A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites.
Hiro rubbed his eyes drearily and tripped over a screwdriver. Callaghan had been taken away by the FBI last night, and he'd spent nearly the entire night playing video games with Ralph and Walter. This morning, Paige was waiting for him in the kitchen.
"Hey kiddo," she smiled sweetly at him and handed him a plate of healthy-looking food.
"What's this?" Hiro scrunched his nose up and asked.
"Breakfast, silly. I know you guys don't like to eat healthy, but as long as I'm feeding you, you're going to eat nutritious foods." She pulled out a seat for him and sat across from him, watching him devour it hungrily.
"Thanks," he finally said guiltily. "So I guess I'm going to be in the system officially today?"
"Not quite yet," she smiled mysteriously. "The team has a surprise for you." Listening to a car pull in, she added that the surprise had probably just arrived.
Hiro finished his breakfast and watched Paige suspiciously. When he was finished, he left his dishes on the table and padded down the stairs. The entire team was gathered, as well as a strange woman.
"Hiro, we did a DNA test and found you do have family. Someone, anyway. Meet your Aunt Cassandra Preston, your mother's sister." Walter stuck his hands in his pockets, waiting for the happy introduction so likely to happen between an emotional teenager and a middle aged woman.
"Where have you been the first fourteen years of my life?" He stared at her with an accusing glare.
"In San Fran, running my cafe. Hiro, your mother and I never got along, and she never let me come see you or your brother. She didn't allow attorneys to list me as a legal guardian, and I basically didn't exist until they found me a couple of days ago. I'm no mother, but I promise I'll try. You've been through too much."
"He's special," Toby told her. "Incredibly intelligent. You'll need to remember this and read up on genius kids. We're not like normal people."
"I already started," Cassandra finally broke into a nervous smile. "You can tell me if I'm doing something wrong, Hiro."
"Did you run a background check?" Hiro asked, still eyeing her suspiciously.
"Yes," Sylvester spoke up. "She's clean."
Walter pulled Hiro aside. "She's good. We wouldn't let you go to her if she wasn't. She really wants to try, kid, so let her. If you need a genius to talk to, I programmed our numbers into the phone we're giving you. You're a smart kid, and you also won the competition at SFTI. Don't let that big brain go to waste. Okay?"
"I won't," Hiro nodded and a look of terror and curiosity crossed his face as he turned back to Cassandra. "Do I have to call you Aunt Cassandra Preston?"
She finally laughed. "No. Call me Aunt Cass. C'mere, big hug!" She held her arms out, and Hiro suddenly ran into her arms, wrapping his scrawny arms around the unfamiliar woman. She smelt of pastries and there was a motherly warmth to the hug, satisfying a longing that Hiro had never known he had.
When the pair left, Paige walked up behind Walt and nudged him. "Good job. I'm glad he doesn't have to be in the system." She glanced towards Ralph, who was sleeping on the couch, a game controller still clutched in his small hand.
"We all are. She'll do her best to help him succeed."