The next day the landlord was decorating the lobby and the hallways for the fourth of July. It was only a month away, but he wanted to get it all sorted out and not leave it last minute and have things go wrong. When they learned where Wendy was working, Cole, Jay, and Zane filed a complaint and tried to get her fired, thinking that would make her leave, but Wendy wouldn't budge and the complaint was taken seriously. Mainly because Wendy hadn't actually started working at the GP until today.

According to the head doctor, Wendy was an exceptional nurse with exceptional references and had signed an exceptionally ironclad employment contract.

Wendy tried to persuade Misako that she didn't need her to move in, but she refused to leave her on her own. Not when Kai and his family had it in for her. She would stay until Wendy came to her senses and packed up and left. Wendy knew Misako and Lloyd didn't approve of her living there but she hoped they would stop second-guessing her. If they wanted to help her they needed to accept that she was staying. While Wendy started her first day at her new job, Misako had promised to be finished with unpacking by the time she finished.

As she carried the last of her bags up the stairs, she saw Nya standing by Jay's apartment door, almost like she was waiting for her.

"You're not getting the message yet?" The noirette scowled.

"You're not getting our's." Misako frowned at the younger girl's tone. "You can huff and puff all you want, but we're not leaving." She assured the younger Smith sibling before closing the door in Nya's face. She failed to see the smirk on Nya's face as she pulled out a can of spray paint. When Misako was finished almost twenty minutes later, she stepped out of the apartment to double-check that she hadn't left anything in her car. As she closed the door, however, her eyes widened when she sure the words 'Rapist', 'Murder', and 'Monster' sprayed onto the door in big, neon blue letters.

"Oh God no." She gasped in horror.

"Hi, Misako!" Nya smiled cheerfully as she stepped out of her own apartment. "Message nice and clear now?"

"What is wrong with you?!" Misako demanded in anger and disgust at the younger woman's horrible action. At that moment Kai walked out into the apartment took one look at the scene, and knew something had happened.

"What's going on now?!" He demanded, and both girls turned to the door Nya had vandalized. "You wrote that?" He gasped in shock, but his sister didn't look the slightest bit sorry. "Nya, how could you?" He asked, unable to keep the disgust out of his voice, as Misako rushed down to the car park, not trusting herself not to do something she regretted.

"I did it for you! To get rid of them!" She cried angrily.

"What, by reminding everybody what Morro did to me?!" He snarled.

"It's not like people are gonna forget is it?" She scoffed and pointed to his giant baby bump. "We've got all the reminders we need."

"THAT does not define my child!" He all but shrieked, looking absolutely disgusted by what Nya had done, but that did nothing to deter her.

"We get rid of them, whatever it takes."

"Not like this."

"Yes like this and whatever else we can throw at them."

"No Nya!"

"Kai, wake up! They're not gonna go unless we make them!"

"They're not going anywhere!" He cried, feeling more and more tired and upset by everything. "Nothing we do makes a bit of difference!" He told her before storming off into their apartment, leaving Nya alone in the hallway with her cruel artwork...

Kai sighed in frustration as he searched the entire apartment for all the cleaning products and any sponges and scrubbing brushes he could get his hands on. He had to clean that graffiti off before anyone, mainly Wendy, saw it. He didn't want any more trouble and he knew as soon as she saw those words trouble would be the least of his worries. Once he was sure he had everything, he grabbed a large bucket and filled it with hot water, and started pouring bleach into it.

While he was doing that there was a sudden knocking on the front door, startling the brunette for a moment.

When he regained his composure and stopped the hot water tap he answered the door and groaned when he saw Misako standing on their doorstep. He glanced around the hallway and saw that Nya had disappeared somewhere. Reluctantly, he let Lloyd's mother inside and closed the door.

"I know I have no right to ask this of you but..." She trailed off when she saw the bucket and caught the scent of bleach. "What's all this?"

"Bleach, scrubbing brush, what do you think?"

"No Kai, you can't be cleaning up Nya's messes, not at this stage." She said in concern.

