So, we're back after a very long hiatus. RL has been a bitch and there's a lot that has happened. Not to mention the death of our beloved JDF. It's late where I am, so I won't leave much of an AN. I'm trying very hard to get back in the swing of things and I'm promising nothing right now other than I am trying.

The purpose of this chapter is to close out the Trent portion of this story. At least for now. In the next chapter, I hope to get back to the Miscreants again. I admit that I have been sitting on the first portion of the chapter and I had no idea where to go next with it. Then a couple days ago, I was listening to my YouTube Music app and "Love Me Like You Do." came on the next thing I knew this chapter was pouring out onto the computer screen. I guess that will be there theme song now.

This is not the first time this has happened.

Anyway, I'll leave you guys to read on.

See you guys at the bottom.

The Hotel

Dusk

"Your kidding!" Ethan exclaimed. "Some old dude just gifted you a classic car?"

Trent nodded as he sat back with his laptop in front of him. He had some time after his nap and decided to catch up with Ethan in Angel Grove and now chatted with him via the internet.

"It's been a wild trip. This older man gifted it to me because he'd worked along time creating his own version of Kit and he almost succeeded before he got sick. His family were all but frog marching him to the nursing home would just as easily sell it for spare parts the moment he died. He looked so broken and defeated when I saw him. I got that Erie feeling that he knew his time was coming. Like the only things holding him to this life were his dogs and his car."

"The Thunderbird will need to be looked over by the Garcia Brothers, but if it's in as good a shape as the old man said, it's ready for whatever tech you want to install. I know you're a computer nerd, so this project would be right in your wheelhouse."

By now, Billy was standing behind his protégé and listening with interest.

"The car is legally mine it's being kept in a safe place until we can retrieve it. Once we're done here, I'll drive it back myself along with my little buddy."

Billy leaned over Ethan's shoulder.

It was at this time, that Rex made himself known to the nerds. He climbed into Trent's lap and sniffed the keyboard.

"And who's this little guy?"

Trent snorted softly as the chihuahua sat on his hunches and tilted his head at the weird contraption his new master seemed to put so much focus on.

"This is Rex, I adopted him from the same man that gave me the car. He's a part of the family now."

By the time they were done talking, another hour had gone by, and the phone went off around the same time that Rex let his master know he needed to answer the call of nature.

After putting his shoes on, he checked the phone and saw it was from Conner. The hummer limo had just pulled up and everyone was starting to unload.

"Well, I guess it's time to face the music." Trent said as he slid the harness over the chihuahua.

Rex, suddenly noticing that his master seemed troubled, stretched up and licked his masters chin again as the snaps were applied.

They weren't down in the yard long when before the pair were noticed by the Miscreants and Kimberly; soon they were surrounded.

"Hey Trent, who's this handsome little guy?"

"This is Rex; I rescued him today. It's a long story, but he's legally mine now." When he looked up, he saw that everyone was listening intently. Especially Gabriella.

"I met an older gentleman by chance at the restaurant where I was meeting with my father's lawyers. He was being moved into a nursing home and was freaking out over the fate of his dogs, including Rex here. I offered to adopt both of them to keep them from being thrown to the curb. By a weird twist of fate, the old man and his dog were killed in a car accident a few hours later. Long story short, I'm officially a dog owner."

He waited a few seconds to see Katsume's reaction. But the teenager was smiling as he walked forward and slowly offered his hand to rex who sniffed his hand timidly.

"I'm not sure how much trauma he's been through today. I'm just letting him take things at his own pace."

"Dad, he's not the first rescued dog I've encountered. I get it."

As they were talking, Gabrielle could feel her heart beating faster and she realized that Kimberly had been telling the truth. Yes, Trent could be a little standoffish and aloof at times, but he was also a generous and heroic person.

This scene happening in front of her proved it! With the attention on Trent and his new furry companion, she took the time to silently slip away from the group and into the hotel.

She didn't know why she was walking away, but it seemed like the right thing to do…and it was incredibly cliché.

She needed time to think and as she walked up to the front desk with her luggage.

