I said I was never going to write fanfiction for This Is Us, but here I am. I'm a total feedback whore, so reviews are highly appreciated and motivate me to keep going. ;)

This story takes place a month or two after Kate and Phillip's engagement party, about a year before their wedding, while Randall is running for Senate. I guess you could consider it a Randall-focused trilogy episode if they had done the trilogy during the same time period as "Katoby". This story has lots of R & R time, because I'm a sucker for R & R time, a little bit of R & B, a little more focus on Annie since we never got that, and more of Rebecca and Miguel's relationship, which is something we didn't realize we needed more of until after he was gone.

PHILADELPHIA – APRIL 2024

Randall is in his bedroom packing a suitcase.

"You sure you don't want to come with us tomorrow?" he asks Beth. "This is kind of a big deal."

"What, the third visit to the Lehigh Valley area this month, where at best you'll peel off a tiny slice of votes from your two white opponents in the primary, when you should be here in Philly trying to boost registration and turnout before the primary?"

"Ok, first of all, Obama won the Senate primary in 2004 against two white candidates by campaigning in downstate Illinois, not just driving up turnout in the cities. But no, tomorrow is a big deal because Annie is introducing me to her first boyfriend."

Beth rolls her eyes. "By boyfriend, you mean the kid she met at your Lehigh Valley field office and took a walk to get ice cream with?"

"Beth, I made the mistake of not taking Deja's first relationship seriously enough, and next thing you know she turns down Penn – an Ivy League school with the added bonus of free room and board for 4 years – to go to a second-rate college in Boston in the hopes that she and Malik will get back together."

"Tufts is hardly a second-rate school, and she got a full scholarship that includes free room and board," Beth responds. "They have a great pre-med program and she's doing great. She and Malik are taking things slow…"

"I know, I know. But the point is, I'm not going to make the mistake of trivializing Annie's first relationship. Is it horrible that I'm a little relieved…"

"That Annie's first 'boyfriend' if you call him that uses singular pronouns and doesn't have a kid?"

"You said it, not me," Randall says with a chuckle.

"I said it for you, because that is not something a candidate for the Democratic nomination for junior senator from Pennsylvania can say out loud!" Beth scolds.

"Noted."

"Seriously, though, you promised your Mom you wouldn't let her or her condition hold you back."

Randall shakes his head. "I have to get down there," he insists. "Kevin had all these fancy gadgets installed to try to keep her safe, but I think they're freaking her out more than they're helping, as evidenced by what happened last week. Miguel put those stupid toddler guards on the door because he was concerned about her wandering, and to make matters worse, Kev put in an alarm system that makes a noise that sounds like sirens. Somehow it didn't occur to either of them that a woman who had to escape a burning house and lost her husband the same night might not react well to feeling locked in the house and hearing sirens go off when she tries to get out."

Beth rolls her eyes. "Hindsight's 20/20, babe. Everyone is doing the best they can. Your mother's fine – other than the incident last week, it sounds like she's doing really well at the new house."

"How am I supposed to trust that? Last week, they all decided that it was a good idea to keep what happened from me for almost 24 hours."

"Because you had a big debate the next day, and they didn't want to get you rattled up beforehand. There was nothing for you to do then, and there's nothing you need to do now besides winning this primary. That is what your mom wants."

Before Randall can respond, he hears his phone ring.

"Speaking of the devil," Randall jokes as he sees it's Rebecca calling.

"Hey, sweetheart!" Rebecca says enthusiastically when Randall picks up.

"Hey, Ma. Is everything okay?" he asks.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to talk to you about something. Actually, a couple things. I wanted to tell you…" her voice trails off as she loses her train of thought, and she shakes her head with a mix of amusement and frustration.

Miguel sees her struggling and hands her a list entitled "Things to Talk to Randall About" along with an article from the local paper with the relevant parts highlighted.

"Thank you," she mouths gratefully. He smiles and squeezes her shoulder reassuringly before leaving the room.

