It was a well-known fact that Kenny had a crush on Hilary.

She was beautiful and smart and kind. Sure, she had a bit of temper, but he could look past that—mostly because her temper only came out around Tyson.

So, when Tyson and Hilary started dating, to say he was a little heartbroken would be an understatement. He was devastated. He even went home and cried a little the first time he saw them kiss.

But he never let on about it. He smiled with his friends, and laughingly told Tyson he was happy that if he couldn't have Hilary at least he'd lost her to such a great guy. All the while hoping they would break up and then maybe Hilary would see that he was the one for her.

After their first break up, he figured it would only be a matter of time before Hilary noticed him. But she didn't. Two days later, she and Tyson were back together. It became a trend.

Every other week they would break up, only to get back together a few hours or a few days later. Every time it happened, Kenny was always there to comfort a crying Hilary or a sulking Tyson until they patched things up. Because when push came to shove Kenny just wanted his friends to be happy, even if Hilary wasn't with him.

But watching them together was really hurting him and he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to handle it. So when he was offered the chance to study bit-beasts in South America for nine months he went without a second thought, hoping that when he got back, either Tyson and Hilary would be broken up for good, or he would be over Hilary completely.

However, neither was the case.

When he returned, not only was he still very much in love with Hilary and Hilary and Tyson still very much together, Hilary was also six months pregnant and living at the dojo.

He asked them why they both hadn't told him, and Hilary responded that it was something best told in person.

Kenny tried to be supportive. He really did.

But the jealousy he felt over Tyson and Hilary's relationship and the anger he felt at being left out of the loop for so long led to him having a short temper.

Two weeks after his return to Japan, he got into an argument with Hilary where he said some extremely hurtful things about her and her pregnancy and accidentally caused her to fall into the small pond in the backyard. Hilary dissolved into tears and Tyson and the guys, after helping her out of the pond, kicked him off the team and out of their lives.

Kenny left willingly and didn't feel any remorse for his words or actions for a month. When his anger finally cooled and he realized what he'd done, his pride—and his fear of Tyson and the others—kept him from apologizing.

Kenny took a deep breath and released it before knocking on the hospital door. He hadn't spoken to Hilary, Tyson or the other in nearly three months, but when he got the text from Ray six hours earlier saying Hilary had had the baby he knew he had to come see them, mostly Hilary.

"Come in" Hilary's voice came softly from the other side.

He hesitated for a few moments before twisting the knob and pushing the door open. Hilary was sitting cross legged in the bed, her eyes heavy as she looked down at the pink bundle cradled in her arms.

She looked beautiful.

Kenny had to remind himself to breathe. Sure, he had seen her at school and around town since the blowout, but this was the first time he actually looked at her.

And even with eyes heavy from exhaustion, pale skin and out of control hair, Kenny couldn't take his eyes off her.

She tore her eyes away from the baby in her arms, a welcoming smile ready. When her eyes landed on Kenny they widened in surprise and the smile fell from her lips.

"Kenny," she whispered. "What are you doing here?"

He gave a weak smile.

"Ray sent me a text saying you had the baby."

She arched an eyebrow and pulled the baby closer to her, almost protectively.

"So?"

He shrugged sheepishly.

"So, I decided to come see how you are...it took me six hours to decide that actually."

When all she did was continue to stare at him, he sighed and ran a hand nervously through his hair.

"Look, Hilary. I know it's my fault that we stopped being friends and what I said to you was horrible. But I'm really sorry. That's the main reason I felt like I had to come see you."

When Hilary still didn't speak, Kenny took it as his cue to leave. He guessed it was too late to try to salvage their friendship.

He turned to leave, but just as he was about to close the door behind himself, Hilary spoke: "Her name's Tyler Elizabeth. Would you like to see her?"
When he turned to look at her in surprise, her face was wary and a little distrustful, but there was also a tiny spark of hope.

That's what makes his face light up with a smile and gives him the courage to step back into the room.

Kenny knows there's no chance of he and Hilary ever getting together no matter how badly he wants that to happen, but maybe, if he plays cards right, they can be friends again.

"Yeah. I'd really like that."

Tyson wanted to kill Kenny.

Hilary had been crying off and on for the past few hours because of what he said to her. It was totally uncalled for.

He ran his fingers through Hilary's hair as she laid her head in his lap, eyes filled with tears.

"Hil, don't cry. You know what he said isn't true. He's just being a jerk."

She sniffled.

