Kat sighed as she watched Tommy pick at his dinner. She'd come up a short time before with dinner for him. After she'd told him about Kim and Jake volunteering to watch the kids, however, the conversation had fallen silent.

"Tommy, are you alright?" Kat asked. "What's bothering you?"

He looked up from his food.

"What?" he said. "Oh—nothing. I'm fine."

Kat sighed again.

"You're a terrible liar," she said, shaking her head. "Now what's going on in that head of yours?"

"I'm fine," he repeated. "I just—well, I'd like to know what's going on in your head… we haven't had a chance to really talk after everything that's happened. We haven't even really been alone together."

He shook his head.

"I don't remember anything about Thursday even though I was supposed to have woken up briefly," he continued. "And barely remember Friday because of everything going on…"

Kat raised an eyebrow.

"This isn't about that though, is it?" Kat said.

Tommy frowned and Kat shook her head.

"I don't doubt you are concerned about me and how I'm handling all of this," she said. "But there's more going on that you're not telling me—isn't there?"

Tommy hesitated for a moment, then he sighed as his shoulders slumped.

"Would you be happier if I officially stepped down?" he asked quietly, staring at his food. "For real. Not because of Carter."

Kat looked at him in surprise, not saying anything for a moment as she tried to wrap her head around what Tommy had just asked.

"Rocky was right about some things," Tommy continued. "We never take vacations—you and I never even had a real honeymoon. We can barely make it through a weekend trip without some kind of interruption. I—"

He sighed.

"I don't want you to feel like you're only second place, Kat," he said, looking up at her. "I've stuck with the rangers because I want to make sure the world is safe for you and for JJ—you're everything to me. But…well, Carter keeps complaining about the phone and how it's always going off. And I've realized just how much it does ring and how nice it's been to not be interrupted by it all the time."

Tommy paused to take a breath, continuing before Kat could say anything.

"And, if you think I've been prioritizing the rangers over our family I'll step down," he said. "Without hesitation. I know they aren't quite there yet, but they could survive without me. I mean, Adam has already been leading Zeo for years and Trini will make sure everything doesn't fall apart even if sh—"

Leaning forward, Kat quickly moved his food and then put her hands on Tommy's face, pulling him forward to kiss him. He froze in shock for a moment and then kissed her back. After a moment she leaned back. He just stared at her in surprise.

"Better?" Kat asked with a smiled.

"Sorry…" Tommy mumbled, ducking his head. "Angela warned me when they started giving me my anxiety meds again with the other stuff still potentially lingering that things might be a little out of whack…"

He paused to take a breath and looked at Kat again.

"But I still meant everything I said," he told her. "I will step down and—"

"Tommy," Kat interrupted. "Is that what you want to do?"

He frowned.

"It's not about what I want," he said. "It's—"

"No, it is about what you want to do," Kat said, shaking her head.

"But—" he tried to protest.

Kat held up a hand to stop him.

"Let me finish," she said.

He nodded. Kat took a deep breath before she continued.

"Tommy, I have never felt like you were neglecting me—or JJ," she said firmly. "This—the rangers—have been a part of who you are for as long as I have known you. And it's always going to be a part of you no matter what happens in the future. Walking away from leading them isn't going to change any of that."

She smiled at him.

"One of the things I love about you is that you are always willing to throw yourself in to help in any way you can," she said. "Yes, I hate when you get hurt and I hate that sometimes you take too much responsibility on yourself—but I would never want you to change yourself. And you always drop everything if JJ needs you—or if I need you. The thing that gets sacrificed the most for all of this is your personal time. You lose time for workouts, or tinkering, or research."

"But I'd have more time for that if I stepped down…" he said hesitantly.

"Yes, but would you be happier?" Kat countered. "And don't forget, I'm a ranger, too. I'm not ready to walk away from them yet."

Tommy sighed, dropping his head in his hands.

"I hate that I'm thinking like this," he said. "I hate what all of this is doing to me."

He paused, shaking his head.

