Kelly sat in her bed, playing with the blankets while she waited for Hayley to turn off the bedroom light. One of the downsides to sharing a room was that the two girls needed to coordinate their bedtimes, as it was always difficult to sleep with a light on, or with the other chatting on the phone or watching videos. Hayley was just getting her pyjamas on and finishing with texting goodnight to Calvin. She knew Kelly was waiting for her, but she didn't plan on being much longer.

Finally, she turned off the light and crawled into bed. Just as she was about to put her head down on the pillow, she glanced to Kelly's bed and noticed she was still sitting up.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"What did you have for dinner?"

"Uh, Shane ended up ordering pizzas."

"I thought you and Sarah went to pick up groceries for dinner," Hayley said. That had been the plan, at least, when she and Calvin dropped Kelly off at Sarah's that afternoon.

"We did, but… Hayley, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Have you ever felt… useless?" it was hard for Kelly to study Hayley's expression in the dark, but she looked across the room, hoping desperately Hayley knew what she meant.

"In what way?"

"Completely and utterly," Kelly sighed. She turned her body so she was facing Hayley's direction. "Sarah took us by her dad's old office today and I had no idea. She sent me in to get the groceries, saying she was going to take care of some other stuff and when I came back outside… she just broke down. I had no idea why, she couldn't tell me because she was so upset and I had no idea what to do. I had to call her mom to pick us up and I barely managed to get her to calm down before Jenny showed up."

"But you managed?"

"Barely," Kelly muttered. "I felt so useless. I mean, I'm her girlfriend. I should know how to handle this stuff. Whenever you or Calvin get upset, you know exactly what to do."

"We've been dating a lot longer, though," Hayley pointed out. "We're going on two years pretty soon. We've been on that roller coaster already."

"Sarah and I have been on a roller coaster. Between me getting kicked out, kidnapped and her being poisoned, me almost being crushed to death and my dad dying, you'd think we'd know how to comfort each other by now."

"These things take time," Hayley insisted. "A couple months after we started dating, Calvin was so upset because he failed a test. He sulked the rest of the day and I tried everything to cheer him up, but it seemed everything I did just made it… worse."

"But you eventually figured it out?"

"Yeah, three more upset tests and one biking accident later," Hayley chuckled. "Eventually, I picked up on the things that really upset him and the things that make him smile no matter what. Now I can tell if something is going to put him in a bad mood and I know how to make it all seem just a little better. That'll come for you and Sarah too."

"So, you don't just know?"

"No," Hayley shook her head. "And if it helps, Sarah feels just as useless right now with you. When your parents kicked you out, it took all she had just to find something that would make you feel better. At the end of the day, you tried your best, you did what you needed to help her, and as you said, she was feeling a little better by the time Jenny showed up. That means you did something right. Maybe, just sitting with her was enough."

"You and Calvin make it look so easy."

"Trust me, it's not always fun," Hayley said. "When we started dating, dad told us both that all relationships take work. You just know you're in a good one when you want to put in the effort. Even when it's hard, you still give it your all."

"Part of me wishes Sarah and I were a little further along, I guess. More like you and Calvin. Established – real partners. Know each other in and out. No mystery."

Hayley chuckled, "It is nice, but part of me wishes I could go back to where you and Sarah are. It's all new, it's exciting. You never really know where it's going to go, but you just know it's going to be good."

"Seriously?"

"Look forward to what's coming, but don't wish what you have away."

"Is that something else your dad told you?"

"Mom," Hayley smiled. "Don't tell them I said this, but my parents are pretty cool, for parents."

"Yeah, I guess they're a notch or so above mine," Kelly said with a bit of a smirk, then remembered that it was dark and Hayley wouldn't be able to see from her face that she was kidding. When Hayley started to stammer out an apology, Kelly waved it off, "I'm only joking around. Your parents are the best."

Hayley breathed a sigh of relief, then leaned back in her bed, "Look, I haven't known Sarah much longer than you have but I do know that the girl is crazy about you. Maybe you didn't know what to do this time, and maybe next time you're feeling down, she might be a little clueless too, but it's clear that you're both trying really hard to make each other happy. As long as you're there for her when things get tough, you're doing enough."

"Thanks, Hayley."

"Anytime."

-Ninja-Steel-

That night, Sarah lay awake in her bed, running over scenarios in her head.

When Galvanax terrorized the city with his clones, he left behind a huge mess. It had taken months to clean, but eventually, it was all off the street. Buildings were being reconstructed and those who had been affected were either recovered, close to recovering, or buried.

The point was, every victim had been found except for her father. It wasn't crazy to think maybe there were more who were missing, but she knew, without a doubt, that something wasn't right. It wasn't possible that the streets could be completely cleared off and the debris all gone, and they didn't find her father's body if he was dead.

Maybe, just maybe, he was still alive.

Sarah shook her head. But Matt had said that her father had gone to lunch, and was in the heart of the attack. There was no way he could survive being right in the center of all that chaos.

However, without a body, the possibilities were endless. If after ten years Brody could be reunited with his brother from across the galaxy, maybe Sarah needed to hope for the same ending. Maybe she needed to stop believing her father was gone and start thinking that he could be out there, somewhere, trying to come home.

A bad concussion could have disoriented him enough that he lost his way. Or maybe he was hurt so badly, he couldn't remember who he was. He could be in a hospital somewhere, recovering for his injuries. Without any ID on him, he was possibly a John Doe.

But with the attack in the city being so disastrous, it wasn't likely people would discover a John Doe and not report it. Jenny had given the police Bill's picture and all his information. They would have no trouble identifying him.

Maybe his injuries were bad. His face could have suffered severe injuries, like a burn, which left him disfigured. Maybe there was no comparing him to a picture, and without his memories, he couldn't say who he was. Maybe they mistook him for a look-a-like, and he was living with another family who was just so grateful their loved one was alive, it hadn't yet dawned on them that he wasn't who they thought he was. Brody had mistakenly believed Aiden was his brother, despite Aiden looking nothing like Levi at all. The mind could see what it wanted to see, despite some glaringly obvious signs that it was mistaken.

Her head spun with scenarios, all of which seemed to insist it was possible her father was alive. Eventually, she started to think of how she would be able to find him. Right now, she had no leads and no idea where he would wander off to if he had forgotten who he was, but Sarah was determined to find him.

If Brody could cross an entire galaxy to find his brother ten years later, Sarah would easily and gladly search every corner of the Earth for her father.

She couldn't give up. Just like there was no proof he had survived, there was nothing to confirm his death.