"She shouldn't have done it." He said, looking very regretful for his sister's actions. "I really wish that she hadn't."

"Well, she's not going to stop until she gets what she wants, which is why I'm here." Misako sighed. "I know it's not fair of me to ask but you need to have a word with her, it's like she's mad."

"Of course she is!" He scowled. "Look at what we've lost!"

"We've all lost someone here."

"I know, but I can't control Nya anymore than anyone could control Morro." He replied and was about to say something, only to freeze, and gasped in pain, his hand flying to his stomach.

"What? What is it?" Misako asked in worry.

"I-I-I think the baby's coming! It's too soon!" He cried in panic, only to gasp again as another blast of pain hit him. "WILL YOU JUST CALL SKYLOR?!" He shrieked as he gave her his cellphone and slowly waddled to sit on the couch, taking deep, quick breaths as he tried to ignore the pain. Misako immediately rang Skylor's number but after a few rings, it went to voicemail.

"She's not answering." She said calmly, knowing that if she started freaking out it would only make things worse, and Kai groaned.

"THEN TRY CALLING JAY! OR COLE! OR ANYONE ON THAT SHITTY ASS PHONE! I DON'T GIVE A FUCKING DAMN!" He screamed as he started rocking back and forth. Misako tried to call the others, including Nya, but none of them answered.

"It's going straight to voicemail." She told him and quickly grabbed her car keys. "Kai, we need to get you to the hospital."

"NO! NO! NO! I CAN'T DO THIS WITH YOU! I JUST- I NEED SOMEONE WHO WILL PICK UP THEIR PHONE!" He cried as another wave of pain struck. "OH NO, THIS SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING! THIS SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING!" He chanted over and over in fear as he curled up and continued rocking and Misako started to panic a little. If this baby was coming so early then they couldn't afford to wait, but Kai refused to leave until one of his friends got here.

She knew they couldn't wait that long but as she watched him, she noticed something was off.

His waters hadn't broken yet and he's already had about three contractions and they were happening very quickly. She might be a mother, but she wasn't an obstetrician. With no other choice, Misako called the only person who could help Kai. After a few rings, they picked up, sounding very confused.

"Kai's in labor, how soon can you get here?" She asked, cutting to the chase. Immediately they hung up and Misako frown in confusion, hoping that they were on their way. After at least ten minutes, Misako was about to either drag Kai to her car or call him an ambulance when there was a frantic banging on the front door. She opened and sighed in relief and let them in.

"He's through there." She said and Kai relaxed, thinking that it was Skylor or one of his boyfriends. His relief turned to horror and anger when he saw Wendy rushing into the apartment. She was still in her nurse's scrubs and was carrying a large bag on her shoulder.

"NO! NO! NO! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT BITCH DOING HERE?!" He bellowed as he tried to crawl into the furthest corner of the couch.

"Kai-"

"GET THE FUCK OUT OR SO HELP ME I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" He screeched, only to cry out in pain as another contraction hit him. Wendy was by his side in a second and took hold of his hand.

"Ok, we're gonna breath on my count." She instructed, keeping her voice level and calm. "One-"

"YEAH, TWO, THREE, FOUR, I CAN COUNT WITHOUT YOU! I CAN DO ALL OF THIS WITHOUT YOU!" He roared as he ripped his hand out of his grip. By now the pain had faded, but Kai was still tense, waiting for the next contraction but it didn't come. "I just need Skylor here so she can take me to the hospital." He told them both and Wendy nodded in understanding.

"All right, Misako, have you left a message for Skylor?"

"Yes, a few."

"Well try her again!"

"So when she gets them she'll call, but until then, I'm skilled and here so what would you like to do?" She asked but Kai shook his head and refused to look at her and she sighed in slight frustration. "Kai, come on, listen to me please, I know you want Skylor but she can't help you with this and I can and this baby is important to all of us here; do you believe I want what's best for her?" She asked. Kai clenched his teeth, trying to ignore her but it was hopeless.

It was a moment before he let out a heavy sigh.

