Title: Nothing Breaks Family

Summary: When a fight between Jerry and Kim explodes, and the others all take sides, it isn't long before it blows up in their faces. Kim was just trying to do what she thought was right but she realizes too late that she has only made things worse. When they explode in front of Rudy during practice, can they work things out or have they damaged their relationship forever?

Author's Note: I've been thinking a lot about like 10 different stories but I haven't been in a writing mood, only a brainstorming mood. I felt bad that I'd been thinking so much about my stories without putting any stories out for the fans so here you are. I really enjoyed the process of writing this one. Idk why I love to write them fighting so much. I have like 5 more that involve fights haha.

Calling shotgun hadn't really occurred to any of them. When Kim was there, it just wasn't really an option. It was an unspoken rule, when they were all riding in Jack's car, Kim sat up front.

No one, in all the time Jack had driven everyone around, had ever really challenged that, until today. Until Jerry.

Jack was driving everyone to the Museum of Modern Art for a school project that they had all agreed to do together. The assignment required them to go to a new museum and with Milton having visited nearly every other museum in the area, the Museum of Modern Art was just about the only option left. Nobody else had a preference. Except Jerry but all he wanted was to go somewhere close to a cheap burger place so they could get one after they were done. Luckily the Museum of Modern Art fit his criteria as well.

Now with the museum selected they were running out of time to actually go. It had to be today.

So, after practice at the dojo, Jack had promised he would drive everyone.

They were all a bit exhausted from working so hard and having had a long day of school and practice. Kim was getting hangry and Jack wasn't so sure she'd last until after the museum to get burgers. Milton was stressed because they'd put off the assignment until the end and Jerry was already bored and they hadn't even left yet.

So really, if they had put all the pieces together, a blow up was inevitable.

Still, when it happened, it was quite fast and shocking.

Milton noticed it first, since he and Jerry had walked a little ahead of Jack and Kim.

Jack had clicked the car unlocked so the pair could hop in the back and Jerry waltzed himself right to the front seat.

"Jerry, what are you doing?" Milton asked.

Jerry threw open the door and plopped himself right down on the seat, legs dangling out the side.

Kim noticed as they slowed to a stop in front of the car and her usual seat was occupied.

She gave him a funny look first, like maybe he had gotten confused or something. He does that sometimes. He probably forgot that she was here. But the look on Jerry's face told her that he knew exactly what he was doing and he didn't plan on moving.

"Funny, Jer," Kim said humorlessly. Then she gave him a completely fake smile to show her amusement so they could just get a move on with this little charade.

Only it wasn't a charade and Jerry wasn't joking. He really was going to sit there.

Jerry shrugged. "Wasn't being funny, Kim."

Kim narrowed her eyes. "Well then you must have some other explanation for planting your little tush in my seat."

Jerry matched her stare. He was tired too and he'd had a long day. He just wanted the more luxurious seat with the only working AC for once. Kim always got it.

"Now that is funny, Kimster, cause I don't recall this being your seat," Jerry retorted.

Milton's eyes widened at the same time Kim's narrowed into the thinnest of slits.

Everyone knew the seat was Kim's. It was an unspoken rule. They weren't 13 year old kids anymore and Kim needed space from the boys. Plus, she was Jack's girlfriend and that came with privileges. Couple that with the fact that Kim was fierce and competitive like no other, she always got that seat. She didn't have to call it, didn't have to rush to be the first one there. It was a safe bet it would always be open for her and she expected that.

Until now.

"Just get out of the car, ya freak!" Kim snapped, stepping up and into that little space where the door hinges open. She looked at Jerry with a challenge in her eyes, waiting for him to concede and return her the throne that was rightfully hers.

Jerry met her hard gaze and in a moment, debated the pros and cons of his next action. Ultimately, he came to the conclusion that if he did what he wanted, he might face backlash because he shouldn't do something like that to a girl. But Kim would probably get even more upset if she ever found out that Jerry held himself back just because she was a girl. She didn't like being treated any different. She was like a sister to him, and he had no problem doing it to his sisters, so he figured Kim was the perfect target. He was going to do what he always did when his sisters bothered him.

