Lux was waiting when Baze pulled up to pick her up from school. She jumped in his Jeep. Behind her, a fight broke out in front of her school.

Baze stared in shock.

Lux followed his gaze to the fight. She smirked. "If state prison had a feeder school, this would be it."

Baze made a face. "Maybe we should get you mace…or something."

Lux laughed. "That's OK. I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, but can you handle yourself in a gang fight?" Baze teased. His tone was light, but he still looked concerned.

"I might drop out. Get my GED. If that makes you feel any better," Lux said.

"Drop out? What do you mean drop out?" Baze asked in surprise, clearly less than thrilled.

Lux shrugged. "I need to get a job. Bug and Gavin don't make enough for all of us to live off."

"You're not dropping out," Baze said. "Cate and I can help you out with money."

Baze knew he couldn't afford to help Lux out, so he hoped Cate would be willing to. Cate couldn't possibly want their daughter dropping out, Baze assured himself.

"Thanks, but I don't want you guys to spend that much money on me," Lux said.

"You're our kid. We're supposed to take care of you," Baze pointed out.

"Since when?" Lux retorted.

Lux's words hurt, but Baze ignored it. "Since now."

Lux smiled slightly, touched that he wanted to take care of her. But she still didn't feel right taking money from him.

"What do you want to play?" Baze asked as they surveyed the arcade.

"Air hockey," Lux replied, her eyes lighting up when she saw the table.

Baze grinned and put quarters in the machine.

Lux scored easily. She smirked.

Baze shot the puck toward Lux's goal, but she blocked it and scored again.

"Getting slow in your old age," Lux teased.

"Old age? What old age?" Baze made a face. "I'm thirty-two."

"Your hairline's receding," Lux pointed out.

Baze ran his hand through his hair self-consciously.

"Best out of three," Baze said after Lux won the first game.

Lux nodded in agreement.

They continued playing and joking. They ended up playing the best out of five. Baze won by one game.

"Old age my ass," Baze commented as they walked toward the Jeep.

Baze dropped Lux off at Bug's apartment and then headed to Cate's. He knocked on the door urgently, ringing the doorbell multiple times.

"What?" Cate asked, annoyed, when she opened the door.

"I need to talk to you about Lux," Baze said, walking in uninvited.

Cate followed Baze to the kitchen table and looked at him expectantly.

Ryan was in the kitchen cooking dinner. He nodded politely at Baze.

"She's thinking about dropping out of school so she can get a job. I told her we could help her out with money," Baze explained.

Ryan moved behind Cate, putting his arm around her shoulders, and listening interestedly.

"We?" Cate raised her eyebrows.

Baze sighed. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind."

Cate didn't mind helping Lux out, but she resented Baze taking credit for it. "How much does she need?"

Baze shrugged. "Enough to live off."

Cate narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Enough for her to live off? Or enough for her and Bug to live off?"

"About that, all she said is that Bug and Gavin don't make enough for all of them to live off, but I sensed tension," Baze said.

Cate smiled slightly, hoping Baze was right.

"You guys are trying to break them up?" Ryan asked, frowning.

"Have you met Bug?" Baze retorted.

"That's gonna come back to bite you in the ass," Ryan commented.

"We're being stealth," Baze said.

Cate nodded.

Ryan's expression was skeptical.

Cate waited until Lux would be home from school and then she headed to Bug's apartment. She knocked. "Lux?"

Bug opened the door slightly. "Lux isn't here. She's with Baze."

"Again?" Cate asked enviously. She'd been hoping to go shopping with Lux. She wanted to talk about helping her out with living expenses.

Judging by the look on Bug's face, he wasn't thrilled that Lux was spending this much time with Baze either. "Yeah," he muttered.

Cate tried not to smile, though she was pleased Bug and Lux weren't getting along well. "Do you know where they went?"

Bug shook his head.

"Tell her I stopped by," Cate said firmly, though she doubted he would.

Cate's next stop was Open Bar. "Is Baze here?"

"No, but you're welcome to wait for him," Math said hopefully.

Cate shifted uncomfortably. "Do you know where he is?"

"I think he took Lux bowling," Math said helpfully.

Cate frowned and joined Math on the couch. She hadn't seen Lux in days. Baze was spending practically every afternoon with her.

"I listened to the show this morning," Math said, staring at Cate.

Cate pasted a smile on her face and nodded.

"I, uh, listen every morning. I schedule my classes in the afternoon so I can listen," Math admitted.

Cate stared at him. He was nice, but he was so awkward around her. He made no secret of the fact that he'd been harboring a crush on her for years.

Cate breathed a sigh of relief when Baze walked in.

He stopped in his tracks, surprised to see her. "Hey."

Cate's expression was grim. "I wanted to talk to Lux about helping her out with living expenses this afternoon, but she was with you."

"Yeah, we went bowling," Baze said.

"You've been with her the last three afternoons," Cate said.

Baze picked up on her jealousy and stared at her. "Yeah, I want to spend time with my kid."

"Well, so do I," Cate said.

"No one's stopping you," Baze said.

"You are." Cate stared at him, her mouth a thin line. "She's always with you. When am I supposed to see her?"

"You can hang out with her tomorrow," Baze offered.

"Thanks," Cate muttered sarcastically.

"What do you want me to do?" Baze asked helplessly. "Not spend time with my kid?"

"No. It's just, you guys are so close already," Cate said sadly.

Baze's expression became more sympathetic as comprehension dawned on him. "She sees me as her friend. We hang out together. I can't give her the things you can. You can take care of her."

Cate's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't realized Baze felt that way. Her expression softened slightly, but she reminded Baze, "I'm hanging out with Lux tomorrow."

Baze nodded.