As luck would have it, it began to snow on Mike and Emily's way to Riley's birthday party, but Mike didn't care. He lifted the collar of his jacket to keep warm but continued walking at a slower pace. His wife held his arm and leaned against him comfortably, stealing some of his heat, but again he didn't care. He continued to walk with a smile, admiring the view before him.

"Snow globe snow," Emily chuckled and Mike looked down at her. She had had a moment of panic about their pregnancy, but it had passed. He liked to think of her shifting mood as part of the hormones taking over her body. Since announcing the pregnancy, she had been much happier, and much more excited for the day she would become a mother to twins – however, she still had her doubts. Mike couldn't blame her; he was worried too. He had a lot to be worried about given who he was and how much of that would be passed on to his kids. He had been flattered when Jack wished he had a son that turned out to be exactly like him, but the thought terrified him as well. Mike knew how much of a terror he had been and still was.

"What?"

"Snow globe snow," Emily pointed out to the streets, "You see how it's falling slowly, like it's taking it's time. That's how snow falls in a snow globe. Isn't it beautiful?"

Mike kept his eyes on Emily and nodded his head. He had never not liked her, and there was no way he could ever stop loving her, but now that they had come to terms with the pregnancy and were getting excited for all the good and bad times it would bring, there was something different about her. It made him love her more. Not only was she Emily, and his Emily – his wife – but while she was pregnant, she carried his children. She was everything he loved and more.

"Yeah."

"We should stop for hot chocolate," Emily insisted with her smile still on her face, "We can get Riley a gingerbread man too. There's never too much sugar one a little girl's birthday. There's never too much sugar when you're not the parent. You know Mia's going to do it to us when the twins are born."

"Hot chocolate sounds…" Mike trailed off and Emily looked up. His eyes were fixed on something in the distance so she followed his gaze and saw him staring down the sidewalk at three people. They turned, spotted her and Mike and one of the men raised his hands to wave.

"No way!" Mike cried and pulled away from Emily to rush over. Emily stood where she was, watching as Mike gave both the men of the group a warm, friendly, brother-like hug. It was obvious he knew them and they were good friends. Finally, he turned to her, calling her over.

"Em! It's Matthew and Reese!"

"Your best friends," Emily nodded and walked over, joining the group. Mike, Matthew, and Reese had been great friends before Mike had to leave them behind to be a Samurai. When he first arrived to the Shiba House, he mentioned them daily, and had even disobeyed direct orders to go see them before he grasped the importance of protecting loved ones by staying away. She gave Matthew and Reese a smile before turning to the girl Reese had his arm around. Her jaw almost hit the ground, "Amanda?"

"This is a strange coincidence," Amanda, Jayden's past girlfriend chuckled and reached out to hug Emily, "It's been a long time."

"You two know each other?" Reese asked. The Amanda went to hug Mike. Reese frowned, "You know Mike? Mike, you know my girlfriend?"

"You know Jayden, my ex?" Amanda chuckled and hugged Reese reassuringly. Her boyfriend got jealous from time to time but she always found it cute. He never went overboard, and whenever he was intimidated by another man he would always try to act a lot tougher than he actually was. "Mike is good friends with Jayden."

"Is that who you've been hanging out with instead of us?" Matthew asked, crossing his arms over his chest, "Dude, you fell off the face of the Earth for a while. What happened to you? Where did you go?"

"Sorry, guys. Somethings just happened and I got so caught up. I promise, it's not going to happen again. Everything's sorted, I've got my shit together and I'll make it up to you, I swear."

"You better," Reese punched Mike lightly in the shoulder. Then he looked over to Emily, "So, I'm not the only one with a girlfriend, I see."

"Wife," Mike corrected and he wore a guilty look on his face. Matthew and Reese turned to him with their mouths open.

"You got married? To… to… that?"

"Hey…" Emily frowned. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to hid in her jacket. Mike wrapped his arms around her.

"They meant that as a compliment, Em. I don't lie when I tell you you're hot."

"Well, they didn't make it sound that way," Emily muttered and then grabbed Amanda by the arm, "The hot chocolate place is just around the corner. We'll give you three sometime to catch up, but not too much. Riley's not going to be happy if we're late."

"Got it!" Mike nodded and waved goodbye to his wife before turning back to his friends. He shut their mouths, "It's winter; there are no flies to catch."

"Seriously? You're married to…" Reese had to double take as he watched Emily and Amanda walk off, "You're a spy, aren't you? You're loaded."

"I'm not a spy. I got lucky."

"And didn't invite us to the wedding?" Matthew asked. Mike shook his head and sighed.

"I thought about it guys," it wasn't a total lie. He had thought of his friends at the wedding and did wish they could attend, but for their own protection he had to keep them out of his life, "It was a small wedding on her family's farm. Family only… and mostly hers. My parents barely made it in time."

