Yep, I'm back in business. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

This chapter comes with a profanity warning and some warm fuzzy moments. It's a filler chapter, but I hope you'll all like it anyway and leave some reviews when you're done.

Things will pick up next chapter so, please bear with me while I cleanse the palate.

It was dawn.

Kyle woke up feeling a dull spasm of pain in his stomach. He lifted his head and searched the dark room for his mate; she wasn't there.

He rubbed his eyes and blinked away the sleepiness; that's when he saw that the bathroom light was on.

He got up from their bed and moved with a cat's grace over to the door.

"Autumn? Are you okay, Corazon?"

He heard her curse softly.

"I'm sorry, Kyle. I didn't mean for you to notice…"

Kyle understood in the next moment. This was not the first time he felt this combination of emotions from her, especially her embarrassment.

"We're one, in almost every way possible; I know the drill by now. Go ahead and enjoy your shower, I'll be back in here before you know it."

He yawned and walked back to their room and flipped on the lights. He glanced at their bed and saw that soiled sheets. It wasn't the first time that this had happened, so it didn't even phase him, he simply stripped the sheets and put them in a pile on the floor.

After throwing on a tank top and his sandals, he picked up the sheets and walked over to the manor.

The lights were on…

That's when he remembered hearing about the impromptu trip.

He walked nonchalantly into the manor and headed straight for the laundry room.

"Kyle, what are you doing up so early?" He heard his mom say as he put the sheets in the washer.

"Autumn's not feeling her best right now. I need to get her supplies and some chocolate milk. If I had time, I'd make her a smoothie."

Aisha caught on immediately. "Kyle, baby. Let me handle this, the last time you tried to take care of things like this, it didn't work out too well. Why don't you go get her stuff from the girl closet, there's also some Midol in the medicine cabinet."

"Thanks Mom."

Rocky filled the ice chest with assorted sodas and waters while Adam sat drinking coffee. Trent sat sleepily at the table with his own mug, as he attempted to wake up. No one really said anything to each other as they waited for Tommy to make his appearance.

When Kyle walked into the kitchen with a box of tampons in a bag and headed for the medicine cabinet, they were momentarily confused. Adam put down his coffee mug and tilted his head, as Kyle paused as a momentary wince flashed across his face.

When the moment passed and he pulled out a bottle of pain meds, he understood immediately.

He rose from the table and walked over to the first aid cabinet and pulled out a heating pad. "Here, this should help her. She cramps pretty bad the first day or so."

"Yeah, I noticed." He said as he took a deep breath. "That's how I figured out what was happening."

Adam looked at him curiously. "Are you already to that point? Feeling the sympathy pains?"

Kyle frowned. "Yeah, but it's more like minor discomfort. I know it's worse for her, and I felt her emotional distress, but it's still pretty muted."

"She's in the shower right now, but I told her I'd bring her what she needs."

Adam gave him a strange look but stood back as he put the pills in his pocket and walked to the fridge, retrieving some chocolate milk and walking out the door.

"She's in good hands." Rocky commented.

"Yeah, I know." Adam answered. "It's just my first time really seeing it."

Kyle opened the door to the trailer. He glanced in the direction of Katsume's room and heard him still snoring softly. Walking back to their section, he pulled the privacy curtain aside and froze. Autumn's back was to him as she walked clutching her towel to her front. That towel was the only thing covering her up.

Sensing his presence she turned around and gave him a small smile. "Seen enough?"

Not even close, but it can wait till you feel more like yourself." He handed her the box of tampons. "Why don't you go finish up. I brought you some meds and some chocolate milk."

Kyle felt the love coming from her and only smiled. "I'll just go put more sheets on the bed."

"Thanks, Mi Amore."

When she turned back to the bathroom, Kyle went about fixing up the bed again. When she came out, she was wearing a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. By then the bed had been remade and a heating pad was already plugged in.

She gave him a soft smile as he pulled back the blanket for her. On the bedside table, as he'd promised her, was something for the pain. He said nothing as he opened the bottle and handed over the pills.

She started getting teary-eyed as she downed the pills and the chocolate milk. When she was done, he threw away the bottle for her and then slid into the bed after her.

With that little bit of drama over with, they fell asleep again.

Late morning

The extra sleep had done wonders for her, and when they woke up again, she felt much better. Kyle kissed her in softly and then got up. "Lay here as long as you want, it's my turn to shower."

She kissed him back and then turned over, pulling their blanket with her. Kyle chuckled softly, grabbed a set of clean clothes and headed for the bathroom.

In the meantime, Katsume was already awake. He walked out of the trailer and to the manor. Just outside, on the patio was a man he didn't recognize.

An older dude dressed in a pair of blue-jeans and a red tank top sat on a floor cushion surrounded by the dog pack. Tanker, sat in front of him, and the strange man reached up slowly and scratched him behind the ears. Sitting forward on another comfortable piece of deck furniture, sat Billy who was talking quietly with him.

"So, what do you think?" he asked as Apollo rested his snout on his leg.

"He's scared and is looking for his human. He knows he's safe, but this dog's been traumatized. He's going to need some major TLC and probably a good bath and a medical check up. I'm assuming that the police have suggested a vet visit?"

Billy nodded. "Yeah, that's the plan for today. Conner and Kira are going to a doctor appointment and Trent is away at the male bonding retreat, so it falls to me to take him in."

"Is he going to be okay?" Katsume asked as both men looked up, sensing his presence.

"Cole, this is Katsume Shen. He's Trent's protégé." Billy said introducing them. "He found out by accident about our side jobs, but he's not a squealer. Katsume, this is Cole Evans, leader of the Wild Force team. He has the gift to sense animals' emotions."