"But he's supposed to be one of my best friends. If he's so disgusted by me that he can't even stand to be around me, then what must everyone else think about me?"

Tyson didn't know what to say to her, so he just sighed and kissed the top of her head.

Hilary had been under a lot of ridicule since the news of her pregnancy got out a week and a half before. People were accusing her of tricking him into getting her pregnant or saying she was lying about the paternity of the baby.

He was getting some grief, but not nearly as much as she was.

A lot of her friends at school had already turned their backs on her, and the fact that Kenny would turn on her too must be extremely hard on her.

Tyson would never forgive him for it.

Tyson walked happily down the halls of the hospital, arms filled with take-out from Hilary's favorite diner, flowers for Hilary and a giant stuffed bear for his daughter.

When he left an hour ago, he was only supposed to be going to the bathroom, but he got hungry so he decided to get something to eat for Hilary and himself other than the disgusting food the hospital was serving them. He'd gotten distracted by the hospital gift shop when he saw a giant pink teddy bear and hadn't been able to stop himself from buying it. The same thing happened when he saw the beautiful bouquet of lilies.

A smile spread across his face as he thought about Hilary and his tiny new daughter. Tomorrow morning both of them would be going back to the dojo with him. He was extremely excited, not to mention a little (a lot) scared, to see how well he and Hilary would handle being parents without the added security of having the nurses at their beck and call.

The smile on his face quickly faded when he walked into Hilary's hospital room and saw Kenny Sanchez cradling his daughter in his arms with Hilary standing beside him with a small, nervous smile on her face.

"What are youdoing here?" Tyson demanded angrily. "I thought I told you not to come anywhere near Hilary again."

Kenny swallowed and took a tentative step back, barely avoiding knocking into Hilary.

"I-I…Ray sent me a text message…I just wanted to make sure she was okay."

Tyson scowled.

Stupid Ray. What right did he have to go sending out text messages about things that had nothing to do with him? And why would he even thinkto send one to Kenny after everything that had happened?

"Well, as you can see she's perfectly fine. Now give my daughter back to her mother and leave before I lose my temper."

Kenny quickly handed Tyler to Hilary, mumbling something to the new mother before ducking his head and making his way towards the door.

Tyson watched all of this with barely restrained fury, and it was taking everything he had not to drop the items in his arms so he could punch his former friend squarely in the face before throwing him—literally—out of the room.

However, Kenny was only able to take about three steps before Hilary stopped him.

"Wait, Kenny."

He paused and looked over his should at her.

"Yeah?"

Hilary stared at him for a few seconds before letting out a soft sigh.

"Thanks for coming to see me and Tyler. It really means a lot to me." She offered him a soft smile. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Kenny just nodded and started for the door again. Tyson stepped out of his way so the brown-haired teen could shuffle his way out of the room and—if Tyson had any say—out of their lives.

Before he completely left the room though, Kenny paused and looked Tyson in the eyes.

"For what it's worth, I am sorry for what happened."

Tyson scoffed and turned his head away.

"It's not worth much of anything."

"Tyson!" Hilary exclaimed at the same time that Kenny bowed his head and sighed, "I guess I deserved that."

The blue-haired blader ignored his girlfriend.

"There's no guessing about it. You do deserve it. After what you did and said, I will never forgive you. You're apology means nothing to me."

Kenny didn't attempt to say anything more. He merely nodded and left the room.

"You didn't have to be so rude to him, Tyson," Hilary scolded him as he ordered her back into the bed. "He came here to apologize. He feels badly about everything that happened and wants to be friends again."

He put the stuff in his arms down and began getting the food ready.

"We don't need his kind of friendship."

"But, Tyson—"

"He basically called you a whore, said our daughter was worthless and then tried to drown you in the pond behind my house. I am not going to forgive him, Hilary. Not ever. I don't care how many times he apologizes."

Hilary pursed her lips together, but didn't say anything else on the matter. She just sat down carefully on the bed, so as not to jostle Tyler. Tyson could still tell she was upset though.

He sighed.

"Look, Hil. I know what you're thinking, but—"

She interrupted him before he could finish his statement, changing the subject entirely.

"Have you heard anything from my parents?"

He flinched. Mrs. Tatibana had called him back when he was waiting for the food at the diner. She had asked how everything had gone, if Hilary and the baby were okay. She said she'd try to stop by the hospital later, but said she wasn't sure if she'd be able to. I didn't want to get Hilary's hopes up, only to have them crushed if her mother didn't show up.

