Kevin had never been the natural father type. From the moment he and Mia started discussing children he had been scared to death of fatherhood. He knew that word meant caring for something so small, so young, and so defenceless. He had done amazing things in his time, and now saving the world was something he had bragging rights to. For two years he had faced Nighlok, monsters, and horrible people in general, and just recently he had faced the most evil of all: Xandred.

And yet, he felt more confident about being the protector of the earth than he did about becoming a father. Especially after the night he had.

Mia slept with Riley in her room to sooth and comfort her. With Riley's comfort with Kevin at an ultimate low, Mia needed to make sure Riley still felt safe in the house and was bending backwards to please the child. Kevin lay awake in his bed, staying in way past the time he usually got up and he looked up at the ceiling. He should have bent over backwards for her. He should have just forgotten all about the bowl and the name calling and the yelling. She was still just a child who recently lost everything. He couldn't give her ultimate freedom to walk all over him, but some battles just weren't worth the fight.

"Kevin?" he heard his name and sat up. Mia stood by the door with her hands placed gently on Riley's shoulders. The little girl looked like she didn't want to be in the room, but she wasn't putting up a fight. Mia gave Riley a very gentle push, moving her forward, "Riley has something she wants to say."

"I'm sorry I pushed you," Riley muttered and then she looked up at Mia, "Can I go watch TV now?"

Mia nodded and stepped out of the way, letting Riley race off to the living room. Kevin's jaw dropped slightly in awe. He couldn't believe Mia made Riley apologize to him. He couldn't believe she got her to stand in the same room as him.

"She told me what happened. Her version," Mia explained. She had already heard Kevin's version on her way home after getting the call that Riley had been hurt, but thought it was fair to ask Riley to tell her side of the story. The little girl hadn't been kind to Kevin with her story, but the message was very clear. Riley did hate Kevin, and there would never be a quick fix to that. "I guess that means I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have pushed it. You two need a little more time."

"Time's not going to help," Kevin muttered. "I've pushed her down the stairs twice! What kind of father pushes his daughter down the stairs…"

"She wasn't your daughter when you pushed her," Mia shook her head, "And everyone says you didn't mean to hurt her. I trust that. You never would. And this time, she pushed you and tripped. That stuff happens to the best of parents. When I was a baby, Sobo was carrying me down the stairs, she tripped, and I slipped right out of her hands and fell to the ground. I don't remember any of it. I was too young. But apparently I screamed for hours and I hated Sobo for about a week."

"You hated your grandmother?" Kevin had a look of shock on his face while Mia nodded her head and chuckled.

"You know, before my parents left me with Sobo, she and I weren't really that close. Not as close as we are now. I wasn't exactly happy about the change in my life, either. Sobo said I was a huge pain in the butt the first couple of months. But she stuck it out, and she stuck by me. No matter how much I hated her, and no matter how badly I treated her, she was always there for me. Kids do know that. You just need time to show Riley you do like her."

"Supervised?" Kevin asked and groaned, "I don't trust myself with her."

"You have to. You have to be confident or she's going to walk all over you like she did last night. This isn't like training Mike and Emily. Riley's just a little girl. She's going to hate you. She's going to be very mean to you. You have to set your boundaries, though."

"I tried," Kevin groaned and lay back in the bed, "I asked her to put her dishes away, and a war broke out. Next thing I know, she's screaming bloody murder and I'm frozen to the ground."

"What if we take her skating, later?" Mia offered. "I'll be with you, and the rink is right outside one of my favourite venues from the night before. You can get a quick glance at it. Just keep the wedding talk to a minimum. Riley's not happy about it at all."

"Skating? Mia, she sprained her wrist…"

"Between the two of us, she's not going to need to use it once," Mia gave Kevin a kiss on the cheek, "You know how to skate, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good," Mia smirked and then left the room. Kevin let out a sigh and prayed this family trip wouldn't end badly. He and Riley were chaos when they were together, and it always ended badly for her. Kevin wouldn't let it happen again.

Then he remembered something important and sat up straight in bed, "Mia doesn't know how to skate…"

-Samurai-

After explaining her dreams to a very worried Mike, and having her injuries checked by Ji and Kate, who had to rush home from Kate's family's house after getting the call, Emily was passed out on the couch. Though she had been asleep for more than a day, her brain had been working overtime and she felt like she had been awake for days.

Mike gently draped a blanket over Emily and left her to sleep as he joined his in-laws, Kate, and Ji in the kitchen. He was happy Emily was finally back home and staying home, but he still couldn't get over the Symbol Ellie had used. It had worked for the best, fortunately, but Mike knew things could have ended terribly. He shot Ellie a dirty look before sitting down.