Trent watched her walk away and he felt at a loss. At the same moment, Rex began to wriggle in his grasp and almost fell out of his master's arms. Thankfully, Trent put him on the ground before anything happened and immediately, the spoiled chihuahua pranced back into the hotel with his tail held at a regal angle.

Her heart was racing as she attempted to check into her room. She could feel eyes on her and moments later turned to see Rex watching her with the cutest head tilt.

She fought her smile as she turned back to the gentleman who was handing her the room key while fighting a smile. Another second passed and she felt something small pawing her. Looking down, she saw rex sitting at her feet. When she looked down, he yipped at her and again tilted his head at her.

There was no way to resist the pull of the furry prince and almost immediately, she knelt down to scratch his tiny head. He licked her hand and instantly, she was under his spell.

That's what Trent saw as he walked inside. He chuckled to himself when he saw that his newest furry friend was already working over the woman he'd been trying to woo. Who knew that his furry companion would double as a wing man?

Now what?

Just wing it.

Ok…

Gabrielle looked up from petting Rex as Trent made his presence known. The attraction was definitely there.

"How was your trip?" He asked as an ice breaker.

"I could ask the same question." She replied. "You kind of took off in a hurry."

"I had things to work through." He said with a shrug. "It all worked out for the best. It was a good thing that I left when I did, I was able to save Rex from whatever terrible fate that blonde bimbo had for him." Trent paused at her curious look. "A lot happened today."

"For both of us." Gabrielle replied. "There's a war waiting for the Miscreants when we get back to Angel Grove."

"I don't want you to worry about that right now." Kimberly broke in as she walked to them. She, of course, had to pause to pet Rex because he was just too damn adorable.

"You guys should take time to get on the same page." Kimberly added "The Miscreants are going to need both of you when we do return home."

"Did something bad happen? Trent said as he turned to look at Katsume.

"Yeah." Katsume answered. "I'm good Dad, we can catch you up tomorrow."

Trent nodded and paused, seeing the new ink. "What happened?"

"Don't worry about it, Trent." Kimberly insisted. "We didn't take him to a tattoo shop."

Trent shook his head. "Okay, I'll leave it alone for now. But we're having a meeting tomorrow."

"You bet." Kimberly said. "You guys go ahead and catch up. We've got things handled here."

Trent gave her a strange look, but Kimberly had already turned away to take Maverick from her husband.

When he turned back to Gabrielle, she was biting her lip and looking awkwardly at her feet.

Damn, she was cute. Other women had tried that little trick with the lip, but none of them made his heart sputter like she did.

Yep, I'm a goner.

He looked down at her luggage and grabbed the handle. "So, where's your room?"

Gabrielle looked up at him. "Um, 327 on the third floor."

"Got it," Trent said with a grin. "I know where that is."

"Lead the way." Gabrielle said with an amused grin. Not to be forgotten, Rex pawed at her leg, and she knelt down again to pick him up. Together, the trio walked towards the elevator.

Katsume watched them go with a grin on his face. He really wanted his dad to find love and a full heart like he had.

In Gabrielle's room.

So, this is all you brought with you?"

"Yeah, it's little more than a Go Bag." Gabrielle answered as she sat cross legged on her bed. "My boss only gave me so long to get packed up; not to mention having my son's father come get him. Thankfully, we had a plan of action in place should this kind of emergency come up."

"So, you're a field agent?" Trent asked as he sat back on the couch.

"Not in the sense of what you see on TV. I was contracted by the FBI when I was called into Angel Grove after what happened to Kyle. I have the right certification to be a school counselor, I'm just getting a better paycheck than what most school personnel get…not to mention an expense account while I'm on the job."

"So, you're on the job now?" Trent asked as he sat forward on the couch. Rex was once again sitting in his lap, snoring softly.

"Only in the sense of ensuring the wellbeing of the kids and that includes Katsume. I'm meant only to report to my boss that the kids are in good health and are safe. You kind of left really abruptly.

"It was necessary." Trent said softly. "The kids, especially Katsume were in danger from a deranged adult."

"Kim told me about it. The guy is dead, and the female is still in jail. Without her sugar daddy, she's screwed."

