The blood tests wouldn't arrive until the following morning, so Emily had a little time to settle after the doctor's appointment. Mike and Serena were at work and Ji and Kate were out of the house to search for Storm. Emily really admired her family for sticking by her in the search for the dog and couldn't thank them enough, especially while she sat on the couch doing nothing to help.

James was at the store. The house needed groceries and he was going to talk to a few more people in hopes that maybe they knew something about Storm. Emily told him she hadn't been feeling well when she and Lauren left for the doctor's, so James took Terran with him. The two girls had the house to themselves.

"I'm not really sure what to do," Lauren handed Emily a blanket so she would be comfortable on the couch. "Last time I was around anyone who was pregnant it was mom with Jayden and I was just little so…"

"It's fine," Emily took the remote. Even though she wasn't in the mood to do anything, a little background noise would help put her mind at ease. The pregnancy had her worried and her missing dog was always a concern. Lauren walked to the kitchen to start making some tea.

"So, is this a congratulations?" she asked. Emily had told her about the pregnancy the night before, and Lauren had been a little too shocked to congratulate the couple. She also had been very unsure if congratulation was the right thing to say. They were fairly sure they were pregnant, but not positive enough for it to demand everyone be happy and celebrate. Lauren also hadn't been present when Emily had last been pregnant, and she hadn't lived through the miscarriage, but she knew about it. She knew first-hand how losing his last child had almost destroyed Mike. She didn't want to be happy for the couple if they weren't happy about their growing family.

"A little bit," Emily shrugged her shoulders. "Mike's excited. I still can't stop worrying about Storm."

"You heard the doctor. Stressing out isn't good for the baby. Storm's going to be fine. Mike's going to bring her home soon and then…?"

"You can say congratulations then."

"What do I say now?"

"That you won't breathe a word about this to anyone. Not Serena, or Mentor, or Kate, or even Jayden. When we're ready, we're going to tell them."

"Promise," Lauren sat down beside Emily on the couch, "What do we do now?"

"Doc said to take it easy but… maybe we can look for Storm a little more? I trust Mike, but I can't just sit here."

"You let me know if you need to stop for… morning sickness. But I will warn you, I'm not good around vomiting."

"You hold my hair back, and I'll hold yours," Emily chuckled.

-Samurai-

There was no football practice after school, so Mike had a little extra time to track down Storm. He found Howie at the front entrance of the school and cut him off. He tried not to be aggressive. If Frankie was right, Howie wasn't the one who had taken Storm. Mike was willing to believe both Howie and Frankie were innocent unless he had reason to believe otherwise. If he let himself think either of them were being the bad guy again, he would snap and lose it. He had too much depending on him.

"Howie, what's up?" his relationship with Howie was confusing. Not only was Howie a year older than all the other students in the school, but Mike had been a football player and temporary student with Howie and now he was a teacher. There were limits to how he could interact with Howie and Mike didn't want to cross any of them. However, he would do almost anything to get Storm home safe and sound.

"Not much," Howie shrugged and flicked his thumb over his shoulders to point to his bag, "Homework, you know. It doesn't get easier after five years in high school."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Mike nodded. "Look, dude, I wanted to talk to you about Jackson and Grant."

"I'm headed to Jackson's place right now," Howie smirked, "His parents helped him get his own apartment after that big monster battle. You know, when houses and stuff were really cheap or whatever. It's a great place to chill. Want to come by?"

"Actually, I was hoping to talk with them privately. Something's come up and I need their help. You understand, right?"

"Yeah, for sure," Howie reached into his bag and grabbed his notebook. He tore out a sheet of paper and wrote down and address for Mike, "I've got a couple of stops to make for my dad before I can go over, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you stopped by. You can talk to them about whatever."

"Awesome Howie, you're a big help. I'll see you at practice tomorrow?"

"You bet, coach!" Howie nodded. Mike gave a big smile and darted out of the school. Going to Jackson's place would be a big help for his search for Storm. Where else could he hide a dog if he had taken him? Mike still wasn't sure who was responsible for Storm's disappearance. He wasn't even sure he was on the right trail, but at least he would get something crossed off a long list of possibilities.

He knew where Jackson's apartment was and made it there on foot. It wasn't far from the community college, which Mike assumed was the reason why Jackson bought that specific apartment among the many that had been abandoned after the final battle. After being buzzed up to Jackson's floor, he practically flew up the stairs and made it to the door. He took a few breathes to calm himself and then knocked.

Jackson opened the door. As usual he looked a little grumpy. Jackson had never been known to wear much of a smile unless he was tormenting a poor freshman.

"Never thought I'd see you again," he muttered but wouldn't open the door wide enough for Mike to see inside, let alone let him in.

"I just want to talk about the missing dog. I'm sure you've noticed my wife's flyers and Serena and Coach Smith said they talked to you and…"

"Look, I don't know anything about that stupid dog," Jackson shrugged my shoulders, "And it's not my problem. It's not my fault you can't keep the dumb animal on a leash."

"Jackson, that dog means a lot to my wife. She really misses her and I heard…"

"I don't know where the damn dog is," Jackson tried to close the door but Mike stuck his foot in the way.

"Someone told me one of Howie's friends asked him for dog treats and didn't even have a dog. That happened the day my dog disappeared. You're Howie's friend."

"So now you think I took the dog? Look, I have no beef with your, your wife, or that stupid mutt. Get out of my building…"

"Jackson, lighten up," Grant came to the door and opened it a little wider, letting Mike inside. He shook his head, "Sorry about that. We've learned Jackson gets a little moody when the rent's due. It's like a period."

"It's not…" Jackson rolled his eyes and walked off, "Whatever guys. Just let me know when Howie's here. I'm going to order the pizza. I'm sick of waiting."

Jackson walked to the kitchen and grabbed the phone, while Grant and Mike stepped out into the hall and closed the door.

"You live here too?" Mike asked. Grant shook his head.

"I'm still staying with my 'rents. Jackson's the one who's got it good. After that monster invasion, he found a job, got his own place, and he got himself a spot at college."

"And you?"

"I just barely passed high school," Grant shook his head. "My grades weren't great. I didn't get that scholarship I was looking forward to, and I couldn't snatch up any jobs fast enough. All that's left are volunteer positions, which will cost me money."

"Sucks, dude."

"Yeah. It sucks more losing a dog, though. Any leads?"

"Just from the guy at the park."

"Who said one of Howie's friends asked for dog treats but had no dog? That's not much of a lead, you know. And Howie's got a lot of friends."

"Yeah, I get it. And look, I'm not saying you guys know what happened to the dog but I've got to follow some kind of trail. Cross people off the list, you know."

"Well, Uncle Flo may not be very helpful, but I'm willing to keep an eye out and stuff. And if you need anything else…"

"That'll be really helpful, actually," Mike took out the paper from his pocket with the address to Jackson's place, "Look, I've got somewhere else I want to check for the dog, but do you mind if tomorrow I stop by your place. I've got a bunch of theories and I remember you loved watching those cops shows."

"Yeah. You liked them too, don't you? You sure you don't want to hang out? Jackson's got a whole library of new shows just waiting to be watched."

"Naw. I've got them at home. Can I just stop by your place tomorrow?"

Grant nodded his head, took the paper and a pen from Mike and wrote down his address, "Yeah, sure dude. I'm home all afternoon."

"Awesome," when Grant was done, Mike took the paper back and stuffed it in his pocket. He let Grant go back inside Jackson's apartment while he took the stairs to leave the building. When he was outside he took the paper from his pocket and smirked.