"MIKE!" James called for the umpteenth times, finding he had to shout to get Mike to hear him. He had just put Terran to bed and he could hear Mike's cries and shouts from two floors up. Not wanting Terran's sleep to be disturbed, James had gone to Mike in the basement workout room to see what was bothering him. He found the Samurai beating savagely into a punching bag. Mike looked so out of control James was nervous about walking into the room and choose to stay by the stairs and behind the railing. Mike had promised to get his rage under control when he got angry, but there were times where he slipped up.

Not wanting to get hurt, James kept his distance even after Mike stopped beating up the punching bag.

"I love a good workout as much as the next guy, but your nephew is trying to have sweet dreams," James scolded. "Think you can tone it down at bit with the screams?"

"I can't get his face out of my head," Mike took a sip of water and then tossed the bottle across the room.

"Not a good first day?"

"My day was great," Mike said. "The students have turned around; most of the staff is on board with bullying prevention and have a renewed desire to educate students. I love my job."

"So, this is you after a good day at work? Maybe teaching isn't for you."

"Frankie," it was all Mike had to say. James stumbled down the last couple of steps, a little shocked at the mention of the name. He knew all about Frankie. Everyone knew about Frankie.

"Don't tell me…"

"Good behaviour, apparently," Mike rolled his eyes, "No sense denying a misguided kid a good education. He's talking to the guidance counsellor, he's seeing therapists. Apparently, he's even got a therapy dog for companionship. They think he's finally turned around."

"Maybe he has," James was hoping he was right, but a strong feeling in his gut told him he wasn't. Mike shook his head.

"I know this is going to sound ridiculous. Emily's a Samurai. She saved the world. She can take care of herself."

"I know, Mike, I…"

"I don't want him anywhere near her," Mike said. "He's in the city. That's too close for me. I… I know what he's capable of."

"We all do, Mike, but sometimes all people need is a little… push. Frankie was taken care of, and if specialist think he's good and safe, who are we to argue…"

"He tried to rape Emily."

"She said it didn't…"

"Doesn't matter," Mike answered and then took a seat on the bench. He kicked some weights, ignoring the pain it caused his toes, "I'm not talking about what he did as a kid. Did Serena ever tell you of the time we discovered Nighlok Terran needed Sanzu Water?"

"When he had been crying constantly, yeah," James nodded. "You found some…"

"I was supposed to go to the past, fill up a bottle from a recently covered pool and then come back to the present. Instead, I went to the future."

"To the…"

"Fifteen years into the future. Everything was very different because I was gone. Serena was dead, you had left…"

"I left? I left Terran after Serena died?"

"I'm not blaming you," Mike said, "I know you never would now but things were different back then. You weren't a daddy. Besides, Terran was fine. Emily raised him."

"She would be a good mom."

"Terran said she was. It's just… my going to the future meant that for fifteen years I had disappeared. Emily never moved on, which is touching, but she met a guy. She met Frankie. He tried to hit on her and she rejected him. He's the kind of ass who doesn't take now for an answer. When I got to the future, Mia and Kevin got a call from Terran. Frankie had gotten into the house and…"

"That's not going to happen," James finally felt it was safe enough to approach Mike. He sat beside him on the bench and wrapped his arm around his shoulder, "You're here for Emily this time. She can protect herself, and she's got you looking after her, and I'll bet Frankie never got help in High School like he did in this time. Everything's different…"

"He's still got a crush on my wife," Mike shook his head, "He's still a slime ball. In that future, Kevin and Mia were married. Jayden and Antonio were married. Some things stayed the same. What if Frankie isn't someone who can change? What if there's nothing I can do? She was ruined by a kiss last time, James. If Frankie gets his way."

"Enough has changed," James assure Mike. "You just need to relax. If you stay angry, you're going to do something you'll regret. You're going to hurt someone. If that happens, you might not be able to protect Emily. Take a deep breathe, and when you're ready we can watch a DVD or something upstairs. You'll forget all about today."

"Thanks, James."

James nodded his head and got up. He was halfway to the stairs when he remembered something important and turned around, "What about at school? If Frankie's back and he's causing you this much…"

"I'll keep away from him. We've got a plan. Speaking of, know anything about cheerleading?"

"I know how to type it into Google?" James joked, "Shall we?"

Mike nodded his head and followed James up the stairs.

-Samurai-

Emily didn't like the news of Frankie being back one bit. Though she had suffered worse, it was one thing to be hurt by a Nighlok – a monster designed for chaos, pain, and suffering. It was another thing entirely to be hurt by another human being. Even worse, Frankie was just a common man. Frankie was just a kid.

