.:Chapter Nine:.

Mrs. Knight didn't know what to do.

Lying back on her hotel bed she gazed at the dress that was hanging on the back of the polished, beach themed armoire that completed the overall theme of the entire hotel. She couldn't deny that the room and the hotel was beautiful, a place she could only imagine in her wildest dreams of being able to go to.

And now here she was, wondering why she was so nervous.

Right. Like she needed to think so hard about that one. Not only had her separated husband made a grand gesture of paying back all of the child support he had managed to skimp out on since he had left, but then he offered to pay for everyone's expenses on a trip to the Bahamas for two weeks. And after having woken up from her nap she had gotten a note to meet him for dinner that night.

What was she supposed to think?

Kendall and Katie had explicitly told her that he had thought about getting back together with her. She had even broken up with Ronan over it because she had been so confused over what to think when he had first come back. Yes, she wanted her kids to be able to have that father figure they had been missing; even Gustavo had his tiny moments of being able to do that for Kendall and Katie. But having their actual father come back…after he had done what he did to her and Kendall…it was hard.

"C'mon Kace, it's just one dinner," she said out loud to herself. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Knowing Kevin, plenty.

As much of a fantastic whirlwind their relationship had been, she remembered he had a habit of making things worse with the simple phrase 'what could go wrong'. A smile stretched across her features as she thought about the time they had planned on going to the Mall of America. As they were leaving the dorm, Kevin was suddenly approached by a teammate and was told that there was an underground concert going on a few cities over. Apparently someone that Kevin had really wanted to see for he immediately turned to her with big, bright eyes—something she now realized Katie had inherited—and suggested they go.

Of course she, being the sensible person that she was, wondered if it was a good idea as it was last minute, they weren't sure they would be getting the tickets, and she had a job she had to get to the next morning. Of course Kevin had convinced her to go—amping up his puppy dog eyes and promising he would take her out two days in a row the next week. She continued to hem and haw, though seriously enjoying the attention he was giving her. Especially considering he had fallen to his knees, grabbed her hands, and started to beg her, which grabbed the attention of anyone that passed by the two of them. Even his hockey buddy had started to smirk at the spectacle.

"Come on, what could go wrong?" Kevin finally uttered those dreaded words.

At the moment she didn't think of how badly he had jinxed them and finally agreed to go along with him. Kevin had beamed and given her a big kiss on the cheek to thank her and off they went. The club was nice and the music was alright. It wasn't until they were going back home that disaster had struck. There was nothing but bumper to bumper traffic and not only that, but there were drunken club goers that had spilled out into the street and were starting to throw cps of beer and trash all over the cars they raced past.

Then, considering they were sitting in a convertible, it had started to rain. Mrs. Knight, who was thoroughly annoyed at that point, merely crossed her arms over her chest and stared straight ahead, trying her hardest not to come out and say "I told you so" when the moment was oh so sweet to do so.

Kevin, on the other hand, pretended that he and his car weren't currently getting soaked and that nothing was going wrong. It wasn't until they had run out of gas only a few miles away from their exit to get back to the university had he finally let out a loud curse and started to rant and rave as he stomped around the car. She had merely sat in the passenger seat, smirking as he continued to pace back and forth, letting out every word of profanity he could remember, even stringing some together in combinations she hadn't heard of before.

If that had been any indication of what was to come later in life, she wished she had thought more of it in that moment. But having the sweet, sweet karmic revenge of ever uttering the words 'what could go wrong?' was apparently too hard to pass up. And she found herself proving to Kevin how those words should never be brought up time and time again. Of course that then was passed along to Kendall, who seemed not to understand the retribution that was bound to happen every time he said them either.

With a sigh, Mrs. Knight got to her feet and walked over to the dress, running her fingers over the fabric. It was a dress she only reserved for special occasions, having to buy more and more as the boys would be invited to different events and award shows. Now she was sure she'd need them for the many press opportunities James was going to have as he was now going solo, the white coat ceremony when Logan became a doctor, whatever events Carlos was going to be doing, and the inevitable time when Kendall would be drafted onto a professional hockey team. The possibilities were endless.

And yet she usually stuck with that black dress simply because of the memories associated with it. Of course Kevin would find something similar to that dress and send it up to her room to be worn to dinner. He was always one to show his love and attention through gestures rather than words; flowers, cards, hugs, hand holding, random kisses out of nowhere…he could be really romantic, made her feel wanted.

The fact he remembered her favorite dress was very telling.

