To Lyger 0: Sabrina does consume a lot of caffeine. And she probably needs to hydrate better.

Sabrina entered the kitchen to find Max already sitting at the table with a mug in his hand, nibbling on one of the leftover pastries that she had brought home from the rehab center on Thursday, phone in one hand and reading something intently. Kaalki and Nooroo sat on opposite sides of a saucer half-full of mixed fruit, eating steadily while whispering back and forth. Sabrina smiled softly, leaning against the wall just inside the hallway for a moment as she watched them. This – Max and the Kwamis – this was everything she had wanted while they were in Angola. She had worried she might never get this… but now this was one of the best parts of her day: waking up and feeling Max's emotions in the kitchen. She could smell bacon frying on the stove and automatically moved in that direction, grabbing a plate and taking the last two pieces for herself before selecting a croissant.

Max looked up at her with a smile as she sat down next to him. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Sabrina responded, giving him a quick kiss. "When did you get in last night? I didn't wake up."

He furrowed his brows. "It was… approximately 12:20?" He grimaced. "We lost track of time. But we did play test the new beta."

She raised an eyebrow. "And?"

He grinned. "The others enjoyed it almost as much as the original! We did find several bugs, particularly in the character selection screen. And Amun-Vatar's animatics rendered improperly for some reason; I will need to track that down."

"Sounds like fun," she told him wryly, stifling a yawn. "How are you so awake? I was in bed at least two hours before you!"

"This helps." Max held out the coffeepot in invitation.

"Yes, please!" she replied, leaning her head against his shoulder as he filled her cup.

"Mistress Sabrina?" Nooroo squeaked hesitantly. She hummed. "You have been drinking a lot of coffee lately," he began delicately. "It might be good to reduce your caffeine intake."

Sabrina frowned, looking at the coffee longingly.

"It is a weekend," Max pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "You do not have to keep going or do anything today. You can afford to relax. You could even take a nap if you wished."

"I need at least some to wake up…" Sabrina sighed but nodded. "But maybe I'll just have one cup," she allowed, taking a bite of her bacon. The moment she swallowed it, however, her stomach started to churn. Her nose wrinkled in disgust, and she dropped the bacon onto the plate. "Ohhh…" she groaned, clamping her mouth shut as the wave of nausea passed over her.

Max placed a hand on hers, his contentment immediately shifting into concern. "Is everything alright? Something you ate last night?"

Sabrina sat rigidly still for a minute, waiting for the nausea to go away, before finally giving him a jerky nod. "Y–yes." She coughed to clear her throat, and drank a few sips of water. "I–I think I'm okay now. Maybe it was the Moamba de galinha – we went to that new Angola restaurant after the movie. I never had trouble with in while we were in Angola, though…" Looking down at the plate, she pushed it away with a sigh. "But I think I will take some tea this morning."

As Max heated the water and started preparing her tea, Sabrina nibbled on the corner of her croissant, forcing herself to breathe slowly and deeply. The two Kwamis continued to eat their fruit salad, chattering quietly to each other. Setting a teacup in front of Sabrina, Max asked, "What are your plans for the day?"

"Fortunately, I don't have anyone to see today…" She sighed. "It's been a long few weeks; I need to talk to Emilie. I actually called her last night, and she's free this morning."

He nodded, sitting down next to her and taking her hand. "I have noticed that you have not slept well this week. Do you want to talk about it?" He turned nervous. "Is–is it about what happened with… well…"

She squeezed his hand. "No; I'm–I'm doing a lot better now than I was then," she assured him. "I…" she let out a breath "I think I'm okay now."

"Then if it is not Angola, or the Tarasque, or me… what is it?"

She shrugged. "Not any one thing. Just a lot of little things – when people come to see me for counseling, they always arrive carrying a lot of weight. When they leave, they aren't carrying as much. But that means I end up taking on a little of their stress." She shook her head ruefully. "I don't even have to actually take away their negative emotions for it to happen."

"You know you can talk to me about it if you would like."

She shook her head. "I really can't: confidentiality. That's why I need to talk to Emilie." Sabrina pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "But I do appreciate the offer. And I do love you."

He gave her a small smile as she stood up from the table and poured the rest of her tea into a travel mug. "And I you. Will I see you later?"

She frowned. "For lunch, maybe? I think this afternoon I need to talk to my mom; we haven't really talked that much since… well… Angola."

"Perhaps that will be possible," he agreed hesitantly. "I plan to be here, at least. But at last night's party I had an epiphany for the new American release of Super Akuma Battle. I would like to plan it out before meeting with Kagami's American colleague. And I also need to track down those bugs."

Sabrina's stomach churned, but she smiled. "Oh, okay," she answered, moving in the direction of the hall closet portal. "I'll try not to disturb you, then."

He smiled warmly, watching her until the portal opened. "You are never a distraction or a disturbance."

Her emotions lightening slightly,Sabrina hopped through the portal as it opened, stepping through it into the headquarters lab. The air was as cool and crisp as always, warmed by the natural light filtering through the recessed tunnels in the ceiling that enabled the garden to grow. Expanding her senses out, she could feel Emilie just outside of the lab, near the butterfly garden; smiling, Sabrina opened the door and stepped out to find Emilie already looking up at her, seated near the middle of the garden with Duusu flitting around her and chasing a couple of butterflies. Duusu looked up in surprise, his focus zeroing in on Sabrina. Nooroo emerged from Sabrina's purse and shot toward Duusu, tackling him out of the air. Soon the two Kwamis were racing each other around the cavern, chittering in high-pitched voices.