"Maybe Carter is right," he mumbled. "Maybe I'm not as good as I used to be. Whether I like it or not, I am getting older. And probably slowing down… even if I don't want to admit it. So, maybe I—"

Kat grabbed his head to give him another kiss and interrupt his spiraling thoughts again. Tommy smiled faintly when she let him go again.

"You keep that up and we're going to need a more private room," he said, shaking his head.

"Well, that's not going to happen right now," she retorted.

Then she sighed.

"Tommy, I don't want you to quit for me," she said. "Whatever you decide needs to be for you. So, you need to take some time to think about what you really, truly want. Once you decide what you want, then we will talk again and make a final decision together. Ok?"

Tommy nodded hesitantly but didn't argue.

"And, whether you are ready to walk away or not," Kat continued. "I'm not ready. So, either way I will be continuing to be a part of this and I hope you can understand that."

"Well of course," Tommy said immediately. "I would never expect you to just stop because of me—"

"Exactly," Kat smiled. "So, you spend some time thinking and then we will figure out a plan together—just like we always do. Ok?"

"Yeah, ok," Tommy agreed.

"Now, as for a honeymoon," Kat said with a smile. "Maybe once you are cleared by a doctor to travel—like actually travel—maybe you can leave the phone with Billy or even Carter and we can drop off the grid for a while. If they work together, they can survive without you for a week or so. We'll even give them warning this time."

Tommy smiled for real now.

"We could go to Australia," he suggested. "You haven't been back in a long time."

"Tommy, if we go to Australia we'd have to take JJ," Kat pointed out. "My family will want to see him."

"Exactly," Tommy grinned. "Which means we can leave JJ with them and take off just the two of us."

Kat laughed as she realized what he was saying.

"I approve of this plan," she said, reaching over to grab his food. "Now eat—for real this time—and we can make some tentative plans. Maybe over Christmas?"

Krista smiled as she watched Conner absently munching on the bowl of popcorn she had set next to him a little while before. She'd had no luck with coaxing him to eat more than a couple bites of his dinner before he said it was making him nauseous, so she had tried one of Kat's suggestions. Putting on a movie, she had set her large bowl of popcorn in his reach and settled in to watch it with him. They'd barely made it a quarter of the way into the movie before he reached over the first time. She hadn't said a word, just letting it happen. It might not be a meal, but at least it was something.

"You should try and get some sleep," Krista said as the movie came to an end. "How is your shoulder? Do you think you can sleep without help tonight?"

Conner hesitated as he shifted.

"Probably not," he admitted reluctantly. "I've been trying to ignore it but…"

"It's ok that it hurts," Krista said, giving him a quick kiss. "I'm going to clean up and call Angela, ok? She'll be by to check on you again soon anyways."

Conner sighed, nodding. His temperature hadn't gone down at all over the course of the afternoon. It hadn't gotten worse, but Dana and now Angela were monitoring him closely. Krista started cleaning up as she sent a quick text to Trent to tell him their movie was over and to Angela to ask her to bring something for Conner.

"You're going back to the suite, aren't you?" Conner asked quietly a few minutes later.

Krista, who was done cleaning up from dinner and the movie, sat back down next to him.

"I thought you didn't want me sleeping in the chair again," Krista said.

"I don't," Conner answered quickly. "But—"

"You don't want to stay here either," Krista finished, reaching over to squeeze his hand. "I know… but you have to stay here at least until your fever breaks. I don't want to risk it getting worse. So, one more night and then we'll see. Ok?"

"Then will you stay here?" Conner asked. "Not in the chair."

"I mean, I guess I could take the other bed," Krista said slowly.

"Or share with me," Conner said, scooting over.

Krista rolled her eyes.

"Conner, there isn't that much room in the bed," she pointed out. "Especially since you can really only sleep in one or two positions. Plus, you know you kick in your sleep sometimes and I'd have nowhere to escape your feet. So, no."

"Fine…" Conner grumbled. "Then go sleep in our bed so Angela won't keep waking you up. Trent can babysit me again."

Krista laughed. The door opened and Angela walked in with everything ready for Conner. Knowing it wouldn't take long to knock him out, Krista stood to give him a kiss. Trent would be up before Angela finished.

