Barney was feeling on edge now. After seeing the state of Serena and seeing Emily's fear all over her face, he wondered if he should make his move sooner than later.

"Absolutely not," Church barked at him over the phone. Barney pressed it closer to his ear, pacing the backyard slowly.

"Then at least get them out of there."

"They are out of there, right? They're with you."

"Church..."

"If we extract them now, it will definitely make Fred run for it with Ethan on his heels. I cannot have that. Do you understand me? It has to remain as normal as it can for just a bit longer. We are already pushing it as it is by letting you stay there next door."

Barney bristled a bit. Who the hell was Church to tell him he couldn't be at his own cottage?!

"Is it really worth getting this buyer?" he asked.

"Yes! And not just the buyer, Fred, and Ethan, but the boss behind it all! You don't get it, Barney. There's a lot more at stake here than just one person. This will crack open an entire chain, and we've been working for this for a long time. I will not let you ruin this for me," Church said angrily. "If you mess this up, you're all dead. All of you. I will personally see to it."

"Alright, alright," Barney replied, raking his fingers through his hair. His eyes were where his uncle had died. "But if anything happens to those girls, you're dead, Church. You hear me?"

"Loud and clear."

The call disconnected, and Barney exhaled roughly before catching sight of Gunner sauntering towards him in the low light.

"What do we do?" he asked.

"Nothing," Barney answered.

"What? We can't just sit by..."

"I've been ordered to sit tight," Barney cut him off. "I can't go against that. There's something bigger at play here, Gunner, and while I hate to agree with Church, sometimes we have to take a risk to get the reward."

"But these are people's lives we're risking here," Gunner insisted.

"Yea, but they have us on their side. We won't let anything happen to them," Barney vowed.

"You mean it?"

"Yea, Gunner. I mean it."

...

"Is my mum okay?" Maya asked. Caesar was trying to get her and Louis settled in their tent for the night, but Maya was showing some anxiety. He gave her his best, award winning smile.

"She's better than okay," he answered. "Everything is alright."

"I know you're lying," Maya said pointedly. Louis was quiet, but he was listening.

"Nooo," Caesar said, scrunching his face up into his best Barbara Jean impression. "I'm not lying." In return, Maya gave her best Reba impression with her arms crossed and one eyebrow lifted.

"I wanna see her," Maya said now, standing up.

"Erm," Caesar tried, unsure of what to do or say in this moment. Then, as if magically summoned, Emily was there.

"Hi, baby," she said when Maya rushed to hug her tightly. "I'm alright."

"What happened?" Maya asked.

"Nothing that you need to worry about," Emily answered, pulling back and smoothing her hand over Maya's hair. "Just a misunderstanding. You should get tucked in and get some sleep."

"Where's Fred?" Maya questioned.

"He went back to town for the night."

"Good."

"I promise everything is fine," Emily said, hugging her again and kissing her cheek. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay. Good night."

"Good night, sweetheart."

Caesar caught the worry in Emily's eyes as she turned to leave. He was impressed at how well she'd hidden it from Maya, who was more intuitive than most kids. Louis had an idea that something was going on, but he hadn't quite figured it out yet. Caesar knew it didn't help that Maya had probably witnessed and overheard one too many fights between Fred in Serena to know something big had happened.

"Can you tell us a story?" Louis asked hopefully. He was giving Caesar a meaningful look. The one thing Louis was good at was knowing when someone needed to be cheered up or have a change of subject. He got that from his mother.

"I think I can come up with something," Caesar agreed, smiling as both kids shifted to get comfortable and listen.

Then he unleashed his imagination.

...

Lee was finishing brushing his teeth when Emily came to stand in the bathroom doorway. He looked at her in the mirror as she hugged herself and offered a small smile. She turned her head away when he spat and rinsed out his mouth.

"She okay?" he asked after wiping his face with a towel.

"Yea," Emily answered. "But I think she's pacifying me by pretending to buy my answer that everything is okay." She sighed heavily, and Lee moved to stand in front of her, which prompted her to lean into him and wrap her arms around him snugly. He rested a hand on the back of her head, smoothing his fingers over her hair slowly, while wrapping his other arm around her lower back.

"I don't want to go back over there," she said into his shirt, her face pressed against chest over his heart.

"Then don't," he replied. "You can stay here...in my room. I'll take the couch."

She lifted her head up at this, scanning his face. "Why the couch?"

"Because I'm respectful," he answered, "and I don't make assumptions." He felt a bit of surprise when she kissed him softly, her hand moving to rest on the nape of his neck.