"I have my lawyer working on getting justice for Katsume. What happened to him was horrible and I know there's no way to completely scrub the internet of whatever videos are circulating of him. But at least the cash settlement should help. We're not hurting for money, so I'll putting it towards college or whatever he plans to do for his future." Trent gave her a half smile. "I'm sure it'll involve the Miscreants."

"And what's your involvement exactly?"

"In the Miscreants? I'm supposed to be their mentor." Trent paused. "I'm not sure I've been doing the best job; I've been a mess lately."

"Because of me?"

Trent could sense the shift in the atmosphere of the room. He took a deep breath.

"Not just you. I'm carrying around some emotional baggage. After the painful breakup with my ex, I came to Angel Grove to clear my head. I was hurting from what happened, and I needed some space."

"I'd just graduated from Art School and thought I'd found 'the one'. She was my 'first 'and I was ready to spend the rest of my life with her. But then her boyfriend showed up and within a week, we were done."

"Ouch." She replied in a sympathetic voice.

Trent nodded and continued. "That was before Katsume came along. Then my friends Connor and Kira ran across him and a call for help came out and I had nothing going on, so I packed my bag again and set out to go play the hero. And now I'm going to be his father."

Gabrielle nodded and paused for a moment. "What you're doing is huge. Katsume isn't the only foster kid at the school. Not many prospective parents would be willing to take in a teenager."

"It was the best way to protect Katsume from the guy. I see myself in him, in a way. I didn't have the structure of a family as a teenager either. My father left me in the care of staff. I have no idea what I'd be if Tommy and Kimberly hadn't taken me under their wings. I don't want my adoptive son to suffer the same fate."

"I don't think he's at risk anymore." Gabrielle said softly. He's got the strongest support system I've ever seen."

Trent nodded in agreement. "He's deserves the best of everything; I'm glad he's found it."

There was a brief silence in the room then, only Rex's gentle snoring was heard.

"You do too, you know."

Trent looked up with an almost hopeful glance as she sat beside him on the couch.

He had no idea what to say to that.

"You deserve happiness too…" She paused. "In whatever form that takes."

Trent gave her a long look and then decided to lay his cards out on the table.

"I want you, but not as a rebound. You deserve better than that."

"Well, I'm not looking for a whirlwind romance, they're highly overrated."

"At the manor, I'm surrounded by lovesick couples that are crazy about each other. Things could get intense."

"Bring it on."

Trent huffed a laugh. "You sure about that?"

Her answer was a kiss. It was slow and warmed his heart, banishing any lingering fear he had. He let it happen and just as he began to press into the kiss, Rex yipped, reminding his new master that he was there.

Trent chuckled and rubbed his head, "Sorry Rex."

Rex tilted his head adorably and then got up, and with some effort, jumped up to the back of the couch and settled down again.

Trent shook his head and then looked at his new lady. "So, what's the next step?"

"I know there's some stuff going on with the Miscreants, but Kimberly says she's got it, so we could take tomorrow to just hang out, go shopping or whatever. I need to hunt down a diamond collar."

At her raised eyebrow, he added. His last owner bought it for him, but that bimbo daughter of his stole it and fenced it somewhere. I'd like to have it back in my possession before we leave for Angel Grove."

"You have papers for it?"

"The old man was very thorough. He had documentation for everything, even for Rex's mom. Everything is legal."

"Then I might be able to find a lead on that. I'll contact my bosses for a list of fences around the area. It's a start, right?"

"Yeah, in more ways than one."

"That's a cheesy line, but you're right."

"So, without going into detail, what is going on with the Miscreants?"

"There's no way to know everything, but I'm seeing a war for Angel Grove on the horizon."

Trent sighed. "So much for a quiet vacation."

Gabrielle nodded. "Let's leave the war to them for now. I'm looking forward for the date tomorrow."

Trent knew from the look on her face that she was trying to distract him, and he let her have her way. He was sure it wouldn't be the first time.

"Well then, we better get some sleep."

They shared a few more sweet kisses before he went back to his room with Rex. But that night, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

So, what did you think? I know it's not a lot, but I hope it was enjoyable for you guys. There will be more of the new couple, but not until we catch up with the Miscreants again.