"Good night," she said, squeezing his hand one more time. "I love you and I'll see you in the morning, ok?"

"Love you, too," Conner said.

Tommy walked out of the bathroom and stopped in surprise. He was getting ready for bed and, when he had gone into the bathroom, no one else was there. Now there were three kids in the corner.

"JJ, there is no way this is gonna work," Marc hissed. "And why are we in here?"

"Because your dad is in here," JJ said. "That way he's at least in the room. And it's going to work. Trust me."

He turned to Izzy who was sitting on the floor with them.

"Izzy, are you ready?"

"Affirmative," she nodded. "Marc, speak into this microphone, please. It is attached to my tablet which is plugged into the phone—"

"Excuse me," Tommy interrupted, crossing his arms. "Just what are you three doing?"

They all whipped around to look at him.

"Oh, umm… hi, dad," JJ said. "I thought you'd be in there longer."

"I wasn't showering," Tommy said. "And that's not an answer."

"We're umm…we're calling Marc's grandma…" JJ answered hesitantly. "Cause she wanted to talk to Jason and he's sort of like Jason. I mean, they're related…"

"That is not the same thing," Tommy sighed, shaking his head. "And why is Izzy here?"

"Because she has the thing," JJ explained. "The thing that changes his voice."

"Mommy wrote the program," Izzy piped up.

"That is not what it's for," Tommy said, frowning.

"We are only using it to change his voice," Izzy said.

"And how exactly do you have Jason's voice?" Tommy retorted. "Because your mom hasn't had a chance to add it in yet."

"And old video that daddy had…I recorded it to match his tone. It will self-adjust as Marc speaks into the microphone. It is all very complicated. You probably would not understand."

"What I do understand is that program isn't a toy," Tommy said firmly. "Izzy, does your mother know you are using that?"

"I am not sure," she said hesitantly.

"Uh huh," he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Quick!" JJ said. "Izzy, make the call before dad calls your mom!"

"JJ!" Tommy said sharply.

Izzy was already dialing.

"Shh…" JJ said. "It's ringing!"

He paused.

"Marc, don't forget not to call her grandma," he hissed at Marc.

Marc, who had the phone pressed to his ear, stared back at JJ with wide eyes. Tommy still wasn't moving fast enough to get the phone from him.

"Hello?" Mrs. Scott answered.

"Uh, hello," Marc said quickly.

"Jason!"

"Yeah, um…it's me…" he said, stumbling a little over his words.

"I was starting to think you'd be sleeping all night, too," Mrs. Scott said.

"Yeah…I was umm…really tired. What did you want to talk to me about?"

Tommy sighed. If he interrupted now he was only going to make it worse. But the kids weren't getting out of this scot-free. He started texting.

You need to come see what your oldest is doing

There was only a brief pause before he got an answer as he continued to monitor the ongoing conversation.

Billy: Normally that phrase is reserved for our youngest…this scares me slightly more. I will be right there.

Hayley: I'm busy. Is anyone bleeding or being arrested?

Tommy: No and no.

Hayley: Then I will get it from Billy later since he's already coming.

Tommy sighed, sending another text to Billy to let him know where they were.

Hayley: And don't let either of the above things happen.

Tommy rolled his eyes, eyeing the kids. Marc was still stumbling through the conversation remarkably well. But he couldn't count on that lasting forever. And he'd have a hard time explaining why he was still awake and stealing the phone from Jason instead of the other way around.

Tommy: You do realize how many holes that leaves, right?

We're on a ranger base. Surrounded by alien technology. What if she was about to electrocute herself? There would be no blood.

Hayley: Is she?

Tommy: no

Hayley: Then the statement stands. Do I really need to come get my child? You are an adult.

Tommy: Fine. Then I'll let you deal with the fallout with Mrs. Scott when this goes wrong.

There was another pause. He could see the dots come and go as Hayley typed and deleted what she was writing. Billy was quicker.

Billy: I will be on the floor in two minutes.

Hayley: I need more details.

Tommy: I do not have time to explain right now

Billy walked in less than two minutes later.