"What am I going to do with you?" She asked herself. She thought about Kendall and Katie in that moment. They were spending the night, hanging out with their friends, running along to whatever event the hotel could offer to them. As much as she understood how anxious they were about Kevin being so close again, they didn't understand that they only knew their father as their father, not as a person as Mrs. Knight knew.

They didn't know him as he was growing up, what he was like in college, what he was like up to and when they were married, when they were born. All of the moments before everything fell apart. He doted on his children and then made the biggest mistake that she could never get over. It was something she still wondered about herself.

If she took him back, would things really change?

Interrupted by a rapid knock at the door, Mrs. Knight stepped out of her room and walked through the sitting area until she reached the front door. Grasping the seashell doorknob, she twisted it open and found no one in the doorway. Stepping out, she looked around before turning her gaze to the floor, where a small, velvet box rested by her feet. Bending down, she picked it up in her hand and opened it.

Resting on the pillow in the center of the case was a tiny pearl on the end of a string. She knew for sure that her husband hadn't given her that necklace. He didn't know that her favorite kinds of necklaces or other points of jewelry were the pearl. He gave her diamonds and sapphires and rubies when the occasion came, but not pearls.

Mrs. Knight smiled to herself as she took the box into the room. Carefully lifting the necklace out of the box, she let it dangle from her fingertips. It twisted this way and that, caught by the lights that reflected from the open window and the lights that were on. "That's so sweet," she murmured.

And then she felt her heart drop.

She had gotten a pearl necklace from Ronan and she was about to gout to dinner with her husband. The former she still had love for, where he would always hold a special place in her heart, no matter how angry she could be with him. The other being one of her great friends, someone who understood her, who understood how difficult being a single parent in the music industry was, who had similar values, and could make her feel relaxed in any situation that came up.

And she thought Kendall's love triangle plight was a bit comical, especially considering it had happened to him twice, if not three times, with the same girls involved. Though if she really thought about it, it was more like a love arrow.

Now being in one herself, she realized how unfunny, confusing, and anxiety inducing the situation really was.

"Just give me a chance to try and explain things. A night where we can talk things out and hopefully have things get to normal. That's all I'm asking."

She had been right to be hesitant on the answer.

Still, she found herself taking a quick shower, putting on some makeup, and heading down to the hotel lobby to meet up with Kevin before they went to the restaurant sitting by an aquarium. If there was one thing Kevin had a talent for, apart from hockey, it was making grand gestures.

"Hey Kace."

Mrs. Knight turned around to see Ronan strolling towards her, hands in the pockets of his slacks. She regarded him with surprise before smiling, finding that she was happy to see him. "Hi." She leaned forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, giving him a quick hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Gustavo, Kelly, and I were just about to head out to a show," Ronan said, pointing over his shoulder. "You can't hear him yet, but Gustavo has been ranting and raving about not wanting to see this one. Apparently he had something against sharks?" He shrugged. "But Kelly really wanted to go see it and I needed to be able to do something fun while my kids are out of my hair for once."

Giving him a sly smile, Mrs. Knight crossed her arms. "Come on, you know you like having them around."

"Up until they break everything in sight and make my blood pressure sky rocket, yeah," Ronan agreed. The two laughed and he spread his stance, moving his hands behind his back. A pose of relaxation that she had noticed him doing since she met him, despite his lack of having been in the military. Ronan's green eyes dipped over her body. "Well you look amazing, what's the occasion?"

"I'm—"Subconsciously, she reached a hand up to the pearl necklace she had put on around her neck. His eyes followed her movement but he didn't say anything otherwise. "I'm meeting Kevin for dinner," she finally explained.

"Oh." Ronan nodded, shifting uncomfortably for a moment. His gaze lowered to the floor and when he looked up at her once more, he gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Have a great time. I heard the food here is really good." He then shrugged. "Plus, it's even better that you're not paying for it." Mrs. Knight reached out and shoved him on the shoulder. "What? I know you were thinking about it too."

"Yeah, well, that's Kevin for you," she said with a slight sigh. "He's a great guy, but sometimes I think he prefers the flash to everything else." She ran a hand through her hair, eyebrows twitching. "You should've seen him when he was still playing hockey. If I didn't know he was so in love with the sport, I'd think he was only in love with the attention he received."

"He must've done something right, he got you didn't he?"

Ronan's words halted Mrs. Knight. She couldn't find the right words to try and redeem herself. But nothing came to mind. She could hear the slight sense of hurt in his voice, though he did a great job of hiding it. He really has been spending a lot of time with his kids, she thought. They were masters when it came to hiding what they really felt as well as keeping people out. Something it seemed like he was starting to master himself.