"Just tell us all about it, and maybe buy us a couple of pizzas while we're at it. What do you say we get together and hang out just like old times? You owe us, dude."

"I know, I know, but I have a party to get to," Mike nodded. He held out his hand and waved to his friends to give them their cell phones, "This is my number. Call me and we'll set something up real soon. I'll even bring over some of the new kick-ass video games I've collected. And, you'll tell me just how a dork like you ended up with Amanda."

"I have my ways," Reese smirked.

Mike turned to Matthew, "What about you? Keeping your girl in hiding?"

"None yet," Matthew shook his head, "But I don't mind being available. More freedom and my pockets are a little heavier because I don't have to spoil anyone with Valentine's Day presents."

"A woman came up with this tradition, I swear," Reese grumbled, "That or one man screwed it up for the rest of us."

"Probably a bit of both," Mike chuckled.

-Samurai-

Riley was in the car with Lauren, watching and waiting impatiently as her aunt dug through several bags in the backseat to retrieve a birthday present she promised Riley would love. Eventually, Lauren found what she was looking for, and held out a box wrapped in decorated paper.

"Before I give this to you, I want to explain."

"Explain?" Riley asked. Lauren nodded her head.

"This isn't a toy gift, but I know you're really going to like it. You know how mommy is a Power Ranger, right?"

"The pink Ranger," Riley nodded her head and smiled brightly, "My mommy is the greatest Power Ranger ever."

"And you know I'm the red Ranger."

"The girl red, right?" Riley asked, "Because I know there's a boy red Ranger."

"Yeah," Lauren chuckled and nodded, "I'm the girl Ranger. Now, have mommy and Kevin talked to you about the dojo Uncle Jay and I are making?"

"I'm going to take lessons," Riley nodded excitedly, "I'm going to learn to kick bum and be a Power Ranger good guy! Just like mommy."

"I'm going to give you your first lesson here. A little bit of preparation, before you start, because you're going to need a little help."

"I am?"

"The Samurai Rangers started centuries ago. That's a long, long time ago."

"Like once upon a time?"

"Yeah. Once upon a time, Mia's ancestors and Kevin's ancestors were the first ever blue and pink Samurai Rangers."

"What's an ancestor?"

"A really old grandparent."

"Oh."

"Mia and Kevin's grandparents fought off evil monsters, just like Mia and Kevin do now. Only, a long long time ago, the monsters weren't completely defeated. They kept coming back."

"Why?"

"Because no one was strong enough to destroy them for good," Lauren gave Riley a comforting smile, "Don't worry, kiddo, they aren't going to come back. Mommy, Kevin, and all the other Samurai Rangers were strong enough this time."

"That's good. What happened if they weren't strong enough?"

"The first Rangers got too old when the monsters came back," Lauren said, "So they told their kids it was their turn to fight. The kids took on the powers and they fought evil. For a really long time, that's what happened. Every parent would one day pass on their powers to the next generation."

"That's so cool!" Riley smiled, "So is it my turn?"

"Almost," Lauren nodded, "The monsters are all gone now, so hopefully you're never going to have to be a Samurai Ranger, but that doesn't mean we want the line the end. But there's a little problem. One that's a bit tricky to fix, but not impossible."

"Mommy and Kevin aren't my real mommy and daddy, right?"

"Exactly," Lauren nodded her head. "It's not the first time this has happened, but it's been rare and it takes a lot of hard work for the Samurai legacy to be passed to a non-biological child. It'll take generations before the power is completely restored in your family, and you're never going to have completely mastery over your Symbol Power, no matter how hard you train."

"What?"

"This is going to be hard."

"Oh. So, am I going to be the pink Ranger or not?"

"Hopefully, one day, you'll have enough power in case something does go wrong," Lauren nodded her head, "but no matter what, I'm going to help you be the very best Samurai you can ever be, and that starts with this."

Lauren finally put the present in Riley's lap. The little girl tore the paper off in seconds and lifted the lid from the box. She threw it aside and looked inside the box, "I get a phone?"

Riley took the Samuraizer and opened it up. She started dialling numbers, pretending to make a call. Lauren snatched the Samuraizer from her hand.

"This isn't a toy, Riley. This is a very, very important tool. One day, you're going to learn how to use it properly. For now, it's not to be messed with."

"You gived me a toy I can't play with," Riley pouted, "That's no fun."

Lauren bit her lip. It was a little underwhelming for Riley. When Lauren had received her Samuraizer, it had been a big occasion, but she had been raised to know exactly what it was. Riley was still young and very new to the Samurai clan.

She knew what to say to make it special to Riley, though, "This was the pink Ranger's special Samuraizer. It's what made Mia turn into the pink Ranger you love so much."

"Really?"

