Emily had never felt so relieved when it was her two days off. She got Sundays and Mondays, and Lucy got Fridays and Saturdays. Mei worked both Saturday and Sunday, so there was always a second pair of hands available to help. Nathan had started helping Tito a day earlier after Luke had caught him in there whipping up something from his head while Tito laughed and encouraged him. It had been deemed that he was good enough to help out, so he was going to work three nights a week and one day on the weekend, which Tito was thrilled about.

"I'm heading out!" Nathan called, the door slamming behind him. Where he could possibly be going was a mystery to Emily. Things had been a little tense between them since their argument, but he was coming around. He was doing some sort of Mathlete thing with Mei after school, which was the program he'd compromised to doing only. She stared up at her ceiling, feeling the breeze off the fan every so often. It was still only spring, but it was already hot out. The entire day stretched before her, and she had no idea what to do with it. In the end, she got up and went for a walk outside, thinking it would help clear her head of the recent nightmare she'd had that night.

She noticed Luke loading up an old truck with crates, and she paused, curious.

"Yes?" he asked, making her jump. She wasn't sure when he had noticed her, and it kind of gave her chills.

"Oh, um...just out for a walk," she answered awkwardly. "What are you doing?"

"Getting supplies," he answered, reaching to pull the driver's side door open.

Emily didn't get a chance to say anything else before he shut the door with a bang and started the truck, drowning out every noise from there to the other side of the world. Emily resisted covering her ears. She watched him drive away before continuing her walk.

...

"It's your day off," Lucy said. "What the hell are you doing in here?" Emily was sitting on the stool across from her, flipping through a magazine carefully. It was the only thing she'd purchased at the gas station she'd stopped in at during her walk. Seeing the Runway magazine had startled her, and for old time's sake, she had bought it. Looking at it now was making her feel a bit homesick.

"Nothing else to do," Emily shrugged.

"Sleep. Massage your feet. Read. Do anything but sit here?" Lucy pointed out.

"I'm fine," Emily laughed. Lucy caught sight of her magazine then.

"Ugh," she said, wrinkling her nose. "They all look like such stuck up snobs." She waved her hand over the photos. Emily stiffened a little. Once upon a time, she had been one of those snobs, but something along the way had broken that part of her along with almost everything else about her she had once loved. They both looked as Luke appeared to pour himself a cup of coffee. Emily had not seen a wife yet, so she assumed he was a single father.

"Hi, Luke," the woman sitting two stools down from Emily said upon seeing Luke, and he went to talk to her. She was average size, had dark hair, and her eyes were green. Her skin had a nice, bronze tan to it. Her tone was a bit flirty, and Emily raised a brow at Lucy.

"Oh, that's Beth," Lucy muttered. "She's got it bad for Luke."

"I see."

"I mean, who wouldn't? Well, not me," Lucy chuckled. "I'm all for tall, dark haired, and mysterious."

Emily felt a flashback in this particular moment at the words "tall" and "dark haired," and she blinked furiously to avoid the sudden tears that pricked at her eyes.

"You okay?" Lucy asked, peering at Emily's face and noticing the change.

"I'm fine," Emily answered quickly. She slapped her magazine shut, making both Lucy jump at the noise, before getting to her feet. "I'll see you later."

"Okay," Lucy nodded. Emily didn't want to have to explain. She didn't want to ever think about it let alone talk about it. Her past was hers, and she wasn't up for sharing.

She looked back at Luke, who was smiling at Beth as they talked, and she couldn't help but feel a tiny stab of disappointment, which was surprising. She didn't really even know him, after all.

...

"That doesn't go there," Luke pointed out. It was a week after Emily had started, and he had gone from being quiet to picking on her. She looked at him over her shoulder.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "It goes on the table...right?"

"Not like that," he replied, moving to readjust what she'd just done. She stared at him.

"You're serious," she said.

"Like a heart attack," he nodded. "Don't mess with the system."

"But what if the system could be improved?"

"It wouldn't need to be. I created it."

"So...you're saying that your ideas are the greatest of all time?" she asked, clarifying.

"When you make your own systems, you can call the shots," he countered, turning away. Discussion over. Emily bristled a little at this. It seemed the longer she worked there, the more she noticed his fussiness. They had bickered over the mugs the day before and the tip jar placement the day before that.