"While you just went up a notch in my Good Guy book, I can safely say I want you to make assumptions in this case," she said against his lips. He smiled slowly, and she playfully bit his bottom lip before moving away and pulling him by the hand behind her.

Barney's banging entrance stopped them in their tracks.

"Hey," he said, looking at Lee. "I need your help with something."

"Right now?" Lee asked, feeling slightly aggravated at the second interruption of his time with Emily.

"Yea, now," Barney replied. "I'll be outside."

Lee heaved a sigh and gave Emily an apologetic look. "Sorry. I have to go deal with whatever it is he needs me for."

"It's okay," Emily advised. "I'll be waiting." She gave him a soft kiss before patting his chest lightly and going to his room. Lee watched until she shut the door behind her, giving him one last look beforehand. Then he went to find Barney.

"What?" he asked aggressively when he approached him. Gunner was standing there too.

"Thought you might want to be included in the update from Church," Barney said.

"Right now? It couldn't wait until morning?"

"I think you should hold off on the sleepover."

"Excuse me?" Lee asked, feeling affronted. "What right do you have to make that call?"

"I'm just saying if you do that with her, then your emotions are gonna be that much higher when shit hits the fan," Barney answered. "I know they already are because you care about her, but I know you, Lee. I know what will happen to your head if you're all the way involved with her when you're trying to stay focused."

"You are unbelievable," Lee said, scoffing. "I'm pretty sure I'm an adult. Hang on, let me check..." He patted himself a few times on his shoulder, chest, and the side of his right leg. "...yep, I'm definitely an adult. I can make my own decisions, thank you."

"So you're fine knowing that Church isn't going to evacuate her, Maya, or Serena," Barney said, and Lee felt his stomach clench.

"Why isn't he?"

"Says it'll definitely make Fred and Ethan run."

"So?"

"He needs things to be normal to get his guy and then some. So, they'll spend the night cooling off and then back to their dysfunction tomorrow."

"No..." Lee started.

"It is what it is, Lee," Barney cut him off. "So think real hard before making that adult decision of yours." He held Lee's glare, and while Lee wanted to just scoff and do what he pleased, he knew Barney had a point.

"What are you saying?" Toll's voice asked, making all three of them turn to see him standing there. Lee felt fresh irritation that they'd interrupted him and hadn't interrupted Toll to loop him in on this too. "Barns, we can't let Serena go back over there. He'll kill her..."

"That's why Tia and Caesar are gonna be over there with Louis and making sure Fred can't escalate, and if he does, Caesar can intervene," Barney said. "And we don't even know if Fred is going to come back anytime soon. Ethan is gone for a few days according to Emily, right? We know Fred has to be back here to move those guns, but he might not come until that time arrives."

Lee watched Toll mull this over. As much as it didn't make Lee feel very good, he knew Toll was feeling it more. It wasn't Emily all banged up and bleeding. It was Serena. Lee knew what he'd be thinking and feeling if it was Emily.

"Toll, you have my word that we'll do everything to keep them safe," Barney said when Toll didn't respond.

"You better, Barns," Toll said. "You better. And next time, don't leave me out of the team meeting." He turned to go, and Lee gave Barney a sideways look before leaving himself.

He found Emily asleep in his bed, and he stood over her watching for a moment before going around to lie next to her. She made a sound in her sleep as she shifted and got settled against him, her arm sliding across his chest. Lee rested a hand on her shoulder while pressing his cheek against her forehead. He could feel her breath on his skin since her face was tucked into his neck. He closed his eyes, trying to sleep, but it was proving difficult.

Barney's advice kept playing in his head over and over.

The Next Day

Toll was sitting at the kitchen table sipping his coffee when Serena appeared from his room. He was stiff and sore from the couch, but he did his best not to show it in front of her. He was annoyed at Barney for holding a meeting without him. But then again, he hadn't included Caesar either, but Caesar had been with the kids, and it sounded like they'd already talked beforehand.

"Good morning," she said, sinking down into the chair next to him. She folded her hands on the table, meeting his eyes.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

"A little."

"You wanna tell me what happened?" he inquired after a moment when she didn't say anything else. He knew it had to be more than just Fred being suspicious of him. Her feet shifted on the floor, and she gave a small sniff before showing a small smile.

"Nothing really to tell," she answered. "I had a difference of opinion, and Fred disagreed."

"About me?"

"Not entirely."

"It would help me to help you if I knew what was going on," Toll reasoned. He watched her twist her lips and tap her fingers on the table slowly.

"I can't tell you," she replied.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm the only one who knows the information aside from Fred, and if I tell you, he will know where it came from. I'm sorry, Toll, but I can't." She stood up, and Toll got to his feet right after.