He shoved her backwards.

Kim slammed back into the corner, hitting her shoulder on the arm rest on the door where the window button was and the other shoulder slammed into the corner of the glove box.

It wasn't the hardest shove, Jerry still had limits, but it was enough to catch Kim off guard and make her stumble back. It was enough that it hurt and it fueled her anger.

"That's it!" she declared, lunging forward despite the ache in her back.

She clawed at Jerry, grasping for something to grip and pull him out with.

She got a hold of the sleeve of his jacket and started yanking him forward, and then Jerry forcefully grabbed her arm and pulled it off.

Kim let out another screech as she threw her other hand out, punching Jerry in retaliation.

It hurt, and Jerry threw his forearm out at her to push her back and away from him. And so what if he threw a little more power behind it because he was also mad at her. She was fighting back hard, something his sisters never did. They weren't skilled enough for Jerry to need this much force.

Kim crashed backward, her side painfully colliding with the corner of the glove box. It was enough that she let out a hiss of pain.

"Hey, enough!"

Jack let out an angry shout from behind them and rushed forward to intervene.

He stepped between the pair, breaking through the tangled mess of limbs, and grabbed Kim from the corner she was trapped in. He pulled her out and back to safety before turning back to Jerry.

"Jerry, get out," Jack demanded. His tone was harsh and final and it surprised everyone there.

Kim's head snapped up and she smirked at Jerry from over Jack's shoulder.

Get out, she mouthed, her eyes dancing with amusement as she taunted him.

Jerry caught her look and it only infuriated him more.

Kim knew Jack would come to her defense, even if she had played an equal part in the fight. It was unbelievable! Clearly she wasn't even hurt if she was taunting him!

"No!" Jerry cried, now even more determined to keep the seat.

"Jerry, I'm not playing," Jack ground out. "Get out. You hit Kim."

Jerry wanted to roll his eyes but Jack wasn't messing around. Seeing just how serious he was being, and knowing Jack could take him down in three seconds flat, Jerry sluggishly hopped out of the car.

"What?"

"You know what," Jack grumbled. "Dude, seriously, you can't hit her."

Jerry let out a laugh of disbelief. "Are you for real? Did you not see what happened? What she did?"

Jack shook his head. It honestly didn't matter. He couldn't get over Jerry actually hitting Kim. Repeatedly. Viciously.

"I saw, and I don't care! She was trying to defend herself," Jack explained.

"She was hitting me too! Not defensively!"

Before Jack could come back with an answer, Milton spoke up.

"Jack, come on. It is a little unfair. You always side with Kim," he pointed out.

That seemed to shock Jack and he was stumped into silence as he tried to recall any incidents that would refute that truth. He came up empty.

"She's my girlfriend, of course I'm going to side with her!" Jack finally came up with. He was getting protective now, feeling like both he and Kim were under attack.

"Well we're your best friends!" Jerry shot back.

"She's not innocent, Jack, it'd just be nice if you recognized that," Milton added matter-of-factly.

"Well right now I don't particularly care," Jack seethed. "Jerry manhandled her and he knows that's not okay!"

Kim, standing off to the side still, was now feeling incredibly confused. She was feeling guilty that Jack was now fighting with the others on her behalf, but she was also pleased to see him stand up for her. She felt attacked and now Jack was righting the wrong. She just didn't realized it would hurt quite like it did.

"Puh-lease! I didn't manhandle her," Jerry immediately retorted with a high pitched voice. "I hit my 7 year-old sister harder than that! Kim's a black belt. I think she can handle it." He bobbed his head sarcastically as he spoke and Jack was not having it. He wouldn't stand for the disrespect against him or Kim.

"You know what? Get your own ride to the museum!" Jack decided, waving his hand in the air.

