Kenny was silent the entire helicopter ride to New York. George kept him entertained with stories of his adventures with his five siblings. He also stated that Roxanne, who goes by Roxy, is who Rocky is named after.

They arrived on top of the hospital building where an emergency helicopter was already parked.

Kenny looked over, but the other helicopter was empty. He felt as if the world was moving slowly as he walked. His footsteps echoed loudly to him. He thought he heard his own breathing, and the faint sound of George Sorenson talking. He spotted a crowd of people, but he didn't register who they were or what they were saying as they hugged him.

Someone gently pushed him into a chair. The person put an arm around him and whispered to him. His brain was still reeling from everything, he couldn't think, so he shut down. Tears flowed down his face, he knew he was shaking and couldn't stop it. He had to let it out.

He didn't know when it happened, but a while later his brain told him he was in a hospital. He blinked. He was on a couch and someone was holding him tightly as if he was going to break. And he was. He felt his life bursting at the seams. Everything Kowalski and Kenny didn't want anyone to know came flooding out.

He barely registered himself talking as he told the person holding him everything. He caught himself at one part, his throat hoarse. His mind became clearer as he explained, staring with misted eyes at his knees. The worst part came in choked out pieces. He felt a trash can being pressed into his hands as he threw up. The memory was too horrible, and bringing it back disgusted him.

After he finished his story, he felt his eyelids become heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

"Baby, you're not dead."

Kowalski looked over at his mother, puzzled.

"But, I should be. I completed my mission; I got my brother out of there."

Maria frowned. "What about you?"

"I don't belong in this world." Kowalski said, dropping his gaze to his knees. "I am utterly worthless, just a wall for my brother so he wouldn't feel the brunt of it."

"I don't know about that, your friends seem to value you." She lifted his face. "The Penguins see you not only as a valuable member of the team, but an irreplaceable piece of their hearts. They care about you so much."

"They shouldn't."

"They should, baby, they should. I can't tell you personally how they feel about you, but I've seen enough to know they care. Why do you think they're waiting in the hospital? Not just for your brother, but for you too. Yes, your brother is there, but because you're there. They have great concern for your safety."

"Don't count yourself out, nephew." A voice said. A woman appeared next to them with a smile. Another came from behind.

"Aunt Talia?" He blinked, surprised that it came out of his mouth. "How did I-?"

"Some part of yourself still remembered. You were a bright three year old and still are thirteen years later." Talia Harrison said.

Another woman came from the other side.

"Aunt Stella? I remember calling you my aunt, even though we're not biologically related." Kowalski said.

"It happens." She said. "Thank you for helping my son. My children mean the world to me."

"So do mine." Maria said, kissing Kowalski's head.

"And so does my son." Talia said.

"You have a son? I have a cousin? Who-? How-? Where-? How old is he? Does he know about us?"

"Jeffery, he was traveling between New York and Stella's house to help out. I think he got a job a while ago, but he's been keeping an eye out for any sign of you. Yes, he does know of you and he's been searching for twelve years for you two. He's about thirty. Oh, and I think you know how."

Kowalski blushed. "I didn't mean-wait, what happened to his dad? Could our uncle have saved us?"

Talia shook her head sadly. "Unfortunately, he passed away before Jeffery was born. He did agree that we should keep my maiden name. Both of us were in love, but not in love with his last name. Once I explained it to Jeffery, he agreed with our choice."

"What if he wanted to change it?" Kowalski asked.

"That would have been completely his decision." Maria said. "I would be okay if you and Kenny want to change your last names."

"Ask Rico about Jeffery, my son may be able to get you in contact with your cousin." Stella said.

"Would the Blues have taken us in?" Kowalski asked.

"We both would have welcomed you with open arms." Stella said. "If Talia or myself had survived, we would have made sure to take care of you."

"I could have known Rico my whole life…did you all know you'd pass away around the same time?"

"No, honey, we didn't." Maria said. "But I admit fear was not my friend. We were best friends growing up and we often said we'd be together forever. I was the youngest and those kinds of things stuck in my head. Please understand that all three of us loved life and would have been able to survive without the others, but we had no way of knowing when our time was up."

"We loved all of our kids very much, and we still do." Talia said. "I consider Rico and Rikki my niece and nephew as much as you and Kenny are my nephews."

"Mom, did Ralph ever love us?" Kowalski asked.

Maria sighed. "I can't go into his mind, but I like to believe he did. I really do think that at some point, he loved you boys very much. I don't exactly know what happened, but I do know that we were in love and he did love you."

"Did he hurt Kenny? In that year I was gone? Kenny said everything was tense but alright."

"It was fine." Maria said. "He did get yelled at, but he was never hit. He kept to himself like you taught him."

"Why didn't you come to Earth? To visit us?"

"I tried, baby, I really did." She wrapped her arms around her son. "Kenny cried and you woke up screaming that you were kidnapped. After you got hurt for that, I decided it was safer not to. I didn't want you to get hurt because of me. Did you see a flash of light before you passed out?" Kowalski nodded. "One of those was me, trying to keep you alive. Stella, Talia, and I put our energy into keeping you protected, but only a little bit got through."

