After New Year's, things weren't okay for Javier and his sister Maria Camille.
"Hey, hermana." Javier gently rocks his sister, who was fussing. "It's okay. I don't understand why papi left."
A month ago, their parents, Antonio and Teresa, had started fighting while the kids were asleep, and all of a sudden, they announce that they're not gonna be living together anymore. Javier was so upset that he ran into his room and started to cry. Two weeks later, after their dad left, Javier planed to run away from home to a nearby park with his sister.
"I can't believe Dad's gone. Es realmente maloque se ha ido, pero ¿por qué? no sépor quémamá y papáno viven juntos."
Suddenly, he rose to the sound of sniffling. Javier put Maria Camille in her stroller, pushes her to a bush and saw huddle to the wall of a bridge is Lanie. She was crying like someone hurt her pretty bad. And her face was hidden in her knees.
"Lanie? Is that you?" Javier got down. "What are you doing here? Are you ok?"
Lanie didn't answer.
"Are you sick or something?" Javier pull Maria Camille as Lanie shook her head. "Please, Lanie. Can you tell me what's wrong?"
Without lifting her head, Lanie suddenly blurted out. "It's my mom. She's…she's…"
Javier blinked as he listens. "Your mom what?"
"I was coming home and I saw a car that wasn't my daddy's. So, I went inside to get ready for my dance class and I…I saw my mom and someone who's not my dad in their room."
"What?" Javier gasps and gave Lanie a hug. "Do you know why?"
Lanie slowly grab Javier's arm as she sobbed. "No, but I went into my room, grab my dance bag, stuff and ran out just as she came out, saw me reach the door and grab my arm. She said where I was going, I told her far away from her, she didn't love Daddy, me or the baby, she was also hurting my brother or sister with that bad stuff Daddy told me about and she slap me." She raised her head and Javier gasp. There was a red mark on her face.
"Lanie, I'm sorry."
"Yeah. What about you? Kevin, Rick, Kate and I haven't seen you in days."
Sadly, Javier looks at Lanie. "The truth is my dad left us a month ago."
"What?"
"My mom told me and Maria Camille that he went out and wasn't coming back."
"I didn't know."
"Yeah."
After the conversation, Javier and Lanie gave each other a hug as the two began to cry.
-later in the day-
Moments later, as Javier, Lanie and Maria Camille are asleep, there were police sirens and the two five year olds didn't wake up until they were suddenly in the break room of a police precinct.
"Lanie, you awake?" Javier opens his eyes.
Lanie gets up. "Yeah. Where are we?" she and Javier look around.
"Good morning, kids." Lanie and Javier turn around to see a middle age man dressed in a suit. "I'm detective Daniel Lopez. You're in the 54th precinct."
"Why?"
Detective Lopez explained how a dog walker saw them sleeping under the bridge and call the police.
"Where's my sister?"
"She's with my partner. The poor thing was asleep with you two when we found you." Lopez hands them two cups of hot chocolate.
Just then, Teresa comes in with a medium build man, dressed in a winter coat.
"Oh my God! Javier!" Teresa sees her son.
"Mom!" Javier hugs his mom.
"Daddy!" Lanie runs over to the man with tears in her eyes.
"Oh. Thank you for finding them." Teresa looks at the detective.
"No problem. They were probably running away from home."
Teresa looks sadly at her son. "Javi, why don't you and Lanie go find your sister?"
"Okay." Javier takes Lanie's hand and walks out.
"This is probably because of me. I just got a divorce last month and it's probably affecting him." Teresa starts to cry.
"Wow. I don't know why Lanie didn't wait for me to take her to her dance class." The man looks at her, remorsefully.
"Well, maybe it's better…" Lopez was interrupted by Arlene and the man Lanie saw bursting in.
"Where is she?" Arlene demanded. "Where's Lanie?"
Lanie suddenly hid behind Javier. "That's him. That's the man I saw with my mom."
"Mamá,¿qué está pasando?" Javier carries Maria Camille in his arms.
Teresa carefully takes her daughter. "I don't know, sweetie."
"Arlene, who the hell is this?" the man looks at the man behind his wife.
"Why do you wanna know?"
Lanie couldn't take it anymore. "Daddy, I run away because I saw Mommy in your room with him."
"What?"
"Why you little bitch!" Arlene grabs Lanie by her as she screams.
The man grabs Lanie. "Arlene, get off her!"
The man, who looks like a cholo in his 20s-30s, steps from behind Arlene. "What's your problem, man?"
"You stay outta this, you son of a bitch?" the man pushes the man back.
"Lanie!" Javier grabs Lanie before Arlene kicks him to the floor.
Teresa gets up furiously. "Hey! Don't touch my son, bitch!"
Lopez and a dozen officers break up the fight, causing Lanie to run to her father and Teresa goes to her son's aid.
"Lopez?" a man in his 20s, came up with the kids' backpacks. "I found these in the little girl's bag in a baggie."
Lopez takes the baggie and inside was white cocaine and an empty beer can.
"Daddy?" Lanie looks at her daddy. "I found those when I was cleaning the house last week."
"Sweetie, why don't you go with your friend and his mom?" the man hands Lanie to Teresa.
"Sir?" Javier gets up. "She slapped Lanie."
Teresa escorts the kids to the workroom as two officers followed.
"You slapped our daughter, use drugs and all of sudden, you two-timing me?"
"Oh, come on. It meant nothing." Arlene folded her arms.
