Mac: Time for an intergalactic wrestling update! Kevin Mask and his girlfriend have been spotted at the park by a certain someone! Who is this masked man and what are his intentions towards the couple?

Doc: Well Mac, everyone's just gonna have to read on to find out! But it's not like the author didn't leave a lot of clues hanging around.

Mac: So, author, what've you got planned for this chapter?

Author: I want to know how you two got in here, why you're doing my author notes…and why you're eating my crisps

Robin Mask sank gratefully into a heavily padded leather chair, beside the fire of his personal library, with a sigh of relief. Despite his protestations to the contrary, he couldn't deny that age was catching up with him and his bones, many of them having been previously broken or at least fractured in long past matches, ached considerably.

Having poured himself some Lady Grey, he considered the scene he'd witnessed at the park.

Namely, the sight of his son in the company of, what he assumed was, a young woman (it may have been a young man, it was becoming very hard to tell in these days of androgynous clothing, but for the sake of argument he would think 'young woman'). More to the point, Kevin had seemed relaxed and happy in her company, insofar as one could tell due to the mask, even to the point of laughing – a sound Robin hadn't heard from his son since Kevin was a very young child, little more than a stumbling infant.

He winced slightly at the memory of how he had, inadvertently, been responsible for killing that sound.

OK, maybe not so inadvertently, if he was honest, but at the time he thought it the best route to take. His father had always insisted on strict rules and schooling for children, this being the way that Robin himself had been raised, and now he began to wonder if he had taken that a step too far.

But really, what was to wonder?

He HAD gone a step too far, more than a step, most likely an entire flight of stairs too far, evidenced by Kevin's running away and rebellion of joining the dMp. Perhaps if Kevin had siblings growing up none of that have come about?

Alice had always wanted a large family, he recalled. ("This place should so be full of children's laughter that the sound of it echos even when they're grown up")

It was during these times of quiet, that he wondered what Alice would say if she were here to witness everything that had happened (though part of him was glad she had never seen their son join the forces of evil, brief though it was)

…he missed her.

This thought found him turning to look at a small, framed photograph situated on the table beside his chair. It was the only photograph of Alice he'd kept from being put into storage in the attic with the rest. For years now it had lain in the drawer beside his bed, untouched, only in the last year or so had be taken it out and put it in its current position.

It was a cheap photo, barely four inches high, the sort of novelty photo of Blackpool Beach photo booth fame. It was slightly faded and, at some point, it had been bent at a corner before being placed in the safety of the frame. It was, truth be told, not something anyone would believe that Sir Robin Mask (GBE) owned. Yet there it was, in pride of place on the table no less, and it was, to him, the most precious item he owned; he and Alice hadn't been courting for very long when this photo had been taken, he remembered, and it showed Alice as he always remembered her: vibrant, alive and brimming with a quiet inner strength.

What would she have wanted him to do now?

Well, firstly she probably would have wanted him to be on better terms with Kevin, even if they weren't so openly hostile to each other now.

Mostly, though, she would probably want him to meet Kevin's young lady-friend.

Robin took a drink of his tea and considered this option carefully.

Before he extended an invitation, it would probably be wise to find out as much as he could about the girl, forewarned was forearmed. And, if it turned out that she was only with Kevin for his fame, then she could be dealt with accordingly.

First, some recon was in order

Then, once he'd found out as much as he could, perhaps, just perhaps, he could extend an invitation for tea.

He wondered if she knew anything about tea…

…probably not.

She probably drank it instant from the teabag. Robin shuddered at the thought, but then turned his thoughts to the best way of information gathering

Naturally the best place to start would be Kevin's team mates…

Not a million miles away, though it may as well have been for the change in the atmosphere, Theresa suddenly shivered, despite the warmth from being cuddled against Kevin's side on the sofa of her grandfather's house.

"Are you OK?"

"I'm fine. Just…felt cold for a minute" so saying she cuddled closer, warding off the apparent chill.

Interrupting the monotonous tone of the newsreader came the phone and James (Theresa's grandfather) got up to answer it before either of the teenagers could move

He was gone for less than a second before re-entering the room with a simple: "Theresa, phone for you"

"Who is it?" she asked, getting up reluctantly, from her place

"It's Frankie"

"Frankie? Really?"

Kevin raised an eyebrow as his girlfriend began to bounce up and down excitedly on the balls of her feet, as if she'd been given some amazing gift,

"I didn't think he'd phone for another week or so!"

"Go. Now," James gave her a small push towards the hallway, "he wants to ask you something"

"I'm going, I'm going" and she vanished

"Who's Frankie?" Kevin asked after a few seconds, it was rude to eavesdrop on someone whilst they were on the phone

"You don't know?" James asked, sitting back down in an armchair, then slapped a palm against his forehead, "Oh! I forgot, you've been away whenever he's around, you haven't met him."

"So, who is he?"

"Just an old friend of Theresa's mother. He used to look after her whilst Melody was in chemo. He checks in on her whenever he's in the country"

"Where is he the rest of the time?"

"He travels a lot with his job" the older man shrugged nonchalantly, "Maybe you'll get to meet him this time"

At just that moment, Theresa came back, looking mildly worried

"That silly twit's broken his ankle. Wanted to know if I'd pick him up from the airport on Sunday" though her tone was annoyed, her expression was fond.

"When is this 'Frankie' arriving?" Kevin asked

"5am," she answered, sitting back down and resuming her earlier position of cuddled against him.

"I could join you, if you wished"

Silence and Theresa stiffened against him slightly

"Theresa?"

"…if you really want to." She said finally, biting her lip almost nervously, "I…suppose you can come with me" she must have looked to her grandfather because James Chappen nodded slowly in approval.

Kevin wondered at Theresa's sudden change in attitude, who was Frankie that she didn't want Kevin to meet him?

Well, he'd find out on Sunday. It was fortunate that he wasn't a stranger to early mornings.

Author's Note: Everyone has a sentimental side to them, I quite enjoyed writing Robin's. The private part of his life is pretty under-written.

Also, do you know how long I've been waiting to introduce Frankie into a story?

Way too long!

Kevin: Am I going to dislike meeting him? And Theresa meeting my father? That is NOT going to happen. Ever. If I have something to say on the matter

Author: Duly noted, but if I tell you any more, it'll ruin the surprise.