"Have a good time at your dinner," Ronan said. He took a step back and started to move away, but Mrs. Knight's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Thank you…for the necklace," she said. Reaching up she gently held the pearl against her palm. She studied Ronan's face as he turned to face her. His eyes moved to the tiny pearl and recognition slid through his bottle green irises before he smiled. "It's really beautiful." She dropped it against her neck once more. "I don't know what to say."

"Don't," he replied. Reaching out, he gently adjusted it around her neck, his fingers moving against her skin, causing her to flush almost as red as her hair. "You don't have to say anything. I was going to give it to you for your birthday. But…" he trailed off, bringing his hands back down. Mrs. Knight found that she missed the feeling as soon as he stopped touching her.

She mentally slapped herself. How pathetic was that. She opened her mouth to say something, and then stopped, turning at the sound of rustling leaves. She spotted the bushes behind her then glanced over at the front door of the lobby where a young family had just walked through the door.

That made sense…but she could've sworn she saw some individual branches moving out of the corner of her eye. Turning back to Ronan she found that his gaze had been moved to the bushes, eyes narrowed as well. After a beat he turned back to Mrs. Knight and took a step back, his eyes shifting to the other side this time. Twisting the other way, Mrs. Knight watched as Kevin strolled over to the two of them.

He blinked in surprise for a moment then gave Ronan a warm smile. "Hey Ronan, it's good to see you," Kevin said as he came to a stop between the couple. "Are you enjoying the hotel?"

"I am, actually," Ronan agreed. "It really feels like we're living in a fishbowl or something." He gently shook his head. "You should've seen Sydney; as soon as his bags were unpacked he raced off to the nearest aquarium, leaving everyone else to sleep. It was the quietest I've ever heard them, so I have to thank you for that, man."

Kevin laughed. "You're very welcome. I understand what it's like to have a bunch of rambunctious kids." He shook his head. "Kinda makes me wish I never taught Kendall how to play hockey, you'd be surprised at how many times he managed to blast a hole into the walls."

Mrs. Knight snorted. Kevin had found the holes in the walls to be funny, he wasn't the one that had consistently found them and had to deal with the tears that Kendall had reduced himself too, to make himself appear more innocent. It was the only time in her entire life she had called up her husband while he was working and actually uttered the words 'you won't believe what your son did today'.

"Well, you two have a great time at dinner," Ronan said once he stopped laughing. "I'll see you at brunch tomorrow." He turned away then snapped his fingers, turning back to the two, addressing Kevin. "Just don't be surprised if some sort of a food fight breaks out. This group is famous for them."

"I'll take your word for it." Kevin watched as Ronan nodded and walked away from the two, further to the side of the lobby. Gustavo, being dragged by Kelly, arrived out of the elevator seconds later, their voices echoing throughout the lobby. Ronan said something sarcastic to the two, causing Kelly to smack him not he arm and Gustavo to laugh. Their voices mingled together before they disappeared out the front door of the lobby.

And Mrs. Knight felt herself longing to go with them.

"C'mon." Kevin nudged her arm. "It's almost time for our reservations."

Mrs. Knight nodded and clutched her purse tighter against her front, heels clacking as he followed her husband into the restaurant. The hostess walked them over to one of the tables sitting directly beside a tank. Brightly colored, tropical fish swam by, hovering around and bringing an array of colors and ambience to the otherwise dimmed place.

"And this is the least spectacular restaurants here," Kevin said as he sat down, watching Mrs. Knight study the fish. "Makes me wonder what all of the other ones look like."

"I'll say," Mrs. Knight agreed. She placed her purse on the floor and turned to her husband. "How was golfing with Kendall today?"

Kevin nodded. "Really good, actually. Once we got out there things loosened up a lot between us. I'm glad things are starting to go back to normal." He shrugged. "As normal as can be anyway. Back to when we were going shopping for his hockey gear and everything. That was fun."

"A little birdie told me that Katie really got into it," Mrs. Knight said with a smile. She pointed at him. "I don't know about you, but I think you should've taught her how to play hockey rather than just Kendall."

"Nah, you know Katie, she doesn't' want to do exactly what her big brother does. That's why she liked the idea of field hockey. How's that going anyway?"

"She got kicked off the team."

Kevin looked surprised. "Really? How?"

A half smile graced Mrs. Knight's lips. "Overly aggressive," She said. "The referees said they didn't think she understood what sportsmanship was. That was the same thing she was told about the lacrosse team, too. I have to say that I was proud of her though. It shows she can really stand her ground when the time comes."