"You guys are like an old married couple," Lucy joked now. Emily rolled her eyes.

"God forbid you mess with his system," she complained, finishing the tables and going to unlock the door.

"He has never put that much focus on me before," Lucy said, not helping. "I mean, he yells when I break shit, but he isn't nit picky with me like he is with you."

"So you can put the ketchup and the jam side by side and not get bawled out?" Emily asked, feeling annoyed.

"He has never said anything."

This made Emily wonder why she was being harassed about it then. Did he just enjoy getting a rise out of her?

Gary arrived before she could say anything else, and she let Lucy serve him. He kept trying to talk to her, though, leaning over the counter past Lucy as though she didn't exist. Emily wondered what his fascination with her was. She wasn't interested.

"Don't you have some fires to put out?" Luke asked when he came out to find Gary still there and pestering Emily, who was obviously not enjoying herself and barely responding to him.

"Not yet," Gary answered cheerfully.

"Well, there are none here, so kindly stop bothering my staff and get on your way," Luke gestured. Lucy's eyebrows flew up into her hairline, and she looked at Emily, who was just as surprised.

"We...we were having a conversation," Gary tried.

"No, you were having a monologue," Luke corrected. "Take a hint, man. She's not interested. Sorry."

Gary looked a little affronted, but he said nothing as he picked up his coffee and walked out.

"Wow," Lucy said, slow clapping her hands. "I'm pretty sure you would have fired me for talking to a customer like that."

"You're right," Luke nodded. He met Emily's gaze, and she tried to convey her thanks to him non-verbally. He nodded, getting it. He went back to Tito, who was chopping carrots like mad. Luke sometimes marveled at how well he avoided chopping off his own fingers.

"What was that about?" Tito asked, not looking up.

"What was what about?"

"Rescuing the new girl."

"I didn't," Luke argued. He had. He knew he had. He'd seen the way Gary looked at Emily and how Emily responded to him. He hadn't wanted to interfere, but if she wasn't able to set up boundaries, then he would. He felt protective towards her for some reason, and he didn't really know why other than the fact he had heard her yelling at Nathan about them needing to stay safe the other day.

"Puh-leeze," Tito said, sighing and looking at him now. "That was a total knight in shining armor moment."

"Call it what you want. I know what it was," Luke dismissed. Tito opened his mouth to argue when Emily came in just then. She surveyed both of them carefully.

"Am I interrupting?" she asked.

"Nope," Luke shook his head. She gave a curt nod before heading over to where the take out cups were stored. He hadn't meant to watch, but when she reached up to grab them, her shirt rode up to reveal the lower part of her stomach, and the scar there caught his attention. It looked angry and large and...fresh.

Tito cleared his throat meaningfully, and Luke snapped his attention and eyes back to his own hands. He felt uneasy, though, and his suspicion of her being on the run from something, or someone, was higher.

Emily looked over to see Tito wearing a weird expression on his face and Luke staring at his hands as though he'd never seen them before. She suddenly realized what had happened, and her hand absently rested on her shirt over where her scar was. She said nothing as she walked back out to the front, but she felt afraid. Would they ask questions? Would they find out who she was? She felt jittery and on edge, but nothing was mentioned by either Luke or Tito for the rest of the day, so she started to think that perhaps they hadn't seen her scar. Perhaps it was something else. But what? She was puzzled.

"Damn," Lucy said when their shift was over. "That was a long day."

"It was," Emily agreed. Watching Beth talk to Luke and him being friendly back was strangely annoying and upsetting, and it irritated her that she felt that way.

"So tonight is baseball," Lucy went on. "You wanna come?"

"No thank you," Emily said automatically. "I mean, thank you, but I'm really tired."

"Fair enough," Lucy shrugged, not questioning it. When she was gone, Emily released the breath she had been holding. She turned when she heard steps behind her.

"All good?" Luke asked. She froze, wondering if he was going to finally ask her about the scar. He just stood there waiting for her answer, though, so she cleared her throat.

"Yup," she nodded.

"You sure?"