From the moment shit hit the fan, Emily had been humiliated. She had trusted him, like she trusted everyone who gave her a kind smile, and he had led her astray. Then, in spite of her martial art skills and her job fighting monsters for a living, a kid had gotten the best of her. With a little help from the edge of the counter, Frankie had taken the advantage, won the battle, and tied her up, keeping her down for the rest of the kidnapping. He had shattered her trust, had disgraced her as a Samurai, as a human, as a young woman, and as a girlfriend.

Mike had been amazing to her when she got home. In spite of her admitting to him that she had willing kissed Frankie with the same passion she gave Mike, he never looked to her different. She knew it upset him, and possibly killed him inside, but he understood. Above everything, he understood exactly why it happened and how much she hated herself for having to give into Frankie. He had even been romantic about it and gave her a kiss. From that moment, even with Frankie's undoable forced romance, Mike was still Emily's first and last love.

Emily still couldn't shake what had happened. She couldn't forget how it felt to betray Mike, and how it felt to be so vulnerable, beaten, disgraced, ashamed, scared, and broken. She had been so broken.

She hid in the bathroom stall, curled up on the toilet and rocking slightly as she tried to wait it out. She didn't know what would happen if she waited, or what she was going to do, but she couldn't force herself to do anything but sit in a ball on the toilet, think, and rock.

"Emily?" Serena's voice echoed in the small bathroom as she came after her sister. She had always known the day Frankie came back would be upsetting to Emily. Serena remembered the morning after bringing Emily home. Her little sister shared everything in great detail and Serena had done what she was very used to doing. She took her broken sister in her arms while gently and warmly offering her comfort. At the same time, another side of her had been angry – angrier than she had ever been or even than she had ever seen Mike get. Still, tucked away in her drawers she had notes detailing a plan to kill Frankie. Should anything ever happen to him, it would surely be enough to throw Serena in jail for the rest of her life on charges of murder.

Hearing her sister's voice, Emily stepped down from the toilet and opened the door to the stall. Serena, again, found herself holding her little sister in her arms.

"They tell me he's changed," Serena said. "I don't know if it's true."

"What if it's not?" Emily asked. "He's… he's sneaky, Serena. He's mean and sneaky and… deceptive."

"And he's never going to hurt you again, I promise," Serena held her sister's arms and looked her right in the eye. "He's at school where Mike and I can keep an eye on him."

"But what about when he's not at school?"

"He's got no idea where you live, Emily. You'll have James at home, Lauren, Kate, and Ji at the Shiba House if ever James needs to leave for the day, and Mia and Kevin, and Jayden and Antonio only a few blocks away. Even if Frankie's on a path to get you back, he'll have so much standing in his way, he'll never make it. Trust me, he's never going to touch you."

"Okay."

Serena gave her little sister a smile and then pulled her in for one more comforting hug. It last long enough for Emily to dry her tears and wipe the concern off her face. Serena gave her a little squeeze.

"Don't be an attention hog. Frankie's not a big deal, and Ji and Kate sound like they have news that is. Are you ready to go out there?"

Emily nodded her head with a smile. She stuck close to her sister as they walked back to their table. Emily saw a few sympathetic looks from her friends but offered them a smile in return.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry?" Kate was obviously the most worried, "Emily, what that guy did…"

"He won't do again," Serena assured her aunt. Just then, the main course arrived. "You owe us important news. That's why we're all here."

"Dessert," Kate promised. The meals started to be eaten in silence. No one was really sure what to say about Frankie. Lauren and Kate had just learned about the kid with a massive crush on Emily, and Ji and Jayden couldn't say anything without tensing up. Serena kept plotting out her murder in her head, trying to find ways to make it look like an unfortunate natural death.

Emily was most uncomfortable with the silence so she spoke up, "Terran was learning to dance at lunch."

It was Lauren's turn to be uncomfortable as the conversation shifted over to Terran and baby talk. She could only hope that wasn't an unplanned but very convenient transition into the big news at dessert. The waiting and the anxiety were going to kill her.

Finally, the plates were empty and cleared and the waiter came to see if the table was interested in desserts. Before anyone could place an order, Ji and Kate ordered an entire cake from the dessert bar. The waiter left with the order and Ji took Kate's hand.

"I guess this is it," he said with a smile, "the reason we're all here."

"The big news," Serena was the only one who didn't have a clue or assumption. She hadn't been at the jail and so hadn't seen the ring of bread around Kate's finger, and she didn't live at the Shiba House so she hadn't heard Ji and Kate spending a night together.

"As you all know," Kate started as she turned to Ji and looked at him lovingly, "Ji and I have been contacts for many years but recently we started communicating on a regular basis and…"

"You fell in love," Emily smiled, hoping to skip the introductory small talk. "We were all there for that… well, almost. Sorry Lauren."

