Kevin tapped his foot nervously. The interview with the social worker was… going.

There were a lot of questions to be asked. After explaining to Sabrina how Riley sprained her wrist (a story which didn't work in Kevin or Mia's favour), as well as why Riley calls Kevin a meanie, and the incident at the skating rink where Riley claimed Kevin had scared a group of young boys, Sabrina asked questions that were more on topic with Kevin and Mia's personal life, their relationship, their families, friends, their reasons for adopting Riley, their reason for adopting in general, what their plans for the future were, how they were going to move forward with a four year old to care for, and whether or not they thought they were ready to adopt.

Mia, who had gone into the interview with a lot more confidence than Kevin was now nervously playing with her hair. For every good story she had to tell, a bad one seemed to pop out of nowhere. The time she found out she couldn't have kids and left Kevin and her friends behind didn't sit well with the social worker. Kevin being present both times Riley fell down the stairs (whether he had anything to do with it or not), we jotted down in what was sure to be the bad parents column of the notebook. Mia told Sabrina how she always wanted to have a family and be a mother, and how she had plenty of experience with kids after working in a daycare, but when Sabrina asked why Mia quit that job, Mia couldn't tell her why and suddenly an innocent, good person story turned into a questionable parenting moment.

What made it all worse was how kind Sabrina was. She never intentionally gave Mia and Kevin the impression that they were bad people or that they would fail as parents, but her job was to make sure Riley had a good home and was in the best hands.

So while Sabrina had a look around the house on her own, Mia and Kevin looked to each other very nervously. Both had bonded with Riley, and while they had had their sets of trials, both couldn't imagine losing her. Riley, already, had made it clear she wanted to stay close to Mia now that her family was gone, and though she didn't like Kevin, forcing her to leave this house and these new parents was going to hurt her more than help. Riley had been through so much change and so much loss in only a month. She couldn't afford anything more.

"The house seems to be in order," Sabrina came back into the living room while taking down notes in the dreaded journal, "I'd just like to have a few more words with Riley and then on my way out, it would be helpful if I got a list of numbers and addresses. I'd like to have a talk with some friends and family."

"Yeah, of course," Mia was up on her feet right away to get a pen and a paper for Sabrina. Kevin continued to sit in his seat. Though Mia had a few questionable moments in her past, he felt like his failures with Riley were what was going to cost him and Mia their daughter. After all, Mia had a way with words and a way with people, and given the way she spoke about Riley and about being a mother made Kevin convinced she would be awesome mother, given the chance.

But Kevin was visibly more nervous than Mia, could barely get his words out, and when they did, it always put a bit of a sour look on Sabrina's face. Riley hated him, and he had done nothing to earn her love or her trust, and it was painfully obvious the idea of having kids and starting a family terrified him. It was a good kind of terror, and Kevin knew he would do his very best, but Sabrina didn't know that and she had no way of knowing that.

Kevin felt horribly guilty. If he couldn't pass this interview, Riley would be taken from him and Mia. She would lose her home, lose the only people left in the world she did trust, and Mia would lose her one chance at having a normal family. If he failed this interview, there was no way anyone would ever let him and Mia adopt a child together – or so he believed.

Now he understood the pain, the guilt, and the heartbreak Mia felt when she had been told she couldn't have kids. Now he understood why she had taken off so suddenly and left him behind. Knowing he couldn't give her the family she wanted made him feel… horrible couldn't even describe it.

"We're good people," Mia reminded him once Sabrina was upstairs with Riley, "We're good people and we're going to be great parents. Just relax."

But Kevin couldn't relax.

-Samurai-

Sabrina knocked gently on Riley's bedroom door before she opened it and saw Riley dressed as the pink Samurai Ranger jumping on the bed and knocking over toys, claiming to be destroying them as the mighty pink Samurai Ranger. Sabrina chuckled and waved, getting Riley's attention.

"I'm here to talk."

