"Mom? Dad?" Ollie sprinted at them and threw his arms around them as Kim deflected most of the force from Tommy, but Tommy was able to settle his arms around both of them. "You're okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Kim said as she looked down at him and he hugged her even tighter. She didn't try to pry him away and instead held him just as tight. This was the first time since he'd found out that she knew his father that he had given her a hug. She hadn't pushed it with him, but she had missed this part of her child. "I'm going to stay here tonight, if that's okay. Since Tommy got beat up pretty bad I thought…"

"Please," Ollie whispered as she pulled back and saw how terrified he was. He was never supposed to see this part of their life and it had now been pushed in front of him.

"Hey- nothing is going to get you. I promise," Kim said as Ollie looked up at Tommy and Kim then looked up at him as well. It was obvious to her that Ollie was not so confident in her assessment with how hurt Tommy was right now.

"We promise and I'm going to be fine in a couple of days," Tommy said as Ollie wrapped his arms around Tommy and he forced back a hiss. He was grateful when Kim moved Ollie's arms down a bit and he held his son tight. Injuries had never bothered him this much in the past, but it suddenly felt different. Anyone he had been with knew that this was just part of the job, but all his son saw was that his parents were hurting. "You need to get to sleep."

"Mom…" Ollie started as he glanced back and forth between his parents. He had been much kinder to his dad lately, but he really wanted him mom right now. "Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

"Yeah," Kim said as she looked back at Tommy and then over at the stairs. She could feel how hard Tommy was fighting to stay upright and keep his face neutral for Ollie. Neither of them wanted to cause him anymore stress than they already had. "Why don't you head on up? It's going to take us a bit."

"Okay," Ollie ran off ahead of them and she paused for a moment as she tried to collect herself. She had never meant to scare her child this way.

"Tommy…" Kim trailed off and he gave her a look before he nodded. Ollie was scared he might have nightmares, but Kim knew she was going to have nightmares.

"Beautiful, we've got to figure something else out," Tommy whispered as she nodded as she put his arm around her shoulders and settled her arm safely around his waist. They slowly went up the stairs and he felt his back spasming, but he kept himself moving. He knew that he would get better sleep tonight with her there, even if it meant comforting her in the middle of her own nightmares. "Kim, I mean it."

"I know and I can't go through another night like tonight where we can't…" Kim trailed off as she helped him sit down on the edge of his bed. She started to lean down to give him a kiss, but stopped herself. She knew that it wouldn't end there tonight- they both needed comfort far too much and when they broke this boundary they wouldn't be able to go back. "I'll be back once he's asleep."

"Take your time," Tommy whispered as he clutched his bedspread and was able to push back some of what he felt. The only thing he had been able to come up with, with Jason was to let her buy into the dojo as an equal partner, but that was going to have to wait until her condo sold. Maybe starting with the idea now would help for the future. He laid down on his side and sleep came quickly- the injury leaving him absolutely exhausted.

Tommy woke up and took a look at the clock. It was 8:30 and he jolted out of bed before he was ground to a halt as his back spasmed. Right- he had been injured last night and he would bet that Kim had called him out of work today. He heard pots and pans clanging downstairs and was glad that she was back from dropping Ollie off. Either the nightmares hadn't come or he had been so tired that she couldn't wake him.

"Kim?" Tommy asked as he walked into the kitchen and she glanced over her shoulder while she continued to get breakfast together for the two of them. He didn't want to admit how much he had appreciated her doing this for the week or so that she and Ollie stayed with him. It was nice to just have someone to share the load of adult responsibilities. "You call out for me?"

"Yeah- you weren't waking up this morning. Turn around." Kim motioned for him to spin and he spun around. He could feel that the dressing was damp, but he didn't know how bad it was. He felt her hands gently peeling the tape away and he steadied himself against the counter.

"Does it need to be changed?"

"Yeah, but it can wait until after we eat. I'll have to hurry before I head to the dojo though." Tommy was shocked as a plate landed in front of him and he took in his favorite breakfast. He knew that he didn't have the ingredients in his house for a breakfast burrito, but she must have gone and grabbed that for him while she was out this morning.

"About the dojo," Tommy paused as she sat down across from him and he saw the fear in her eyes. She would never let him just pay for them, even though he realistically owed years of child support. In her eyes, she needed this job- he just wished that she saw that there were other ways. "What if I bring you in as an equal partner? We can say that it'll be so that you can pass it on to Ollie and…"

"Tommy, you've put so much work into the dojo- I can't possibly…" Kim trailed off as she saw the look in his eyes. There was something he wasn't able to say yet, but she could guess what it was. "It let's us date, if we want."

"That would be a side perk," Tommy said as Kim let out a shaky breath. As much as she wanted a chance to see what they might be like together as adults, there had been so much change in the last month. There was so much more change that would happen if they started dating and she didn't know if Ollie could deal with all of that change at once. She wasn't sure if she could deal with the change. "We don't have to right away. We don't have to ever, but I need that option to be open for both of us. Last night neither of us could actually comfort each other because we knew we'd be crossing a line. And once we cross it, we won't go back."

"Do you need an answer today?" Kim asked and Tommy shook his head no. He didn't need an answer any time soon, he just needed to know if she would even consider it. "Okay. I've got to look at my finances and see how I'll be able to pay and what I can afford and that might not be enough for truly buy you out."

"Well- I owe 8 years of back child support. I'm working with a lawyer to figure out how much that would have been and we can take that off the price. I will say- I didn't think you'd ever be that practical when it comes to something like this," Tommy said with a laugh as she smiled at him. It surprised her that Tommy had done this much work before he suggested it to her, but she was glad to see that he was taking it seriously. She needed him to take them seriously. "It's in case we don't work, isn't it?"

"I don't know that we will- as much as we both want it to work right now…it's been a really long time and we're just getting to know each other again," Kim whispered and he smiled over at her. She was relieved at how he was not mad at her about how practical she was being when it came to this. "Oh crap- I've got to get moving if we're going to get that changed and me to work on time."

"Okay," Tommy watched her sprint down the stairs into the Command Center and he just nodded. She hadn't turned down the idea and she was open to them trying to date. It was more than he could have hoped for, even a couple of weeks ago. Now he just had to see if things could actually work out for them.