Helen burst into tears and buried her head in her hands. "I c-couldn't help it…E-Edwards's d-death…c-caused me s-so much pain…"

"No one blames you," Dakota said quietly. "I'm sure they don't."

"B-But my k-kids…d-don't even know wh-why they were t-taken away from their p-parents…"

"I...know how you feel," Cavendish said unexpectedly. He set a cup of tea in front of her. "I...lost my only son to my ex-wife twenty years ago. She...brainwashed him, in a way. Taught him that I was a bad guy, taught him to fear me. To this day, he hates me, and I never so much as said hello to him."

Helen bit her lip. "O-Oh..."

Cavendish sighed.

"I'm…s-sorry…"

Cavendish shrugged. "It's okay. I've gotten over it."

"Are…you sure?"

Cavendish nodded. "Oh, yes—quite sure.."

"O-Okay..."

Dakota looked hard at his friend, able to see through that thin veil of happiness. He shook his head, but let it slide.

"I want new sheets on the bed," Helen said eventually.

"Not a problem. We have fresh sheets in the wash." Cavendish explained dismissively.

"Good." Helen bowed her head. "I...have no further objections."

"Then it's settled?" Dakota asked.

"Yes."

"Good!" Dakota shoved the box of pizza toward Cavendish. "Hungry?"

Cavendish sighed. "Not really."

Dakota frowned at him. "Cavendish…you haven't been eating much lately. I'm kinda worried about you."

"You don't have to be, Dakota. I'm fine."

"Well…I do," Dakota admitted.

"I'm fine," repeated Cavendish, turning to head back upstairs.

Dakota stood. "Balthazar."

Cavendish stared at him. "You never call me by my first name."

"Your first name is Balthazar?" Helen frowned. "I like it."

Dakota ignored Helen's comment, and continued to stare at his friend. "I will if it gets your attention."

Cavendish shook his head and turned away. "I have things to do." He started up the stairs.

"No." Dakota moved in front of him, blocking the stairs. "I am sick and tired of you ignoring me all the time! Sit down and listen for once!"

Cavendish scowled. "No. Get out of my way."

"No. Cavendish, you haven't been yourself recently. All you do is sit up there in your room for hours doing this and that. It's not healthy! And that's coming from a man who sits on the couch most of the day!"

"I am trying to come up with plans to protect the pistachios so that Murphy kid doesn't destroy them anymore!"

Helen stood up sharply. "Murphy?"

"Shhhh!" Dakota hissed sharply.

"What do you mean?" demanded Helen.

"Nothing!" Dakota said quickly.

"You said the name Murphy!" Helen directly addressed Cavendish. "Who are you talking about?"

"Milo Murphy," Cavendish said stiffly.

"Milo…Murphy?"

Cavendish nodded. "Yes."

Helen blinked. "Is he an enemy of yours?"

"Of sorts..." Dakota muttered.

"What does that mean?"

"He's…more of a nuisance-"

"He's a catastrophe waiting to happen!" Cavendish snorted.

Helen flinched. "What…time period does he live in? This one?"

Dakota shook his head. "No no, he lives in 2017."

"That's…not long after my husband died…" Helen thought for a moment. "He isn't...related to me, is he?"

Cavendish shrugged. "He might be. Why?"

"I...don't know..."

"He's just a kid," Dakota insisted.

"Then why is he an enemy of yours?" demanded Helen.

"He's got the worst luck you could imagine." Cavendish explained. "He's a menace to civilization."

"Oh."

Helen suddenly blinked. Murphy's Law…anything that can go wrong will go wrong…it-it can't be!

"But he's not in this time period, so we should be fine," Cavendish added.

"M-My husband's law..." Helen hesitated. "I-Is it real?"

"I don't know," Cavendish sighed in frustration. He didn't seem to know what Helen was talking about.

Helen scowled. "Look, I'm pretty sure that boy Milo is related to me so you had better explain why he has such bad luck."

Dakota gasped. "Related to you!?"

"My name is Helen Murphy. I am the widow of the late Edward Murphy, who came up with the law stating "anything that can go wrong will go wrong"."

"And, you said you had children, right?" Cavendish asked curiously, sitting down at the table.

"Yes. A boy and a girl."

Dakota thought to himself, the boy must have had children- most likely a son.

Helen scowled. "I want to meet Milo."

Cavendish shook his head. "Not a good idea. Even if he wasn't bad luck, if it's true you're family, then it might be too dangerous."

"I-I want to meet him for myself."

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt," Dakota suggested.

"I want to at least see him," pleaded Helen.

Dakota looked to Cavendish for an answer. "Well?"

"Please?" Helen contributed.

Cavendish shook his head. "No. It's too dangerous..."

Helen hung her head in disappointment, real tears pricking her eyelids. "I-I understand."

Cavendish turned away quickly before his mind could be changed. "You can rest whenever you're ready. Breakfast won't be much, but you're welcome to cook something up if you want."

Helen sniffled. "O-Okay."

Cavendish disappeared back upstairs.

Dakota sighed. "I'm sorry. He's usually not like this."

Helen shrugged helplessly. "It...It's fine."

"No, it isn't," Dakota sighed.

Helen shut her mouth.

"Maybe..." Dakota paused, shaking his head. "No, that wouldn't be a good idea."

Helen did not rise to the bait. Instead, she just glared at Dakota.

Dakota had a thoughtful look on his face, scratching his chin. "I might be able to sneak into Cavendish's room and get that backup time device..."

Helen snorted. "That'll make him LOVE us."

"He doesn't have to know." Dakota smiled mischievously. "I can take you to see Milo, then bring you back without him even knowing."

Helen hesitated. "R-Really?"

"Of course!" Dakota was grinning now. "We'll back before he even realizes we're gone!"

Helen smirked. "Let's do it."