To say Riley was tired was the understatement of the year. After running around at the park and using up all her energy playing with her uncles, she barely had enough left in her to finish her ice-cream. She almost fell asleep in the cold treat, but fortunately for her, her uncle Jayden caught her in time, took her in her arms and carried her out to the car while Antonio left money behind as a tip for the waitress. Jayden tried his best not to wake Riley up as he strapped her into the car seat. Riley shifted slightly, but didn't wake up. When Jayden was sure she was safe and sound, he started to back out. Suddenly, he felt two arms wrap around his waist.

"Today was my favourite day too," Antonio whispered in Jayden's ear, repeating Riley's statement from the park. "I don't think I've ever been more in love with you than today."

"Really?" Jayden asked and then shook his head. It wasn't a crazy thought. He felt the same way. "I mean… I know why I loved today, but why did you?"

"We can be… well, a family," Antonio pointed to the sleeping Riley, "She's just a kid. She has no idea what she said but… it did kind of hurt. I got to thinking: what if a kid we adopt feels that way?"

"We're talking adoption now?" Jayden chuckled.

"We plan on getting married," Antonio shrugged his shoulders, "We'll need to talk about it at some point," he looked back at Riley and couldn't contain the bright smile on his face, "Playing with her today, spoiling her rotten, having a good time, it felt so natural. It felt, normal."

"We are normal. You're always telling me that."

"I know, I know. But this was just… Now I know we can do it. We can be good parents. When the time comes, of course. No need to rush."

"Good," Jayden chuckled as he got into the car, "Because for now, I'm happy being an uncle. As soon as I'm called daddy, it's not all going to be fun and games. Stinky diapers, crying in the middle of the night… that's going to be tough."

"We'll handle it," Antonio reached over and took Jayden's hand, "Together."

Jayden nodded his head in agreement and just as he was about to start the car he had a thought. He shook his head, "I want to get married here."

"It's not legal, Jay."

"This feels right, Antonio. This feels like it should for me. I love you more than I've loved anyone else. I feel safe with you and I don't want to run away to show the world how much you mean to me. At least, not because I'm forced too. I don't care if it takes a year, ten years, or a hundred years, I want to get married here. Or, if we do have a destination wedding, I want it to be because that's what we chose, and not because we're not allowed to get married in our home State."

"So, no planned wedding date? Just engagement until we have equal rights?"

Jayden nodded his head, "Until we have the rights we deserve," he leaned over and gave his fiancé a kiss, "Now let's get this little one home and we can continue our favourite day somewhere a little more private."

"Are you thinking what I think you're…" Antonio trailed off when he saw Jayden smirking. "Are you ready for this?"

Jayden nodded his head, "Are you?"

Antonio leaned back into his seat with a smile. He glanced over his shoulder quickly to the sleeping Riley, "You're officially my favourite."

-Samurai-

Everyone was in bed and sound asleep except for Emily. She couldn't sleep knowing Storm wasn't home. She clutched one of Storm's toys in her hand as she stood by the printer and waited for dozens of copies of Missing Dog pictures to print out. She knew it was old fashion, but she had to do everything to get her beloved dog home. She had already posted for help on the internet; she had called animal shelters and animal control and gave them a very thorough description not just of Storm's physical qualities, but also of her personality. She had called shop owners, the Samurai parents who lived in town. She had done everything she could think of – both modern and old fashion. Printing out posters was just one more thing she felt she needed to do to make sure everyone would know she wanted her dog to come home safe and sound.

"Emily?"

The Earth Samurai spun around as she was startled by Lauren's voice. When they discovered the dog had gone missing and Emily was heartbroken by it, Ji, Kate, and Lauren decided to spend the night. It was part of being a family to help each other out. Kate and Emily were already family, and Ji loved all his Samurai like they were his own children. Lauren was taking the most out of this experience. It had been a while now since Emily had said they were cousins, but now that Ji and Kate were getting married it felt a lot more real.

And Lauren liked it. In only a couple of months, Lauren had gone from being alone to not only finding her brother, but gaining a mother, a father, two cousins, in-laws, and best friends. Her welcome had been a little rocky, but after that everyone took her in with open arms and they had taken care of her. The least she could do was help her cousin look for a dog.

"Lauren? What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" Lauren asked. "It's four in the morning. Have you gone to bed?"

"Yes."

"Have you slept?"

"No. How can I? Storm's missing."

"We'll look for her in the morning, I promise."

"It is morning. Four o'clock in the morning."

"Are you always like this? You need to calm down, Emily. Storm's going to be okay…"

"Scruffy's dead. Carrie's dead. Scruffy didn't even live for a year and Carrie never even made it to birth. I'll be damned if I lose another one!"

"Scruffy? Your old dog, right?"

Emily nodded her head and wiped away the tears from her eyes with her sleeves, "I was in Japan when he died. Serrator sent one of his monsters to attack me and I couldn't do anything to save Carrie. I lost them both."

"We're going to find Storm. Nothing's going to happen to her," Lauren came over and wrapped her arms around Emily, "Tomorrow morning, we'll post these signs everywhere. We'll talk to everyone. Someone must have seen your dog."

"What if she's hurt? What if she needs me? She wouldn't have run away! I don't care what her nature is. I don't care if she saw a squirrel or a rabbit or a dog-treat descend from the heavens. She wouldn't run away from me. Someone took her! Someone stole her! They might hurt her…"

"Calm down…"

"I can't!"

"Breathe," Lauren gave Emily a tight hug and waiting for her breathing to calm before walking her over to the couch. They sat down and Lauren continued to hold Emily in her arms, "We'll search all day and night if we have to. Until we find her. Ji's called his friends and the shelters are on the look-out. I promise, if Storm's out there, she will come home."

"And if she's not out there?"

"Storm is out there," Lauren corrected herself, "She will come home. Just… get some sleep for now."

"What about searching day and night?"

"That'll start tomorrow," Lauren insisted. "I'll stay up in case Storm comes home. I'll wake you up the minute her little paws scratch at the door. If not, I'll brew us some coffee, and we'll drink that for weeks if we have to."

"You don't want to see me on coffee," Emily let herself giggle, but only a little bit. She was still worried for her dog.

"I wouldn't want to be in your way when you're on coffee and looking for Storm," Lauren smirked. She wrapped a blanket around herself and Emily. "I'll stay up for a couple of hours while you get some shut eye."

"Thanks, Lauren," Emily nodded and finally felt comfortable enough to fall asleep. Lauren smiled and let out a sigh.

She liked family. It wasn't easy, but it sure was worth it.