"Hey, Dev, have you seen Raine?" I asked, grinning as I leaned against the kitchen counter.

Devon chuckled, shaking his head. "Still playing hide and seek?"

"Yeah," I sighed dramatically, though my amusement was clear. "I swear, she's been obsessed with this game lately. I don't know what started it, but it's like she's on some kind of winning streak."

Devon smirked. "You know she gets that from you, right?"

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't hide my smile. Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a text from Nate.

Nate: Hey, does Raine want to come over and play with Daylen?

I laughed and held up my phone. "Well, I think I just found a way to end her hide-and-seek streak."

Devon raised a brow. "Let me guess—the only thing she enjoys more than hiding is playing with Daylen and Kienna?"

"Bingo."

I turned toward the hallway and called out, "Raine! Do you want to go play with Daylen?"

There was a moment of silence before a loud, excited thud came from our bedroom. Seconds later, our three-year-old came sprinting into the living room, her curly dark hair bouncing with every step. Her bright brown eyes—so much like Devon's—sparkled with excitement. "Yeah! Will Ki be there too?" she asked eagerly.

I scooped her up, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Maybe," I replied with a smile.

Devon chuckled, ruffling her hair. "Come on, let's get going before she changes her mind and decides to start another round of hide and seek."

With Raine settled in her car seat, we made the short drive over to Nate and Zoey's house. Sure enough, when we arrived, Ravi and Roxy were there too. "About time!" Zoey called from the porch as we walked up. "Daylen's been waiting all morning!"

I set Raine down, and she took off toward the backyard without hesitation. "Daylen!" she squealed excitedly as she spotted her best friend.

I laughed, shaking my head as we stepped inside. The familiar warmth of our friends' home was comforting. The past four years hadn't been easy, but moments like this—being surrounded by the people we loved—made everything feel a little lighter. We sat down in the living room, the sound of our kids laughing filling the air as they played outside.

"So, Raine's still in her hide-and-seek phase, huh?" Nate asked with a smirk as he handed me a glass of water.

"You have no idea," I chuckled, taking a sip. "I swear, if she could make a career out of it, she would."

Devon smirked. "She gets that from her mom."

I rolled my eyes playfully. "Okay, first of all, no comment. Second of all, you can't even deny that she gets her competitive streak from you."

Zoey laughed. "Yeah, I'm with Kali on this one. That kid is all Devon when she doesn't want to do something."

Devon held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. I'll take partial responsibility."

Roxy smiled warmly, her fingers laced with Ravi's as they sat together on the couch. "It's crazy to think about how much has changed in just four years."

I leaned back against the couch, letting out a soft sigh. "Yeah… it really is."

My mind drifted back to everything we had been through. The war with Drakkon. The friends we had lost. The battles that had pushed us past our limits. Even now, I still struggled with nightmares. The weight of everything I had seen, everything I had done, still clung to me in quiet moments. But I wasn't drowning in it anymore.

Regularly seeing the Grid Battleforce therapist had helped. But what truly pulled me back, what truly kept me grounded, was Raine.

And Billy. Despite the distance, Billy and I still talked often. He had been my anchor during the darkest moments of my life, and even though the war was over, he had never stopped being there for me. He and Jason both had made sure I never felt alone all throughout the war. "Hey," Devon's voice pulled me back to the present, his fingers gently brushing against mine. "You okay?"

I looked at him, and the concern in his gaze was soft but steady. I smiled. "Yeah. I am."

And unlike during the war, I really meant it.