"And it's yours now. With a little help from your uncle Antonio, I reprogrammed it so that once you do start learning Symbol Powers, it'll be easier to draw the power from inside of you and then unleash it."

"Stop using big words. I'm not five yet."

"This is super special and made just for you," Lauren chuckled. She placed the Samuraizer in Riley's hand, "Don't mess around with it, but you can go back inside and show mommy and Kevin. Tell them Auntie Lauren made it very special just for you. Then, when I go home, I'm going to take it back."

"You're taking back my present?"

"It'll be at the dojo, and no one will be allowed to touch it but you."

"I guess that's okay," Riley said. She hugged the Samuraizer to her chest, "Thank you, Auntie Lauren. This is the best not-toy present I ever got. I am getting a toy, though, right?"

"Yes, I still bought you a toy. One you're really, really going to love."

"Yay!" Riley gave her aunt a hug and then climbed out of the car, "Best birthday ever!"

She ran inside the house with her Samuraizer in hand. She listened to her aunt's words and didn't play with it while she showed it off to everyone at the party – announcing she was going to be the newest pink Ranger. After that, she gave the Samuraizer back to Lauren and made her swear no one would ever get to play with it but her.

Then it was time for lunch. Mike and Emily showed up just in time for the pizza (naturally). After pizza came the cake. The family, happily, sung happy birthday to Riley and cheered when she blew out all five candles in one breath.

Finally, it was the best time of the day for Riley. Presents were dropped in her lap and she tore them all open with cries of excitement. She celebrated each and every present and seemed very happy with all her gifts. By the end of it, her excitement was all over the floor. While Riley and all her party guests celebrated by eating cake, Kevin couldn't stop himself from cleaning up the wrapping and tissue paper Riley had thrown all over the kitchen floor. He filled up two garbage bags with the paper alone and wanted to take it outside so it wouldn't clutter up the house.

"Kevin, hey!" he heard as he opened the garage door. He turned to the sidewalk and saw Mackenzie, a student who took lessons at the pool he worked at. He gave her a wave and a smile, but nothing more. She seemed to take it as an invitation to walk up his driveway.

"Kevin, look, I've been thinking a lot about what happened the other day."

"About… Oh, my pulling you out of the water? Seriously, Mackenzie, I'd have done it for anyone, it's my job."

"I'm just, I'm really thankful and I was wondering if… I could treat you to dinner or something. You know, just to say thank you."

"I don't think that would be appropriate," Kevin shook his head. Mackenzie looked hurt, but persisted.

"I'm eighteen! I know technically you're an instructor and I'm a student, but there's no rule against dinner. And besides…"

"It's not that, Mackenzie. I don't save people's lives for favours. It was the right thing to do. And I don't think my fiancée would approve of me going out to dinner with another woman so close to our wedding."

"Your fiancée?"

Kevin nodded his head, "I appreciate the offer, Mackenzie, but I'm going to have to turn it down. I will see you at the pool on Monday, though. Maybe, if you have time, over my lunch I can give you and your friends a free lesson on water survival. You know, just in case you catch yourself by surprise again and land in the water. I won't always be around to rescue you."

"Yeah, okay," Mackenzie looked to her feet and turned away, "I get it. Sure, I'll see you Monday."

"Kevin!" Mia called from the front door and waved him inside, "We're about to start a game. Come inside before you get stuck on the loser side!"

"We are not the loser side," Mike called as he leaned over Mia's shoulder to call out to Kevin, "Your fiancé's just jealous because our team rocks at duck, duck goose."

Kevin looked to Mackenzie, "I've got to go. Really, Mack, I appreciate the offer, but sorry. See you Monday!"

Kevin dropped his garbage bags into the garage, closed the doors and then ran back inside the house. Mackenzie stood in the driveway and glared at the house.

She hated Mia with a passion. She wasn't right for Kevin. Kevin was her soul-mate. They were destined to be together.

Inside the house, Emily had been looking out the window and saw Mackenzie storming off while Mike, Mia, and Kevin came back inside.

"Who was that?"

Kevin shrugged his shoulders, "She takes lessons at the pool. She slipped the other day and I had to rescue her. She's really thankful."

"She doesn't look very thankful to me," Emily muttered.

"She asked me to dinner and I had to turn her down," Kevin answered. "It wouldn't be right."

"She asked you to dinner?" Mia asked.

"I turned her down."

"You don't see anything wrong with any of this?" Emily asked Kevin. "Don't you guys notice those big, desperate eyes? I was watching, and she likes you."

"That's a little creepy, Emily."

"What?"

"I saved her from drowning."

"You saved me from downing once. I never asked you to dinner."

"I'm her hero."

Emily shook her head and sighed, "Whatever. She's your problem. Can we get this game started now? The winning team was promised a second serving of cake, and the twins are hungry."