"Are you just playing me?" he asked, unable to help himself. Serena looked taken aback, and he suddenly felt like an idiot for confronting her on that stupid, negative self-talk he kept having.

"Why would I do that?" she asked.

"I dunno," Toll replied. "You might see that I'm a ticket out of your hell and don't really care about me like you let on you do."

"That really hurts me to hear you say that," Serena said, putting a hand over her chest. "Is that what you think of me? For real?"

"You're not denying it," Toll pointed out. His heart was beating a little too hard and fast, and he knew he was sounding accusatory, but he needed the truth.

"Goodbye, Toll," Serena said, moving to the door now. "Thanks for nothing." She slammed the door behind her, and everything in Toll's mind screamed at him to chase after her and make it right, but he couldn't move.

"Well done, Romeo," Tia commented, appearing from her bedroom where it was made apparent she had been hiding. "Why would you say that?!"

"I dunno!" Toll said rather defensively. He crossed his arms tight across his chest.

"She's been hurt physically and emotionally, and you gave her the final uppercut to send her crashing to the floor. What the hell is wrong with you?" Tia demanded.

"I don't know," Toll said again, meeker this time.

"I think you should apologize," Tia said next, putting her hands on her hips.

"I don't think she wants to see me right now."

"You're right. Give her a few hours and then go apologize. Idiot," Tia said, shaking her head as she went to get a coffee. She poured it into a travel mug and screwed the lid on, giving him a sharp look over it as she did so. Toll swallowed. He knew better than to let his own brain get the best of him, but he couldn't help it. He was still in shock that someone like Serena would even look at him let alone want to be with him. If she still wanted to, that is. After his performance, he wouldn't blame her for never speaking to him again.

...

Emily opened her eyes and took a full five seconds to understand where she was. Once she remembered, her heart rate started to slow down. The arms around her were Lee's, not Ethan's. She was in his bed, not Ethan's.

Thank God.

"Morning," Lee said, pressing his lips into her shoulder gently. She smiled.

"Morning indeed," she replied, turning in his arms so that they were face to face. "You were gone longer than I thought last night."

"Sorry," he apologized. "Although, it was under twenty minutes."

"I guess I was just really tired," she reasoned. She rested her finger on the collar of his t-shirt and ran it along the edge back and forth slowly. "So, where were we?" She looked into his eyes with what she hoped was her best sexy stare before moving in to kiss him.

And he pulled away.

"Lee?" she said, feeling nervous and scared suddenly. Was he changing his mind already? Had she really misread him after all of this?

"Maya," he said. She frowned.

"Maya?" she repeated. Then, she heard her daughter's excited voice talking a million miles an hour as she came into the cottage with Louis. Caesar's voice could be heard talking about something or other. Gunner's snuffling snores came to a halt in the other room as they woke him up, and he began to clear his throat with rough coughing. A moment later, Barney's voice could be heard in the mix with the kids' and Caesar's.

"Right," Emily said, looking at the closed bedroom door. "Maya."

"How do you want to play this?" Lee asked, and she looked back at him. He had a point. Did she really want Maya to see her coming out of Lee's bedroom?

No, no she did not.

"Come on," Lee said, moving to get up. She did as well. "You can sneak out the window and come around as if you came from somewhere else."

"Good thinking," Emily agreed, walking on her knees across the mattress until she stepped off and stood next to him as he unhooked the latches of the screen. When he went to push it out, though, it wouldn't budge. He frowned.

"What the hell?" he said, pushing again.

"Don't break it," she told him. He gave her a look before trying to make it budge again. Still nothing.

"Can I wake up Lee?" Maya's voice asked, dangerously close to the door.

"Oh, you wouldn't want to do that," Barney's voice said with a laugh. "Lee is very cranky in the morning."

"So is my mum, but she doesn't mind," Maya replied. She was right outside the door now.

"Shit, shit, shit," Emily chanted. Lee put a hand on her head and pushed her down to the floor. She crawled under the bed as he leaped back onto it and yanked the covers over himself, moments before the door opened. She held her breath as she listened to her daughter tiptoe in while quietly giggling to herself. Then her daughter did her typical leap attack, and she heard Lee grunt and groan while Maya laughed and giggled, pleased with herself.

"Hi!" Maya said cheerfully.

"Hullo," Lee said back. "What're you doing in here with too much energy for this early of a morning?"

"It's almost eight," Maya said back. "That's not early."

"It is if you're trying to sleep in," Lee advised.

"Was my mum here?" Maya asked, and Emily tensed.

