Are you still with me? Awesome. I won't keep you here too long, but I am so glad you are all still with me. I know the last chapter was pretty heavy, but I tried to even it out by doing some light fluff. The same Trigger Warning goes for this chapter, just in case.

See me at the end.

1 year prior

The Skullovitch house

Front Room

The battle was just about over.

Jessie lay in the bed set up for her in the living room. She knew her time was almost gone, and she just wanted to spend her remaining time with her loved ones.

She'd shaved her head when it became obvious that the chemo side effects had taken its toll. Mavis had wanted to do the same thing, but Jessie had begged her not to.

"I know you're in my corner, Sis. You don't need to shave your head to prove that. You've always taken such meticulous care of it and spent an ungodly amount of time and money on it." The last line wasn't said with malice, she'd always been the one to tease her sister about it. And it was true, her half of the girl's bathroom was well stocked with hair care products.

Mavis had laughed at the comment, making Jessie smile. "There's my sister's beautiful smile."

Later that night...

"I can feel myself slipping, Mavis. I just want you to promise me that you won't fall apart. I know you'll cry and stuff, but I don't want you to fall into depression. I want you to go shopping, be a teenager, learn to play that guitar! Do stuff!"

"I'm not sure I can do that without you."

"Yes, you can."

There was quiet in the room for a minute and Mavis knew that the morphine was taking effect.

"Don't push him away."

"What?"

"Don't be dumb, you know who."

Mavis was speechless.

"You love him. Don't push him away."

San Diego Mall

Things were going great and both women shopped without care. If it caught their eyes, the checked it out. Before they knew it a whole hour had passed and soon it was time to find something to eat.

After getting food, which was pretty much a little of everything, they sat down to eat. For Kira, it was a ginormous slice of pizza and some teriyaki chicken. For Mavis, it was a big calzone and some breadsticks. For a few minutes, they munched in silence and then there was a chime on her phone.

Kira watched as Mavis checked her phone and sighed before biting her lip. After a moment, she wiped her mouth and addressed the teenager.

"So, you just took a total 180. Is everything okay?"

Mavis sighed and put her phone down. "It's Leviathan, he's been texting me every day. We grew up together and were super close before Jessie died. Now it's just awkward."

Kira nodded. "So, is this an awkward, I love him, kind of thing or is it something else?"

Mavis rolled her eyes at the question but there was no disrespect in the action. Kira smiled softly and waited.

"Yeah, kind of. Once Jessie slipped into her coma, there was nothing I could really do until the 'death rattle' started." Here Jessie used air quotes. "Levi offered to take me for a walk, we ended up down by one of those piers. We talked and he made me promise to not let my light go out. It sounds cheesy now, but back then…I got caught up in the moment and we…kissed."

"I really liked the kiss and before I knew it, he had me sitting on the railing and it felt really good to be held like that. We'd never even held hands before that night and I was really happy and… well… Jessie was gone, and I wished like Hell that I could tell her that kind of secret. I broke my promise and shut him out after the funeral."

"Do you still want him?"

Mavis sighed. "There's a lot of things I want, but I don't even know how to ask for them. Having to pay for Jessie's medical bills and for her funeral and burial… there's no way I can ask them for that kind of thing."

Kira nodded, feeling the desire to tell her what she had planned, but kept her mouth shut about the guitar thing.

"Can I offer some advice?"

Mavis shrugged in a way that reminded Kira of her dark days when all hope seemed lost.

"Don't shut him out."

"You're not going to tell me to listen to my heart, are you?" Mavis asked with a sharp glance at her. Skepticism was written all over her face.

Kira shook her head. "Nope, I wouldn't patronize you like that. I would tell you to pay attention to your instincts. It took a very loud wakeup call from a drill Sargent wannabe to get through to me. I know this isn't some fear thing, but you shouldn't let anything, even this awkwardness keep you from that guy you want to be with; sometimes, you just have to go for it."

Mavis exhaled softly. "Any suggestions on how to do that?"

Kira smiled and gestured towards the phone. You could start by answering whatever text he just sent you. After you finish eating, we have more stores to hit."

"Thanks Kira."

"No problem." A moment passed and the Kira asked, "So is that really his name? Leviathan?"

Mavis chuckled and shook her head. "No, his real name is Levi, we call him Leviathan because he's very tall and muscular. No bully at school would dare mess with him."

"And he's super cute?"

Mavis grinned again. "Yeah, he's tall, dark and handsome and he's got sweet brown eyes. He's perfect."

Kira grinned. "So, when you see him again, what are you going to wear?"

Mavis face fell. "I have no idea. I hadn't thought that far ahead."

Kira grinned, reaching across to squeeze her hand. "I know we'll find something amazing."

Back at the hotel…

Skull sat with Connor later that day while the ladies were finishing up in the pool.

"I can't thank you enough for what you and Kira are doing for my daughter. We've been trying everything to help Mavis through her grief; Nothing's gotten through to her."

Connor shrugged his shoulder. "Kira has been through it and who better to understand then someone who has been in a dark space?"

"That's awfully cryptic." Skull commented with a narrow look.

Connor proceeded to give the older man the short version of what had happened to them.

"Damn." Skull said when he'd finished.

Connor nodded. "It scares me to think of what might have happened if Kimberly hadn't stepped in and intervened. She saved Kira from herself and me by extension. We wouldn't be married and expecting our first baby and be able to help another teenager in need."

