bed, heaving from the checked emotions that threatened to break the cold wall of ice that she'd tried to erect around her. She turned to open the night stand and pulled out a bottle of moonshine. She opened it and took a long hard swallow to try to steady her nerves.

When will she finally wake up from this nightmare? When will the world stop crumbling beneath her feet? She just wanted her life back but she knew that just wasn't going to happen. Not now. Likely not ever.

Jay stood with his siblings after school let out and waited for their mother to pull up to pick them up. He waved at Faith as she saw her mother's car and took off in her direction. Jimmy was close at her heels since Jo frequently would pick him up at the same time when Daisy was working. Crystal was complaining that her teacher had made her leave her doll in the classroom when they went out to recess today. When the class had returned to the classroom the doll was missing. The teacher had assured the little girl that the doll would turn up but Crystal was still bemoaning it being missing. Crystal had received a matching costume for her and her doll from her grandmother and she'd been looking forward to carrying the doll as she went to go trick-or-treat tonight.

As Jay saw the family car, the Stonewall, he gathered up his backpack and he and Mikey took Crystal by a hand each to start heading toward the pickup area in front of the school. When Jay realized that it wasn't his mother behind the wheel he froze. He'd been trying to stay as far from his father as he could since Saturday. It had been a difficult three days. It was really hard watching his siblings, especially his younger sister, act as if everything was back to normal. One glance at their mother should let them know that things weren't normal. Jay swore that when he'd went to her office for some help on some homework the day before that he'd seen her wipe her eyes. She'd been crying; he was sure of it. When the three Duke Siblings got into the car Mikey asked where his mother was at as he climbed into the front seat with his father as the other two climbed into the backseat.

"Your momma went to pick up some treats for tonight from the bakery. I told her that I'd come to get ya'll so she could try to get all the extra food that she told Daisy that she'd take for the community for the Halloween party, tonight. She'll take it over to Community Center there in town before she comes home to get you ready for trick-or-treating." Jebb waited for his son to close the door before he pulled the car out of the school lot. "So, are ya'll excited about the party and trick-or-treating?"

"No! My doll got lost today. I want to go back and look for her." Crystal crossed her arms since she wanted her doll back. It hadn't been important enough to her teacher but maybe her father would see how important her doll is to her.

"We'll make sure that the teacher keeps a look out for the doll when they clean up the classroom. She'll show up."

Jay then listened to his siblings talk about their costumes but he just watched out of the window wishing that it had been his mother who had picked them up after school. Every time he looked at his father he saw that strange woman who had shown up at the race this past weekend. One thing that he didn't get was why hadn't his mother gone off on her? Was she too hurt to even get mad?

When the Dukes all got home there were chores to take care of before family got ready in their costumes. Crystal was the Good Witch of the North from the Wizard of Oz. The matching dress for her doll was left on her bed, unused. Mikey and Jay were both two of the Teenage Ninja Turtles. Mikey was, yes, Michelangelo. Jay was going as Donatello. Jimmy would be going as Raphael. It has surprised Luke and Jo when Faith had declared that she wanted to join in and be Leonardo, the leader of the group. She could be both feminine and girly but she could hang with the boys like the best of them already. She didn't want to be a princess for Halloween this year; rather a ninja just like the boys.

Jay got his stick that his Uncle Jesse had whittled for him to use as a fighting staff and Mikey got his toy num-chuks. Crystal had her magic wand and the family was ready to head out. There was just one thing wrong. There mother hadn't come home yet. She was supposed to finish off their costumes and make sure that they had everything ready for their night out. He'd heard his father try to contact her on the CB but hadn't gotten a reply. Jay wasn't sure but when it was time to leave out it looked like his father just might be a little worried about her. That made Jay a lot worried.

Where was his mother?