Waking up to her alarm, Dot saw it was 6:30 in the morning. She figured if breakfast was at 8, her Uncle or Athena would be up earlier, so they may let her have a shower. Wearing some leggings and a loose t-shirt, she quietly opened the door and listened to the house to see if she could hear anything. She heard some murmurs in the direction of the living room she was in last night, so she followed the sound. As she was walking she looked around the house. It felt very warm and cozy. It was one of those homes that you could tell was actually lived in, it wasn't just about keeping things picture perfect. There were a few family pictures and pictures of kids growing up on the walls. Walking through the living room and into the dining room she saw her Uncle and Athena in the kitchen making coffee and talking quietly.

"Good morning." Dot called quietly getting their attention. The couple turned to her and gave her soft smiles.

"Good morning. How was your sleep?" Bobby asked.

"It was good. Super comfy bed. Thank you." Dot paused for a second before continuing, "I was wondering if I'd be able to take a shower? I feel kind of gross after the past 2 days."

"Of course sweetheart! Come with me." Athena said, leading her out of the room. "There's shampoo and such in the show-"

"Oh," Dot interrupted "I have my own toiletries. I made sure to grab them cause I didn't know when I'd be able to buy more."

Athena nodded, handing her a towel from a closet and pointing to the bathroom down the hall.

"When you're finished, come back out for breakfast."

Dot nodded, turning into the bedroom to grab her things. Getting to the bathroom, and getting in the shower, Dot felt everything hit her. She hadn't gotten a chance to really process what had happened, nor think about what she was actually going to do. Sure her Uncle and Athena let her stay the night, but they may not want her there for any longer.

She sat down in the shower and cried. She cried for her parents, for herself. She cried for the life she lost. It wasn't an amazing life but it was hers, and she was always proud of how much she was able to do for herself. She cried for her unknown and terrifying future. She just hoped she would be able to get through whatever was going to hit her next.

Harry and May sat down at the table ready for the day.

"Are you guys ready to go to your dad's for the week?" Athena asked kissing Harry's forehead and setting down his plate.

"Ya," Harry replied. "Uh, we walked by the bathroom and the shower was on and it sounded like someone was crying. Is someone here?" He asked his mother and step-father. The couple looked at each other and seemed to have a silent conversation.

"Guys?" May asked, breaking the silence, looking at them. They joined the kids at the table and took a moment before explaining.

"Okay. Last night, after you two went to bed, someone knocked on the door. It turned out to be Bobby's niece that he hasn't seen for a few years. She's going through a hard time right now, so she's going to stay with us for a while. I need you guys to be welcoming and gracious okay?" Athena explained to them.

"You have a niece? Why don't you talk about her?" May questioned.

"Yes, her mom is my sister. And I haven't seen her in about 10 years, so there wasn't really anything to say."

"How old is she?" Harry piped up.

"26" Dot replied walking into the dining room.

"Dot these are the kids, Harry and May. Kids, this is Dorothy."

"Hi guys." Dot waved and smiled. She sat down an empty chair beside May. Bobby got up to grab her a plate of breakfast. Dot looked down at the plate that was set in front of her. Simple bacon and eggs, but she was so grateful.

"So what happened?"

"Harry!" Athena exclaimed.

"It's okay. It's a fair question considering I just appeared in the night. Uh, something happened with my parents and I had to leave. So I came here, where I knew my Uncle Bobby was because I knew I would be safe, and he could hopefully help me."

"Bobby is pretty good at helping people." Harry mused. Bobby smiled to himself and ruffled Harry's hair in affection.

"What do you do for a job?" May asked. Bobby turned to Dot realizing he didn't know either and was interested in the answer.

"Well I guess I'm going to have to get a new job, but I was..." Dot stopped, and looked at Bobby and Athena. She took a breath and continued, "I was, uh... I was a dancer." Her eyes shot to Bobby as he seemed to choke on his coffee. She looked around the table seeing the looks from everyone; the calm one on Athena's face, and the skeptical one on May's. Dot figured Athena, being a cop, had looked into her already. Harry seemed to just accept the answer at face value.

"Where did you live?" May asked.

"Vegas."

"A dancer." May dragged. "In Vegas."

"Yes."

"Like a dancer" May stated once more, trying to figure out if she was right in her assumption about what type of dance she was thinking.

"Yes. A dancer." Dot punctuated. Just as she started feeling more awkward, a door opened and a voice echoed through the house.

"Kids, let's go! Got a lot to do today!"

"Okay my babies, your dad is here. Let's go." Athena rushed, getting the kids up and moving. Harry and May moved to hug Bobby as they left. May waved as she walked out of the room with Harry calling, "Bye Dot!"

Once the kids were out of sight Bobby turned to Dot.

"A stripper?" Bobby asked skeptically.

"I made good money. Couldn't really complain." Dot wasn't quite what you imagined when you thought of a stripper. Her friends that did actual pole dancing were beautifully toned; you had to be to do the things they did. Dot had a different physique. You could tell that she was definitely active in her life; she walked everywhere, but you could also see that she loved to bake maybe a little too often. "Different people are into different things. Plus I was kind of like a specialty act. You'd be surprised how many old guys pay to have someone they consider beneath them, have power over them."

"Didn't need to know that." Bobby mumbled awkwardly.

"You asked." Dot shrugged.

"Okay," Athena interrupted the conversation, saving Bobby from any more information. Walking back to sit at the table she continued, "The kids are gone, and Michael has a general idea of the current situation." Dot figured Michael was May and Harry's dad, but wasn't going to ask since it seemed Athena had something on her mind.

"So, we need to discuss some ground rules. You may be 26, but if you're going to be staying here for a while, we have some stipulations." Athena started. Dot nodded to show she was listening. "We expect you to get a job."

"Of course."

"We will not allow drugs in this house."

"I don't do anything anyways. After watching my parents literally deteriorate in front of me? No."

"Good." Athena began her lecture, "now you should know I did a background check on you this morning. Besides everything going on right now, you are completely clean. So even though we don't really know you, you are family and we are deciding to trust you. We both have to work the next few days, so we won't really be around." Bobby grabbed his wallet and pulled out a card and a key. "We know you probably need to grab a few things for yourself, so you can borrow this card for a few days till things settle down. And we have a family Uber account that we will set up on your phone so you can get around. But we are tracking everything and can cancel it all at any time," Athena warned.

"Thank you guys so much. This is so much more than I could ever ask for. The most I was honestly hoping for was a couch to crash on for a day or two. This means more than you can imagine." Dot accepted the items and handed over her phone for the Uber account, and to get their numbers.

"My office has a printer and everything you need to make a resume for applications. I'll text you the address and you can come by later and have some lunch while you're there. Might as well meet the team, you'd meet them eventually anyways."

"Thank you."

"The last thing," Athena spoke up again, "is that we expect that you check in with us throughout the day. You're new to L.A. and you've just gone through a life changing experience. You may be 26, but this would be rough on anybody. We just want to know that you're doing okay through the day."

"I get it. Thank you. Seriously thank you. I can't imagine what I would be doing right now if I hadn't found you, and if you didn't accept me."

"You're family," Bobby said. "We are there for our family. Now we have to go to work. Take your time getting ready for the day. I'll text you the address, just let me know when you're on your way. And lock up when you leave."

"Of course."

"We'll see you later Dorothy. Have a good day." Athena smiled as her and Bobby walked up the stairs to the door. Waving to the couple as they walked out, Dot felt like she could finally take a breath when the door closed. She knew that them giving her their trust was a large responsibility, and she would do everything in her power not to break that trust.