Emilie stood up and walked briskly over to Sabrina, giving her a warm smile and a quick hug. "Good morning, sweetheart," she greeted her. "I had wondered when you were going to come and visit."

"I'm sorry it's taken me so long," Sabrina apologized. "Trying to figure out a good system with all of the new clients, plus now I have an 'office' that I've only just managed to get set up…" She let out a breath. "It's been a little exhausting."

Emilie nodded sympathetically. "I imagine so," she agreed. "But how have you been doing?"

Sabrina's stomach clenched. "I know we never really talked about it after we got back – I'm sorry for what I did, what I did to Nooroo," she apologized, looking down at the ground. "I… don't know what I was thinking. I swore never to treat him the way Gabriel had… but I did."

Emilie placed a hand on Sabrina's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "That you are sorry for it shows that you are a better person – a better miraculous holder – than Gabriel ever was. That Nooroo chose to stay with you indicates that you have treated him better than Gabriel ever did." She smiled. "If Nooroo forgives you, then of course I forgive you, too." Emilie looked into Sabrina's eyes for a moment before pulling her into a hug. As she did so, Sabrina thought she caught a twinge of something in Emilie's eyes, echoing a slight shift in her emotions. But it passed in a fraction of a second, and Sabrina allowed Emilie to hug her tightly, sighing and letting her tension release. Emilie hummed. "Well, I imagine after these last few weeks you need some meditation time, my dear?"

Sabrina nodded firmly. "Absolutely. And afterward I would like to talk a little about my first session with Abdi – just the fact that I was actually working with one of the monsters who abused and mistreated him and Aisha…" Her gut churned. "That brought back a whole wave of guilt."

Emilie hummed, nodding contemplatively. "Perhaps we can talk about that in a bit," she agreed. "But first, I think it will be helpful for you to meditate – release all of the emotions that you have been building up over the last few weeks."

"I've been trying to do it as I go, though I haven't meditated as much as I should have." Sabrina followed Emilie into the grotto and selected her favorite of the thatched rugs that they had accumulated for meditation purposes. Emilie took another one, and they unrolled them in the center of the grotto before sitting down cross-legged, facing each other a couple meters apart. Slowly Emilie began to breathe deeply, taking in long, measured breaths, holding them, and releasing them. After a moment, Sabrina copied her, breathing slowly and deeply, her eyes falling shut. Her heart had been racing all morning; she concentrated on letting go of the tension in her muscles, little by little with each released breath. As she did so, a sensation of calm washed over her. Reaching deep inside of herself, she found the tension and stress and guilt and shame and fear and… all the emotions that she had absorbed over the last month, intermingled with her own guilt over her actions in Angola. All of the emotions were there, twisted and knotted together into a tight wad. Slowly, as she continued to inhale and exhale steadily, the knot began to loosen. After another several minutes, she drew in a breath, held it, and released it, allowing all of her built-up emotions to escape out into the atmosphere. Finally, she was – almost – empty of emotions.

Slowly, she began to expand her empathy outward, seeking the emotions of those nearby. She could sense a hint of curiosity and anticipation from Emilie, sitting directly in front of her. But – even closer – the tiniest hint of an emotion. Contentment. Sabrina felt a flash of confusion shoot into her, almost drowning the emotion out. Quickly she released that into the atmosphere, searching once again. This time, she knew what she was looking for, and found it almost right away. A small spark of emotions… and it was coming from somewhere inside her own body – but it wasn't her emotion…

Suddenly, Sabrina's eyes shot wide open and she looked directly across into Emilie's face. Emilie looked back at her with a mixture of nervousness, anticipation, and… even a bit of excitement. Sabrina blinked rapidly. "Is – is that–?"

Emilie nodded slowly, a sympathetic smile spreading across her lips. "I think it is."

"I–I'm…" Sabrina swallowed, suddenly feeling sick. "Bu–but I can't be… How–how could it happen? It–it's not possible…"

Emilie quirked an eyebrow at her in amusement. "I trust that you know how it happens," she told her. "Someone explained it to you… right?" Her humor faltered, to be replaced with concern. "If not, I may need to have a conversation with your mother."

Sabrina shuddered, her eyes going unfocused as she stared down at the grass and gravel between them. Her hands clenched and unclenched in the grass beside her.

Emilie reached forward and took one of Sabrina's hands in her own, loosening her fist and giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart," she assured her.

Sabrina's hands started to shake, and she turned her gaze on Emilie. Her eyes widened. "Nooroo's been telling me not to drink so much coffee…" she whispered.

"Probably not a bad idea under normal circumstances…" Emilie stifled a chuckle. "But the Kwamis are so much more sensitive than we are."

Sabrina's jaw fell open in shock. "How–how long have you known?"

Emilie's emotions filled with confidence and reassurance. "Only today – not long before you realized."

Sabrina placed a hand on her stomach, her breathing turning shallow. "I–I can't believe… I'm…"

Emilie sighed. "It becomes easier when you say it aloud and admit it to yourself."

"… Pregnant."