Monika and Kate were working in the garden when the texts came in. Encouraged by how good it was looking this year, Kate had decided to expand. The two women were spreading mulch over a new section of the yard and planting some new flowers Kate had just bought. Meanwhile, Andrew and Lucas were defying gravity by running up the slide and then tumbling down together. Rob was turning on the propane tank attached to the grill in preparation for dinner.

They took a step back to admire their work. "It looks good," Kate said. "Thanks for your help."

"No problem." As Monika wiped sweat from her forehead, Kate put an arm around her shoulders. She was moved and returned the gesture. Then she felt the vibrating in her pocket. Since everyone else who might text her was here, there was only one person it could be.

Can I please come over? It's bad here.

"Kate? Is it okay if Nicole comes over?"

"I'm fine with that," Kate said.

"She's got good timing," Rob said from the grill. "I'll put another burger on for her now."

"What about me?" Monika asked as she walked over. "I hope you don't plan on feeding me any of those."

"What do you take me for?" Rob replied. He pointed to one of the patties. "That funky looking one is yours. It's made out of plants and stuff."

"Thank you," she said. "That should be…interesting."

As he shut the top of the grill to let the burgers cook for a few minutes, Monika realized she hadn't seen him on his computer in a while. Rob wouldn't say much, but he had definitely had some kind of spat with Sayori. Monika had stopped trying to read their correspondence both out of respect for him and an effort to move past her old obsessions. She was really curious this time, but wouldn't do it. Rob would never cut Sayori off, but he seemed more reluctant to talk with her.

Honeymoon's over, she thought mischievously.

After she had her epiphany about the game, Monika had tried to figure out who the player was and why they were playing the game in the first place. They were looking for some fun and romance, right? So with that in mind, if Monika could mess with the storylines of the other girls so that they were no longer fun, he would look for a different option. Sayori's depression would turn the game into too much of a downer, Yuri's obsessive behavior would put him off, Natsuki would come with too much baggage. That was how it was supposed to work.

Six months later, she knew the player was nothing like she had imagined. There was no way he would have ever abandoned Sayori after learning of her depression. In fact, it had the opposite effect. Rob was ready to seize the opportunity to give her the love and support nobody had given him after his sister's death and for many years afterwards. His empathy might have been his best quality. It was also the reason why her harebrained scheme would never ever have worked.

Today she wondered if she should have altered the girls in another way. Instead of making them more pitiful, should she have just tried to make them into total bitches? Natsuki was halfway there already and it seemed unlikely that Rob would have been able to stomach much of that. Then she would be there with her sweet smile and encouraging words.

Or maybe she could have spared everyone a lot of pain by just turning all the girls into lesbians. Even if the player was female, MC was definitively male so it would have served her purposes. The fact that these sensible ideas were coming long after they would have been useful was proof to Monika that she had not been of sound mind while she was in the game.

Monika shook her head, trying to dispel those thoughts like some bad dream. She didn't need to do anything like that, not anymore. She had finally won his love. It wasn't the kind of love she imagined, and sometimes that made her feel a little down, but nobody could deny that she loved him and he loved her. And now she had a family. All that was left now was to try and build a real life for herself...and to help the other girls. She wasn't really confident they would forgive her (even though that would be nice), but it would make Rob happy. That was a good enough reason.

Nicole arrived not long afterwards and made her way to the backyard. The boys hadn't been paying attention to the earlier conversation and rushed forward to see her. "Hi, boys!" she said with a big smile.

Lucas looked at Kate. "Where you going to go, momma?"

"We're not leaving," she answered. "Nicole's just here to visit."

"Burgers are about done," Rob said.

"You didn't have to make me dinner," Nicole said.

"What, you want to just sit and watch the rest of us eat?"

Defeated, Nicole accepted the food. Everyone sat down at the table on the back patio except for the boys. They would periodically rush over to eat a few bites of dinner before returning to the playscape.

Monika didn't inquire about the reason for Nicole's sudden visit and she didn't seem interested in sharing it. She seemed to have a deep shame over the whole situation even though it wasn't her fault. She didn't know that Monika had confided in both Rob and Kate already in the hopes of finding some way to help her. From what Kate had said, it would be difficult to address the issue if Nicole was so reluctant to acknowledge it in the first place. Trying to persuade someone to seek help was generally ineffective if it felt like the conversation was being forced upon them. There were more immediate strategies for reports of physical abuse, but emotional abuse was a tougher nut to crack.

When Nicole was ready, Monika would be there for her. For now, it just seemed like she wanted to forget what was going on at home and just enjoy some time in a stable household. Over the next few hours, the sun went down and everyone went inside. Nicole played with the boys before their bedtime and then sat on the couch chatting about a number of mundane subjects.