"Tommy, what—"

"Shh!" JJ hissed.

Billy frowned and looked back at Tommy who just gestured at the kids. Following his gesture, Billy looked at his daughter with her tablet, the phone in Marc's hand as he continued to talk to his grandmother, and then over at Jason. It clicked very quickly. Rushing over, Billy snatched the phone out of Marc's hand, unplugging it as he did.

"Mrs. Scott?" he said quickly. "I apologize for the interruption, but I need to borrow Jason for a bit."

"Billy?"

"Affirmative," he nodded. "Again, I apologize. I will ensure that Jason contacts you again as soon as he is able. Goodbye."

Hanging up, he handed the phone straight to Tommy before turning to his daughter. She scrambled to her feet but kept looking at the floor.

"Isabella," he said sternly. "What were you thinking?"

"She wanted to talk to Jason…" Izzy said, peeking up at him. "She thinks she did…so, maybe she will stop asking questions?"

"So, this was JJ's plan?" Billy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Actually…he simply asked if I had a way to make it happen…" Izzy admitted, staring down at her feet again.

Billy sighed and turned to look at Tommy. He nodded.

"Yup," he said. "Good news. I was here the whole time and they didn't say anything that's going to hurt. So…in theory we're good for a few days."

Billy sighed. Turning back to his daughter, he put his hand on her shoulder and took the tablet out of her hands.

"I am sorry," he apologized. "Isabella and I are going to leave. We need to have a discussion about using equipment and programs without permission."

"But dad…" Izzy said as he started steering her toward the door. "JJ needed assistance and you said we should always use all tools at our disposal to assist our friends."

"We will also be discussing the finer points of that concept," he said firmly. "In our suite. As well as discussing with your mother whether you will still be attending the sleepover or going with us."

They disappeared out into the hallway and the door shut behind him. Tommy turned to look at the boys, his arms crossed. They were both on their feet now, too. He didn't say anything immediately, just watching them.

"Did we do something illegal?" Marc asked quietly, finally breaking the silence. "Am I gonna be arrested?"

"You never actually said you were your dad!" JJ protested. "So, no?"

Tommy sighed, dropping his arms.

"I wouldn't recommend taking legal advice from an eleven-year-old," he said, shaking his head. "But you're fine. However, I will be telling your father about this once he's awake."

"Aww… man…" Marc groaned. "JJ, you're gonna get me grounded for like a month."

"Oh, don't worry," Tommy said. "JJ is in trouble, too."

"But I didn't do anything!" JJ protested.

Tommy just shook his head, pulling his phone out again.

"Masterminds get in trouble, too," he said. "And I'm telling your mother, so don't even try to get out of this with her. Now back to the suite. I'll leave it up to her whether you two get to do this sleepover thing with Kim tonight."

JJ groaned. But Tommy just repeated the direction. Dejectedly, the two boys headed out the door. Tommy dropped onto his bed as he texted Kat.

Tommy: JJ is grounded

Kat: What happened?

Tommy: Long story and I'll tell you tomorrow.

But like I told him. masterminds get the same punishment as their minions.

Oh. And identity theft is a real thing.

Kat: …

OK. Right. Definitely an in person conversation.

Tommy: Yep.

Oh. And I told the boys it was up to you whether they can go to the sleepover tonight. Make them earn it.

Love you.

Kat: Oh I will.

Love you, too.

Kim stared at the large group of kids laughing and chasing each other around the living room. Dana had just dropped off Charlie and Trevor for the night, leaving Kim and Jake with all twelve of the ranger kids. Including JJ, Marc, and Izzy. They had all gotten lectures but had finally gotten permission to go.

"Ok, so, I guess I didn't really understand just how many twelve kids was going to be until they were all in one spot," Kim said nervously, looking over at Jake.

"It's fine, Kim," he said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "The pizza will be here in a couple of minutes and we'll eat and have a great night with them. It'll be fun."

"You're not wrong," she said. "But what do we do with this many kids? And they're all different ages, Jake. A three-year-old and fourteen-year-old are not going to be entertained by the same thing."