"...In your own twisted way, yes." He agreed.

"Yes, but the only way I can help your child is by helping you." She said as she took his hand again, but he didn't pull away. "Please, I would NEVER put this little baby in harm's way."

"Fine." He groaned in frustration.

"Good, so how far apart were your contractions before I got here?" She asked, looking for something in her large bag.

"I-I don't- I don't know." He stuttered in panic.

"One was about a minute after the first, the next you were here for," Misako informed the nurse.

"Good and have you felt any fluid loss?"

"What like... like my water's breaking?" He gulped.

"Yeah, or anything else unusual?" She asked and he shook his head. "That's good."

"It isn't good!" He cried. "Wendy it's too soon for all of this!"

"I know it is, but we're gonna get you both through it." She promised the brunette and pulled out a small device that was attached to what looked like the wand the midwife used for the ultrasound. Kai knew what she wanted and leaned back and pulled up his shirt, exposing his huge baby bump. Wendy turned on the device and started moving the wand over the bump, trying to locate the baby. After a few seconds of silence, the room was filled with a loud, constant thumping sound and they all relaxed at the sound of the baby girl's heartbeat.

A large, happy smile grew on Wendy's face as she listened, seemingly in her own little world.

After a few minutes, Wendy had yet to say anything and Kai started to panic a little, fearing something was wrong. Misako sensed his worry and cleared her throat to catch her friend's attention.

"You've been listening for a while Wendy, is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, her little heartbeat is just perfect." She replied with a teary smile.

"I'm six weeks early," Kai muttered in fear.

"No you're not, your waters haven't broken and you haven't had any pain for a while." She said as she turned off the device. "Kai, listen, the contractions you've been feeling are called Braxton-Hicks, it's a type of false labor."

"It didn't feel very false." He frowned.

"I know but it is, it's just your body's way of getting ready for the real thing."

"How do you know if it's the real thing or not?" He asked skeptically.

"Um, well, experience, length of contractions, no fluid release." She listed but when Kai still looked unconvinced. "Look, I understand you don't want to believe me but this little one's not ready for coming out just yet." She reassured him and Misako glared at her friend.

"Would you like a drink?" She asked Kai, not taking her glare from the nurse.

"Um, no, but maybe a second opinion, you know, just to be sure." He admitted, trying not to sound too mean.

"No, I-I do understand." She said, knowing that Kai had no reason to trust her after everything. "If you get any persistent tightening or any other concerns then absolutely get yourself checked out." She told him as she started packing up the medical equipment she had taken from the GP. "But maybe you should wait a bit, just see how you feel."

"Right now I feel like I really need to go." He chuckled nervously as he got up and waddled his way over to the bathroom.

"I'll see Wendy out," Misako told him and as soon as she was sure he was out of earshot, she turned back to Wendy. "When did you know?" She asked coldly and Wendy froze.

"What?"

"That Kai wasn't in labor, that he was safe, how soon did you realize? Pretty much immediately right?" She growled and Wendy sighed, knowing that she had been found out. "You and I both know from experience that you can tell when someone's in labor within seconds."

"Well, I... I just wanted to be sure."

"No, you wanted to take advantage of being near Morro's daughter before she's even born." She hissed, feeling like she had betrayed Kai by Wendy tricking him.

"Look, you asked me to come here and help Kai, and I did, and he's okay and so is the baby." She tried to defend herself. "So what does it hurt for me to take any moment I can with my granddaughter? I don't know how many more I'll get."

"None if carry on like this, lying to him."

"He's no stranger to lies Misako!" She snapped but instantly regretted it as Misako's harsh look shut her down. "I'm... I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone there but please don't be upset with me because I just got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time, and it was a joy." She pleaded and after a moment Misako sighed and nodded. She might not agree with what Wendy had done, lying to Kai, but she understood why she did it. That didn't make her feel any less horrible.

Soon Wendy had finished packing up her equipment and got her coat on just as Kai returned to the living room.

