The Ranger had had a blast at Terran's party and when they had gone back to their homes and beds they had all crashed. Terran was only a year old and still very small, but he was a lot of energy and a lot of excitement condensed into a tiny package. He had kept everyone on their toes.

The following day, everything went back to normal – or for some the normal routine was only getting started. Kevin was up early preparing a nice breakfast for his two girls to celebrate their first official day as a family.

He had never really considered adoption. Being of the Samurai families, it was important he did have a child to pass on his responsibilities, and though adoption did work in drastic cases (like a Samurai was unable to produce a biological child), the results were never as strong, and it took a couple of generations before the Symbol Power could be built back up to normal strength. Not wanting that for his child or future teams, Kevin had planned on finding a woman he loved, having a child, and raising the child like his father had raised him.

When Mia told him the news that she couldn't get pregnant, life hadn't been easy. For starters, she hadn't told him right away, instead choosing to panic and run off. She broke off their engagement and tried to flee the State with her brother and step-mother. By the time she could tell Kevin about her fertility issue too much had happened. At the same time, while trying to avoid her family and her issue of infertility, Mia had run into Riley.

Riley had only been a scared little girl who had lost everything. Her brother had been babysitting her when Xandred appeared on Earth and brought the Netherworld with him. His rising had caused wide destruction through Panorama City and some of the surrounding cities as well, and that destruction had taken the life of Riley's parents, friends, and every family member. From the story Riley told, she had been playing outside in her backyard when Sanzu Water seeped through the fence. Her brother, in a costly heroic moment, rescued her from the flood and stole her away from the water before a burn could spread any further or do any worse than leave a mark on her leg. Realizing they had left their beloved cat Muffin outside, Peter, Riley's brother, returned into the dangerous waters once more to rescue her but never came back. From that very moment, Riley had been left on her own in a very dangerous world. Fortunately, and at the same time, unfortunately, Riley had survived the rest of the war. She had hid herself in her home, surviving with whatever provisions had been left behind.

When Mia ran away from her family, she needed a place to stay. She broke into a home where the door had been left unlocked. She was searching for a place to sleep and some food, but instead found a scared little pink Ranger. Her motherly instincts and her good nature refused to allow her to leave a poor, defenceless girl on her own, so she took Riley, leaving a note behind for parents who would never return, and cared for Riley even in troubled times. A bond grew between the two and Mia found herself wanting to care for Riley until her parents or another loved one could return for Riley.

Kevin's relationship with Riley hadn't started on the right foot. It hadn't really started on feet. Kevin had upset Mia when she tried to win him back, and that upset Riley. The little girl started to shout at Kevin, got in his face, and Kevin pushed her away. He hadn't intended on hurting her, but they had been on the stairs. Riley lost her footing, fell down and from that moment she hated Kevin.

Mia and Kevin did make up, and as such Kevin entered into Riley's life and she hadn't been happy about it. Mia's attempt to get the two to bond ended poorly when Kevin and Riley got into a heated disagreement. It all ended with Riley pushing Kevin at the top of the stairs, then tripping over his foot as she tried to get away from him. The result added another tumble to Riley's list and her hatred for Kevin grew.

Kevin did like the little girl, in spite of all the trouble she had and would give him. He worked hard to earn her trust and did.

Perhaps he did have some fatherly instincts inside of him. When Riley's future had been uncertain, Kevin had proposed the idea of adopting her to Mia. He understood the weight of the decision and had been ready to take it, but had assumed that someone would come and take Riley home, and he could continue on with his normal life. He could get married, go on an amazing honeymoon with his wife. He could get his career started, and once he and Mia were settled, they would consider adoption or another means of having a child.

Though it had been a tough road, Kevin never once regretted opening his mouth to Mia. He never once regretted making the decision to want to care for a little girl for the rest of his life. In fact, the more he had to live with the consequences of that decision, the more he fell in love with Riley, and the more he fell in love with the idea of being a father. It wasn't ideal, and it was fatherhood fast-forwarded because his new daughter was already four years old, but Kevin wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

Not even the Olympics. It felt like so long ago, but his dreams of swimming in the Olympics had passed – and it didn't feel like he had missed a thing. He had done amazing things, and had achieved almost impossible odds. He was one of the most talented Samurai in the world. He had faced insurmountable odds and overcame them. He saved the world with his team. He found an amazing family within that team, and he met the love of his life.

