Throttle took 2 days to get to the house. I think I got him to really enjoy the ride from Chicago to California. The scenery from there to here was amazing. I loved it every time I would leave either from California to Chicago or Chicago to California.

When Throttle showed up, Tony and I were sitting outside, enjoying the nice weather. We were having lunch. Modo was up on the porch grilling burgers. Modo looked over and saw Throttle getting off his bike.

"Come grab a plate and a burger, bro. There's plenty."

Throttle walked over to the porch and grabbed a plate, a bun with whatever condiments he wanted on it, then Modo put a burger on the bun. Throttle noticed it had a slice of cheese on it. He looked at Modo strangely.

"Cheese, Modo? Since when?"

"Since Charley and I had first started dating years ago. Try it. You might like this one. Its extra sharp. Michelle, Anthony and I love it."

Throttle looked over at his son. "Tony eats cheese, too? We all swore off cheese cause of the Plutarkians."

"Not all cheeses are bad, bro."

Throttle looked at his burger. "I guess I'll try it. It can't be that bad if you like it." Then he walked from the porch to the table and sat down next to Tony.

Tony had stopped eating and hugged his father. It was a good thing Throttle hadn't picked up his burger yet when Tony hugged him.

"What's that for, Tony?"

"I need a reason to hug you, dad?"

"Only if you're wanting something."

I smiled. It was nice to see them talking again after so long. Throttle noticed my smile and smiled back with a nod.

Modo had finished the final burger, then shut down the BBQ. He made his burger then came over and sat down next to me.

I took out my cell phone and texted Modo even though he was right next to me. He pulled out his cell phone and saw the message I sent him. He looked at me and shook his head back and forth. I had asked him if he had told Throttle that I had gotten together with him. I texted him that maybe he needs to tell him soon.

Modo looked at me and I nodded. He sighed. Throttle noticed that something was bugging his friend. He looked at Modo.

"You ok, big fella?"

"We need to talk, Throttle. Follow me inside."

"After you're done talking inside, you might wanna call your dad, Throttle. He has some news for you."

He looked at me kinda weird. "Trust me."

Throttle shrugged then followed Modo inside the house. Tony and I finished our lunch then just relaxed in the warm sun.

"Why didn't uncle Modo just tell dad right here?"

"I have no clue, Tony. Are you ok with me marrying your uncle?"

"Of course I am, mom. Why would you think I wouldn't be?"

"I honestly don't know. Your brothers don't know that I got together with your uncle. Last they knew we were just friends living together."

"What do you mean "brothers"? Ty is the only brother I have, mom. Did you have another baby and didn't tell anyone?"

I chuckled a bit. "No. A friend of your father was killed along with her husband and they wanted your father and I to adopt him if anything happened to them. His name was Richard. He legally changed it to Troy."

"Are you talking about Carbine, dad's ex?"

"Yes, I am. Did he ever talk about her?"

"A little."

"She's the reason why I had stayed in Chicago before you and Ty were born. I was 3 months pregnant with you and Ty when your father was forced to go back to Mars. Carbine had made a call to a friend and arranged for me to go get your father back. At the time, your grandfather hated me for some reason. Never could figure out why. But, since his second chance at life, he's been a lot nicer to me. And I'm glad, too."

"One thing I didn't tell you mom, is that grandpa is living with me. He goes and visits his GF on her days off, which happen to be weekends."

"Which is why you're here, right?"

"Yep. I allow grandpa to have his GF at my place for the weekend and I was coming here to stay for the weekend. Uncle Modo is fine with it, too."

"I'm glad your grandpa found someone new after your grandma passed away."

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Both Throttle and Modo sat down at the table with their coffee cups. Throttle couldn't figure out what was going on with his friend.

"Everything ok, Modo? You've been quiet since we came in."

Modo looked in his cup of coffee and sighed.

"Alright, what's going on with you?"

"I feel like I'm betraying your friendship, Throttle." Modo had looked over at Throttle when he said that. He noticed that Throttle looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure how to put this."

"Put what? What are you trying to say?"

Modo sighed one more time. "Michelle and I are engaged. This is why I feel like I'm betraying your friendship. Getting together with your ex seems like the wrong thing to do, yet it feels right."

Throttle smiled. "I'm happy for you both and you're not betraying my friendship, Modo. I know you'll treat her with respect. That's one thing you and I have in common when it comes to women. And I know Charley would want you to find someone new, even if it's my ex. You'll love her like you loved Charley. Just don't make the mistakes I did. Don't cheat on her and definitely don't hit her, even accidentally."

Modo smiled back and nodded. "I promise. I am so sorry that you and her are divorced. I honestly never figured it would happen. You 2 were so happy together."

"That's when she's not leaving me every time I turn around. That's another thing. Make sure she's taking her meds. She's bi-polar. We found out years ago, which explained everything that was going on with her."

Modo looked at Throttle. "She's bi-polar?"

"You didn't know?"

"No. She didn't tell me. I've seen her taking something. I figured it was just aspirin. No idea she was taking prescribed meds. Think she could be embarrassed?"

"Not at all. She probably forgot or didn't think it was important. I just ask that you make sure she takes them. Her Dr. has asked me to monitor her meds."

"I promise I'll make sure she takes them." Then he looked out the sliding doors and noticed that something wasn't right outside.

Modo rushed out the sliding doors and to Tony's side in about 2 mins. Throttle noticed not long after and rushed to his son's side as well. They both had to find out what happened, even though Throttle had an idea of what happened.

Modo roused Tony and helped him sit up. Tony had come around and rubbed his head. "Wh…what happened?"

"You tell us, son. Where'd your mother go?"

"I think she took off somewhere. Is she ok, dad?"

"No, she's not, Tony. She's bi-polar. It doesn't mean she's crazy. It just means that there's a type of chemical imbalance and causes her to do things like this. She just needs time to figure things out before she comes back. Sometimes it's a week or 2 and sometimes it's a lot longer. Before we got divorced, she was gone for 10yrs. I had found her in Utah, getting ready for a title fight."

Tony looked shocked when his father mentioned that I was a cage fighter. Tony had stood up at this point and sat down at the table. "Did she win?"

"Of course she did. Her opponent didn't get the chance to throw a punch or kick at her. She was lightning quick. Wish you could have seen your mother's fight. It was a good fight. All the fights were good."

"You saw a fight live, dad?"

"Sure did. I'd do it again, too."

"Do you think she went back to cage fighting, dad?"

"No clue, but I think I better see if she took her meds today. If she hasn't, then it would explain why she left."

"She could have also decided to take a trip to Chicago to visit Charley's grave and visit with everyone."

"But to knock me out, uncle Modo? All she had to do was say she was going to take a road trip to Chicago. I'm worried about mom. What if she doesn't come back?"

Modo didn't even wanna think about that right now. It's the last thing he wants on his mind. Throttle saw the look on Modo's face. He knew what his friend is going through. He went through the same thing when him and I were married. He took Modo aside so Tony wouldn't hear.

"I know that look all too well, big fella. I wore that look a lot. Don't give up on her, Modo. If she didn't take her meds, then it would explain what she did to Tony. Let's go check her meds. If she hadn't taken any today, then we need to go look for her immediately."

Tony walked up to his father and uncle and showed them the text I had sent to Tony.

"Am I reading this right, Tony? Your mother hasn't taken her meds in the last week?"

"Yeah, you're reading it right, dad. Could this explain why she cold-cocked me?"

"I think so. I had a feeling she probably hadn't taken her meds today, but I wasn't expecting to read that she hadn't taken them for a week."

"She's been having nightmares, too, Throttle."