Serena groaned as she bent down to help Sammy. She let out a small "Give me a break" as she heaved him upright and kicked the door the rest of the way open. Dragging him to the couch she yelled out "Hello? Can I get some help?" Rolling her eyes at her luck, Serena heard a gasp from the doorway. She watched as her mother rushed over.

"Oh my goodness, Sammy? What on Earth? Are you ok?"

Shaking him lightly she began to panic. Sammy slowly started to come around as he glanced at his mom and waved off her worries. "I'm fine, possibly insane but fine. I could have sworn I saw Serena..." he mumbled before trailing off as he saw her. Serena sighed as she leaned against the doorframe. She raised her hand and let out a small, "Hi."

Mrs. Tuskino whipped around to stare at her daughter.

"Rena? Oh my goodness!" The woman rushed Serena as she enveloped her in a hug. "We have missed you so much! Where have you been?" Serena grinned as her mother's eyes welled with tears.

"It's a long story mom. I promise I'll tell you about it later, ok?" Serena stated only to be followed by a snarl of disbelief from her right.

"You mean to tell me you have been gone all this time and you won't even give us an explanation?" Sammy bellowed from his now upright position. His look of anger shocked Serena with its intensity.

"It's complicated Sammy! If I had more time I would tell you everything but it really is a long story!" Serena remarked angry and hurt by his harsh behavior toward her. 'He has every right to hate me,' she though.

"That's not good enough Rena. I'm sorry but it's not. Tell us now, or leave." He stated getting up to motion toward the door. He was solid in his decision, as he didn't even flinch at his mother's protests.

As Mrs. Tuskino scolded him Serena intervened "It's ok mom, I'll tell you if its really that important to him," she stated reluctantly as she plopped into the chair. "It is," he confirmed.

Serena grinned as she mumbled, "It really is complicated! You probably won't even believe me…"

"We'll see about that," he snapped. Serena sighed as she paused for a moment. Then, taking a deep breath, she began to tell them the whole story.

………………….

Two hours later Sammy and Mrs. Tuskino sat on the couch totally and completely dumfounded as they stared at what was once their innocent family member. Serena had a small smile and remnants of tears on her face from particularly touchy memories. They had been a little reluctant at first but once Serena became emotional and started showing scars they soon grew to believe her past experiences.

Serena had smiled and stated that it was no big deal and that she had grown from the experience. Sammy, ignoring her obviously false statement, slowly rose and headed over to his sister, wanting to reassure her that she was welcome and safe. He leaned down and hugged her. She laughed as he did so and replied that she loved him too.

They all jumped as the door was suddenly kicked open and Mr. Tuskino stormed in. "You are not going to believe the day I had!" he barked as he walked farther into the room. They all stared at him bewildered and confused as he threw his briefcase into a corner and plopped down on the spare chair. He immediately let his hand rise to rub at his temples.

"I mean honestly, how can they…" he trailed off as he let his hand fall and his eyes rest on Serena.

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! Look at me. This is so rude. I apologize." He immediately rose to shake her hand, introduce himself and offer her some tea.

Serena laughed as her father grew flustered and attempted to compensate for his earlier behavior. He gave her a quizzical look.

"It's ok, dad. I have seen your temper before." His face was priceless and Serena was surprised as he immediately hugged her.

"Where on Earth have you been?" He mumbled in her ear.

"Definitely not on Earth," she mumbled back. He pulled back and gave her a "what?" kind of expression but then decided to dismiss the statement. Mrs. Tuskino and Sammy grinned in the background.

Serena laughed again and confirmed that she would in fact like some tea. He immediately ran to retrieve it for her. Mrs. Tuskino then announced that she would join him and make dinner. Sammy sighed as he stared at Serena. 'How could she have gone through so much? She never showed any of her strength before… I guess I didn't know my sister as well as I thought. I wonder if she'd like to play video games with me? She used to like that.' He thought.

Serena laughed as she said, "You always knew me better than anyone Sammy and I would love to play video games with you." Sammy's eyes were huge.

"But I didn't say," Serena cut him off, "I know you didn't but I still heard you." Sammy kept his eyes on Serena for a few more moments and then slowly moved them away from her. She grinned, "Donkey Kong does sound good."

"Stop that," he snapped as he whipped around and stared at her as if she had grown a second head. She giggled as she quipped, "Yes sir."

Sammy once again looked away as he pulled out the game.

'Frickin' weird,' he though. Serena's laugh once again rang through the room.

………..

When Mr. and Mrs. Tuskino reentered the room, they found their children inches from the television and nudging each other in an attempt to distracted their component. The Tuskinos laughed as they announced that dinner was ready. Serena and Sammy turned and smiled as they paused the game and headed toward the dining room.

…………

As Serena headed for the door, she had a few final laughs with Sammy and exchanged a couple lingering hugs.

"I missed you guys so much. Thank you for being so understanding."

"Any time," Sammy quipped. They hugged one final time and Serena kissed her mother and father goodbye. "Don't be a stranger," Mrs. Tuskino said smiling, "If you can, come to dinner tomorrow. Bring those friends of yours. I would like to meet them."

"Yeah, especially this Daman guy," stated Sammy with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Serena groaned as she blushed. They all laughed as she walked out the door.

"Thank you, I'll see about tomorrow," she smiled and waved as she walked down the sidewalk. 'It was nice to see them,' she thought. Then she thought she heard Sammy say something else. She turned to him and asked him to repeat himself.

"He was hesitant and then said, "It's good to have you back Rena…"

Serena adorned a huge grin as she replied, "Yeah, it most definitely is."