"Jack, seriously?" Milton interjected. He was already stressed because they were cutting it so close and now Jack was bailing on them last minute? If there was ever a way to make Milton angry, it was interfering with his school projects.

"You too!" Jack added, brushing past Jerry and bumping him in the shoulder as he stormed around the car.

The three others were left speechless as they stared. Jerry and Milton couldn't believe Jack would treat them like that and Kim just scurried to the front seat with her head down.

"Are you okay?"

Kim felt guilty. At first, she'd been feeling pretty smug. She had Jack wrapped around her finger and Jerry got in trouble for messing with her. But now that it was over and she was been sitting here… Jerry really didn't deserve what Jack did. She had been a bit in the wrong. She would still claim that the seat belonged to her, no doubt, but she probably didn't have to jump to violence and harsh words to get it back. They could've come up with a rational solution.

So when Jack was being so sweet, asking if she was okay, she figured the best thing to do was to not let Jack know that they were wrong.

She felt guilty enough, Jack didn't need that on his conscience too. He'd done it all for her. If he knew that he had unfairly taken her side when she'd been in the wrong, he'd feel so guilty and awful. So she would be the guilty one.

"It still hurts," she frowned, reaching her hand back like she was sore and aching. She would just have to let Jack play his part as the concerned boyfriend and it would all be fine.

Jack dropped his hands from the steering wheel, turning to look at her up and down.

He'd just parked at the museum; it was the first thing either of them had said for the entire drive. Both of them had been thinking over the incident, emotions still running high.

Upon hearing that Kim wasn't okay, Jack had only gotten more angry with Jerry, and by extension, Milton who had defended his actions and wasn't seeing the bigger issue.

"Unbelievable," Jack muttered, disgust evident in his harsh exclamation. His eyes softened as they took in Kim, mistaking her nervousness and feelings of guilt for pain.

"He shouldn't have done that, Kim," Jack informed her, thinking she'd feel better knowing that Jerry had been wrong in all of his actions. "I don't know what got into him."

Kim cast her eyes down, afraid if she looked at Jack and saw how concerned he was that she would crack and admit that she was actually fine. Of course, not making eye contact just made Jack think that she was really shaken.

Hoping he could distract her from what she was feeling, Jack suggested they head inside. Kim nodded and as they walked in, Jack was right there at her side, holding her hand, wrapping an arm around her back, and being extra sweet. Kim, as guilty as she was, reveled in all the attention and care she was getting. It felt nice.

The visit to the museum, all in all, was not quite as interesting as it could have been. With half the friend group missing, there was a severe lack of banter about all the funny exhibits or unusual visitors. Not only that, but neither Jack nor Kim was really in the mood to joke around. They mostly walked around, took pictures of what they needed for their project, and avoided Milton and Jerry any time they saw the pair around the corner.

Kim and Jack had gotten to the dojo first the next day and when Milton and Jerry walked in a few minutes later, the tension was palpable. Rudy immediately could tell something was wrong, but he had no idea what and so he just continued as normal and hoped it wasn't as big of a deal as it initially seemed.

"Okay," Rudy called, waiting for everyone to gather.

Jack and Kim walked up and stood to the left while Jerry and Milton took a spot to the right. There was a noticeable division between them.

Thinking he was the adult and he could solve whatever issue this was, Rudy told them to stretch in pairs.

Jerry and Kim usually got along well and they were able to push each other to do their best. They were competitive and although Kim was more advanced than Jerry, he had his own strengths. It wasn't unusual at all for Rudy to pair them together. "Uh, Jerry why don't you work with Kim and-"

"I'll work with her," Jack interrupted, grabbing Kim's arm and pulling her to their own corner of the mat to get started.

Rudy wasn't used to the complete disregard for his authority and especially not from Jack. Jack was always very respectful of Rudy's seniority despite himself being a very skilled martial artist.