"So, I'm not dead?"

"No, little nephew." Talia said. "We're in what can be called 'in between', where we can visit you. You're going to make it."

"Unless you want to give up." Stella said. "But I suggest you see how life will turn out. You can make that choice, we can't."

"Can you visit more often in our dreams?"

"Of course, baby." Maria said. "But not too much, I don't want you to try to sleep all day."

Kowalski laughed. "Skipper doesn't let that happen, and I doubt his dad or the others would."

"Speaking of Skipper and his family..."

A window opened in the air and they saw Kenny falling asleep on Sapphire Sorenson's shoulder.

"He's okay." Kowalski said.

"Physically, yes, but he's worried about you. They all are." Stella said. "But like I said, you have a choice. We never had that choice."

"He's finally out of that house and he's safe with people I trust."

"Can you trust them to take care of you?" Stella asked.

"Do you trust them to keep you going, to love you on Earth when I am not there?" Maria asked.

"We believe Kenny is safe, but we want to know about you." Talia said. "This is your life, not Kenny's."

"I don't understand." Kowalski said.

"I think you do." Maria said knowingly. "You don't have to worry about your brother's safety, but you need to do something you haven't done for a long time."

"Think about myself?" Kowalski wondered. "But I don't want to be selfish."

"Then, I ask you this, wouldn't you be depriving yourself of the chance to see the world and experience everything you wanted to do?" His mother asked.

"You're not selfish, you're scared." Stella said. "It's okay to be scared, but is it okay to push it aside and let it gather dust in your mind or is it better to face things head on?"

"You wouldn't be selfish, you'd be thinking for yourself." Talia said. "You spent this entire time protecting and thinking about what's best for Kenny. What's best for Kowalski?"

"Think about it." Maria said.

He woke up early in the morning. He blinked as he realized he was leaning on someone. He looked up to see Sapphire Sorenson asleep. Sitting up, he disturbed a blanket that had been placed over him. The curtains were drawn around the only bed in the room.

"Kenny?" Sapphire had woken up.

"Sorry." Kenny whispered hoarsely.

"No, baby, don't be sorry." She said, rubbing his back. "Your brother was in the ER, but now he's in here."

"What's going to happen?"

She handed him a water bottle.

"Well, that's what we're going to figure out today." She said. "But we're going to try our best to make sure you two are together."

Kenny nodded silently. He sipped his water. The two of them headed to the cafeteria to eat breakfast.

Sapphire got a muffin and some coffee while Kenny got scrambled eggs and juice.

"The eggs are so fluffy." The boy commented.

"Really? Why do you think that is?" Sapphire asked with a smile.

Kenny hesitated.

"There's no wrong answer. My thought is so that people will feel lighter and happier."

Kenny smiled. "Clouds. I think that when they give it to dying patients, it helps them to be calm and remind them that fluffy and light are positive things."

"That makes sense." Sapphire said.

"It does?"

"It's sad, but it does make sense."

"What if Kowalski dies?"

"I don't see that happening." Sapphire said. "He's out of the ER and he seems to be doing better. But if that ever happens, we'll be there for you. We won't let either of you be forgotten."

"I'm done."

He hadn't even eaten half, but Sapphire didn't argue.

"Alright, sweetie." She said.

A few hours later, they were joined by the rest of the Sorenson family as well as Rico. Skipper had brought some clean clothes for Kenny to wear. They had run by Barry's who was happy to donate his clothes.

Kenny changed in the bathroom and came out to see Private and his dad who had just arrived.

"Candace couldn't make it; she had to mind the shop." Andrew explained. "But she sends her regards and hope you and your brother are better soon."

Kenny nodded silently. The nurse had opened the curtains to reveal a broken teen.

Kowalski's head and right arm were bandaged. He had an oxygen mask on and many bruises. He was covered in blankets, but they knew there were more injuries.

A while later, George found some official looking people waiting outside the door. He started speaking with them, looking back at Kenny a few times. He nodded and entered the room.

"Kenny?"

The boy laid defeated eyes on him.

"There are some people from CPS who want to hear your story. There are some things that have popped up and we're trying to figure everything out. They need to talk to you as soon as possible."

"Not today." Kenny said.

"I understand."

George went to talk to the people who looked annoyed at being sent away.

The day passed with Kenny staring at his brother while the others talked. They held and comforted him. The nurse came in to give Kenny a checkup. He had a sore neck and red marks on his hand from gripping the phone, otherwise he was physically fine.

That night, he slept on the couch again. This time, Andrew stayed. He fell asleep in a chair next to Kowalski. Private had gone to Ramona's house as she was closer.

"I've made up my mind." Kowalski said.

"Are you sure about this?" Maria asked.

"Yes, Mom, I've thought it through. I just hope it's the right decision." He sighed.

"We accept your decision no matter what." Stella said.

"Don't forget that you are loved." Talia said.

"You are definitely wanted and worth fighting for." Maria said.

"No one will be mad at me?"

"No."

"I made up my mind and I'm not going back on my decision."