Lauren waved it off. She didn't care about the details. She just wanted to know, yes or no, if Ji and Kate were with child. She wanted to know if, once again, her parents would be ripped away from her.

"We will never regret staying behind when the city came after you," Ji said. He wrapped his arm around Kate and looked to the Samurai, "It was one of our toughest experiences, being in jail, but we faced it together."

"Blah, blah, blah," Emily was bouncing in her seat, positive the news was what she was expecting, "No details. Facts, please!"

Finally, Lauren found something she could agree with. She sat up a little higher in her chair, hoping Ji and Kate got the push they needed to get it out.

"We were wondering if you four wanted to come with us to the jewellers after dessert," Kate smiled. She looked to Emily and Jayden specifically, "I think we can all agree bread does not make a good engagement ring, especially when you're hungry."

Though Serena was a little lost by the phrasing, she got the message, and along with Jayden and Emily she got up and went over to her aunt and Ji to congratulate them on their engagement. Lauren gave her congratulations as well, and though she was happy there was no baby, she knew it was coming. Ji and Kate were getting older, but they weren't old yet. They would have to do so quickly given Kate's age, but they could still have kids. If they really wanted to, and if they really tried (another reason Lauren wasn't looking forward to a new baby) it could happen.

While Ji was telling the girls and Jayden about the engagement, and how he managed to make a proposal romantic even behind bars, Kate turned to Lauren and saw a saddened look. Lauren wasn't listening to the story, and instead she was playing with the table cloth. She reached over and touched Lauren's arm.

"I'm not trying to replace your mother. I know this is all a little… odd. Starting a family is never an easy transition."

Lauren gulped and nodded her head, "Yeah, I miss mom."

"Will you be my maid of honour?"

Lauren looked up. She was startled this was happening. She had figured one of Kate's friends would have that honour – likely Serena and Emily's mother. If not, she thought Serena would be next in line, or Emily. They were her nieces, after all, and more family to Kate that Lauren ever would be.

"Really?"

"We share a house. Getting together to plan the wedding will be easier than driving all the way out to the country to meet up with Ellie," Kate nodded her head. "Besides, it's going to be a big change for all of us, and it'll be easier if we all get a say on it. What do you think?"

"I've never been maid of honour before. I don't really know what that means."

"I'll help you," Kate promised and then pulled Lauren in for a hug. Lauren accepted the embrace, but still couldn't get the thought of the baby out of her mind. If Kate and Ji did want a child, and if they did have a child, where would that put Lauren? She wasn't anything to Kate – not biologically and not like the baby would be. She had known Ji since she was a child, but given the years of separation, she barely knew him at all. If they had a baby, their own baby, surely she was going to get lost.

"Mama?" Lauren poked her head into the new baby's room and saw her mother rocking a very loud baby in a rocking chair as she tried desperately to sooth the little boy.

"Not now, Lauren. Mommy's busy," her mother got up from the chair and ushered Lauren out of the room, "If it's important, go talk to daddy."

Lauren nodded her head and scurried away from the room. Since the baby had come there was never much time for her. Her little brother was always crying and always demanding attention. It was like he didn't know that his mommy was Lauren's mommy first.

Still, she had her father. Lauren rushed to the common room and saw her father digging through her toy box. Excited because she thought he was going to play with her, she bounced happily into the room.

"Lauren," he groaned and pulled out a teddy from the box. Since her little had been born, Lauren got into the habit of hiding his toys. If he would take her mother from her, she was going to take his toys. It wasn't like he used them anyways.

Donnie didn't even see Lauren. He tucked the bear under his arm and then grabbed a blanket and a warm bottle of milk before he raced down to the baby's room. Lauren hugged the board game she had been carrying around and watched her father leave as well.

"Once Jayden settles down for his nap, perhaps they will play with you then," Lauren heard Ji say and turned around, seeing the man standing behind her. He took the game from her arms and walked her to the dojo, "Why don't you take this time to practice those Symbols daddy showed you?"

Lauren did as she was asked and traced what she then thought were just squiggly lines while her baby brother cried and cried. Eventually he did settled down. As soon as the house was quiet, Lauren put her paintbrush back in the pot and raced down the hall.

"Mama! Daddy! Candyland…"

"After dinner, Lauren," her very exhausted mother told her and gave her a kiss on the head, "Daddy and I are going to try and get some sleep before Jayden wakes up again."

"But… but…" Lauren saw her parents disappear into the bedroom. She let out a huff, turned around, and stomped her little feet down to the common room. She grabbed her board game and some of her dolls. She set them around the table. If her parents weren't going to play with her, she would play without them.