The merriment came to a halt when headlights appeared outside the living room window. Rob walked over and peered out but didn't recognize the vehicle.

"Oh no," Nicole said quietly.

"That's your father?" Kate asked. "How did he know where you were?"

"My phone. We're on a family plan and they can use a GPS to figure out where it is."

"I guess it's too late to turn off the lights and pretend to be gone," Rob said. "What should we do?"

Before anyone could answer, Nicole's father had made his way to the front door and pounded on it hard enough to startle them all. The boys, who had just gotten to sleep, began crying. Kate rushed to their room.

"What a dick," Rob said. "I guess I should answer the door before he tries that again." Before walking over, Monika saw him grab something small off a high shelf. Rob opened the door to find a stocky man at least a foot shorter than he was.

"I'm here for my daughter," he said.

Rob stood quietly for a moment, clearly pondering how to respond. Nicole's car was right out front, so there was no use lying. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"It's not your decision," huffed the unwanted quest.

"It is my decision because this is my home."

"I'm coming," Nicole suddenly said. She got off the couch and stood next to Rob by the door, but didn't go out.

"You're going to follow me back home," her father said. "Leaving right in the middle of a discussion in very disrespectful."

"Discussion?" Nicole replied incredulously. "You two were screaming at me. Instead of saying something I would regret, I decided to remove myself from the situation. What's the matter with that?"

"You're coming home right now," he said, clearly unwilling to engage with what she had actually said. Monika noticed Rob gripping the dragon's head on top of his cane.

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are. That's my car you drove here. If you don't leave right now, I'll call the police and tell them you stole it."

Nicole looked back at Rob and Monika, clearly looking for guidance.

"That's total bullshit," Rob said quietly.

Nicole turned back to her father. "I'm not coming. Call the police if you really want."

Upon hearing that bit of defiance, he stepped onto the front step and grabbed Nicole by the front of her T-shirt. She gasped, but before he could drag her anywhere Rob was prodding him in the chest with the bottom of the cane.

"Let her go and get off my front steps," he said.

"Stay out of this, cripple!" He grabbed the end of the cane and tried to yank it out of Rob's hands. At that moment, Rob twisted the dragon's head and it detached from the rest of the staff. Monika's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she saw that there was a blade attached to the top piece that must have been at least 10 inches long. It had been hidden inside the cane from the beginning.

The intruder had pulled hard so he ended up stumbling backwards when the bottom end was detached. The rest of the cane clattered on the front steps. Rob grabbed him the same way he had just grabbed Nicole and pressed the knife against his throat. Monika had never seen him move so fast, even before the accident.

"What the hell?!" he yelled, struggling against Rob's grip.

Monika looked at Rob's face and imagined numerous puzzle pieces fitting together. So much made sense now - the interest in bladed weapons, the frustration at reading about the daily injustices of the world around him, the picture of the wolf on his desk. A lifetime of frustration about the suffering he had seen and been unable to prevent, whether it was the diminutive babysitter beloved by his children, his little sister who barely had a chance to live, the thousands of people whose deaths he witnessed on one terrible day in New York City. Kate had mentioned this violent protective streak, but Monika had only seen brief glimpses of it.

It was all out in the open now. Mr. Hyde was here and he was mad as hell. Monika's gaze shifted to Nicole's father. God help this poor bastard - he had no idea of the button he had just pushed.

The man had gone from intimidating to pitiful quickly. "Let…let me go!"

"Listen close…" Rob paused. "Wait, I don't actually know your name."

There was a long awkward pause. "Um, it's-"

"Never mind, I don't care. For now, I'm going to call you Fucko the Clown. If I ever see you here again, I'll carve you up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Understand?"

"Yes!" Fucko nodded quickly. Rob let go of his shirt and shoved him backwards. He sheepishly made his way back to his truck.

"And be nice to your daughter, you fuckin' asshole!" Rob shouted as Fucko opened the door. He hurriedly started the truck and drove off. Neither Monika nor Nicole seemed fully able to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

"Monika, would you be willing to pick up the rest of my cane?" Rob asked gently. She did and he began to twist the blade back inside. He turned to Nicole. "Are you okay?"

She didn't look okay. "Thank you for standing up for me," she said as her voice trembled. "It was very nice of you. But…why is there a knife inside your cane?"

"The world's gotten to be a pretty dangerous place," Rob shrugged. He quickly glanced down the hall towards the bedroom and then briefly at Monika. "I have a family to protect. I definitely didn't think I would need it this soon."

Monika wasn't sure how to feel about the whole thing. Was it noble or insane? A little of both? And was it really over?

"But Rob, what if he calls the police and says you threatened him?"

"I wouldn't worry," he answered. "For better or worse, the law has a lot of reverence for the concept of private property. He was trespassing here."