"I wanted to tell you that I read an article on Lehigh Valley Live about how much time you've been spending campaigning in the region. The article said that…" she pauses for a minute to focus on the highlighted part. "It said that…here it is…'a source who wished to remain anonymous questioned whether this is the best use of the Councilman's time so close to the primaries, given that many of the houses in the region are vacation homes owned by out of state residents. The source questioned whether the Councilman would be wise to devote more time to more populous areas of the state in the weeks leading up to the primary.'"

"Geez, Mom! You've been helping out at the field office for a few months and now you want to be promoted to field strategist?" Randall jokes.

"No, I want to make sure you're not messing up your campaign just so you can check on me constantly."

Randall chuckles and shakes his head.

"Why are you laughing?" Rebecca asks. "Did I…no, I know I didn't already bring this up because this article is from today, and it's on my list of things I wanted to talk to you about today, and Miguel saw the list and he would have told me if I already talked to you about it…" she insists, starting to get agitated.

"Relax, Mom, this is the first you've brought it up, I promise. I'm sorry…I'm laughing because Beth said almost the same thing right before you called."

"Oh, ok," Rebecca says, relieved.

"And no, I'm not messing up my campaign just to check on you. I'm spending most of tomorrow doing debate prep, and the old cabin is the perfect place for that. Besides, I thought you wanted Miguel to go play golf once in a while so he gets a break?"

"I do, but I don't need a babysitter. The doctor said I'm not at the point where I can't be left alone yet."

"Maybe, but if I know Miguel, he'll be worrying about you every second if you're home alone and won't be able to enjoy himself."

"You're probably right," Rebecca concedes.

"Anyways, what else is on your list?"

"List?"

"You said you had a list of things you wanted to talk to me about."

"Oh, right." Rebecca looks down at her list, which says "1. Article about campaign stops; 2. Don't give Miguel a hard time about door handles; 3. Nightmares about William?" She freezes for a moment when she sees number 3.

"Mom, you okay?" Randall asks gently.

"Yeah, I'm fine, sorry. The other thing was, please don't give Miguel a hard time about what happened last week. He was just trying to keep me safe – he had no idea those things on the door would freak me out so much. He's working so hard to take care of me, and he already felt so awful, and the last thing he needs is you giving him grief."

"I know. He's doing the best he can – we all are. Don't worry, I won't say anything," Randall says reassuringly.

"Thank you!"

"Of course. You're doing okay since that night though?"

"Yeah, mostly. I still get disoriented and a little scared sometimes at night, but I haven't broken any more windows or set off sirens since. Miguel walks me through the house every night now to check that all of the smoke detectors are working, and he makes me a special tea – the one with the long name that's supposed to help you relax…"

"Chamomile?" Randall suggests.

"Yeah, that's it. I drink that right before bed and I think it's helping a little."

"That's good. Anything else on your list?"

Rebecca looks down at the list and looks again at Item # 3, "Nightmares about William". She pauses for a second and then shakes her head.

"No, that's it. I need to go practice piano now. I have exciting news – Kate asked me to perform a song at her wedding!"

"That's…that's great, Mom," Randall says, trying not to make it obvious he already knew that. But Rebecca can sense it in his tone.

"That I have told you before, haven't I?"

"It's okay. I'm glad you're so excited about it."

Rebecca shakes her head, slightly frustrated. "At their engagement party, I couldn't remember the name of her fiancée for a good 5-10 seconds. I was so embarrassed. Damn it, now I'm blanking on it again!"

Randall chuckles. "Hey Mom, I'll let you in on a little secret. You're not the only one in the family who finds Phillip forgettable – you're just the only one who has a good excuse."

Rebecca laughs. "You are awful, Randall!"

"I'm just calling it like I see it. Anyway, I'll let you get to it. Have a good night, Mom. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you."

"I love you too," she says with a smile.

POCONOS, PA – 4 HOURS LATER

Miguel wakes up and sees Rebecca pacing around the room anxiously. He quickly jumps up and goes to her side.

"Honey, what's wrong?" he asks gently.

"I have to tell him. I have to tell him before it's too late," Rebecca says anxiously.

"Tell who what?" Miguel asks, although he's pretty sure he knows the answer already.

"Randall. I have to tell him the truth about his father!"

I hope you enjoyed this. Stay tuned for more, and please review if you get a chance.