Riley landed seated on her bed and looked to Sabrina. With the mask covering her face, she had nothing to fear. She had just saved the whole population of her bedroom from the evil Kevin Meanie monster. No one could hurt her.

"You talked with Mia and meanie Kevin for a long time," Riley said, "I saved the world."

"I see that," Sabrina nodded and saw all the toys on the floor, "You look like you kicked butt."

Riley nodded her head while Sabrina grabbed the desk chair to have a seat. She looked to Riley's splint and wanted to hear one more time the story behind it. Riley was all too eager to share.

"Mia says it was just an accident, but I still don't like meanie Kevin," Riley answered and then started to play with her blanket.

"Why do you call him meanie Kevin?"

"Because he's a meanie," Riley said like it was obvious, which it was, but Sabrina just needed to be sure.

"What makes him a meanie? Does he do anything specifically that you don't like?"

"He grabbed me when I don't want him to and he tried to lock me in my room. That's why I falled down the stairs."

"He grabbed you? What does that mean?"

"I watched TV and he picked me up, yell at me, and then telled me I have to go to bed."

"And you didn't like that?"

"No."

"But I'm sure Kevin does have some moments where he's nice. Why don't you tell me about one of those?"

Riley shook her head, "Kevin is a big meanie. He's not a nice person."

Sabrina nodded and with concern wrote down a few notes in her journal. She knew kids told different stories and sometimes accidentally exaggerated the facts, but she wasn't getting anything good from Riley where Kevin was concerned. Instead, given everything she had heard, there was certainly something going on in the house.

"What about Mia? She seems nice."

"Mia protects me," Riley nodded her head. "From bad guys."

"From bad guys?"

"She promised she taked care of me. She pinky promised."

"So you like Mia?"

Riley nodded her head excitedly, "Mia's the bestest."

Sabrina jotted down a few more notes and now her head was spinning. Fortunately, she still had a few more interviews with friends and family before she made up her mind.

But she did have one more question for Riley. It was one she asked any child who could give her a clear answer, "Do you like living here, Riley? If everything goes well, you're going to be staying here for a long time with Mia and Kevin. They'll take care of you. Both of them."

"I want to stay with Mia."

"What about Kevin? Do you trust him?"

"I don't like him."

"Do you trust him, though? Like, do you think he'll take good care of you?"

"Mia promised she would."

"What about when Mia's not around?"

"Me alone with meanie Kevin? No. I don't like him."

Sabrina took down the last of her notes for now and closed her book. She excused herself from Riley's room and thanked the little girl for helping her. Riley watched her leave for a moment and then decided to follow her to the end of the hall. Sabrina walked down the stairs and started to talk with Mia and Kevin as they gave her a paper. Riley hid behind the banister and kept quiet as she listened.

"Our parents are on there, and Riley's aunts and uncles are there too," Mia explained, "There's a star beside all the names of the people who will be in Riley's life a lot if she stays here."

"J-just out of curiosity," Kevin was fidgeting nervously and couldn't keep eye contact with Sabrina, still terrified he had failed, "What happens to Riley if we can't keep her?"

"She'll go to the orphanage and hopefully some other family will take her in," Sabrina answered and let out a sigh, "Look, I don't want that to happen either. After that apocalypse the orphanage is full, all the foster homes are filled, and there are a lot more kids just dying for someone to take care of them. I am rooting for the two of you, but I've got to be realistic when I make the call. The orphanage is a terrible place right now, but if Riley's going to stay somewhere permanently, especially after all she's been through, it's got to be the perfect home."

"Perfect?" Kevin asked.

Sabrina nodded her head, "I'm doing what's best for the kid in the long run. You'll get your answer soon enough, and if you do keep her, there will be some follow up visits. Just to be sure she's settling in okay and this isn't too much. You two are still young and… well, have a good day."

"You too," Mia and Kevin said as they walked Sabrina out and then looked to each other nervously. It didn't mean much, but Sabrina hadn't stormed out of the house with Riley in tow. For now, they had done well enough to keep her in their care until the interviews could be completed and Sabrina could make a final decision.