"You have been cheating on me all this time?"
"Don't be like that. This meant nothing to this family."
The man shook his head. "You are a terrible mother, wife and a role model to our daughter."
In the workroom, both Javier and Lanie got check out by the Medical Examiner.
"The swelling should go down. In the meantime, you're okay." She said, placing an icepack to Lanie's face.
"How's my son?" Teresa wonders, feeding Maria Camille.
"Well, he got a dislocated shoulder and a broken rib, but he'll be fine."
"Losiento mamá."
"No. Soy yoquien lo siente." Teresa kisses her son.
Outside, a couple of officers surround Arlene.
"What's going on?"
Lanie looks out. "My mom. What's wrong with her?"
"She is having the baby."
-in the hospital waiting room-
At the hospital, Teresa and Lanie's family are in the waiting room.
"Where's Daddy?" Lanie looks at her grandmother, who was reading to her.
"He'll be out."
Just then, Javier comes out with a blue cast in a sling.
"Guess what?" Javier sat down.
Lanie looks at him. "What?"
Javier gave her a smile. "You have a brother."
"It's a boy?" Lanie surprised as her family cheered.
"Yeah, but he's…"
"What?"
"He's sick. Why?"
Teresa placed an arm around him. "He's not feeling good, but he's gonna be fine."
"So, can I see him?"
"Let's wait for your daddy."
-at the nicu-
After the wait, Lanie's daddy took her and the family to see the baby, who's in the nicu.
"Oh, he's beautiful." Lanie hugs her daddy.
Just then, the Medical Examiner came out.
"Good news." Lanie's family looks up. "He's perfectly healthy."
Lanie and her family cheer in joy and excitement.
-back in the waiting room-
A couple of officers came to see Teresa and Javier.
"Hey, buddy." Lopez shakes Javier's hand. "How you feeling?"
"Okay, Lanie got a baby brother."
"Well, this is for your family and hers." The officer hands him a get well teddy bear.
"Hey." Lanie came back with her grandmother as the officer hands her a stuffed teddy bear. "Thank you…"
"Call me, Detective Gonzalez."
-near the room-
"Hey, little guy." Lanie's dad cradles the baby in his arms.
"Hey. Congratulations with your new baby." Lopez and Gonzalez catch up to him.
"Thank you."
In the hospital room, Arlene and the man look out the window.
"Where's my baby?" Arlene said, impatiently.
"I don't want her near my son."
The man looks in the hallway. "Hey, buddy! The lady wants to see her child."
"I'm not letting you laid a finger on him or Lanie."
"I will not have you take my baby away from me." Arlene lunges out.
"Get her away from me." Lanie's dad looks at Lopez and Gonzalez and the two detectives walk in and arrest the two.
-back at the waiting room-
Javier plays with Maria Camille as Lanie sat down.
"What's his name?" he asked.
Lanie tilt her head to thinks. "I don't know."
Teresa came back. "So, I talked to two officers and they suggest that you kids could come to special therapy if you kids want." Lanie and Javier look at each other and nodded.
"I don't want to go home." Lanie looks at her mom being escorted by officers.
Worried, Javier looks at his mom. "Is it okay if she stays with us?"
"Well, I don't know, but she can come with you to your grandmother's." Teresa caresses his cheek.
Just then, Lanie's dad comes back with the baby.
"Say hello to your sister, Joseph." He hands her to Lanie.
"So, his name's Joseph?"
"Yes. Here's his birth certificate."
Teresa looks at it. The baby's name is Joseph Edward Parish. "You're Walter, right?"
"Yeah."
"I'm Teresa."
"Nice to meet you."
The two grownups got up to talk as Javier and Lanie look at their little siblings.
-back to school Valentine's day-
Back at school on Valentine's Day, Javier and Lanie looks at each other. The night before Lanie slept over with Javier and Maria Camille at his grandmother's while her dad stay with the baby at the hospital. Today, she had dropped them off.
"You ready?" Javier held Lanie's hand and she nodded.
When they got in, Kevin, Rick and Kate look up.
"Javier! Lanie!" they got up and gave their friends a hug as their class cheer.
"How's your baby brother?" Rick asked.
Lanie smiled. "He's okay. Thanks."
Sister Jaclyn claps her hands. "Welcome back, you two. Come on, kids."
-later that day-
Later on, the class Valentine's Day party went pretty well. The kids made valentines and hand them out, had treats and sign a get well card.
"Kate?" Rick came up to her. "Happy Valentine's day."
"Wow. Rick, these are beautiful." Kate takes a card with two faux roses attaches to it. "I got something for you too." She hands him a card with two Hershey kisses on it.
"Thanks." Rick takes one of the kisses and gives it to Kate and she smiles.
Kevin hands out two cards to Lanie and Javier. "Here you go guys."
"Thanks, Kevin."
"I got something for you too." Javier passes him a card.
"Thanks." Kevin smiled.
"Can you hand out these to Rick and Kate?" Lanie hands him two cards.
"Sure." Kevin heads towards Rick and Kate.
Lanie and Javier almost grab a sugar cookie and nearly blush.
"Sorry."
"Sorry."
The two of them start to laugh.
"Here." Javier takes the cookie, breaks it in half and gives it to Lanie.
"Thanks, Javi." Lanie plants a kiss on Javier as he smile.
"You're welcome."
Soon after, Rick, Kate and Kevin came by and the five of them spend the entire party together as friends.