Kevin loved his sleep. It wasn't obvious to the others because he was always up early and rarely chose to sleep in, but he loved being under the soft, warm blankets, curled up nicely in his comfortable bed, and he loved slowly drifting off to sleep.

A little hand on his face interrupted the moment for him. A little hand tapped against his cheek, forcing him out of his slumber. He let out a groan but couldn't roll over and ignore the little hand. He had a daughter now and even the nights didn't belong to him anymore.

"Riley? Mia's on the other side," Kevin and Riley had made their connection, but Mia was still Riley's favourite by far. She was the one Riley wanted when she was scared, and she was the one Riley woke up in the middle of the night after having a nightmare.

"Mia gets grumpy when she's tired," Riley whispered. She hugged her pink Ranger teddy bear and pointed to the other side of the bed. Mia's maternal instincts were amazing, but for the last several days she had been tending to Riley day and night. The little girl was still recovering from a concussion and was still having nightmares from the war that killed her birth parents and from when she watched her brother and cat die. She needed a watchful eye on her at all times. Finally, it was the first night where Riley had gone to bed without a fuss, and stayed asleep long enough for Mia to sleep in her own bed. It seemed nothing would get her out of bed tonight. She was too tired to know her daughter needed her.

Kevin sat up, lifted Riley up and set her down in the bed, "What's wrong? Head or nightmares?"

"There's a noise in my room," Riley told her father. "I think there's a monster in my closet."

"A monster? Really?" Kevin pushed the blankets down and got out of bed, "Let me have a look for you."

He took Riley's hand and walked with her back to her room. She hugged her bear tightly and stayed by the door while Kevin turned on the bedroom light and approached the closet.

"In here?" he asked. Riley nodded. Suddenly, a loud thump could be heard. Riley whimpered and hid her face in her teddy bear while Kevin jumped slightly from surprise. He knew monsters weren't real (not anymore, thanks to him and the Rangers), but after hearing the thump even he was scared of the closet. Still, knowing his role as daddy was to be the big, strong man that defended his family, Kevin did as he promised. He opened the closet door and looked inside. Nothing out of the ordinary was inside.

"No monsters," he promised Riley, but the thumping noise did have him concerned. He walked back to Riley, took her in his arms and then put her back in her bed. He left her bedroom light on and together they listened for the thumping noise again.

It was heard, but it was different. It was a thumb, followed by a scratching sound, like someone was scratching their nails against a fabric. It took him a moment, but Kevin looked up. The sound wasn't coming from the closet, but from the ceiling.

"Poop," he said because Riley was too young to hear what he really wanted to say, "That's no monster, Riles."

"What is it?" Riley whispered.

"Varmint."

"What?"

"There's something in the attic."

"A monster?"

"Nope," Kevin shook his head and started to leave the room. Riley followed him, wanting to know what was happening. She watched as Kevin picked up a flashlight and then opened up the access door and started to climb into the attic.

Kevin was looking for something small. He had never had an animal trapped in his attic before – mostly because this was the first house he had ever owned. He heard it was common for some rats or mice to make a home in the upper part of the house and figured one of the small creatures had gotten in.

What he saw surprised him. The minute he was up in the attic and he turned the flashlight on he saw beady eyes staring back at him. It wasn't just a rat or a mouse; it was a full grown racoon. He let out a cry, having been startled, and nearly tumbled down the steps that led up to the ladder. He dropped the flashlight on his way down, but he wouldn't need it anymore tonight. The raccoon had startled him enough. He closed the access door, and took Riley in his arms.

"You're sleeping with us tonight," he carried her back into their room.

"There is a monster upstairs?"

"Just a big pest."

"How big?"

Kevin lay Riley in the middle of the bed and then crawled in beside her. He tucked in the blankets, "A raccoon. A dirty, stinky raccoon."

"A raccoon? In the upstairs?"

"I'll call someone to get rid of it tomorrow."

"Why is the raccoon in the upstairs?"

"I don't know, Riley. Just go to sleep."

"Is it cold outside?"

"Maybe, but raccoons should be outside. Humans live inside."

"Why?"

"Because we… do?"

"Why?"

"Riley, sleep."

"We no use the upstairs. Mr. Nibbles can stay."

"You named him?"

"Can he be my pet? Like Muffin."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because he's a raccoon. He's a wild animal."

"Muffin was a manimal," Riley said, "She was my pet and she lived inside."

"Raccoons are different."

"Why?"

Kevin groaned loudly and rolled over, "Sleepy time. Goodnight, Riley. I love you."

-Samurai-

Mike and James were having a movie marathon as they waited for the girls to get home after what was a really long dinner with Ji and Kate. Midway through their third movie, the door finally opened and Emily and Serena were home. James put the movie on pause as Mike got up to great the sisters.

"Hey… oomph!" he loved Emily's hugs but when they were strong they could sometimes be a little much. Still, he wrapped his arms around her, "I, uh… I missed you too, Em."

"I told her about Frankie," Serena said as she put away the coats. "It came up at dinner."

Mike shrugged his shoulders, "I told James."

"Serena also said you're working with him," Emily looked up at Mike with a worried look, "I want him gone, but Mike…"

"I worked something out. Either of you know anything about coaching cheerleading?"

"I helped Mitch," Serena shrugged her shoulders, "I could give you some of the pointers I gave him. After you tell me how you got into cheerleading."

"I've hurt myself standing still," Emily shook her head, "You don't want my advice on cheerleading."

"Someone's got to be good at this stuff," Mike muttered. He then gestured upstairs, "Em, we should probably talk a bit about the Frankie thing, though."

Emily nodded her head and handed her crutches to James while Mike lifted her and carried her up the stairs. It was easier and safer than letting Emily go up the stairs on one foot.

James nudged Serena when Mike and Emily were out of earshot, "I hope you know, I want…"

"I'll film everything, I promise," Serena chuckled and gave James a kiss.

"Mike and cheerleading. Who knew?"