Riley didn't like what she heard one bit. She didn't understand much of what the social worker had said, but there were a few words that stuck in her mind, and her little imagination filled in the blanks. Before Kevin or Mia could see her, she raced back to her room and started grabbing some of her toys. Tears started to cloud her little eyes and she wiped them away.

"It's okay," she told her Samurai bear who was watching her stuff her toys into her backpack, "We'll find somewhere else we can stay."

She was silent for a moment while she packed and heard a little voice inside her head. It was her bear's imagined voice. She shook her head.

"Meanie Kevin doesn't like me. I thinked Mia did but Kevin won. That lady is going to take us to the orphan… I don't know what it is, but other kids are dying there."

She was silent again so her bear could speak. She crammed all her toys into her bag and zipped it up.

"No, if we stay here the lady will take us to the dying place. Do you want to die? Me neither. So we have to go."

Riley put the bag on her shoulders and then hugged her bear in her arms, "I'll taked care of you again. We're going to be okay. But be quiet."

Riley tip-toed out of her room and down the stairs. Mia and Kevin were in the kitchen and talking to each other. Riley listened for a moment, just curious about what they were thinking.

"She's going to hate it there, Mia, and it's not like she's the easiest of kids. How many problems have we had already?"

"No kid is easy, Kevin."

"I know, I know. But Riley's a lot of trouble. It takes a special set of people to love her. What if there's no one else for her out there?"

"You can't think that way, Kevin. Let's just get this over with and whatever happens, we'll worry about it then."

Riley felt her little heart breaking. She stroked the top of her bear's head.

"Don't cry," she whispered, "We have each other."

She gave her bear a hug and decided she would sneak out the back door. She slid the door open, squeezed herself and her bear out and then ran to the gate. With a little work she got the lock to open and race out to the street. She didn't know where to go but she didn't have anywhere to be so she just started walking.

She made it a couple of blocks before she found a bus bench. A little tired and not used to walking so far by herself, she decided it was best to take a seat, and her bear took the seat next to her. She watched a little traffic go by. The city was coming back to life, and there were more and more cars on the road, but it still wasn't back up to what it used to be. Riley found herself spending more time staring at the bank across the street. It was closed, but that didn't stop two men wearing masks from getting inside.

"Uh oh," Riley whispered and hugged her bear close as she slipped off the bench. She looked both ways and then darted across the street. When she was on the other side, she placed her bear and her bag against the wall of the building and pulled down her Samurai mask.

"I saw this on TV. I think they want money. But the hero always makes them scared. Maybe we can do that. Be superheroes like the real Power Rangers. Watch, but stay quiet."

Riley snuck into the bank and saw the two men were sitting behind one of the desks and they were on the computer. Riley pulled out her toy sword and held it up.

"Stop, bad guys!"

The men were startled by the voice, but when they looked up and saw a little girl in a pink Ranger costume they laughed and shook their heads.

"Get out of here, kid. This is grown up business."

"What are you doing?"

"Just stuff. Go find your parents."

"No, you have to stop! I'm the good guy and I said so."

"Riley? Is that you?"

The men looked up again, hearing another voice as someone else walked into the bank. The men quickly shut off the computer and ducked behind a desk.

"Riley? Are you in here?"

Riley groaned loudly, rolled her eyes and turned around, "What are you doing here?"

Emily shook her head. She had only recently come back to the city and Mike had promised her Panorama was looking better than before. She wanted to see for herself, and she also wanted to do something to help. She had plans to earn her high school diploma and then start college courses, but she had enough time to volunteer around the city. Mike, Serena, and James all thought it would help her, and they all insisted volunteer work would look great for a college application. She was going around the city hoping she could find a little inspiration or a place that needed her help.