Rudy was so shocked by it that he didn't even know how to respond and instead he just let out a weird sort of mumble and waved between Milton and Jerry. The other pair stepped back a little and began stretching as well.

The rest of class was just as weird.

Jack was oddly short with Rudy, Milton, and Jerry. Jerry and Milton didn't seem bothered in the slightest and Kim was really quiet. She almost looked sick and every time any one of them had any sort of interaction, she got even more green in the face.

The worst was when Rudy had offered Jack some corrective feedback in front of everyone.

"Make sure you really lean into that one, Jack. See the angle of Jerry's torso? That's what you're aiming for."

The comment was 100% normal but for some reason, it set off the group of kids.

"Yeah, lean into it more," Jerry repeated, mocking Jack.

Jack dropped his previously raised fists to his side and stormed over to Jerry, staring into his eyes menacingly, only inches from his face.

Kim and Milton stopped what they were doing to watch. Milton folded his arms and a judgemental look crossed his face while Kim's eyes widened and she violently bit her lip. She looked close to tears.

Rudy needed a second to realize what was happening and when he recovered, he quickly forced himself between the pair of boys.

"Back up!" he barked, eyeing both boys' twitching fists.

Jerry took a small step back but Jack was still pushing against Rudy.

"I said back up, Jack. Now," Rudy commanded, pushing Jack with his forearm until he finally stumbled and tore his gaze away from Jerry.

With the pair physically separated, Rudy looked between them and saw rage more potent than he'd ever seen between the supposed best friends. Both were panting and trying not to show any sign of weakness or remorse. It was extremely uncharacteristic.

"Somebody better explain to me what in the h*ll is going on," Rudy said in a calm, but no-nonsense kind of way.

Honestly, it kind of scared the kids, Rudy had never been so stern with them.

All the boys just looked from person to person through hooded, angry eyes, none of them wanting to talk. Rudy saw Kim out of the corner of his eyes, hugging herself so tightly her nails were leaving deep red imprints on her arm and he wasn't positive she wasn't actually making herself bleed.

"Stop the act, Kim," Milton scoffed, seeming to have noticed Kim as well and not buying the act. She was the one who caused this whole thing.

Jack's head whipped around to look at Kim and when he saw her he immediately knew she wasn't acting. The fact that Milton was so quick to judge her infuriated him.

"What is your problem?" Jack spat, attempting to march over to Milton now.

Kim now felt a wave of fury at Milton's words. What did he know about anything? Couldn't he see that this whole thing was tearing her apart? She was trying to fix things for everyone. And he was just making it worse!

"Stop it!" Rudy yelled in a voice so loud it silenced the room and his words were left echoing against the walls. "I don't want to hear one more word out of any of you unless you're telling me what has you all acting like children. I mean it."

Everyone looked down at their feet, ashamed and still a little too prideful to tell a story that might prove they're not completely innocent. Because deep down, they all knew they played a part in the conflict.

After a full 2 minutes had passed it and it didn't seem like anyone was willing to talk, Rudy turned to Kim. Right now she seemed most vulnerable and easy to make talk.

"Kim?"

Everyone looked in her direction and the attention was enough to cause the guilt to crawl up her throat and out her mouth in a sob.

Everyone seemed more annoyed at that reaction than concerned, everyone but Jack. And the fact that nobody else even cared made him more mad at everyone else. And that made Kim cry even harder.

"Kim," Jack said concerned, walking over to her carefully, all traces of rage pushed aside.

The fact that Jack cared so much—when she was guilty—made another sob come out.

"No!" she cried, hiding her face and holding out a hand to keep Jack away from her. She wasn't sure she would be able to keep it in if Jack tried to comfort her now. "Don't touch me!"

Having had only good intentions, Jack felt betrayed by the one person he was trying to take care of. "Excuse me?"

"I said-" Kim took a shaky breath. "I said don't touch me."

Jerry rolled his eyes at the drama. "Just let her be dramatic on her own," he said. "We all know she loves being the center of attention."

