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*Italic indicates thought

Chapter Forty-Two: Awkward Dinner is Awkward

A/N: I know, I know. It's been forever. But I swear, I'm going to try and update this one more often. I just...hit a wall with this one for a while. Enjoy!

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on." -Robert Frost

Tiara grinned as she grabbed plates out of the cupboard. "I still can't believe you convinced Jayden to come over for dinner."

"Neither can I honestly," Lauren replied, leaning on the kitchen island. She played with an orange from the bowl of fruit. "I thought for sure he'd say no."

"But he didn't. He's coming and that's all that matters!"

Lauren smiled at her younger sister. This was the most excited she'd seen Tiara in months. Even if this dinner didn't fix anything between herself and Jayden, it was worth it to see Tiara happy. She stood up straight and sighed. There was something important to do. She left the kitchen and went to Ji's study. She knocked quietly, running over the words in her head.

"Come in," Ji said from within. Lauren opened the door and entered. "Lauren."

"I wanted to remind you that Jayden's coming to dinner tonight."

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten."

Lauren nodded. "Good." She sighed. "I'm hoping that tonight will be the first step in repairing my relationship with Jayden and getting him to come home."

"Really?"

"Yes. So, tonight, I don't want you to say anything that might offend or upset Jayden. Or Lorrie."

"I see. And is this an order?"

Lauren blanched for a second. "This isn't an order from Lady Shiba. This is a request from someone who misses the only brother she has. Please."

Ji sighed. "Fine," he replied reluctantly. "I'll be civil."

Lauren nodded. With everything that went down between them, she supposed the civil was the most she could hope for. "Thank you. I should go check on Tiara."

"You do that. And Laruen."

"Yes?"

"Don't expect a miracle."

"I'm not. It's just dinner with my brother and his girlfriend."

"Just dinner."

"Yeah. Just dinner."

-Samurai Ranger Life-

Tiara jumped up when she heard someone knock on the front door. She ran to the door and threw it open. "Jayden!" she smiled, hugging him. "It's so good to see you!"

Jayden grinned as he hugged her back. "Good to see you too Kid."

Tiara let go and smiled at Lorrie. "Lorrie. It's been a while."

"I know it has," Lorrie replied. "Good to see you Tiara."

Lauren came out of the dojo and smiled at them. "Hi Jayden. Lorrie."

"Hi Lauren," Jayden replied.

"Nice to see you Lauren," Lorrie replied. "Thank you for inviting us over."

"It's no problem," Lauren replied. "We're glad you guys are here. Come on, dinner's almost ready."

Jayden held Lorrie's hand as they followed Lauren. Tiara shut the door and brought up the rear. The smile on Jayden's face disappeared when he walked into the kitchen and saw Ji. The two of them made eye contact and an incredibly awkward silence followed. Lauren looked between them, hoping Ji would keep his word. Tiara was wondering if they would start fighting. Luckily, no one started yelling.

Ji merely nodded at them. "Hello Jayden," he said politely.

"Hello Ji," Jayden relied, just as courteous. Lorrie saw him getting these and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. He squeezed back and kept his hand locked firmly around hers.

Lauren cleared her throat to disrupt another awkward silence. "Um...Jayden I don't think you've ever introduced Lorrie and Ji."

"Um...yeah... I think you're right. Lorrie, this is Ji. He was my guardian. Ji, this is Lorrie. My girlfriend."

"It's nice to meet you, Ji," Lorrie said warmly.

Ji nodded. "And you," he replied coldly. Lauren and Tiara have each other looks. Jayden's arm wrapped around Lorrie protectively. It was obvious to the three Shibas that he still blamed Lorrie for the changes in Jayden.

"Who's hungry?" Tiara asked. "Because the food is ready and I'm starving."

"Sounds like a good idea," Lauren agreed. It's certainly better than this one. Jayden nodded and he and Lorrie sat down as Tiara brought to the food to the table.

"Fish?" Jayden asked with a smile. "That looks familiar."

"It should," Tiara replied as she sat down. "I got it from Antonio. And the recipe."

"Well if it's Antonio's fish then I'm starving."

"Didn't we just have Antonio's fish?" Lorrie asked Jayden as he served himself.

"This is a different recipe. He has a thousand of them."

"Well he plans on opening up a restaurant, so I hope he has plenty," Tiara said.

Jayden gave her a look. "You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?" Tiara graced at Lauren and saw that her sister wasn't eating, but staring at her plate intently.

"Antonio's moving to Costa Rica. He's taking over his grandfather's business."

"And he's ready for something like that?"

Jayden shrugged. "I guess."

Lauren slowly unclenched her fingers from her fork. This conversation was like a knife through her heart. "Good for him," she said quietly.

Ji nodded in agreement. "I'm glad he's stepping up. Antonio always did have a strong sense of honor and responsibility. Good to know some of my students retained those qualities."

No one said anything, but Lauren gave Ji a look. She cleared her throat. "Have you talked to Kevin lately?"