"No, why?"

"I can smell her," Maya replied.

"You can smell her?" Lee repeated, and Emily pressed a hand over her mouth to stop from laughing out loud.

"Yea, on the pillow," Maya said, taking dramatic sniffs now. "She was here."

"It came from me," Lee tried. "I was hugging her, and it rubbed off on me...hence it came from me."

Emily could just imagine the look Maya was giving him right now. It would be her signature "I am not an idiot" expression.

"If I look under the bed," Maya started, "will I find her there?"

"Nope," Lee answered, and Emily heard him move quickly. Maya was suddenly laughing, and Lee was carrying her out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Emily pulled herself out from under the bed and went to the window again, getting the same resistance Lee did when she pushed on the screen. Why the hell was the screen stuck?!

"Need a hand?" Barney asked, suddenly appearing and making her jump and clap a hand over her mouth to stop from shrieking in fright.

"If you must know, yes," she hissed. "What is wrong with it?"

"It's got latches on the outside to keep the screen from falling off," Barney explained, climbing up a ladder to twist open the latches. He pulled the screen off, and Emily scrambled up onto the windowsill. She waited for Barney to get down first before climbing down after him.

"That's a fire hazard, you know," she retorted, looking up at the latches.

"You could break the screen if you really had to," Barney insisted. "The latches also keep the shutters on in the winter."

"Oh."

"You better hurry up," Barney warned. "Maya is heading over to your place."

"What?!"

"Lee's with her," Barney promised. Panicking, Emily sprinted towards her cottage, trying to figure out how to pull this off (it never occurred to her to just stay and act like she'd been in the backyard or something). She heard Maya calling her name inside the cottage as she came through the brush on the trail. She hesitated for two seconds before barreling down to the water, stripping her clothes off and leaving them under the broken raft before getting into the lake. She swam to the dock just as Maya came onto it with Lee on her heels.

"There you are!" Maya exclaimed, lifting her hands and dropping them dramatically. "I was looking everywhere for you."

"I went for a swim," Emily said, avoiding looking at Lee so as not to start laughing. She was glad she wore a bikini top 90% of the time here. She treaded water as Maya sat down and stuck her feet into the lake. The boat was still gone, which meant Fred was still away. That gave Emily a sense of relief.

"How did you sleep, baby?" she asked. Lee moved to sit cross legged beside Maya now, his eyes fully on her. She could feel a slight flush on her neck starting from his look.

"Good," Maya answered. "I was gonna ask you if I could do it again tonight."

"If Tia and Caesar are okay with it, then I am," Emily advised, daring to meet Lee's eyes full on now. Her heart skipped at the thought of finishing what they'd started the night before.

"I'll get back to you," Maya promised. She stood up and ran back over to Barney's, calling for Louis as she went.

"Nice save," Lee commented, gesturing to her in the water.

"My smell rubbed off on you?" she said back, smirking. He scoffed.

"My brain does not work at full speed when I first wake up," he retorted. "And it is no match against your brilliant daughter."

Emily laughed and went to pull herself up and out on the ladder when Lee surprised her by stripping his shirt off and sliding into the water next to her.

"What're you doing?" she asked as he lifted her up to sit on a rung of the ladder and put his arms around her afterwards.

"Just being with you," he answered, kissing her before she could respond. She rested her knees against his sides as she placed a hand on the nape of his neck to pull him closer to her. She loved the feel of his mouth against hers, how slow and intentional he was when he went deeper. She sighed happily as she leaned her chest into his.

"It sounds like we can have some alone time later," she said a moment later, her eyes finding his as his face hovered next to hers.

"It does," he agreed.

"Only if you want to, that is," she corrected, trying to not to melt from his fingers running up and down her sides slowly.

"There's no question about it," he advised. He moved a hand to curl around the ends of her hair, pulling her head back slightly so he could run his lips along her throat lightly before kissing her again.

"Ugh, get a room you two," Serena said, making them both jerk apart, startled.

"Serena!" Emily exclaimed, heart pounding. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry," Serena said, not sounding sorry at all.

"I thought you were with Toll," Emily said now, feeling disgruntled and annoyed. Lee had pushed off to swim for a moment, leaving her feeling almost cold with him gone. She moved to turn and stand on the bottom rung of the ladder, wrapping her fingers around the handles.

"He thinks I'm playing a game with him, so I think it's safe to say it's not gonna work out," Serena replied, sitting down.

"What?" Emily was surprised. She hadn't pegged Toll as someone who would be so accusing.

"Whatever," Serena said, hugging her knees tighter.