When she walked by the bank and saw the door opened, in spite of the closed sign hanging in the window, she got curious. Then she saw a pink Samurai Ranger backpack and a pink Samurai Ranger teddy bear lying on the sidewalk and was really curious. Riley did have a habit of running off, and no one else in the city loved the pink Ranger more than Riley. Not even Kevin could have a love for pink as deep as Riley's.

"I'm stopping the bad guys," Riley huffed. She pointed to the desk, "They're right there."

"Where are Mia and Kevin?"

"Home."

"Then that's where you should be. No more games, Riley," Emily leaned over to pick Riley up but the little girl ran to the desk. She rounded it and pointed to the space underneath.

"Kid!" the men tried to keep their voices low, "Get lost. We're working!"

"Money people don't wear masks," Riley shook her head, "My daddy used to work here and he never weared a mask."

"Go away, kid," the men growled again.

Emily could hear some whispers and walked over to the desk. She saw Riley was talking so someone she couldn't see. She knew kids had active imaginations, imaginary friends, and they played make-believe all the time, but normally the pretend scenarios were all just pretend, and the fake people didn't actually speak.

"Is someone really there?"

"Yeah, right…" Riley was interrupted by a bang. She jumped a couple inches off the ground and covered her ears. The loud noise had terrified her, but for the most part she was okay.

Until she was lifted from the ground, "HEY! Put me down!"

"Log out, Matt!"

"SHH!"

"C'mon, let's go!"

"PUT ME DOWN!" Riley screamed and started punching the back of the man who had her over his shoulder. He gave her a rough smack on the butt.

"Shut up, kid. You've done enough."

"I'm out," Matt said as he shut off the computer and reached for the bag he had placed beside his desk, but then he saw it was gone, "What? Hey, you got the bag?"

"No, but I've got the kid. Just get out of here."

"Not without that bag. All of this means nothing if we don't get the…" Matt was cut off as something whacked him in the back of his head. It hurt and knocked him to the floor.

Emily leaned against the desk and turned to the other man after hitting Matt in the head with his bag, "Put the kid down!"

"Yeah!" Riley shouted and tried punching the man in the back again.

"OW! Stop it, you!"

As the man tried to get Riley to settle down, Emily looked down at her legs. The man holding Riley had a gun somewhere on him, and had fired it once Emily got too close to the desk. She had been hit in the calf, and her entire leg hurt like hell, but she had survived much worst at the hands of the Nighlok, and as long as she kept her weight on the other leg, she could at least get the men to leave her and Riley alone.

But there was no way in hell they was getting away with Riley. Ji had taken her Samuraizer, but Emily still had a few tricks up her sleeve. She didn't need her Samuraizer.

"STONE!"

"Holy…," before he could say another word, the man holding Emily was hit in the jack by one of Emily's rocks. He fell backwards and landed on top of Riley who screamed. Emily tried to limp over, but someone grabbed her ankle and she tripped.

Matt climbed on top of her and pinned her down, "What are you, some kind of magician?"

"Sure," Emily nodded her head and tried to get out from under Matt but he was a heavy man, "If you spent less money on food, maybe you wouldn't have to resort to stealing."

"Maybe if the Samurai did their jobs and protected the city, I wouldn't have to…" Matt started but then stopped. He looked to Emily and then over to where his partner was doing everything he could to shut Riley up as she whacked him with her toy sword. It was only plastic, but it did look like it hurt.

Then he saw the stone Emily created. He sat on her, keeping her down and reached for his bag. He pulled out his own gun and in his rush, he dropped a few bills. The bank wasn't the only place he and his partner had tried to rob.

"I had a daughter too. Before you let her die," he pressed the gun against Emily's chest and laughed when he saw she looked terrified.

"That's not nice!" Riley saw what Matt was doing, smacked her sword into the other man's nose which hurt quite a bit given it was broken. It gave her enough room to run towards Matt. Emily heard the little footsteps coming towards her and closed her eyes.

"Riley, no!"

A shot was fired and Emily heard a scream.