Jack turned his attention back on Jerry. "What do you have against her? What is wrong with you?" he demanded to know.

"What is wrong with you?" Milton shot back. "Why are you so willing to blindly follow her?"

"Enough!" Rudy interrupted. "Stop attacking each other! You're friends. Act like it."

Rudy's words were enough to make everyone stop. Yeah, maybe they were friends, but they still had some issues.

"What happened? I've never seen you all like this? You're each others' biggest supporters. You always stick up for each other. You've been best friends for years," Rudy said. "That doesn't just go away overnight."

"Why don't you ask Jack?" Jerry spat, glaring.

"Me? Ask Jerry!" Jack shot back.

"I'm asking all of you!" Rudy yelled. "Anyone who doesn't want to talk can leave and don't bother coming back."

Milton, the one most likely to feel intimidated by punishment, spoke first. "We got into a fight yesterday. Jack took Kim's side even though she was just as wrong as Jerry."

"Jerry hurt her!" Jack interrupted. "Maybe they were both a little wrong but Jerry really hurt her! He took it too far."

"I didn't even push that hard!"

"She pushed him too!"

"Stop! If I have to break you guys up one more time I don't care, you're all banned for a week. Tell me what happened calmly. Jerry, what was the fight about?" Rudy said, getting tired of all this mediating.

"I sat shotgun and Kim couldn't take it. She started attacking me!"

Rudy waited for Jerry to continue, because clearly Kim hadn't just attacked him for no reason. After a moment, Jerry did continue.

"Okay, I might have fought back, but she started it!"

"She overreacted for sure," Milton chimed in, too eager to support Jerry because it meant that he wasn't siding with Jack.

"Jerry hurt her, Rudy!" Jack said, his voice high in a pleading whine.

Rudy sighed, turning to Jack now to hear his side of the story. "Whadya mean?"

Jack gulped, realizing now he had to explain everything. He had to admit, Milton had been right about him not knowing all the details. But he knew enough because Kim had been really hurt after what happened which meant Jerry had been in the wrong. Jack didn't even stop to consider that Jerry was not the kind of guy who hit girls out of anger hard enough to hurt them.

"Well, they just had an argument because Jerry took her seat. Kim always sits up front and Jerry ran in front of her to sit in her spot. Then Jerry started hitting her. And Milton was trying to defend him. Kim has bruises," Jack explained, hoping to portray that it was Jerry who had overreacted.

"So let me get this straight," Rudy said, looking between all three boys who had tried to explain what was going on. "All this was over an argument about who got to ride shotgun?"

"It's Kim's seat and Jerry knows that-"

"No! It was about more than that-"

"Kim always sits there-"

"-no chance I bruised her-"

"He didn't even ask-"

"-and I'm sick of it-"

"-I just figured we all have a right-"

"Jerry hit her!" Jack repeated for what felt like the twentieth time of the afternoon. "Why doesn't anybody care about that?!"

Before Jerry could retort back that Kim had hit him too and before Milton could say that there was more to the story, Kim let out a noise that was something between a cough, cry, and squeak.

The noise was so absurd it immediately caught everyone's attention.

"No!" Kim cried, taking a deep breath and trying to calm down enough to put an end to all this madness.

"No what?" Rudy asked, trying to remember the last thing anyone said. But that didn't make sense because... "Jerry didn't hit you?"

"No! I mean- Yes but- Ugh," Kim wiped her slightly runny nose with the back of her hand and prayed that she didn't look as miserable as she felt. "Let me explain. I just- It's just… hard."

Everyone watched her expectantly, waiting for the explanation. Part of Kim had wanted them to see how much this was hurting her and for them to immediately forgive her and tell her it was okay. Part of her wanted to let Jack come over and hug her and defend her and take care of everything. It would be easier for sure.

But she knew she couldn't do that to her friends. She had to make this right even if it was so hard to get out.