"All of that drama and you still manage to help someone else. First with the boys yesterday and now with Mavis. How are you not burned out from all this?"

Connor snorted. "Compared to our other jobs? This really is a vacation. If we can save the kids some drama, even better; they've been through enough."

Skull nodded. "Yes, they have."

They were quiet for a moment and then Skull's phone dinged, and he looked down at it. He paused as he read the email. He raised an eyebrow and couldn't hide the grin.

"Good news?"

Skull nodded. "I kind of knew this was coming." He looked up at Connor.

"Levi is moving to Angel Grove. He'll be there in two days."

"That's friend that you were talking about before?"

"Yeah, they were their own crew since they were in elementary school. Their Dad and I met when we were picking our kids up from detention."

"No kidding?"

Skull shook his head. "My Mavis has always been into the goth vibe, before she even knew what that was. It's my genes coming through, pure and simple. Jessie was her mom's mini me. Most people think it's cute, that Mavis is like that, but there's always that little spoiled brat in every class.

"For the girl's class, it was Chelsea something. Before this, the girls were happy to just play together and exist in their own bubble. But this troublemaker started picking on Mavis out of nowhere, called her a witch and would not leave her alone."

"The girls really tried everything to stop the bullying, including telling the teacher and ignoring her, but she just wouldn't back off. Then the day of the girl's Halloween party at school came up and the girls just had it. I wasn't surprised when Mavis wanted to dress up like a witch, a cute witch too. But that wasn't the norm for Jessie, she dressed up like a witch also, but her costume was lighter colored. They found a black cat plushie and brought it as an accessory. I didn't find out till later that my daughters had done this on purpose. I didn't get the full story till later, but when that brat started picking on her again. The girls really played into it. They cackled and pretended to cast a spell on her when she tried to stab their cat plushie. Chelsea freaked out and hit Mavis."

"And that's how the fight started?" Connor asked with an amused expression.

Skull laughed. "Yeah, and that's how Levi comes into it. He was trying to impress Mavis and came to school dressed a gothic wizard…I think? His costume was completely handmade; and that included his staff. When the fight started, Levi jumped into the fight and got a black eye for his trouble. When the dust cleared, Chelsea learned her lesson and her costume was ruined."

"His dad is a single father and doing his best to provide for his son. That's the reason that the costume looked handmade. They were surviving, but you could tell where they got their clothes from, kind of like us. About a year later, he got an offer of better work from working at the oil fields. It would benefit them, but he would have to leave his boy behind for weeks at a time. His dad and I were kindred spirits and we'd become good friends in the year since the incident at school."

"We cleared out the guest room in our house and he began staying the night at our house while his dad worked. The kids have been inseparable ever since then, or they were. Once Levi was old enough to look after himself, he started staying at his dad's house though we kept an eye on him and he spent several dinners with us, just to make sure he ate well. He was friends with Axel too and even became a big brother of sorts to Jude when he came along, but he was tight with Jessie and Mavis more.""

"I hated having to move because he would be on his own, but when my old mentor gave me the chance to take over his business, I couldn't ignore it. Not when there's four kids to feed." Skull looked like there was more he wanted to add, but a brief look of pain flashed across his face, and he stopped talking.

"No need to say more."

Skull nodded and swallowed thickly.

"Anyway, I knew his dad was going to help him move so I started looking for an apartment for him that was close to our house; I know he's always carried the torch for Mavis. It's no surprise to me that he would follow her here when he had the chance. He did just turn 18 last month."

"But Mavis is younger than him." Connor pointed out.

"Yeah, he has a learning disability and got held back a year. Ariel is a fantastic tutor and helped him catch up to his peers.

Connor nodded. "So, do we want to bring him up here or make him wait till this trip is over?"

"Nah, I don't want him to get to Angel Grove and find himself alone. He'd be over at our house the moment he got settled in. he doesn't know we left town."

"We'll leave early in the morning to get back home." Ariel said as she walked up to the men. I really need to refresh my suitcase anyway. When we left home, I didn't know we'd need dressier clothes."

Skull nodded. "Yeah, isn't there supposed to be some kind of party here with the newlyweds?"

Later that night, Connor and Kira lay in bed snuggled against each other.

"There's a lot about to happen." Connor said. "And I'm not talking about all the drama with the Miscreants."

"I know." Kira said softly. "I just hope that Mavis will take my advice to heart. I don't want her to suffer like we did."

"We've all suffered to some extent." Conner added "But if we can help others across the gap, then I'm all for it."

They were quiet for a moment and then Kira added. "I just hope we can get some peace after all this drama is done. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm ready to get back to the nesting thing and preparing for our little orca."

Connor stroke her belly. "Yeah, me too."

They lay in silence for a few minutes and then Connor addressed the elephant in the room. "So, the parental units will be here soon in a couple days, are you ready to meet your adopted sibling?"

Kira exhaled softly. "Yeah, I think so. It's just a lot to absorb…and I want my parents to be happy. If adopting a baby is what it takes, then so be it."

"I'm proud of you Rockstar."

"Thanks, Jock."

Thank you all for the patience you've shown me. RL has been very difficult with all the drama from work and things at home have been weighing me down. We'll pick up the story from 'Miscreants.'

See you then!