"Well, are you?" Emily challenged. It kind of was a suspicion of hers too.

"What? No! Why does everyone keep saying that!"

"Because you're still technically with Fred and telling Toll you want to be with him," Emily reasoned. "Right?"

"It's complicated," Serena shot back, running a hand through her hair aggressively.

"Not really," Emily retorted.

"Look, I didn't come for a lecture," Serena said, getting up now. "I came to talk to my friend, but I can see that's not what I'm getting here."

"Serena..."

"Just leave me alone," Serena said tearily, rushing off. Emily heaved a sigh/growl. What the hell was going on with her friend? She didn't get it.

"Mum!" Maya called, finally returning from her quest. "They said it was okay."

"Good," Emily said, forcing a smile.

"Louis and I are gonna explore now," Maya told her. "I'll be back for lunch."

"Alright."

Emily felt Lee press into her back after Maya was gone, his arm wrapping around her waist while his other hand shifted her hair away so he could kiss her shoulder lightly. She tilted her head back so he could claim her lips with his softly. Emily was on fire, but there was nothing she could do about it right in this moment.

"I think you might just be too good for me," she said to him, and he gave her a surprised look.

"Why do you say that?" he asked. She turned to face him, resting her hands on his shoulders.

"Because I've never met anyone as good as you," she answered. "I feel like this is too good to be true, you know?"

"I promise I don't have a demented side of me that likes to come out and play," he told her, smirking lightly.

"I'm being serious," Emily advised.

"So am I," he insisted. "Em, what you see is what you get. I'm not pulling some kind of con here. I really, truly, genuinely have feelings for you, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay," she whispered, knowing in her heart he meant it. He smiled slowly, touching her face with his fingers. He appeared as though he was going to kiss her again when Louis and Maya came running past. Groaning inwardly, Emily decided to get out and change before her daughter discovered she was not in actual swim bottoms or that she had clothes hidden in a strange spot. She grabbed them when Maya was in the backyard and hustled inside to change before getting spotted. Once inside, she turned to see Louis and Maya trying to push Lee back into the water off the dock while he laughed at their efforts. She felt warm inside as she went to her room to change.

Maybe everything actually would work out.

...

Barney was fixing the clothesline while listening to Maya and Louis creating their imaginary game together. He couldn't help but smile. It reminded him of his cousins and how they used to do the same thing. His uncle would usually get involved; his aunt would film it sometimes. He contemplated watching those videos, but when he thought of how painful it would be to see his family, it made him decide not to. Maybe one day he'd be less of a coward.

He was trying not to feel on edge about everything, so listening to them was a great distraction. It also helped him to not think about the day he'd found his uncle too late, which had taken place a mere few feet from where he was standing. He was pretty sure he'd never get over that feeling of helplessness.

Gunner appeared out the back door, stretching and cracking his back before giving himself a shake like a dog and sauntering over to him.

"Hold this," Barney ordered, and Gunner obliged, resting his foot on the board propping up the clothesline post while Barney rummaged through the pail of miscellaneous things at his feet before finding what he was looking for. He stuck the screw into the end of his drill and pressed it against the board, squeezing the trigger and feeling satisfied when he heard the screw make the noise to indicate it was as tight as it could go.

"Why don't you have a container just for screws?" Gunner asked, eyeing up the pail.

"I am not going to pretend that I understand how my uncle's brain worked," Barney replied. "It just is what it is."

"You don't talk about him," Gunner noted. Barney involuntarily looked to the left where that awful spot was on the lawn. "Did something happen to him?"

"Yea," Barney replied.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too, Gunner," Barney sighed. He screwed another long screw into the board after Gunner stepped back and then pulled on the pole to see if it would fall over again. It stayed strong.

"My parents died when I was a teenager," Gunner offered suddenly, making Barney look at him.

"That's shitty," he said, not knowing what else to say.

"Yea," Gunner agreed, nodding slowly. "I kind of went downhill from there. Drugs and alcohol helped a lot, you know? They numbed me out so I wouldn't have to feel it."

"I get that."

"Sometimes I think I use this job as a way of numbing out," Gunner went on. "But I get to kill bad guys at the same time."

Barney looked at Gunner, getting the feeling that the big guy was trying to tell him that he used the job for the same reason, and perhaps Gunner was right. Barney wasn't going to pretend otherwise.

"It's the dragon!" Louis shouted now, making both men turn to see him pointing at Gunner.

"Me?" Gunner said, surprised.

"Ha, you're it," Barney said with a scoff.

"But..." Gunner started, but Louis was already trying to "fight" him with his paper towel sword. Maya was running around with a stick "wand" and shouting out gibberish. Barney laughed and laughed as a perplexed Gunner did his best to defend himself.