"Stop worrying," Jake said. "You're great with kids and I love kids, too. We've got this. We'll just set up a bunch of stations."

"What?" Kim said, looking at him in confusion.

"Stations," he repeated. "I can set up the TV with movies that are age appropriate for all of them. You look and see if there is anything we can bake in the kitchen since we both know I shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the stove. And we can put out some crafts and maybe a pile of books or some computers. Alright?"

"Ok," Kim agreed. "That's actually a great plan."

"Then let's do it," Jake said. "We'll start now while we wait for food."

Tommy sighed when the alert on his phone went off. With the kids gone for the night and it starting to get later, he had really hoped Christine and Will had decided not to come back again that evening. He glanced over at Amelia who was sitting in one of the other chairs. She'd come by for help with some scholarship applications, but he wasn't really sure he wanted her around Will.

"Is there a problem, Tommy?" she asked, catching his look.

"Just unwanted visitors," Tommy sighed, going back to his book. "Maybe they'll see me still awake and leave…"

Amelia shook her head in amusement. The siblings walked in a moment later. Christine huffed when she saw Tommy sitting in the chair and Will scowled at him.

"You're still here," Christine said irritably.

"Well, I can't go home yet," Tommy said absently, flipping the page in his book. "So yep. I'll be here all night. And probably the rest of the week."

The siblings scowled at him, but Tommy ignored them. Amelia was holding out her tablet to him.

"Is that better?" she asked. "I made some of the changes you suggested to my essay."

"Let me take a look," he said as he set his book aside and took it from her.

Christine, huffing, took the seat on the other side of the chamber like she usually did. Will, however, was eying Amelia. He walked closer, smirking at her. Tommy watched him closely out of the corner of his eye as he tried to skim through the essay.

"I don't think I've seen you around, sweetheart," Will said with a grin. "I'm Will."

Amelia glanced up at him, raising an eyebrow.

"And I'm a little busy with schoolwork," she said shortly before turning back to Tommy.

"Don't be like that," Will said. "Besides, I can be a lot more fun than homework."

Amelia just rolled her eyes.

"No thanks," she said.

"Hey, don't be rude," Will said, reaching out to grab her shoulder. "I'm just being friendly."

"Don't touch me," Amelia snapped, trying to pull away from his grip.

Tommy stood, handing Amelia her tablet back and grabbing Will's wrist to force him to let go. Letting go, Tommy put himself between Will and Amelia.

"Leave her alone," Tommy scowled. "Amelia, grab your things and go. We can work on it more tomorrow."

Amelia hesitated and then started sticking her books and tablet back in her bag.

"What is your problem?" Will snapped at Tommy. "I'm just being friendly."

"You're the problem," Tommy snapped back. "She clearly isn't interested in talking, but you tried to force it anyways. And, once again, you can't seem to keep your hands to yourself."

Amelia stood, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"Tommy…?" she said hesitantly.

"Go," he repeated, jerking his head toward the door.

Nodding, Amelia moved around him and darted for the door. Tommy stayed standing, facing off with Will with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Why can't you just stay out of the way?" Will demanded, stepping closer to Tommy. "You're always in the way of something and it's becoming a problem."

"The only problem here is you," Tommy answered, not moving. "Because everyone else here can manage to keep their hands and words to themselves. You're the one making people uncomfortable."

Will scowled, getting in Tommy's face.

"You think you're so tough," Will spat, jabbing Tommy in the chest. "Everyone's defender. Not gonna give them a chance to speak for themselves."

"So, you think I should just let you harass the sixteen-year-old daughter of one of the rangers?" Tommy shot back. "She was clearly not interested, but you were happy to try and force the issue."

"She's a big girl," Will retorted, jabbing Tommy again. "She can use her words."

"And I could have you kicked off this base," Tommy snapped. "Just for touching her."

"Oh, really?" Will smirked. "Not such a tough guy without your friends around, are you? Just gonna go running to the rangers?"

"I think they'd handle the problem just as well as I could," Tommy snarled. "Now back off and don't touch her again—or else."

Will laughed. Christine, who hadn't moved from her chair, smirked.