"What if he had gotten the knife out of your hands?"

"I guess I would have had to use this one," Rob pulled something small and black out of his pants pocket. It didn't look like a knife at first, but then he pressed a small button and the blade folded out from the side.

"Is that a stiletto knife?!" Nicole shouted. "What are you, in the Mafia?!"

He laughed. "Well, my grandfather is Italian." The vengeful fury had faded as quickly as it came.

"I can't even with this," Nicole said, sitting back on the couch. Monika joined her and gently rested a hand on her shoulder. She was furiously texting someone and didn't seem to notice.

Her phone dinged a few minutes later. "Okay. One of my other friends is going to come here and pick me up. I'll stay there for the night."

"Are you sure?" Rob asked. "I don't think he's coming back."

"Yes," Nicole replied quickly. "I feel terrible that I brought this to your home. It's not fair to you...especially to the boys."

Monika's heart ached. "Nicole-"

"It's fine."

"You don't need to be sorry," Rob said. "This wasn't your fault."

She wouldn't look at him. Was she feeling that guilty? Or was she afraid of Rob after that whole incident? There was a moment there where Monika did worry he was actually going to cut that bastard's throat. Regardless, he took the hint and went to check on Kate and the boys.

Monika and Nicole sat in silence until another vehicle stopped in front of the house. Nicole said a quick goodbye and went out the door. Kate walked into the living room shortly afterward.

"Oh, she left. I wanted to say goodbye."

"She's really upset," Monika said. "I don't blame her, I am too." After a pause, she asked, "Did you know Rob has a knife hidden in that cane?"

"No," Kate said with a short laugh. "But it's no surprise. I guess I had a vague sense he and Jamie were planning something like that."

"You mentioned that he could be dangerous in certain situations, but I still couldn't believe…" Her voice trailed off.

"It makes me uneasy too," Kate admitted. "But he seems to have kept it under control. And he got to pull that knife on somebody, which I'm sure he's daydreamed about."

"Wait until Yuri hears that story," Monika said quietly, almost to herself. Then she realized Kate didn't actually know much about Yuri and felt a little embarrassed. "Well…I guess I should get to bed."

She got up and headed for the stairs but Kate stopped her.

"Monika, do you want to sleep in our room tonight?"

"Huh?"

"I couldn't get the boys to sleep in their own beds, so they're in ours. Then I thought it wasn't really fair to leave you out. It will be crowded…but I know I sometimes am afraid to sleep alone if I'm scared about something."

Monika tilted her head slightly. "Is that really okay?"

Kate winked at her. "I'll trust you to behave yourself. I'm a light sleeper."

Monika couldn't help but laugh. She went down to the basement to fetch her pajamas and brush her teeth. Once she arrived back upstairs, she saw just how crowded the bed actually was. Kate was getting herself comfortable on the far right side of the bed, with the twins sprawled next to her, taking up an unusual amount of space for being so little. She had no idea how they slept in the odd positions they were in. To the left of them was Rob, still awake but looking like he would be asleep in minutes. Next to him was what little space remained for her.

She tentatively pulled the covers back and laid down. Rob was half-asleep but still shuffled over a bit to give her a little more room. This felt so strange, but Monika figured this was something families could do. There was something comforting about it and she fell asleep quickly.

A few hours later, she was shaken awake when Rob abruptly sat up straight. Monika saw him look to his left to make sure he hadn't disturbed the boys and Kate. He was surprised when he looked the other way and saw her eyes open.

"Ugh, I'm sorry. I had a really bad dream."

She propped herself up on her elbows. "Were you dreaming about tonight?"

"No, actually. It was the accident again."

"Oh no," Monika said as she gently touched his shoulder, encouraging him to lay back down and get comfortable. Once he did, she turned on her side to face him.

"I have a bad feeling that one is going to be a recurring dream for life," Rob said. "The funny thing is I don't dream of hitting the other car. I always wake up right before the impact. It's that moment of realization…when everything seemed to slow down and I knew I was going to crash and there was nothing I could do. Something about that really left a mark on me. An emotional one, I mean. Obviously I had a lot of physical marks from it too."

She cuddled up to him. "I can only imagine how terrifying it was being in that car. But you've been so brave. I'm proud of you and I know that Kate is too."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Monika answered. "But you rest now. I'll chase the bad nightmares away." She laid her head on his chest as he wrapped his right arm around her. There had been a lot of drama the last time she did this, but so much had changed. She hoped it would be okay. Kate seemed to have accepted the strange relationship she had with Rob - somehow both platonic and touchy-feely. It didn't seem normal, but nothing about her life was normal.

"I guess it could have been worse," Rob said as he began to drift off. "I did get the cane out of that whole thing."