She realized this was his way of asking. Instead of outright stating he saw her scar and was concerned, he just wanted to make sure she was "good."

"I am," she replied.

"Okay," he said.

Emily went to leave when he spoke again.

"You should come," he said.

"Where?" she asked.

"To the game."

It took her a moment to realize he was referring to the baseball game Lucy had mentioned.

"Oh, no," she shook her head. "I'm not really...I'm okay."

"Dude, if you keep throwing the ball that hard, you're gonna break my hand," Tito complained, coming out from the kitchen. "So try softer throws tonight, huh?"

"I can promise to try," Luke shrugged.

"You coming, Emily?" Tito asked, seeing her.

Was this like a thing? They all worked together and played together?

"I'm good."

"But...we're a team," Tito said, looking at Luke. "Right? All staff attends?"

"What?" Emily asked. She did not sign up for that. No one told her that by working there she'd also have to play a game she had zero experience in.

"It's all right," Luke said. "If she doesn't want to, she doesn't have to." He was looking at Tito as he said it, a warning in his gaze, which Tito caught.

"You're missing out," Tito shrugged at Emily before he went outside.

"See you tomorrow," Luke said to Emily after they went out together and he locked the door. Nathan was coming around from the front, and Mei was standing there waiting for him.

"Can Nate ride with us?" Mei asked Luke. "He wants to play."

"Sure," Luke nodded, putting his gear into the box of the truck. Emily stared at Nathan.

"You're playing?" she asked.

"Yea!" he said brightly, grinning at her. "I love baseball."

Emily flashed back to when Nick and Nathan would play in the backyard while she watched. He was right. How had she forgotten?

"Okay. Have fun," she said.

"You're not coming?!" Nathan exclaimed.

"Um...no..." she started.

"You have to!" he cried. "Come on. At least watch."

Emily felt torn inside. She had wanted to just curl up in bed and sleep. Watching a game she wasn't interested in was very unappealing, but how could she say no to Nathan when he was looking at her like that?

"Oh all right," she caved.

Nathan put his arm around her and gave her a quick squeeze before jumping into the back of the truck with Mei. Emily climbed into the passenger seat next to Luke. Oddly enough, it was not as loud inside the truck as it was outside.

...

"You came!" Lucy cried upon seeing her.

"To watch," Emily said quickly before anyone could get any ideas. Luke had headed over to where the other players had gathered. She noticed Gil was one of them. Brent and Goose were there too. Tito arrived with a short, petite woman and guessed she was his wife.

"Hi!" Beth said to Luke, which caught Emily's attention. She watched them talk until Lucy dragged her attention back.

"We are seriously behind," she was saying. "I'm hoping Nathan is good like Mei has talked him up to be."

"He's been practising with me," Mei said. "He's good."

So that's what Nathan had been up to the other day.

"Gil actually plays?" Emily asked Lucy.

"He's our back up," Lucy explained. "He's good at all the positions, so if one of us goes down, he subs in. It's not like we need double the players like in professional baseball. It's just your average, friendly neighborhood type game."

"Oh."

Emily noticed Lucy was wearing a t-shirt that said "Annie's," which was the name of the diner. She wondered who Annie was.

"Are we playing or are we yakking?" someone shouted from the field.

"Keep your pants on!" Goose shouted back. Emily stood to the side as everyone went to their positions on the field. She sat down beside Gil, who smiled at her.

"Never a dull moment around here," he said to her.

"Seems that way," she agreed.

"Do you play?" Gil asked.

"Oh, no," she shook her head quickly. She jumped when Beth started practically screaming Luke's name. She turned her head to see him running like lightning around the bases. The people in the field were scrambling to get the ball.

"He should have gone pro," Gil sighed. "Wasted talent."

Emily was too busy watching Beth bounce up and down while clapping as Luke made it to home base just as the ball whizzed over his head. He was laughing, his face relaxed. It was a good look for him versus the scowl he usually had while at work.

They played until it grew dark, and Emily listened to Nathan chatter about the game with Mei all the way back to their place. Luke said nothing, and neither did she.

"Thanks," she said after getting out and heading towards the apartment.

"No problem," he nodded.

"Can we do one game?" Nathan asked hopefully. Emily was tired, but she decided to indulge him since he never really asked for much.