"Or else what?" Will grinned. "What are you going to do?"

"Touch her—or anyone else—again and you'll find out," Tommy growled.

"You don't scare me," Will said, his next jab hitting a little harder.

Tommy flinched slightly this time and Will grinned.

"Oh, did that hurt?" he grinned.

Tommy scowled.

"You'll be the one hurting if you can't keep your hands to yourself," Tommy reiterated.

"And you're all talk," Will scoffed.

"Really?" Tommy smirked. "So, how's that shoulder doing?"

Will snarled in response, shoving Tommy hard this time. Losing balance, Tommy stumbled backward. Falling over the chair behind him, he crashed into the fort the boys had built with Ethan.

As soon as Amelia was out of the room, she bolted down the hall toward the office. She had a feeling the confrontation in the room wasn't going to end with just words and was concerned for Tommy. She slid to a stop at the office, but her mother wasn't there and Dana had left the floor a while ago. Knowing her mother could be anywhere—including off the floor temporarily since there would be a nurse on duty—Amelia just turned and sprinted for the stairs. She wasn't about to bother with the elevator. She headed down toward the ranger residential floor since going up to Lightspeed quarters would require waiting on the elevator.

"Where is it?" she muttered, searching her pockets for her phone as she went.

Not finding it, she just ran down the two flights of stairs as quickly as she could. Slapping a hand on the control panel, Amelia burst through the door and into the hall. She only hesitated for a moment before continuing. She'd unfortunately gone to the stairs furthest from the Command Suite, which is where the Dino rangers should be. She needed to get to them. Focused on her goal, Amelia ran straight into Eric stepping out of Time Force's suite.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" Eric said, catching her. "Amelia?"

He frowned, surprised to see her racing down the hall. Then he registered the panicked look on her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked quickly.

"It's Tommy," she said, breathing hard. "He was arguing with that man—whatever his name is—after he grabbed my shoulder and—"

"Where?" he asked.

"Tommy's room," she answered as he nodded.

"Go back to your quarters and stay there," Eric ordered.

Eric turned and sprinted toward the stairs, leaving Amelia behind. Racing up the stairs, he didn't pause when he reached the medical floor. He headed straight toward Tommy's room. He drew his weapon as he burst inside, intending to stop everything quickly.

Inside, Will was standing over Tommy with a smirk. Laying on the ground in the ruins of Marc and JJ's fort, Tommy had one arm wrapped around his ribs and was trying to push himself up with the other arm.

"What are you doing?" Eric demanded, advancing toward Will. "Step away from him right now!"

Christine let out a small scream at the sight of the blaster in Eric's hands.

"What are you doing?" she cried. "He just tripped."

Will, spinning at the sound of his sister's scream, froze and put his hands up.

"What she said," he said quickly. "I was just going to help him up."

"I'll help him," Eric snapped. "Now get out—visiting hours are over."

"There aren't specific hours for visiting," Christine scowled. "And I have every right—"

"Get out," Eric repeated. "You can visit again tomorrow, but you are done tonight. Now leave."

Will eyed the weapon Eric still had pointed at him and slowly moved toward his sister.

"Come on," he said, pulling her up. "It's late."

Ignoring her protests, Will tugged Christine out of the room. Eric kept his blaster in hand until the door had slid shut behind them. Once he was sure they were gone, he put it away and hurried to help Tommy.

"Easy," Eric said, carefully pulling Tommy to his feet.

Putting an arm around him, Eric helped Tommy over to his bed and carefully sat him down.

"Tommy, are you alright?" Eric asked.

Tommy didn't answer right away. Hunched over, his eyes were closed and it was clear he was in pain.

"Tommy?" Eric repeated in concern. "Do I need to get Angela?"

He shook his head.

"No," Tommy finally answered. "I just need a minute."

Eric sighed.

"You have several broken ribs and just had a pretty bad fall," Eric pointed out.

"I was shoved," Tommy countered, grimacing as he took a little deeper breath. "But close enough."

"That does not make it better!" Eric exclaimed. "I'm going to get Angela—"

"No," Tommy said again. "Nothing is punctured or more broken than it was…"

He paused to take a shallow breath.