"Yes," Jayden replied. "He's signing the papers soon, right?"

"Yes."

"I don't think he should do it."

"It's not about what he wants," Ji said. "It's about what's best for his family."

"I think we've all done enough of what's best for others for a while."

"Well Kevin isn't as selfish as you."

"Ji!" Lauren protested as Jayden slammed his fork down. "Apologize. Now. And that's an order," she added at the look on his face.

"Jayden, I'm sorry for implying you're selfish."

They lapsed back into silence, no one really sure what to say next that could possibly be appropriate. Lorrie put one of her hands on Jayden's trying to calm him down. He glanced at her and she gave a frown. He smiled a little and flipped his hand over to squeeze hers.

"How do you like working at JKP?" Tiara asked Jayden, trying to get him to talk again.

"I like it. Decent wages, great manager, and 50% employee discount," he replied. He looked at Ji as if daring his former mentor to say something about it. Ji didn't take the bait and simply looked away.

"That's great! And how's the apartment?"

"Pretty good. Lorrie and I live together now, so I have more furniture."

"That's always good."

"It is. I'm going to use the money I'd been saving to get a better apartment."

"And while you're still paying more than half the rent and the food bill," Lorrie reminded him.

"You need the money for college. It's not like I really need it."

"So, you work a full-time job and support Lorrie so she can go to college?" Ji asked. Lauren readied herself to intervene once again.

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Nothing."

"It must be something or you wouldn't have said anything."

"It's nothing Jayden, really. I'm just...impressed."

"Yeah well- wait what?" He stared at Ji in confusion. "Did-did you just say that you're impressed?"

Ji cleared his throat. "Yes. I am. Not many members of your family have done something like that."

I'm guessing none of them, Tiara thought. She glanced at Lauren and they shared an optimistic look.

Jayden looked down at his plate. "Thanks." The table lapsed back into silence, somehow being slightly less tense, but at the same time increasing in awkwardness. "Any luck on the college front Tiara?"

"Kind of," she said, playing with her food. "I was thinking of going to school in Japan."

"Really? That's great!"

"Sound alike fun," Lorrie told her with a smile. "Any particular reason?"

"I just...miss it. That's all. Plus Akito has to be going back soon."

"Akito?"

"Her boyfriend," Jayden explained.

"Ah."

"Well I think it's great. You still want to study engineering?"

"Actually I was thinking that maybe I could study international diplomacy instead," Tiara replied, a little quietly.

"Diplomacy?"

"Yeah. I-I've decided I want to be a diplomat. Like my dad was."

Jayden smiled. "I think that'd suit you."

"That's what I've been telling her," Lauren said. "Maybe she just needed to hear it from another sibling as well. Although I feel like you're using this as an excuse to get out of having to be involved with the Shiba Clan."

"Gee, really?" Tiara asked sarcastically. "What could've given you that idea?"

"Lauren!" Jayden hissed. His sister gave him a look of confusion and he glanced at Lorrie covertly.

Said person noticed his look though and frowned. "Is there a particular reason you're shushing your sister because I'm around?"

"No!" everyone at the table answered simultaneously.

"Yeah...sure..."

Jayden sighed inwardly. He looked at Lauren, who understood based in his look that he needed to talk to her. She nodded and stood up. "Jayden can I talk to you in the other room?"

"Yes," he replied a little too quickly and stood up. He followed her out of the kitchen and Lorrie gave Tiara a suspicious look.

"Do you know what they're talking about?" she asked.

"I have some idea," Tiara replied.

"Excuse me a moment," Ji said, also standing up. He left the room, heading in the direction Lauren and Jayden had gone.

"Seriously, what's going on?" Lorrie asked.

"Seriously," Tiara replied, not even looking at the girl across from her. "I can't tell you."

"Why? Is it some big family secret?"

The younger girl nodded. "That's exactly what it is."

Meanwhile, in the other room, Lauren and Jayden were having a very intense discussion. "I don't know what to do," Jayden told his sister. "When do I tell her?"

"Tell her what?" Ji asked, coming in.

"Jayden wants to know when the appropriate time is to tell Lorrie he's a samurai," Lauren told him.

"Former samurai," Jayden said, stressing the first word. "As in not anymore. As in, a huge family secret I've been keeping from her our entire relationship."

"Revealing your family is a very serious matter," Ji told him. "And...regardless of what I think of this situation, you need to be prepared. Rules state you can tell a significant other about your ancestry, but it must be with the intent to wed them."

"So basically, unless you're sure you want to marry her, you can't tell her," Lauren summarized.

"And if you do tell her you need to be prepared for the fallout. Your father, Kevin's dad, and Mike's dad all found out the hard way that being married to a samurai isn't for everyone. And while your family isn't hated, the rangers aren't universally popular among the denizens of the area."

Jayden nodded. "It's just...I hate having to hide this from her. I want to be able to be honest with her about everything."