Nodding Kevin turned to the menu that was resting by his side. An air of sadness had started to develop him. Mrs. Knight suddenly felt badly for him. Not only had he left his family, but he had missed out on so many milestones that she had wished he could've been around for. While they had little to no interaction while he was gone, at least he had called on her birthday and their anniversary to talk a little. The conversations never went well, but at least he remembered those days. He never overstepped his boundaries by sending gifts or saying anything more than 'happy birthday', 'happy anniversary' or 'how are the kids doing'. He could feel the tension radiating from her side of the phone and knew it wasn't the time to try and come back.

"I hoped she would turn out that way," Kevin finally said. "Like her mother." He smiled up at her then his smile faded. "Kace…I know things are awkward but I really do want to change. I know that people are skeptical about it, I can see the glares that James, Carlos, and Logan give me each and every time I come around. I can see how hurt Kendall is, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. I can see that Katie is torn on how to feel and I feel terribly for everything that brought that up."

Mrs. Knight slowly nodded.

"And I am trying to show that I can be there for them." He leaned towards her. "I've been following Kendall's career since he got out here. I was there, in the very back of the venue when it was their first concert out in LA."

Mrs. Knight's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes. And…I was the one that convinced Griffin to take Gustavo's offer of selling and handing over his mansions so Gustavo could keep Big Time Rush as a band after the news broke that their first concert was going to be cancelled."

Her mouth dropped open. She had thought it was sort of strange that Griffin had willingly taken that deal. Knowing the massive—in physique—and slightly wacky CEO, she figured it would've taken a lot more than the money from five mansions to get him to hand over Big Time Rush when they had done nothing but continue to bring in success for him. And as he had proven, Kevin did have contacts with people in higher places if not having worked on high profile cases.

With a sigh, she ran a hand through her hair; thinking about the trial that he had taken that brought him back into their lives full force. He had been representing a case about child abuse…and the person he was defending was the abuser and the Jacksons' foster father at the time and it brought along some of their friends to testify, including Kendall. She didn't understand why he hadn't been released from the job considering conflict of interest.

Especially considering he had gone done the same thing.

It threw Kendall for a loop and nearly gave him a complete mental breakdown for a while, but then he had sucked it up and testified. She was sure Kendall was talking directly to Kevin at that point. And he had appeared to have thought about his actions afterwards for he went to the Jacksons and congratulated them on their win before going on his way. It wasn't until the past year that he had come back and had really shown them that he was really going to try and salvage their relationship did they get better.

And to think him beating Kendall in that hockey game did it, Mrs. Knight mused. As much as Kendall hates to lose it was probably what had given him a big wakeup call if not a bit of respect for his father on a hockey level.

"Uh-oh, you're quiet again," Kevin said, leaning back. "That's never good for me. The last time you were quiet you kicked me out." Mrs. Knight opened her mouth to protest, but Kevin raised his hand. "It was justified, I can admit that now. I made a huge mistake and I made it worse when I didn't listen to what you had to say, acted selfishly, and left everything behind because I had too much pride to admit you were right."

She slowly blinked. "That's the first time you've said that."

"You never gave me the chance. Which I don't blame you for, either. You just really wanted to protect Kendall and Katie." Kevin started to play with his fork. "Too bad you couldn't have done that when we were playing golf."

Panic struck Mrs. Knight as she sat up straight. "You didn't get chased by security did you?"

"No…ore like accidentally hit too many guests with golf balls. But it's their own fault that they don't know what the word 'fore' mean."

"Most people would use 'duck' or 'look out'."

"And that proves you're not a real golfer."

Mrs. Knight laughed, bringing her hair back behind her shoulders. She reached out and picked up her menu. "Let's get something to eat before someone realizes I'm here. You have no idea, but the fans can find us easily now. They even have ScuttleButter accounts dedicated to me and Katie. And I don't do anything other than tell the boys when to go to bed."

"They have good taste then."

Instead of replying, Mrs. Knight picked up her menu and hid behind it. Her eyes moved over the different options of appetizers and entrees. Around her she could hear the soft clinking of silverware against dishes accompanying the soft jazz music being played and the sound of trickling water from the tank beside them.

"Thanks for agreeing to come out with me tonight, Kace," Kevin said sincerely.

Mrs. Knight smiled at him. "You're welcome."

And throughout the rest of the night she found that she was having a really good time and that she was the most confused she had ever been.

A/N: The pace picks up after this chapter; I feel it's been moving a bit slow. You'll see more from Ronan's POV as well. Hopefully chapters will be a smidge longer also

Cheers,

-Riles