"I- Jack…" Kim couldn't even meet his eye, instead she opted for staring at a bit of the wall right behind him. "He- He didn't really hurt me that bad. Jerry, I mean. It wasn't that hard."

Jack blinked at her, confused at why suddenly she was defending Jerry?

"I saw, Kim. He shoved you. You told me it bruised. It still hurt the rest of the day!" Jack said.

Kim shook her head, the heat of everyone's gaze burning right to her chest. "I lied. I… I just… I was so mad that he took the seat and then Jack stepped in and I just let him and…"

When Kim looked up again, Jerry and Milton were slowly shaking their heads at her in disappointment and Jack looked betrayed.

"And then Jack got so mad at Jerry and I didn't stop him because I liked that he was taking my side so when he asked if I was okay I said no because I didn't want him to think that he had done something wrong. I didn't want him to think he had been unfair to Jerry," Kim explained, feeling a few tears leak out the corners of her eyes.

"So you let him keep thinking that Jerry hurt you? So you could feel better about yourself? So that your big strong boyfriend could handle everything?" Milton accused, unable to hold himself back. It was all starting to make sense why Jack had been acting the way he had—Kim had lied to him—but Kim's part she'd just revealed was inexcusable.

"No! I mean, yes I did let him keep thinking that but it wasn't for me!"

"Well if it was for me then I'd rather you didn't!" Jack interrupted, hating that Kim had been manipulating him and that she was responsible for this rift between the group.

"No, Jack, I just… You were already mad at Jerry. I thought you'd feel really bad if I told you that it was fine and you were overreacting. I was trying to help-"

"If you thought I'd feel bad then, how do you think I feel now?!"

"I'm sorry!" Kim apologized, the guilt eating her away. She didn't know what else to do, didn't know what more she could say.

The boys watched Kim, unable to feel sorry for her because she was the reason for this whole stupid fight. She manipulated every single one of them.

"Kim, why don't you go cool down in my office?" Rudy suggested carefully.

Kim seemed like she wanted to refuse for a second, but when she considered it again, she'd rather be out of prying eyes. With an obedient nod, she trudged into the office and shut the door.

She plopped herself down on the couch, refusing to get comfortable. She didn't deserve to just sit back and relax when everyone hated her. For good reason, she knew. She'd hurt all of them.

But she hadn't meant to. Really. Honestly. She hadn't meant to hide things or hurt them. She was trying to do what she thought what right and she had made the wrong choice. She didn't know how to fix it until it was too late and that only made her wait longer to set it right.

Kim didn't know how long she was sitting there, picking at the little fuzz balls on the couch, before the door creaked open.

Rudy came in and sat next to her, just watching her.

She didn't even look up.

"Do they all hate me?" she whispered.

Rudy sighed. "Of course not, Kim."

She looked over at him, not believing him.

"You made a mistake," Rudy said. "And that hurt them."

Kim blinked back the tears.

"But it was just a mistake," Rudy continued. "And they understand that."

Kim sat up a little straighter and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she mulled over Rudy's reassurance.

Seeing she wasn't convinced, Rudy continued. "Kim, they're upset, but they know you didn't mean it. You did what you thought was best for them."

Kim took a shaky breath. "Are you sure?"

Rudy rolled his eyes at her. "You're questioning me? Kim, I've been your sensei for 3 years, 4 for Jerry and Milton. I know you kids. I meant what I said earlier. Your friendship isn't so fragile that a small argument could tear it apart."

Kim pressed her lips together in a small smile as she considered what Rudy was saying. Maybe he was right. She made a big mistake, but in two weeks it would just be a distant memory. At least, she hoped it could be a distant memory. And to make that happen she needed to go back out and actually talk with the boys.

"Do you think they'll talk with me?" Kim asked him earnestly.

"I think if you talk, they'll listen," he answered honestly. "They always listen to you, Kim, even if they don't act like it."