"You didn't have to wait around." He commented awkwardly when he saw both women still waiting for him.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to go to the hospital or not," Misako replied.

"You really think it was a false alarm?" He asked Wendy and she nodded. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to be sure."

"Well it's your call but I just think the less stress the better." She said but Kai scoffed.

"Please don't pretend that you give a damn about my stress." He glared and she looked away sheepishly.

"I-I really haven't moved here to make your life harder Kai." She tried to explain but Kai didn't believe her.

"But you have and still you stay." He huffed just as Skylor walked in. "Hey, Sky!" He beamed as she glared daggers at the two women.

"I got you voicemails! What's wrong?! Are you in trouble?!" She cried in panic.

"Oh no, it's a false alarm." He reassured her.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" She asked but he shook his head. "Okay, you wanna check out the new decorations the landlord put up?"

"I'm not sure."

"That sounds like a loving idea, I think a little walk is the best you can do," Wendy said, only to flinch when both Kai and Skylor glared at her. Kai was about to say something, but he was suddenly gasped and his hands flew back to his bump. "Is that another contraction?" She asked in worry, fearing she had got it wrong about it being a false alarm. Kai shook his head, however, as his shocked face melted into one of pure joy.

"No, she's finally kicking!" He squealed happily. This was the very first time the baby had kicked the entire pregnancy and Kai had never been happier. As soon as he felt the baby kick, he felt a strange feeling that he couldn't name or understand suddenly hit him. Wendy beamed and, without thinking, put her hands on his bump, trying to feel another kick. As soon as her hands made contact, Kai's eyes widened and back away. Skylor scowled and pushed her way in between her best friend and Wendy, silently daring her to try that again.

"I-I-I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have done that!" She stuttered in panic as she started backing away towards the door. "I wasn't thinking... I-I am sorry." She mumbled and grabbed her bag, turning to leave.

"Wendy wait!" Kai suddenly cried, causing all the women to freeze and turn to look at him. He stuttered for a second, not sure what he wanted to say. "It's okay." He finally said and Wendy smiled as all the tension evaporated from her body. For the first time in the last few months, Wendy and Kai truly felt they understood each other...

After they all calmed down they walked out of the apartment the four of them to check out the landlord's fourth of July decorations. There were dozens of small American flag banners and red, white, and blue lights hanging from the roof and on the walls. The landlord was there with his teenage son and a large group of other tenants, gathered around Wendy's door. The four of them shared confused looks and tried to see what they were all looking at.

As Wendy and Misako pushed their way through the crowd, Cole, Jay, and Zane suddenly appeared and stopped Kai and Skylor in their tracks.

"OH MY GOD!" Wendy screamed when she saw the vile words on her front door. Kai and the others quickly rushed over to check what was wrong and their eyes widened when they saw it. Kai cursed because he had forgotten about Nya's graffiti due to all the panic earlier. As soon as she registered his presence, Wendy turned to the brunette with angry, tear-filled eyes.

"TELL THEM ALL IT'S NOT TRUE!" She ordered, a light sob escaping her throat.

"It is true but this isn't right!" Zane exclaimed in shock, anger, and disgust. "Whoever-"

"WHOEVER?! DO YOU MEAN THE SAME PERSON WHO PLANTED THAT SMOKE BOMB?! THE SAME PERSON WHO HATES ME FOR MOVING SO CLOSE TO HER BROTHER?!" She shrieked before she zeroed in on Kai again. "FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR CHILD TELL THEM ALL IT'S NOT TRUE!" She demanded again, but he shook his head, a faint look of pity and disappointment in his eyes.

"...It's still true."

"NO! YOU'RE STILL LYING!" She bellowed before storming into her apartment with Misako and slamming the door in their faces.

"That woman, that's his mother?" The landlord asked in shock, having heard their conversation.

"Your new tenant." Cole sneered and the landlord's eyes widened in horror.

"My assistant did the paperwork! I swear I didn't know!"

"But now you do so can you please get rid of her?" Kai implored him, but he shook his head regretfully.

