Washu didn't sleep much that night and was up in the living room not long after dawn to find nearly everyone there. Ryoko, Scar, Nagi and Michael, she noticed, were the only ones missing. Ayeka stood as soon as she saw Washu. "Miss Washu! I demand an explanation for why that.that assassin is still present in this house!"

"So Ryoko told you he is still here, huh?" She asked looking at all the curious faces. 'What a great way to start a morning.'

'Isn't it, though?' came the mental reply from Ryoko.

'You'll pay for this, dear daughter.' She thought back sarcastically.

'We'll see, mom.'

".and I also don't appreciate that demon knowing things before me!" Ayeka was still raving on about the new person and, of course, Ryoko.

"Ayeka, calm down and I will explain everything to all of you. He is no threat to us. Kagato was controlling him. That problem is no more. I have already straightened out all misconceptions he had about us." She said each sentence in a very basic, impatient tone. This was getting very annoying. As smart as she is, you think they would trust her more.

"Misconceptions?" came the expected question from Mihoshi. Washu knew she didn't understand the word, but she didn't feel like being a human dictionary and she knew the others just wanted to know what misconceptions he had had.

"Sasami already told me the whole story. This guy isn't a criminal is he, Washu?"

"No, Kiyone. Not that I know of. But if we find that he is, you will leave him alone."

"Fine. Come on, Mihoshi. Time to go on patrol."

"Already? I haven't even had breakfast yet! Can we stop for donuts on the way?"

"Mihoshi, honestly. What am I going to do with you?"

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Washu was working in her lab a little before noon when she heard someone at her lab door. "Who could it be now?" she mumbled setting her work aside for a second. "Come in."

"Miss Washu?"

Washu turned around to see Michael had just entered her lab. "Hello. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't call me ma'am. It's bad enough I'm being called grandma all of the sudden."

"Grandma? Ryoko has a daughter?"

"From the future."

"That is your only grandchild? Ryoko is your only child? I find that odd considering how long you have been alive. Aren't you even married? I mean, are you really that involved in your work?"

Washu sighed. "Not always. I mean, there was a time when having a family meant more to me than work."

Michael moved to her side. "Is this what you said you might tell me some other time?"

Washu hesitated before changing the subject. "What about you and your family? Tell me something of your past." She walked away from him and sat down on her floating cushion.

"My parents are dead. I was banned from Jurai after I accidentally killed a lot of people. My parents brought me to earth to try and start a new life. I killed them too along with more people. After that, it's all history. I became a military weapon, escaped from some training compound after Kagato found me, and came here to get rid of Ryoko. Kagato told me things about all of you that made me believe you were bad people. He used memories of my past to keep me going." He looked down at the ground waiting for her conviction. For her to tell him he's a murderer and he's no longer welcome. Isn't that the reaction he would get from most?

Washu had already known much about him. Some of this did come as a surprise. It wasn't hard for her to find his eyes since she was so much shorter than he was. She had just realized that they were somewhat alike. When she saw his eyes, she was a bit shocked she had not noticed it before. His eyes were solid blue. Like Jurian energy. "So your life hasn't been perfect. Whose has? Have a seat. I have a story to tell you." She sat back down on her floating pillow as Michael sat on a counter top.

"Back when I was at the Science Academy, I met who I thought was the love of my life. He was also Jurian aristocracy." She smiled fondly, staring off into space as if seeing it all right in front of her. "We were married and even had a beautiful son together. I had never been happier in my entire life. I loved them both more than I thought possible. I would have given anything for them, no questions asked. I had finally had what I thought I always wanted, a family of my own." When she looked back at Michael, tears were starting to form in her eyes. "But I learned something I wish I never had. I learned how dangerous it is to get attached to others. His parents strongly disapproved of our marriage. It was a social disgrace. He was only supposed to marry in his own class. Forget about love. His parents made him leave me. He barely said anything against it. Even worse, they took my baby away from me."" Washu stood and turned away from him staring at the chemicals in the beakers and tubes and all the equipment in her lab. "That is why I am so involved in my work. There is nothing else I can count on. Even when I made Ryoko, she was raised away from me and she never knew how much I did care for her."

Michael had also stood and was moving toward her when Sasami yelled "Lunch time!"

"Shall we go eat?" Michael asked Washu.

"You go ahead. I still have much work to do. Tell Sasami I will get lunch later." She said, walking back to what she was doing when he came.

Michael started to say something else but stopped himself and silently exited her lab leaving her to her work.