All that giggling and laughing in the background and from within was good for his soul.

...

Toll felt miserable. Lee found him sitting in the boat in the boathouse staring out at the lake, and he hopped down into it to join him.

"You wanna talk about it?" Lee offered.

"I dunno, man," Toll sighed, rubbing his face with his hand. "I let my thoughts get the better of me."

"They tend to do that sometimes," Lee agreed, nodding.

"I guess I keep thinking that she's too good to be true," Toll went on. He noticed something in Lee's eyes when he said that, and he wondered why.

"Funny," Lee said. "Cos that's exactly what Emily just said about me."

"Seriously?"

"Yea, and she had a hard time letting herself try this thing out between us," Lee advised.

"But you didn't just up and run off when she got negative about it," Toll pointed out.

"No, but she also didn't accuse me of playing games," Lee countered, lifting a brow.

"Right," Toll said sheepishly.

"Just give her some space and then be honest," Lee told him. "If it works out, great. If not, then maybe you deserve better."

"I don't think I could get better than her," Toll said honestly.

"Hm, you might be right," Lee joked, earning himself a dark look from Toll in return.

"How mad is Emily gonna be when she finds out you're a mercenary?" Toll asked eventually. Lee sighed.

"I think about that all the time. I just told her I wasn't pulling a con, but I guess by keeping this part of me from her is a little bit."

"Maybe you should tell her."

"I will. Soon," Lee promised. They didn't say anything else, the sound of the neighbor's music on the point of the island thrumming and throbbing out a bass rapidly. There was apparently a party going on from the renters that had arrived the day before. Toll had hoped they would be quiet, but they just weren't that lucky.

Then, they heard Emily shouting.

...

Emily was listening to Tia when she suddenly realized Maya and Louis were no longer in the yard or close by playing. Without meaning to be rude, she stepped away from Tia when she was mid-sentence. Her heart was pounding. Where was her child? Where was Louis?

"Maya?!" Emily called.

"What's wrong?" Tia asked.

"They're not here," Emily answered, gesturing with her hand. "The kids."

"I'm sure they're here somewhere..."

"Maya!" Emily called again. Lee came out of the boathouse with Toll behind him and frowned at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Maya and Louis are gone," she answered, moving towards the sound of loud music and laughter that was coming from the cottage on the point. If she knew her daughter, and she was pretty sure she did, that's where they'd head to see if they could witness something cool and fun.

"I'll do a runaround the island," Toll said, moving towards the trail to the right. Gunner hurried after him.

"I'll sit tight here in case they're hiding around here," Barney advised.

"I'll check our place," Tia said as she hustled behind Emily with Lee on her heels. "Caesar's there. They might be playing with him." She went up the hill quickly while Emily and Lee followed the trail to the cottage on the point. People were everywhere when they got closer, and Emily almost got jostled and sucked into a group when Lee caught her hand and kept her by his side.

"Maya!" Emily shouted. "Louis!" She winced at the loud music, wondering how she had ever enjoyed that in her youth.

"Well hello, sexy," a woman's voice said, making her turn to see a busty blonde in a blue bikini running her hands over Lee. Emily got jostled from behind, which made her lose her grip on Lee's hand. She felt aggravated and scared at the same time. She scanned the deck, looking for the two kids. She spied Maya sitting on the railing and felt her heart lurch in fear of her child's safety. It was a straight drop to the water below, and Emily had no idea if it was shallow or deep there.

"MAYA!" she bellowed, but her daughter couldn't hear her. Frustrated, she turned back to Lee, who was trying to escape the handsy blonde. Emily managed to get close to Lee again and pressed herself against him while giving the blonde a dirty look.

"Oh, a challenge," the blonde said with a smirk. "I'm game."

"I'm not," Lee retorted. "Em, did you find them?"

"Yes. They're over there," Emily answered, pointing. She went to pull him with her when the blonde stopped her.

"Why should you get to have all the fun?" she asked Emily.

"Because he's my husband," Emily lied, glaring at her. "Back off."

"I don't see no ring," the blonde insisted, not giving up.

"Just cos you don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist," Lee shot at her. The blonde took his hand and held it up.

"No tan line," she said triumphantly.

"This is ridiculous," Emily growled. She pulled herself to her full height and got into the woman's face. "Back off before I rip that stupid 'do off your head and stuff it where the sun don't shine. You have a better chance of getting hit by a car before my man ever gives you a second thought."