"Your mom called me to see how you and Tyler were doing. But other than that, nothing else."

Her face fell and she plucked at the sheet on her bed.

"Oh. Okay."

Sometimes, Hilary really hated being pregnant. She could rarely keep her food down, she had embarrassing gas, she always had to pee and the baby seemed to think it was fun to tap dance on her spleen while she was trying to sleep. And she didn't even like to think about the uncontrollable hormones and mood swings; just the other day she'd burst into tears when Tyson killed a particularly annoying fly.

Other times, she loved being pregnant. It was amazing to feel the new life moving within her, or to hear her baby's heartbeat. She had placed every ultrasound she'd gotten in a picture book, her heart swelling with happiness at each new picture of her baby. Sometimes, when she closed her eyes, she could imagine what it would actually be like to hold her child in her arms for the first time, to actually see its face. She just knew it would be perfect.

Hilary wished she had her mother to share these experiences, these feelings, these thoughts with. She wished she could complain to her about everything he hated about pregnancy and marvel at everything she loved about it and was excited for in the future.

Sure, she had Tyson and the guys, Grandpa and even Mr. Dickenson, but it wasn't the same. They could listen to her and try to sympathize with her, but they didn't really understand. They had never and never would actually go through a pregnancy. They would never fully understand everything she felt. Not even Tyson.

That's why she had decided to skip her third period class (it was a free period, she usually just went to get something to eat anyway) and go to her parents' house while her father was at work. After Ray and Kai had picked up her things, her father had said she was never to step foot in the house again, that he wanted nothing to do with her or her child. She hadn't spoken to her mother in nearly six months, since she'd been kicked out of the house, and she really wanted some of her wisdom.

She toyed with the key in her hand for a moment before lifting her fist to knock. This wasn't her home anymore. It only took a few minutes for the door to open, and Hilary to come face to face with her mother.

Neither spoke for a few moments, each just taking the other in. Hilary had always thought looking at her mother was like looking into a mirror that projected her twenty years into the future.

They had the same chestnut brown hair and wide ruby-red eyes, the same small, pert nose and full lips. They shared the same cheekbones and slight stature.

Hilary was like a carbon copy of her mother, the only thing she had inherited from her father was a quick and fierce temper.

"Hilary," Dawn Tatibana breathed. "What are you doing here?"

The fifteen-year-old attempted a smile, she failed.

"Since when do I need an excuse to see my own mother?"

Dawn returned the feigned smile.

"Around the same time you started knocking on the door instead of using your key."

There was a pause.

"I thought Daddy would have changed the locks."

The older woman didn't say anything to that; she just stared at her daughter, taking in her rounded belly and longer hair. She smoothed a strand of hair behind the girl's ear before smiling softly.

"Why don't you come inside? I know you must be tired." After they had both been settled in the living room with a cup of hot tea, Dawn repeated her earlier question. "What are you doing here, Hilary? You know your father is going to be extremely upset if he finds out you're here."

Hilary watched the steam curl up from the brown liquid in her mug before taking a sip.

"My birthday's today and I completely forgot about it. The only reason I remembered was because when I went downstairs to make breakfast before school, the guys had already made it and there was a huge banner hanging from the doorway wishing me a happy birthday." She smiled softly. "My birthday candles were sitting in a stack of pancakes, all lit and just waiting for me to blow them out. And the only thing Icould think to wish for was that I could see you ."

Tears welled in her eyes and began streaming down her cheeks.

"I really miss you, Mommy. And I'm scared and I don't even know if I'm doing the right thing. I don't know the first thing about babies and neither does Tyson. And I keep thinking about how in three months I'm going to be a mother and there's going to be this little person who's depending on me for everything and what if I mess up? And—"

Dawn stopped her from continuing by getting up from her seat and enveloping her daughter in her arms.

"Look sweetie," she whispered, "I know this is hard and scary. I know I can't be with you the way I need and want to be because of the situation with your father, but I want you to know that I love you, more than anything. And I'm working on Daddy. He loves you too; he's just really hurt and disappointed. You're his little girl and he had so many hopes and dreams for you, and this just wasn't one of them. You just have to give him some time to figure out his feelings and come to terms with everything."

She paused for a moment to place a kiss on top of Hilary's head.