"I know you do," Lauren replied putting a hand on his shoulder. "But you need to be careful. You have to be sure that she won't spread our secret."

"But I can only tell her if I want to marry her."

"Well...technically if you quit being a samurai you wouldn't have to follow their rules," Lauren told him, not entirely feeling like she should be encouraging her brother's behavior.

Ji simply shook his head. "If you want to do it like that, you have to completely disown yourself from the Shiba Clan. Give up your name, title, everything." Lauren opened her mouth in shock while Jayden simply blinked. "I won't toro you what to do. At this point I see that it will do me no good. But you should know the stakes. I'm going to return before Lorrie gets too suspicious."

"I'm sure we're way past that at this point," Lauren muttered. She looked her brother in the eyes. "Would you really do it?"

"What? Leave our family for good? Really disconnect myself from our father and history? I...I don't know."

"Whatever you decide, I...I'll support you."

"Really?"

Lauren nodded. She wanted her brother to come home. More than anything she wanted her family together. But she wanted her brother to be happy even more than that. "We should go back."

Jayden nodded and followed her back into the kitchen. They sat back down and he gave Lorrie a reassuring smile. She smiled back; both of them hiding their inhibitions behind the actions. They continued eating, but Lorrie kept glancing around every few minutes. There was definitely something going on here. Something that everyone else at the table knew but her. She glanced at Jayden. His face revealed nothing of the secret he was keeping, but that was nothing new. She knew from experience Jayden was vehemently skilled at training his facial features to be impassive or even guarded. But he didn't do it do much with her. Not usually. What exactly are you hiding?

Dinner continued without much incident. Lauren and Tiara did their best to keep the conversation on light topics. Ji would chime in every once in a while, but he refrained from fighting with or attacking Jayden for the rest of the evening. After dinner was finished they moved to the living room, and Lauren was secretly very excited when Jayden stayed and talked with them some more. Tiara was outwardly very excited. After a while Jayden was checking his watch and poked Lorrie to get her attention.

"It's getting kind of late," he told her. "We should head home."

She nodded. "Yeah. I have a shift tomorrow so we really should get going."

Everyone stood up and Lauren made her way over to Jayden. She gave her brother a hug. "Thanks for coming."

"Thanks for inviting us," he replied. "It was...fun."

Lauren nodded p, then turned to Lorrie. "Thank you for coming too."

"Anytime, I had a blast," Lorrie replied giving Lauren a hug. They shared a look and a silent agreement. It'd been a while since their disagreement at the hospital on the night of Emily's accident. Both of them seemed to be in silent agreement that it was water under the bridge now. Tiara gave Jayden and hug as well.

"Bye Jayden," she said softly. "Don't be such a stranger. Or I'll have to come kidnap you."

Jayden chuckled. "Alright. I'll...ill try."

"Good." She nodded to Lorrie. "Keep an eye on him."

"I will. We all know he can't take care of himself."

"Hey!" Jayden objected. He put an arm around Lorrie's shoulders. "Come on, let's go." She smiled and leaned into him as they left. On their way to the door they passed Ji, who gave them a polite nod.

"Good night Jayden," he said. "And you too Lorrie, it was...nice to meet you."

"You too," Lorrie replied. Jayden simply gave Ji a nod and the two of them left.

"Thank you," Lauren said to Ji once the door was shut.

"For what?" he asked.

"For helping him. And behaving. More or less."

Ji sighed. "I really am proud of him Lauren."

"Then why don't you just tell him?"

"At this point, do you think he would believe me if I did?"

"I think he's capable of surprising us all." Ji simply smiled and left to go finish cleaning up. "Do you think Ji has forgiven Jayden?"

"I don't think he was ever angry with him to begin with," Tiara replied. "His anger was just a response to Jayden's anger. The real question is: has Jayden forgiven Ji?"

"I hope we've at least started to re-bridge that gap."

"Same."

-Samurai Ranger Life-

Lorrie took her helmet from Jayden and put it on. "That was a fun night."

"Yeah...I guess," he mumbled.

"Your sisters are great."

"Yeah..."

"And Ji seems like a...very interesting person."

This actually made Jayden laugh. "Oh he really is. You have no idea."

No kidding, she thought. "Hey Jay?" she asked as she got behind on him in his motorcycle.

"Yeah?"

"If...if there's something important I should know, you'd tell me right? You wouldn't just...keep secrets from me if they really mattered, would you?"

Jayden didn't answer her right away. "Lorrie...my life...its just complicated. Just know that the things I do and don't tell you are for the better. I know it's a lot to ask, but I need you to trust me. If I could tell you I would. And when the time is right, I will. Without hesitation."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Lorrie sighed. "Alright. Let's go home."

Jayden nodded and started using motorcycle. "Let's." He felt Lorrie put her arms around him and he drove back into the city; mind racing oevr what he'd just told her. Of course my life still revolves around secrets, hethought as he drove. Because why wouldn't it?