"Whoa," Lee said with a laugh. "Down, girl." He put his hand on her shoulder before she could get too aggressive. The blonde's mouth opened and shut without a sound, and then she muttered something and flipped Emily off before disappearing into the crowd. Lee moved to get in front so he could shoulder people out of the way better. Emily felt angry at her daughter suddenly for thinking it was okay to join an adult party like this. She saw Maya still perched on the railing, swinging her legs and observing everyone while Louis leaned against it with his elbows. Both were grinning like idiots.

"MAYA!" she yelled again. Then she noticed two men play fighting and grabbed Lee's arm hard.

"Argh!" he yelped as her nails dug in, and he looked at her. "What's up? I see her."

"Lee, they're gonna knock her off!" she shouted, and he whipped his head to look too. He tried to move faster, but he was too late. The men didn't see Maya, and one of their hands clipped Maya in the chest, and Emily could only watch in horror as Maya opened her mouth, not even releasing a sound, and toppled backwards down to the water below. The two men somehow didn't even see it happen and continued their game, moving back towards the stairs.

"MAYA!" Emily screamed. Louis was screaming too. Without giving it a thought, Lee pulled himself up onto the railing and jumped off it to go after Maya. Emily caught Louis's arm and hauled him to the stairs, desperate to get down to the dock to save Maya. Despite her instinct to jump after Lee, she knew she had to keep Louis safe.

"I'm sorry," Louis kept saying. "We thought it would be fun. We didn't mean anything by it."

"Shh, it's alright," Emily replied, trying to comfort him while tamping down her own fear and anxiety. They got to the dock moments later, and Emily shaded her face with her hand to see better.

No Maya, and no Lee.

...

Lee found Maya floating under the water almost lifeless, and his heart lurched in fear. He gathered she must have stunned herself after hitting the water hard from that distance on top of getting hit in the chest by a grown man. He swam to her and scooped her easily under his arm. He surfaced, sucking in air and pulling Maya up as well.

"Maya!" Emily cried, and he turned to see her kneeling on the dock and reaching out a hand towards them. Louis was standing next to her and looking terrified. Lee pulled Maya behind him to the dock, and Emily helped pull her out. Lee was out seconds later, kneeling by her head while Emily checked her airway, breathing, and circulation. Maya was not breathing.

"Maya," Emily said, panicked as she started small compressions. "Maya!"

Seconds later, Maya vomited up water and coughed before she started to give shaky sobs. Emily gathered her into her arms to hold her close while Lee released the breath he'd been holding.

"I'm s-sorry," Maya cried.

"It's okay," Emily replied. "Just don't ever do it again."

"I w-won't."

"We just wanted to have some fun," Louis said to Lee, making Lee look at him. He knew that was the case, that neither Louis nor Maya had intended for anything bad to happen.

"LOUIS! MAYA!" Tia was shrieking now, making everyone look at her as she appeared. The party had grown quiet, after all the screaming had finally been noticed, with people watching and whispering amongst themselves.

"I'm here, Mama," Louis answered. Tia was there in moments with Caesar towering over most people as he followed her.

"Is Maya okay?" Tia asked, sounding scared.

"Yea," Emily answered. "We're good."

"Come on," Tia said now, putting a hand on Louis's shoulder firmly. "You've got some 'splaining to do, young man."

Lee followed Emily after she picked up Maya, and they walked back together with Caesar leading the charge. Lee noticed the blonde was watching as she sipped her drink.

"You should watch your kids," she commented snarkily.

"You should watch your mouth," Emily shot back. Lee put his hand on her lower back to steer her away. He hoped to never see any of these people again. None of them had offered to help; it made Lee wonder about the kindness of strangers and if it still existed. He walked away, and he didn't look back.

...

Caesar was feeling furious at his son. He knew Louis hadn't meant for anyone to get hurt, but why did his son think it was okay to sneak off and join some party with strangers? Hadn't he taught him better?

"Baby, it's alright," Tia said, sensing his anger.

"No, it isn't," he shot back. "Tia, this could have ended very badly. If Lee and Emily hadn't been there, would anyone have jumped in after Maya? Would any of them have even seen her fall?"

Tia closed her mouth, and Caesar knew she was feeling the fear too. It was a question neither of them knew the answer to, and that was terrifying.

They both went to find Louis sitting on the deck steps with his chin on his arms and legs tucked against him. Caesar knew he was still feeling scared about the thought of Maya almost dying, and he didn't want to make his son feel worse, but there had to be some sort of consequence for him running off without telling anyone where he was going.

"Louis," he started as he sank down onto the step beside his son. Louis turned to him quickly, tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," he said, his voice small and teary. "I should have told you, but you would have said no, and we really just wanted to see what a party was like."