"Sure."

...

Luke thought about that scar all day (and intermittently while playing baseball whenever he looked over at Emily). He felt that familiar anger rise up at the thought that someone had done that to her, but he kept redirecting his line of thinking to the idea that maybe it had been from an accident. He didn't want to ask. He was pretty sure she knew he'd seen it from he way she kept looking at him during the day. It was why he went out and asked her if she was good and invited her to the game. He knew she probably wouldn't tell him anything, but he had to make that attempt at least.

Then there was Beth. The woman was relentless. Luke wasn't keen on dating, but he couldn't be rude and ignore her, so he talked to her politely and always managed to talk himself out of doing something she invited him to, which was a lot. He just wasn't up for having a soulmate. He preferred to be alone. That way no one could get hurt on his behalf. Not again.

Sorry it was so messy...it was the boy's first time...

Luke felt his throat tighten at this sudden flashback of the Russian mobster's voice and Vassily's leering face. Seeing Annie on the floor like that...he still had nightmares.

"Luke?" Mei asked, making him look at her. They were sitting at the kitchen table, and he had been staring at the wall without realizing.

"Yea?"

"Why don't you take Saturday off?" she suggested. He frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, have a holiday? Just one day."

"You've been talking to Gil," Luke accused. She played chess with him on the weekend instead of Luke. Unlike Luke, she did not let Gil win. Like Luke, she had a bond with him.

"We're worried about you," Mei shrugged.

"And what would I do with a day off?" Luke asked. "Paint my nails? Get my hair done?" Mei snorted at this. He basically had no hair that was longer than three centimeters, if that.

"I dunno," she said. "Fish? Do something manly?"

"Manly?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Go to a shooting range. I don't know!" Mei huffed. "Just do something with your life besides work."

"I have baseball," he pointed out.

"That's only two nights a week. That's nothing."

"It's something," he argued.

"Look," she said, leaning in a little bit. "I know you used to let yourself get beat on by boxers to atone for what you did at your job, but working yourself to death is not going to atone for Annie's murder."

"Don't," he said, pointing his finger at her. "Don't go there."

"We both know it's what you're doing," Mei went on. "It's not healthy."

Luke ground his teeth together as he looked at her. He knew she was right. He blamed himself for Annie's death. He had screwed up a fight and cost the head of the Russian mafia, Emile Docheski, a lot of money, which led to Emile getting revenge by killing Annie to make Luke pay. Then he was exiled into homelessness for a year under the threat of the mafia murdering anyone he talked to until he rescued Mei and put them all in their place.

"So if I take one day," he started. "Will you leave me alone?"

"For a little while," she promised.

"I'll think about it," he said.

She just smiled. He gave a small smile back. He knew she was just worried about him. He'd do the same for her if roles were reversed. She went to watch her current favorite drama TV show before bed, and he sat at the table thinking until it was time for bed himself.

...

"Sequence," Nathan said cheerily. Emily dropped her head onto the table, sighing dramatically. Ever since Nathan had found this game in his closet, he insisted that they play at least one game a night. He beat her every single time.

"It's all in the cards," he said when she finally lifted her head back up.

"And you just seem to always have all the right cards," she accused. "Are you cheating?"

"No," he laughed.

Emily was pretty sure he was, but she let it go. Maybe she just really sucked at card games. She scooped up her blue pieces as he put away his green pieces. He folded the board up and put it back in the box while she dumped her half drunk coffee into the sink. It was ice cold anyway.

"So I have a Mathletes tournament next week," Nathan said casually. "At the school. We're going against another high school."

"Okay," she said.

"You wanna come?"

The last place Emily wanted to be was at a school watching a bunch of math nerds compete against each other, but her nephew was one of those nerds (a term she used fondly of course...he countered it with a Simpson's quote of "Not Even Remotely Dorky"), and she knew he'd appreciate her support.

"Sure," she said.

"Great," he beamed. He gave her a kiss on the cheek quickly before heading off to bed. He wasn't always one for affection, but he seemed to always know when she could use it. She hugged herself, thinking of the last time someone had been just affectionate with her. It had been a very long time. She anticipated it would never happen again, and she was quite all right with that.