"It's a six-month tenancy, locked in." He replied sadly before walking away. The group could only share worried and sad looks at this news, and Kai noticed Nya sneaking back into their apartment...

Wendy couldn't stop crying her eyes out as Misako tried her best to comfort her. She wanted to remove the words on the door, but right she didn't have the energy, physically and emotionally. Earlier, she had thought that maybe Kai would see things from her point of view and they could put all this behind them for the sake of the baby, but then she saw the graffiti. Now that she thought about it, Wendy believed that Kai didn't have anything to do with it.

But that didn't stop the fact that it hurt when Kai still insisted that Morro raped him.

As Wendy finished off another box of tissues, there was a light knocking at the front door. Misako sighed, worried it was one of Kai's friends coming back for round two, as she got up and answered the door. She was surprised to see it was the landlord smiling at her. The man let himself in before Misako could say anything and walked into the living room to speak to Wendy.

"Bring them all with pitchforks?" Misako asked, her anger refueled when she caught another glimpse of Nya's nasty art.

"It's just me, your landlord, for now." He replied, confusing them both.

"Meaning?"

"This is your lucky day, I'm willing to give you a free pass; your money back, and two weeks to find a new place." He said with a large, satisfied look on his face.

"I don't want to find a new place." Wendy frowned and his smile dropped.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that, but this is the best offer you're gonna get." He implored her, but she still refused. "Fine, one wrong move and you're out." He warned and made to leave.

"Was that your son I saw you with earlier?" She asked and he stopped and turned to look at her. "I've seen him around, a good lad right? Well-liked with a big heart?" She questioned and he slowly nodded, wondering where she was going with this. "Well, imagine your son falls in love with a prostitute and then one day they sleep together for free, but when he refuses to pay and claims he wants to be with them that person doesn't want that and when he still refused to pay the prostitute calls your son a rapist; who do you believe?"

"My boy hasn't got it in him."

"Morro didn't and now he's dead, murdered in cold blood and slandered and the man responsible is carrying grandchild and trying to keep me away from them, wouldn't you want to be close by to do everything for that baby? Even to the point of trying to bury the hatchet with the very person who's to blame for this awful mess?!" She exclaimed, her emotions getting the better of her for a minute. The landlord was unable to answer and instead looked to the ground, and Wendy nodded for him.

"Right, well, you should go, and give me notice next time you decide to drop by." She said and the landlord left without another word. As soon as he was gone, Wendy burst back into tears and Misako sighed, unsure what to do...

"Nya! I want a word with you now!" Kai shouted as he stormed into the apartment and approached Nya. His sister was slumped across the couch, watching the TV without a care in the world, as if she hadn't done anything wrong. "Did you see the way she reacted?" He asked as he sat next to her. He was very upset when Wendy still insisted that he was lying about Morro raping him, especially when he had been so sure that he had gotten through to her.

"Well if it messes with her, good." Nya huffed, not even giving her brother a glance.

"No, it hasn't! It's like it made her stronger!" He exclaimed and then sighed. "You know for half a second when she was helping me-"

"What do you mean?" She demanded, finally looking at him with harsh eyes. Kai hesitated for a second, before deciding it was best to tell her the truth.

"...I thought that I'd gone into labor." He admitted and Nya looked scared for a moment. "Obviously I hadn't, I'm okay, but Wendy was there and she was... she seemed kind, and I thought there was a little bit of hope that she'd get it, that she'd see Morro for what he was, but she's only gonna get more determined." He sighed before his gaze hardened as he met her aqua blue eyes. "Unless we do something about it."

"I'm glad you've finally come around." She smirked. "It's not gonna be pretty though and you won't have any part to play in it either, not in that state." She warned, gesturing to his baby bump. She admitted she had been out of order when she called the baby a reminder of what happened between him and Morro and she made herself a promise to make it up to him. "Leave it all to me."

"Fine, just be careful 'cause I can't lose you." He pleaded, scared that if she got caught she could end up in prison. "But whatever it takes, you get rid of her."...

NEXT CHAPTER: Wendy is grateful...