Sorry this chapter took longer than usual. I kept on debating with myself about how to end this chapter. Put it in the next chapter or put it at the end of this chapter? Grr… Anyways, I made up my mind. Hope you enjoy! :)
In the kitchen at the Shiba house, despite the troubles they were currently facing, the Samurai Family enjoyed their sunny morning. The house was busy with people so Catherine and Ji made breakfast with a little hop in their step. Antonio and Jayden sat at the bar table, telling everyone about their trip to Mexico. Kevin sat at the dinner table, rocking his daughter in her baby swing with his foot gently. Because Mia went into early labor at the Shiba house, he didn't have any of their daughter's belongings ready for her arrival. But Cody and Jayden were kind enough to pick up several items such as diapers, bottles, clothes, and other necessary newborn things from Kevin and Mia's house.
"Here you go sweetie." Catherine said, handing Kevin a baby bottle. "It should be the perfect temperature for her."
"Thanks." Kevin accepted the bottle and placed it on the table. He made sure his daughter was comfortable and secure in his arms before picking up the bottle again and feeding it her. "I really wish Mia was awake."
"Patience." Catherine told him. "We all need to have a little patience in our life from time to time."
Kevin nodded and kept his eyes on his daughter. Ever since last night, when she was born, Kevin never said much. He's been very quiet lately. No one bothered him unless it was an emergency. They all knew Kevin was having a hard time dealing with his daughter on his own and not knowing if his wife would wake up soon.
"Beep, beep, beep…" Cody came in and dropped Lauren in a chair across from Kevin. "Sorry, the piggy-back express ran out of gas. Come again next time."
"Look who's finally awake." Jayden hugged his sister. "I missed you."
"I missed you too." Lauren returned the embrace. "How was Mexico? Did you have Mexican food without me?"
Jayden chuckled. "It was great."
"That's good." Lauren smiled. She turned her head to Kevin and then to the baby he's holding. She couldn't believe her eyes. It wasn't her first time seeing the new samurai. She was in the room when Kevin and Mia's daughter came out. But she never got to actually examine her. The baby has Mia's black hair and Kevin's light brown eyes. Like Cody said, she's a cutie-pie.
"She's adorable!" Lauren exclaimed at the baby. "If I wasn't so weak right now, I'd steal you right out of daddy's hands." Kevin grinned slightly. If everyone is cooing over how cute his daughter (that isn't even a day old yet) is, then it meant he and Mia did something right.
"Uh oh, baby stealer alert." Antonio chuckled and looked at Kevin. "If you can't find her, check Lauren first."
Lauren rolled her eyes at Antonio. "So did you name her?" She asked Kevin. The Breezie vs. Aquanetta poll was basically useless at this point and Mia never told her if she and Kevin worked out their naming issues.
"Her name is…" Kevin told Lauren the new samurai's name in a low, cracking tone.
"That's beautiful." Lauren gave the new father a warm smile. "You and Mia picked nice names."
Again, Kevin simply nodded, not wanting to get into details about his naming choice. He placed the bottle back on the table and moved his daughter head up to his shoulder so he could burp her. Kevin yawned. He was exhausted from last night's events. Catherine offered to take care of the wind and water newborn but Kevin refused. He wanted to care for his daughter himself.
Ji walked over and gave Kevin a light tap on the shoulder. "She's sleeping." Ji gestured to the sleeping child in Kevin's arms. "While she sleeps, you should get some sleep too."
"Ji…" Kevin started but Ji held up his hand to signal for him to be silent and not argue with him.
"There's a quiet room for you two down the hall." Ji picked up the baby swing, indicating he's going to carry it for Kevin. "Go ahead, I'm following."
With a loud sigh, Kevin got out of his chair and carried his daughter to the room Ji is talking about. Ji shook his head sadly and brought a few baby items Kevin would need to the room. Lauren watched them leave with a frown and looked at the others who had similar expressions on their faces.
"I feel really bad for him." Lauren pulled her knees up to her chest in the chair. "This obviously isn't very easy for him to handle by himself."
"He won't let us help him though." Cody sat in the chair Kevin was sitting in just a couple seconds ago. "I thought he was going to bite my head off for setting up the bassinet."
"I just hope Kevin doesn't block us out completely." Jayden said from his bar stool. "That would be bad."
"Yeah, poor guy." Antonio added on in the conversation. "He isn't very emotionally stable either."
"Oh, I'm sure he'll be alright soon darlings." Catherine assured them, trying to lift their spirits. They were in all smiles before Ji basically forced Kevin into taking a nap. "Anyways, I don't mean to get off topic but do you guys think Emily woke up?"
"Um, uh, she…" Lauren and Cody looked at each other nervously. Neither of them planned on explaining Emily's little runaway scene yet.
"It's okay. I'm just testing you." Catherine pointed to the window above the kitchen sink. "I saw her leave with Mike a while ago."
"At least she found Mike." Lauren placed her hand over her heart. She could feel her heartbeat slowing down as she took a few deep breaths. "She scared the crap out of me earlier."
"Got that right." Cody agreed with his girlfriend. He didn't mean to hurt Emily's feelings or cause in drama. It gave him a guilty feeling but knowing Emily got to her husband safely made him feel better.
Emily curled herself into a ball in the corner of the couch and watched the clouds pass the sun through the glass doors that led to her patio. She didn't want to turn on the television. The lights flashing in between scenes gave her a headache. And having a headache reminded her of last night. Emily has had better nights and last night wasn't one of them.
Mike sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I got paid yesterday."
"That's wonderful." For the first time that day, Emily smiled. She moved her face closer to Mike's to kiss him but Mike pushed her back.
"I don't think I deserved it."
"What? Why?" Emily couldn't come up with a decent reason as to why Mike thinks he didn't deserve his first pay as a dance instructor. Mike has been dancing before they met. Being able to teach a group of people how to dance as a job is a dream come true for him.
"Evany is still on my mind." Mike confessed. "She just… I don't know. Her speech really hit me. It had me thinking. Can you imagine being born into a family that dances so flawlessly without an effort? And you're just… there… too afraid to dance because you're not as good as the rest of the family? Her father was on flipping Broadway for crying out loud."
"No, I can't imagine that because I don't dance." Emily shrugged and looked out the patio door again. "I couldn't lift a sword correctly when I first came to the Shiba house. Remember that? I learned differently but I eventually mastered it."
"True, I wasn't focused when I first came to the Shiba house. I don't like meditating. So although I learned to focus differently from everyone else on my own time… I eventually got it." Mike grinned and pulled Emily for a big kiss. "That's it! Evany needs time. I just need to find a different technique to teach her. Well, you know… if she shows up for class next week."
"I have a feeling she'll be back. Don't worry about it." Emily said with certainty. The two sat in silence until Emily suddenly remembered why she was home and not harassing Lauren at the Shiba house. "So… the black flower?"
"If your feeling better tonight, we can go camping." Mike suggested.
"I like that idea but what about the others? Won't they be suspicious?"
"We can tell two people about our little adventure but they have to keep their lips sealed. I want it to be a surprise if we find it."
Emily smirked. "This is going to be interesting."