"I'm breathing," Tommy continued after a moment. "As well as I have been… it's just going to be tender. I can deal with it…"

Tommy shifted, grimacing and closing his eyes again. Eric scowled.

"I should throw them off the base for this," Eric said shortly.

"Then we'd have other problems to deal with," Tommy said, shaking his head.

Eric started to argue but stopped himself. Tommy wasn't likely to back down and forcing an argument was just going to hurt him more. Breathing alone seemed to be painful right now from the way Tommy was acting.

"Fine," Eric muttered. "But I'm staying here tonight."

"Eric—"

"I'm staying," Eric interrupted. "And you should lay down. You aren't getting up again tonight anyways. Come on."

He helped Tommy lay down, trying to be as careful as he could so he didn't cause him more pain. Once he was sure Tommy was as comfortable as he could be, Eric grabbed a chair and settled in after dimming the lights. Eric pulled out his phone to send a few messages—starting with Taylor. He already had a few texts from her wondering where he was.

How long does it take to find one stuffed animal? I thought you said you knew where she left it.

Eric?

Seriously. You can't tell Devin you're getting something and then flake out. What's going on?

Eric sighed. Tommy would be mad if he told Taylor everything. But he had to tell her something.

Sorry, Taylor. Tell Devin I'm sorry, too. A situation came up and I'm going to be on duty the rest of the night.

While he waited for Taylor to answer, he shot a text to Joel to check on Amelia. He didn't have her number to tell her Tommy was alright and knew she'd probably be freaking out.

Hey. Go check on Amelia if you aren't in your quarters already. She had a run in with the brother-in-law and was a little freaked out. Tommy took care of it but I thought you should know.

His phone dinged to tell him Taylor had answered.

Taylor: Is everyone alright? Do you need me to get Wes? He's still awake.

And I already took Devin over to Mighty Morphin for the sleepover. I convinced her she didn't need a stuffed animal because she'd have the other kids to play with.

Eric: They'll be fine. And I've got it handled. I just didn't want you to think I'd disappeared. I'll see you in the morning.

The door opened as his phone went off again. Ignoring the message from Joel for a moment, Eric looked up to see who was coming in. It was Angela and she looked concerned.

"Eric?" she said, stopping in surprise to see him sitting by Tommy's bed. "What are you doing here?"

"Watching," he answered.

Angela raised an eyebrow as she hurried over to check on Tommy.

"Tommy, is everything alright?" she asked. "I'm a little concerned by some of these readings…"

"I'm fine," he muttered, keeping his eyes closed.

"That's not what I'm seeing," she countered. "Now what's going on? Are you having trouble sleeping? Do you need something to help?"

"No," he said more firmly. "I'll sleep just fine."

Angela sighed, glancing at Eric. He shook his head, declining to add anything. Putting her hands on her hips, Angela turned back to Tommy.

"Fine, be stubborn," she said. "But even with the lights dimmed I can tell you're in pain. So would you like to be honest with me or should I bring Kat up here for a second opinion?"

Tommy grimaced at Angela's threat.

"Alright, fine," he muttered. "My ribs are a little tender tonight…"

Angela sighed.

"Tommy, you need to tell us," she scolded. "I know you don't like to take medication unnecessarily, but there is no reason for you to be in pain. I will be right back."

Angela left and came back a couple of minutes later with medication for the pain. Not taking any arguments, Angela got Tommy to take it and then told him to get some sleep.

"Are you going to be here all night?" she asked, looking at Eric as she got ready to leave.

"Yup," he answered, leaning back in the chair.

Sighing, Angela turned and left the room.

Walking out of the kitchenette, Kim paused and smiled. She'd just finished cleaning up the last of the dishes and was going to help Jake start getting all of the kids in bed. But she didn't say anything immediately, looking at the sight in the living room with amusement.