"Don't I at least get points for curing her?" Ellie asked with a groan, "If I hadn't used that Symbol, she would still be at home and we would be no closer to getting our Emily back."

"No," Mike shook his head, "I'm happy she's back, but no. If she hadn't of woken up when she did, we could have lost her. You know damn well we could have lost her."

"She's stronger than that," Ellie argued.

"She's also stubborn," Mike pointed his finger at Jack, "He's right. Emily never would have given up trying to save everybody. If I hadn't of died protecting her, she'd be torn apart. She would be dead!"

"If it helps, it's never happening again," Ellie promised and again she gave away the Samuraizer by putting it in the middle of the table. Kate quickly snatched it away.

"I'll hold on to it," she said. Ji held out his hand.

"In fact, we'll take all of these back," he looked to Mike specifically, "Though the Nighlok are gone and Earth is safe, we do not want to risk any of these falling into the wrong hands."

"But my Symbol Power…" Mike pouted, "Dude, I've trained years to get to where I'm at! You can't just take that all away from me…"

"Would you like to risk another wayward Symbol like the one used on your wife?"

Mike shook his head, but before he handed his Samuraizer to Ji he traced one final Symbol and suddenly the biggest bouquet of sunflowers anyone had ever seen appeared on the table. Only then did Mike place his Samuraizer in Ji's hand.

"It's still mine, though," he made sure the older man knew that, "You're just holding it for me."

"All Samuraizers will be placed under lock and key," Ji assured him and then looked to Kate, "I think it's time we leave now. "We can still get home in time to explain to your father what happened. He can come up with a story to tell he rest of your family."

Kate nodded her head and with Ji she said goodbye to everyone around the table. Just as they walked out the door, Serena, James, and Terran came home. Ji quickly explained he was taking Samuraizers for safe keeping and convinced Serena to hand hers over.

"I thought they were staying with Kate's family," Serena said as Mike walked into the hall to laugh at Serena, who was now no longer armed with her Samuraizer. She could no longer threaten him with Symbols when he did something she didn't like.

"We called them here," Jack announced as he walked in behind Mike. He gave his son in-law a light smack on the head for laughing at Serena. "There was a little accident…"

"What happened to Emily?" Serena pointed a sharp look at her father, and Mike was relieved to see she didn't just aim that look at him when she was angry. Anyone who had the misfortune of threatening Emily or pissing her off would receive that glare. Even her father.

"She's fine," Jack assured Serena and pointed to the living room. Serena saw Emily sleeping soundly on the couch, and then she saw all the cuts and burns. She turned back to her father, who was already pointing at the kitchen, "Your mother did that."

"Mom…" Serena growled and stomped down the hall until she reached the kitchen. Ellie got out of her chair and held her hands up defensively.

"Emily's feeling better and chose to come back home. It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't taken the risk."

"What risk?"

"All that matters is that she's safe and sound now."

"What did you do?"

"Serena!" a weight jumped on Serena's back as Emily woke up from her nap and attacked Serena with a hug. "I'm home! I get it now! I'm better!"

Emily slipped off Serena's back and let her turn around so they could hug each other properly. Serena gave her mother another glare before walking into the common room to listen as Emily explained what happened.

"Maybe it's time we leave too," Ellie said to Jack as she scurried to the front door and got ready.

"Serena's not going to hurt you," Jack said to his wife but Ellie shook her head.

"I know, but that look. I hate that look."

Mike and James watched them leave and Mike scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"Look, I don't like what you did but… I guess Emily wouldn't be here if you didn't do it so… thank you."

"She's my daughter," Ellie said. "I'd never let anything happen to her."

"Mhm," Jack rolled his eyes. He gave Terran a loving hug before he walked out the door, "I'll be in the truck."

"She'll still have nightmares," Ellie warned Mike quickly as she said her goodbyes to her grandson, and then waved to Emily and Serena in the other room.

"We all do. I'll take care of her."

Ellie nodded and walked out, joining Jack in the truck. Mike closed the door behind them, breathed out a sigh and then looked to James. He scratched the back of his neck.

"It's times like this where I remember I'm still new to this Samurai stuff. What happened?"

"Emily's home," Mike smiled brightly, "Pizza for dinner? You know, to celebrate?"

"I think we celebrate someone's return with their favourite food, not yours."

"Emily does like pizza. Besides, do you really want to eat ice-cream and cookies for dinner?"

"I'll call the pizza guy…"