Kim took a breath, thinking about it. She hoped Rudy was right. The only way to fix this would be to talk to them. She had to try.

Mustering up all the fragmented courage she had left, Kim stood up and gingerly walked out.

The boys all stopped what they were doing, looking at her wordlessly, watching her movements. It was impossible to tell what they were thinking, their faces were as stoic as stone.

"Um, can I talk to you guys?" she asked, addressing the group.

Milton was the only one who responded, and all he gave her was a shrug as if to say you're already talking.

"Okay… well… I just wanted to say that…"

This was harder than she thought. How could she just say she was sorry? That was so lame! They'd think Rudy put her up to it. They wouldn't think it was sincere. She needed them to know she was sincere. But last time she'd tried to explain everything nobody believed her. It blew up in her face. Maybe it was still too soon. Maybe they needed more time. If she messed this up now, she might be messing up their friendship forever.

"What?" Jerry finally asked, waiting for her to say something of substance.

Kim looked around and saw the boys had given her more of their full attention. It was still hard to tell if they were mad at her.

It didn't matter. She had to do this. She was just going to be honest. That was all she could control.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry that I fought with Jerry and I'm sorry that I lied to Jack. I'm sorry that I played up the injuries. I really was just trying to make everyone feel better. I was trying to preserve our friendship but clearly I was wrong in my effort to do that and I can see that now but I didn't see it then. Obviously if I were to do it over again I'd do it differently but I don't want you guys to hate each other over this and I know it was my fault but I don't want this to ruin our friendship. You guys are my best friends and yeah I've made a pretty big mistake but I'm so so sorry. I just want things to be right again! And I promise I-"

"Hey," Jerry interrupted. "I shouldn't have pushed you either."

Kim shut up when Jerry started talking and when she heard his words—an apology!—she was shocked into silence.

"I shouldn't have been so confrontational in my accusations," Milton added. "I'm sorry."

Another apology, from Milton, had a tiny seed of hope sprouting in Kim's chest.

"You were trying to keep me from feeling guilty," Jack acknowledged. "I can't blame you for that. And I should have gotten the facts straight before I yelled at Jerry."

The little seed inside Kim felt like it was bursting through her organs and out her fingertips and down to her toes.

Things were okay.

"I've gotta say, it was definitely your fault," Milton said, momentarily crushing Kim's spirits, "but we all played a part. You lied, but we all fought and we all took sides. We can't blame you cause we did the same things."

Kim smiled a real smile at Milton's words. He was always so blunt but that meant that he meant what he said. He didn't blame her.

"We should probably work on communication," Jack joked, alluding to the root of all their problems.

"Yeah…" Kim agreed. "I'm really sorry, Jack," she apologized again, because she felt like she'd manipulated him the most. They were dating. She was supposed to be loyal to him first and she'd betrayed him the worst.

"I don't get another apology?" Jerry asked incredulously. "Does that mean I have to shove you again?"

Kim narrowed her eyes dangerously at him. "Do it. I dare you."

"Nope!" Jerry squealed. "All yours, Jack!"

Jack, Kim, and Milton all laughed and eventually, Jerry joined in as well. It was funny, but they weren't just laughing at that. It felt good to laugh. They laughed together every day and it had been an entire day of being together and not laughing. They needed this. It was familiar. And it felt so good.

When the laughs died down, Kim spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Jerry," she amended. "And I'm sorry Milton."

"Come 'ere," Jerry sighed, standing up and wrapping his arms around Kim.

Milton and Jack followed suit, wrapping their arms around each other.

Jerry snuck a hand over to Milton, who enjoyed hugs the least out of everyone, and pinched his side.

Milton squealed and jumped away and Jerry doubled over laughing.

Milton scowled, Jack rolled his eyes, Jerry laughed, and Kim bite her lip, taking it all in.

Nothing could break family.

Thanks for always reading! Don't be afraid to leave a review of what you thought or what you might like to see! You guys are the best. Now I gotta go poop.