During the 2012 Summer Olympics, his family had given him a taste of the dream he had missed – which was all he ever wanted. They had staged their own Olympics and though it wasn't the real thing, it was close enough.

Now he had bigger, better dreams to live, and he was so happy. As he finished up with breakfast, Mia came down the stairs, looking somewhat exhausted.

"You were in Riley's room?" Kevin asked her as he presented her her breakfast, "I woke up this morning and you weren't there."

Mia nodded her head and went straight for the coffee, "Poor kid woke up from another nightmare, and then couldn't sleep again because he heard hurt too much. How long did the doctor say it would take her brain to heal?"

"Long enough," Kevin said. "Is she still asleep?"

"That would mean she fell back to sleep," Mia groaned. "She's upstairs. We had a little tea party with pink teddy Ranger; it's a girl teddy, and a dolly. I'm sure she would appreciate some real food, instead of that imaginary stuff."

Kevin nodded his head, gave Mia a kiss, and then put Riley's breakfast on a tray to bring it upstairs. Hopefully, for both his girls' sake, Riley would eat and then Kevin would find a way to get her to sleep before he had to leave for work.

-Samurai-

"GET UP!" Serena shouted and tossed a shoe at Mike, who was fallen asleep while tying his up. Now that they were back in their regular routine, they had no excuse to miss school. Ji's friends in the school board had come up with an excuse for their week late start, but the excuse wouldn't cover why they missed or were late for their first day.

The shoe only just missed Mike's head but caught his attention. He finished tying up his shoes, grabbed a jacket and raced out to the car. Serena rolled her eyes, called to James and Emily that she and Mike were leaving and the closed the door.

At the kitchen table, James and Emily looked to each other and started to laugh.

"Should we have told her they've about an hour early?"

Emily shook her head, "Nah, it'll be funnier if they find out on their own."

-Samurai-

Jayden was pulled from his sleep by a soft, gentle kiss. He smiled to himself as he opened his eyes and sat it was Antonio who had woken him up. He turned to the clock to check the time and figured Antonio was headed off to work.

"Catching or selling fish today?"

"Catching," Antonio said, "Hopefully they bite and I can do a few sales, but I might have to wait for tomorrow."

"Good luck," Jayden sat up bed in time to receive one more kiss from Antonio and then his fiancé was off to work. Jayden was a little jealous Antonio had something to do with his days, but if all went well with his plans with Lauren, soon he would have an Academy to run. Once he went into business, he would cherish mornings like theses where his agenda was empty.

Jayden took the most of it. He got up and dressed slowly and made his way to the kitchen. He made his usual breakfast while also trying to think of classes he would like to take. Technically, if he was going to start up his own business he would be his own boss, but a lot of work went into starting a career from scratch. Antonio would be the first to tell him that. A couple of classes and maybe a degree would be a big help when times got tough or confusing.

Fortunately, there was no rush. Jayden could take his time to make sure this was something he really wanted to take part in. Lauren was excited, there was no doubt about that, but Jayden didn't want to live her dream. He loved his sister and wanted to spent plenty of time with her to make up for the lifetime they had been apart, but he also wanted to have his own life and live out his own dreams.

He had just been about to open up his laptop and start his research when the phone rang. Seeing it was the number for the Shiba House he answered it, "Hello?"

"Do you have plans for dinner?"

Jayden chuckled. Ji hadn't even bothered mentioning it was him. Jayden and Ji had known each other for so long that they could recognize each other's voices in a heartbeat. Also, Ji was the only man in the Shiba House.

"Not really," Jayden shrugged his shoulders. "Depending on how much Antonio catches it might be fish, or take out."

"I was thinking the family could go out for dinner tonight," Ji suggested. "Serena's going back to work so she'll have plenty to talk about. You and I can discuss plans for your future, if you wish, and… Kate and I have some news."