"And? What did you learn?" Caesar asked.

"It's loud and people act goofy," Louis answered.

"Was it your idea?"

"We both came up with the idea," Louis said, wiping his face with the back of his arm now. "We didn't think it would be a big deal."

"Well, it is a big deal," Caesar said with a sigh. He rested his elbows on his knees, folding his hands together. "Louis, we could have lost you or Maya today, and no one would have known if Emily hadn't noticed you were missing. The next time you have an idea you wanna do that makes you not want to tell anyone, chances are it's a bad idea, so don't do it, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you," Caesar said, pulling his son in close, and Louis gave a muffled reply of "I love you" back before burying his face into Caesar's side. Tia appeared then, her arms crossed.

"It's time for the consequence," she said after a moment, and Louis sniffed hard before nodding and sitting up straight again.

"Hit me," he said. Tia pressed her lips together to stop from laughing because this was not a funny moment. Caesar had to admit, his son was a bit of a comedian at times, even when he was in trouble.

"You have to help Uncle Barney with chores for the rest of today," Tia said. Louis nodded slowly, letting it sink in. Caesar knew Tia didn't pull the sleepover because they had to do it in order to keep Maya out of that house and away from Fred and/or Ethan. Otherwise, he knew his wife would have done the double barrel punishment and taken it away plus the chores.

"Okay," Louis said, standing up now. "I'll go over now."

"I'll walk you," Caesar advised, getting up too. He leaned to kiss Tia's cheek on the way by before ambling down the hill behind Louis.

He wondered just what Barney had planned for his chores.

...

Lee could tell how scared Emily was at how close Maya could have been to dying. He stood off to the side as she checked Maya out for other injuries and made sure she was really okay after Maya had changed into dry clothes. She was kneeling in front of Maya.

"What were you thinking?" Emily finally asked, letting the anger come out now. Maya bowed her head, her hair draping on either side of her face.

"I just wanted to see what a party was like," she mumbled.

"Maya, it was a very reckless decision," Emily said firmly. "You almost got severely hurt, and what about Louis?"

"I'm sorry!" Maya said loudly. Emily took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, running a hand through her hair while looking at her daughter. Lee stayed out of it since he wasn't a parent.

"I know you are," Emily said, calmer now. "You just really scared me, Maya."

"I'm sorry," Maya said again, softer.

"Come here," Emily said, hugging her tightly. "I still love you, you know that right?"

"Yea. I love you too."

"Good. Now, Barney has some things he needs help with, and that's what you're going to be doing for the rest of the day," Emily told her, holding her at arm's length now.

"Okaaaay."

Lee suppressed his smirk. He had a vague idea as to what Barney had planned for both children. It would definitely make them think twice before disobeying family rules again. He watched Emily look down to hide her sudden tears.

"Don't cry, Mum," Maya said now, making them both look at her. "I saw an angel who told me I was gonna be okay, so I knew I wasn't going to die."

Emily made a gulping sound, and Lee felt a strange tingling all over. He met Emily's eyes and could see she was trying to process this.

"Well, I'm here if you need me or want to talk about it," Emily offered, wiping at her cheeks.

"Thanks, Mum."

As Maya ran off to find Barney, Lee stood with his arms crossed and watching Emily stand up slowly and sigh heavily.

"I don't know what I'd ever do without her," she said, looking at him.

"I know," he replied. The whole thing had scared him, too, and Maya wasn't even his daughter. It just showed how much he'd gotten attached to her.

"If this whole Fred thing wasn't going on, she'd be sleeping in her own bed tonight," Emily added, and Lee scoffed lightly.

"If only she knew that, eh?"

"I'll tell her one day," Emily answered. "Or not. Probably not." She pressed her hands into her eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" Lee asked, going over to rest his arms on her shoulders now. She lowered her hands, nodded, and gave a small smile, which he returned.

"I'm okay," she promised. "What Maya said...in a very weird way, it makes me feel better." She looked at him, and he nodded. He understood.

"Shall we go watch the kids endure whatever torture Barney is gonna put them through?" Lee asked, lifting a brow and smirking now. She could barely suppress her laughter.

"Yes, we shall," she answered, moving out of his arms and taking his hand as they walked to the backyard.

Lee just wished that despite Maya's calm about everything, the fear from earlier would get out of his chest. He also wished his brain would stop racing about how he was going to tell Emily about who he really was. He didn't want to lose her, and he felt like this would push her away. He felt stuck, but regardless of her reaction, he knew she deserved to know.

He just had to figure out when to tell her.