Jake had rearranged the furniture before they started the movie to allow space for all of the kids to spread out. The couch had been moved back and the coffee table out of the way. On the couch, the three oldest boys were sitting. Marc was sitting in the middle with a bowl of popcorn in his lap. Trevor, his computer in his lap, was sitting on one side absently munching from his own bowl of popcorn. JJ was on the other side of Marc. He was hugging a pillow and sneaking pieces of popcorn out of Marc's bowl, his own empty bowl sitting next to him on the couch. Sitting upright, Marc was holding still because the twins were behind him. Standing on a chair just behind the couch, Jazz and Lilla were playing with Marc's hair. They'd put all sorts of ponytails and bows in it, making his hair stand up in short tufts all over his head. He was letting it happen without protest. Jake was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, his legs stretched out in front of him. Damien was sound asleep stretched across Jake's legs with a pillow propped under his head. Devin was curled up against Jake's left side, eating out of the bowl of popcorn sitting in his lap. Rae was snuggled in next to Devin, wrapped in a blanket and yawning. Izzy had made a nest of pillows and blankets on Jake's right and only her face was visible as she stared sleepily at the TV screen. Karly was stretched out on her stomach on the other side of Izzy, watching the movie as she kicked her feet lightly against the couch behind her. Liam had managed to wedge himself between Izzy's pile of pillows and Jake, tucked up under his arm. Charlie was sitting in front of Jake, facing away from the TV. Rather than watching the movie, he was playing with Jake's socks and snickering as Jake kept twitching his feet away.

"Down in front," Jake grumbled.

Charlie just laughed and sat up taller. Smiling, Kim shook her head and pulled out her phone. She wanted a picture before she interrupted. Snapping a couple to make sure she got a good one, Kim put her phone away again.

"Alright, I think it's time for bed," she announced.

There were groans from the kids who were still mostly awake. Trini and Zach had gone to bed a while before, sneaking through while the kids were watching the movie. Billy and Hayley had elected to spend the night in Hayley's room in the Command suite since their schedules could be odd and they didn't want to interrupt or wake anyone if they kept weird hours that night.

"It's already 11:30p," Kim said. "Come on."

"But I'm not tired yet," Jake complained.

Kim rolled her eyes at her husband, who just grinned in response.

"Well, you're going to lay down anyways," she retorted. "Marc, take JJ and Trevor. The three of you can share your room."

They grumbled but started getting up and heading in that direction. Kim walked over and carefully picked up Damien, moving him and the pillow he was now hugging to one of the recliners. Going back to Jake, Kim reached down to help him up as he untangled himself from the rest of the kids. They couldn't pull out the couch bed with him sitting there. Once he was up, he picked up Izzy in her pile of blankets while Kim picked up Rae so they could take them to their room. Neither girl protested as they were gently deposited in their beds. When they came back out, Liam was still sitting sleepily where he had been pressed against Jake, so Jake scooped him up to get him out of the way.

"Come on, Devin," Kim said, coaxing the six-year-old to get up and move. "Karly, you, too."

Karly was already getting out of the way. Once there were no kids blocking the way, Kim folded the couch out and started grabbing blankets and pillows off the floor. Jake laid Liam down and Karly climbed into the bed to help tuck him in. Kim smiled.

"Thank you, Karly," she said. "Devin, come on."

Kim coaxed Devin up onto the bed while Jake scooped up Jazz and Lilla, both of them giggling as he brought them around the couch. Charlie had climbed into the other recliner and wrapped himself in a blanket. Once all of the kids were settled in to sleep, Kim sighed and tucked her arm into Jake's before leaning her head against his shoulder.

"I'm glad we did this," she said.

"So am I," he agreed.

"But I think I'm ready for bed now, too," Kim yawned.

"Can I have a cookie first?" Jake asked as she started to turn them toward their bedroom.

Kim rolled her eyes, smacking his arm.

"You're worse than the kids," she said, earning giggles from the ones still awake. "None of them asked for a cookie before bed."

"But I didn't have one earlier," Jake pouted.

"Well, too bad," Kim retorted. "It's bedtime so no more snacks."

"Alright, fine…" Jake grumbled, dropping a kiss on her forehead. "But I am going to get a glass of water. I'll be there in a minute."

Kim smiled and headed toward their bedroom to get ready for bed.