"Really?" Jayden asked. He had his suspicions. When he and Emily had gone to pick Ji and Kate up from jail they had noticed the bread ring around Kate's finger and thought it rather odd. No one had said anything yet, so the suspicions weren't confirmed, but there was more and more evidence pointing to another wedding in the future. Unless the Samurai wanted to spend a year or two dressing up and stressing out over weddings, they were going to have to start doubling up.

"Kate's on the phone with Emily, and we talked to Serena last night. She's on board with it."

"And the others?"

"It's news we would like to share with… our close family first. What do you think? Will you come to dinner?"

"What will I tell Antonio?"

"You have plans with your father."

"Alright, sure," Jayden nodded his head, "I'll be there."

"Great!" Ji gave Jayden the details and finished the call by saying how happy he was Jayden had agreed to show up. Jayden then hung up the phone and opened his laptop. With dinner on his mind, and with his assumptions about Ji and Kate's big news, Jayden couldn't help himself. Marriage for him wasn't legal, so he was going to have to look out of State or out of country if he planned on tying the knot with Antonio.

-Samurai-

Mike shuttered as he walked through the doors of the school. He had always hated school, and even now that he was on the other side of the classroom it still left a bad taste in his mouth. This one particularly.

"You remember your way around?" Serena asked him. Mike nodded his head. "Alright. You're assistant coach, so guess you're needed at the gym. I'm going to pick up breakfast from the cafeteria."

"James and Emily could have said something," Mike muttered and started for the gym. Halfway to school, Serena and Mike caught a glance at the time and realized that they were early instead of late. Mike really wasn't happy about that, as it meant he could have slept in a little longer.

Serena made her way into the cafeteria. She was greeted by a few friendly faces, both on staff and from some students who had arrived early like herself. It seemed she had left the school on a good mark before the summer. She was sure there were some people on staff who still hated her guts – if she remembered correctly, principal Stevens had a very strong hatred for her – but she had changed the school for the better. Most knew that.

She got her breakfast and took a seat at a table. She let out a sigh when she noticed there was something missing. James was no longer working with her. She would still see him at home and for the rest of her life, but she missed having him at school. She missed how he always bought her breakfast when she was late in the mornings, how they always ate lunch together, and how he always had her back when she was standing up to students. Her job just wasn't the same without him.

"Serena?" an excited voice called from across the hallway before a racing blur almost knocked her from her stool. Serena accept the tackle that was supposed to be a hug, then pulled away to get a look at the person who possessed the voice that seemed to happy to see her.

"Mitch? Hey, buddy!"

"I didn't think you were coming back! I thought you were at some other school fixing their bullying problems or…"

Serena shook her head, "I love this place, why would I leave? You still a cheerleader?"

Mitch nodded excitedly, "Of course! I love it! I'm friends with everyone on the cheersquad: girls and boys."

"And…?" Serena was shocked to hear this. When she had first come to the school, the bullying had been horrendous. Students like Mitch were picked on by bigger, stronger students just because they were different and just because the bullies could. Teachers had no discipline and didn't care about the emotional state of their students. The principal never even really left his office or considered trying to straighten out his school. It had been a hellhole for everyone, even the bullies.

But Serena had turned it around. She hadn't done so by herself, but her presence had been the shift the school needed to make the change. That process did involve opening the kids' eyes to acceptance. Mitch had been a new student from Canada in the ninth grade class. He was a small, weak looking kid who had no friends. When Serena found him, she had gotten him to open up, and eventually he told her about his desire to cheer, as well as his fear. Boys weren't cheerleaders – it was a girl's sport.

He did join the team, and in spite of some teasing from the bullies he stuck with it. He made friends and even found himself a girlfriend.

However, by the end of the year, he had still been the only boy on the team. For Serena to hear there wasn't just one more boy, but boys really made her smile.

"The grade nine boys saw me on the team and tried out. We needed boys so they all got a spot. The ones who aren't very good are getting help to improve. Coach Hall's been really amazing. Then, when some of the older kids saw there were more guys on the team, and how strong us wimpy kids were getting, they tried to join. I think there was a dare involved, but everyone on the team loves cheerleading now."