"You don't need to be afraid about messing up, Hilary. You're going to make an amazing mother, I always knew you would. And Tyson will make a wonderful father. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you it's going to get easier, because it won't. It is going to get so much harder and sometimes you're going to feel like giving up, but that's just how life is. But I can promise you that you will not regret this decision for anything. You'll see that, once you hold that baby in your arms. No matter what he or she does—to make you happy or break your heart—you will always, always love this child, and that is all you can really do."

Dawn wasn't sure how long they sat in that silence, with Dawn stroking Hilary's hair as the fifteen-year-old's tears soaked her shirt, but it was interrupted when the front door opened at shut and Felix Tatibana's voice came from the doorway.

"Dawn, I decided to come home for my lunch break. I brought food from that diner you like so much."

Hilary pulled quickly away from her mother, eyes wide with fear as the darted around the room in search of some sort of escape.

Dawn placed her hand on her daughter's new in an attempt to calm her, and stood up from the couch.

"We're in the living room, dear."

His footsteps, which had been headed for the kitchen, changed direction towards the room they were in.

"We? Who else is—"His question died on his lips when he saw his daughter, who had obviously been crying if the puffy, red eyes were any indication, sitting on the couch.

Felix Tatibana was a big man. He stood at 6'3" at 270lbs, all muscle. His eyes were an extremely dark brown, almost to the point of being black. His black hair was cropped short and his facial hair gave him a sort of rugged look.

He could inflict fear in men with just the arch of his eyebrow, so it was no wonder that his daughter was all but trembling as she stared at him from her position on the couch.

She swallowed.

"Hello, Daddy."

Felix took in his daughter from head to foot, his eyes pausing momentarily when they landed on her baby bump. She was beautiful. He fought back the urge to pull her into his arms and demand that she move back home where she belonged. His pride wouldn't allow it.

"Hilary," his voice was flat, "what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at school."

Hilary swallowed and stood up, a look of disappointment flitting across her face.

"I just wanted to see how you guys were doing over here so I came over during my free period. I was just about to head back to school." She paused and smile softly at her mother. "It was nice speaking to you, Mom. Thanks."

Dawn only nodded and felt her chest clench as her daughter walked passed her to go to the door.

When she reached her father's side, she looked up at him and offered a weak smile.

"For what it's worth, Daddy, I really am sorry…I love you."

He didn't say anything, didn't even look at her, until she was almost out the front door.

"Hilary."

She turned to look at him, eyes wide.

"Yes?"

He hesitated, opened his mouth then quickly shut it again and turned away from her. The front door had closed behind her when he finally spoke.

"I love you too. Happy birthday."

Hilary was so excited to be going back to the dojo with Tyson and Tyler. While she was afraid of what it would be like once she and Tyson were left without the security of the hospital staff to help with the baby, she was also happy to be out from the staunch, white walls and the judging eyes of certain nurses and doctors.

So, there was a large smile on her face as she finished packing her bag and she secured Tyler in the car seat, waiting for Tyson and the others to come back so she could finish signing out and be on her way.

She perked up at the knock on her door, expecting it to be one of the nurses with her discharge papers.

Her jaw nearly hit the floor when the door opened to reveal her father, standing there with an armful of flowers and balloons and a small brown teddy bear. The cheerful gifts were offset by the brooding look on his face.

He attempted to smile at her, but it quickly crumbled into a look of discomfort.

"Hilary."

She snapped her mouth closed and offered a weak smile.

"Hello, Daddy. What are you doing here?"

He stepped into the room and sat his gifts down on the bedside table, staring down at her as she sat cross legged in the middle of her bed.

"Well, it's not every day that my only child gives birth to my grandchild. Besides," he frowned, "since when do I need an excuse to come see you?"

Hilary didn't answer.

Felix sighed and opened his mouth to say something, but his attention was drawn to the carrier sitting in front of Hilary when the baby began to move and let out a tiny whimper.

Hilary immediately leaned forward and replaced the pacifier that had fallen out of the infant's mouth.

"Shhh. Don't cry, Tyler," she cooed softly as she rocked the car seat gently. "You're okay."

"You named her Tyler?" Felix asked after the baby had settled down. He swallowed. "After…"

Hilary continued watching her daughter.

"Tyler Elizabeth."

He nodded, swallowing the lump that immediately began to form in his throat. Tyler and Elizabeth were the names of Hilary's two younger siblings that had been killed in an accident three years before.

"She's beautiful."

Hilary looked up him and offered him a soft smile that seemed to brighten her whole face.

"Thank you."