Terran thought he heard a sound with his little ears, and looked up from his game of roll the ball across the floor to mommy. He heard a sound again and let the ball roll by him as he got to his feet. It was the familiar sound of the door opening, and every time the door did open, someone special came home. With a smile, he bounced excitedly to the front hall where he was met with his uncle Mike, his father, and his auntie Emy all at once. He laughed happily and ran into his father's arms.

"Hey, little man. Daddy missed you," James hugged his son and his voice brought the rest of the house over. Patrick and Christina watched from the living room but Serena jumped up and ran quickly into her sister's arms.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine, I guess," Emily muttered. She pushed Serena away and walked to the living room to have a seat on the couch. She could already tell everyone would ask her to take it easy for the next little while. The iron supplements and the rest at the hospital did help her to feel better but she still did have a sluggish feeling. It would be a couple of days still before she got her energy back up.

"I'll get started on lunch," James said as he set Terran down. He gave Mike a gentle pat on the back, "Want to help?"

"Yeah, of course," Mike nodded. He was terrified of a repeat. The iron supplements Emily had been given would help, but his time in the hospital had been horrible and he didn't wish for a repeat. To minimize those chances to as close to zero as possible, Emily was going to take in enough iron in a day to help treat her anemia. Mike didn't expect James to cook every meal for Emily, so Mike figured it was time he learned what to do to take care of his wife and children.

Serena went to sit on the couch with Emily and wrapped her arms around her little sister, "You gave everyone a scare. Have you messaged them or called them to let them know you're okay?"

"No," Emily muttered and shook her head. Serena gave her a loving squeeze and a smile.

"I know, it's scary," she thought back to the times she had blacked out and fainted. There had been many of those when she had been sick and every time Serena woke up terrified. It always took a moment for the brain to register what had happened – if it ever could – and that moment was the scariest of all. Confusion, panic, humiliation all worked together in that one moment to ensure the experience was as horrible and painfully exhausting as it could get.

Emily never recovered quickly from experiences like that. Serena held her sister close.

"Well, when you're ready we'll let them know. Do you need some rest?"

"No."

"Emily, it's okay," Serena held her sister closely. Emily shook her head. She buried her face in her sister's shoulder.

"It's all going to hell."

"No, it's not. These things happen, Em. You've been working hard for the wedding and I guess weren't eating all you needed and…"

"What if something's trying to tell me, or all of us, that I'm not ready for this! I'm still eighteen, Serena! I'll only be nineteen when the twins are born! How am I meant to take care of twins, start a career, and make a living? Everyone's got it figured out but I don't! Mike and I can't even get out of your house without possibly going into debt! We're screwed, and then I faint because my body isn't making enough red blood cells to keep me standing up! It's not okay! I'm not a mom! I can't do anything!"

"It's going to be fine, Emily, I promise," Serena hugged her sister tightly and glanced over to Kevin's parents. She gave them a little nod. If there was any time for them to offer up their safe house it was now.

Christina sat on the couch beside the two sisters and touched Emily's back, "We hear you're looking for a house."

"No," Emily sniffed but never pulled her head away from Serena's shoulder, "We want a house. We can't afford one and never will."

"Emily…"

"What if," Christina said, "I were to tell you of a place that was low rent? It's a starter home, that's for sure, but it'll be big enough for you, Mike, and the twins until you can afford your own place."

"You're dreaming."

"Patrick and I own an extra home. It was to be a safe house in case something were to happen during the Nighlok wars and now that those are over we no longer need it. We were thinking of selling, but renting it out to a young couple starting a family might just be a better idea."

"We could… we could never," Emily pulled away from Serena. She looked to Christina and Patrick, "Mike and I have like… no money… we… we…"

"You're welcome to stop by for dinner as often as you want," Serena said. "Terran's going to miss you for sure. You've been gone less than a day and this morning he kept looking around and asking for 'Memy?'. And, James and I will need a babysitter. While you're here, the food in the fridge is as much yours as ours."

"No…" Emily shook her head, "No… we couldn't. That's nice of you… all of you, but…"

"Em, we're sisters. Nice of me would be buying you a home and paying off the mortgage for you. Sharing my food and my home when you need it, that's practically required."

"And it's not like Patrick and I won't be getting anything in return," Christina said and smiled to her husband, "You and Mike will be expected to keep up with your rent payments."

"Are you serious?" Mike asked. He could hear the conversation in the kitchen and naturally had been drawn in. "You're giving us a place?"

"You pay us rent at the beginning of the month once you two are ready to move in," Patrick said, "That is all we ask from you. Unless you start damaging the home on purpose, we are willing to pay for any repairs you need. The house, after all, remains our house."

"Em, that's a sweet deal," Mike looked to his wife. She shrugged his shoulders.

"Still… can we do it?"

"I'm making money at work," Mike nodded, "And I'm finding the occasional odd job for extra cash. Didn't Lauren and Jayden also offer you a job at the dojo? What if you asked them if you could start now? I'm sure they would be willing to take you, and they would find some job for you to do to earn your pay. With that, and if we're careful, I think we can make it work."

Mike turned to Kevin's parents, "Can we try it out? Just one month. Depending on how much you want to charge for rent, I might be able to write you a check…"

"One month free," Christina said and turned to Patrick. He seemed a little surprised but knew not to argue with his wife. "Move in, take care of yourselves. If by the end of the month you think you'll have enough money to afford living on your own, you'll pay rent for the second month. If not, then no harm, no foul."

Mike smiled brightly. The deal was amazing; perfect even. He knew he would never be able to thank Patrick of Christina enough, no matter how hard he tried (and he was going to do all he could to show them his thanks). He would be a fool to pass it up. He turned to Emily to see what she thought and saw she had started crying again.

"Em, it's just temporary. We'll stand on our own feet someday, I promise. But we can't do that without a little help first…"

"It's the hormones," Emily sobbed and buried her face in her sister's shoulders again, "I'm happy, I swear."