Serena was really happy to hear that, and took another look at Mitch. He was still rather small, but he had built up some muscle since she had last seen him. Of course, the older he got, the more his body would build up, but the exercise from cheerleading seemed to be helping a lot.

"You are looking tough," Serena smiled, "I'm really proud of you, Mitch. That's great to hear."

"I wish I could stay," Mitch turned to the cafeteria door and waved to a group of boys that looked like they were waiting for him, "but I promised my friends I would help them with a science project. See you around, Serena."

"Yeah," Serena waved goodbye as Mitch raced off. Her spirits were lifted and she was happy, but she felt a little piece of her heart leave with Mitch. He was just a student, but when she first met him he had been so dependant and needed her protection constantly. Now, he would just be a face she would pass in the hallway and say hi to. He had grown. She was proud of him, but she would miss him.

Down in the gym, Mike had met up with Coach Jennifer Hall. He had been a little surprised to hear it was a woman coaching the boys' football team, but Coach Hall seemed tough enough. She had given him a shirt to wear so the student knew he was in charge (or assistant to the one in charge) and told him he could stay with her during her gym classes so he could get a feel of what his job would be like. Then, after school, he would watch as the football team practiced and if he could, he would offer a few pointers.

In other words, his day was quite easy. All he needed to do was sit back and keep an eye on what was happening. When the bell rang to start the class, Mike watched the students file in for gym class.

What he saw was not what he expected. In the group of students walking by, he saw a face he recognized. He saw a face he never wanted to see again. His muscles immediately tensed up as he glared at the face until it disappeared into the change room. His blood boiled. He could feel his anger rising. His job was no longer going to be easy. In fact, this was going to be the toughest challenge he had ever faced.

Suddenly, a hand fell on his shoulder. He jumped and had to resist flipping the unsuspecting student over his shoulder. Instead, he tensed up even more and turned around. He saw another familiar face.

"Mike? Right?" it was Howie, the school's former top bully. He had changed the previous year, Mike had heard, and had stopped picking on students who had done nothing to him, so Mike had no problem with him. And from the kind look in his eyes, it seemed he had changed even more and for the better since Mike had last seen him.

"Howie? But I thought you…?"

"Yeah, bullying kind of doesn't give you any credits," Howie shrugged his shoulders. "I'll be graduating this year, though. I've buckled down, focused on studying instead of tormenting and it's paying off!"

"That's great," Mike tried not to sound irritated, but he couldn't get the face out of his head. He tried to calm his breathing, but nothing was going to work.

"So, you're an assistant coach now?" Howie asked. He knew Mike from when Mike had pretended to be a new student who joined the football team.

"Yeah. Excuse me," Mike couldn't do it. He couldn't talk to Howie anymore – not unless the school would approve him getting very angry and taking out that rage on a student. He gave Howie a very gentle pat on the shoulder (because if he gave it any strength at all it would be a punch that would send the poor boy across the room) and walked over to Coach Hall. "I have to leave."

"What?" Jennifer gave Mike a disbelieving look, "Michael, most of the boys on the football team are in this class."

"What about that kid?" Mike saw the face he despised coming out of the change room and he started doing his laps. Jennifer shook her head.

"Franklin? No."

"I'm sorry," Mike shook his head, "I'll be back next period and for practice but… but I can't stay here."

"Why?"

"I just… HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, PUNK!" Mike shouted to a student who accidently bumped shoulders with him. The student looked to him strangely and somewhat was somewhat scared as well as a little pissed off. Jen gestured for the boy to continue his laps and grabbed Mike by the arm.

"You do not talk to students that way…"

"And that's why I have to leave," Mike pulled his arm free and rushed to the doors, "I'm sorry, Coach. If you knew, you would understand."

With that, Mike stormed out of the gym and ran down the hall. When he was far enough, he punched a locker, denting it.

"HEY!" someone scolded him from down the hall. He kicked the locker one more time before he turned around and saw Serena stomping towards him, "Mike, what the hell?"

"He's out! They let him come back!"

"What?"

Mike shook his head and then grabbed his hair in his hands and sunk to the floor. Serena knelt beside him and was shocked to see Mike was crying, "Mike? What happened?"