Katsume nodded. "I'm not surprised about Tanker being traumatized. "I used to work for a animal rescue back in LA. I've seen more than one abused dog. That jerk that choked me yesterday put me in the Emergency Room, if he did that to me, I hate to think of what he did to him."

"You're not wrong." Cole answered him. "That's why I was asked to come and assess him."

They were quiet for a moment, and then Billy looked up at the trailer. "Are the lovebirds up yet?"

"I heard them moving around when I was getting out of the shower. I really don't want to know what they're getting up to. That's why I didn't take too much time getting dressed."

Billy nodded with a look of mirth on his face. "Well you better get into the kitchen. There's a feast going on. It smells amazing right now."

At the mention of food, Katsume's stomach growled.

He didn't say much else as he headed inside the manor.

The smell of bacon, biscuits and eggs hit him as he stepped through the doors. His mouth watered as the amazing smells assaulted his senses. Tanya grinned at him.

"I know that look, what can I get you?" Tanya asked as he sat down at the table.

"Everything."

Tanya shook her head in amusement before she loaded up his plate.

As he ate his food, he listened to the other's talking.

"So, what's the plan for today? Andros was asking.

Sapphire wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Not a lot. I think we all just need a day of fun after the first week of school. So, we're thinking of hitting up the mall for about an hour, and then go to Ashford's. They've got an epic laser tag arena and an extensive burrito bar and some mini golf. It's a good place to hang out!"

At the same moment, Kyle walked through the kitchen doors. Going over to the fridge, he pulled out another carton of chocolate milk. Once he was seated at the table, he drank from the bottle and then paused realizing everyone had gone quiet.

He looked up after wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "Oh, sorry guys, did I miss something?"

Leif shrugged. "We were discussing our plans for the day. I know you hate the mall…" He trailed off as Kyle took another sip of the milk.

"Nah, I'm okay with that. So long as that ass…I mean, Nick doesn't show up to cause trouble with his idiot crew. I don't know how he always manages to show up when I'm there. It's almost like he's stalking me."

"Is this Nick, a bad guy?" Rider asked. "Is he going to be a problem?"

Kyle grimaced. "If he shows up today, he might be. I'd like to think that we scared him off last time, but he's an idiot and will try again. He just doesn't know when to stop."

"If you're uncomfortable with going, we can opt out of that for now." Rider asked.

"No, I'm okay. I'm not scared of him."

"We've got you," Leif said. "I'm not worried."

"Wait a second," Tanya said in disbelief. "Tell me this is not the same little shit that embarrassed my baby in class!"

"Please don't freak out." Kyle rushed to reassure her. "He's just a bully, we've got it handled; he can't try and harass us all he wants, but we'll just keep giving him beat downs."

"No, you shouldn't have to do that." Aisha added. "That little bastard tries anything again, you tell us. I will end him!"

"It's a non issue." Ranook said as he walked into the kitchen. We handled them without a problem last time."

"I'm still going to get a restraining order against him." The way that Tanya said it, no one dared to say anything more.

They ate in silence for a while before Autumn walked in the door. The moment she did, Kyle got up and pulled out a chair for her.

Autumn sat down in it and pecked his cheek.

Kyle grinned at her. "What can I get you to eat?"

Angel Grove Mall

The cars pulled up to the mall and found good parking spots. Kyle lovingly helped his girlfriend out of the Moon Racer and when she started to trip, he steadied her.

They kissed again.

Katsume rolled his eyes and walked towards the entrance behind Ranook and the others.

He was happy for his friends, but sheesh, he didn't want to watch them make out!

When Autumn and Kyle came up for air, they grinned at each other.

They were also totally alone.

"I think we ran everyone off." He said not looking the least bit upset.

"I'm sorry, Kyle. I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay. I love this cute cuddly part of you."

Autumn's smile faded. "I'm sorry that you have to do all of that this morning. Honestly this whole thing snuck up on me."

"Hey, don't worry about it." He said pulling her gently to his chest. "Being in love with you, means loving all of you, not just the times when you're feeling good."

When she looked up at him in confused, he added. "I felt everything you felt this morning, even though it was diluted for me." He said this as he put a hand on her abdomen. "I brought some Midol just in case. Why don't we get a chocolate smoothie when we're done with the shopping thing."

Autumn grinned and let him hold her close for another minute.

When the moment was over they walked over as a couple to the front entrance and joined their friends in the seating area.

About an hour later

The group all sat together at the biggest table in the food court. Too large pizza's sat in the middle of the table and it was almost gone.

"So, this is what you teenagers eat when you hang out?" Titania asked.

"Most of the time, we do." It's got everything we could want. Dairy, Carbs. Meats…" Kyle trailed off as he saw a pretty girl with soft brown hair pulled back in a high ponytail walk up to them. He immediately recognized her as Joy Lynn from the student council. Her bright and cheerful disposition fit her name perfectly.

"Hi, Joy." Autumn said as she approached the table. "What's up?"

"Well, Principle Matthews is holding that after school meeting…ya know. About cleansing the school after all that nasty stuff that happened last year. I've been brainstorming all weekend and I had a few ideas to present to him." She paused and looked at the group. "Will you be attending it?"

Kyle shook his head. "I wasn't even thinking about it. I'm honestly surprised that no one's trying to sweep this all under the rug and forget it ever happened."

"Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it." Joy sad with a sad expression. Her eyes strayed to the tattoo on Kyle's arm. "We certainly don't want a repeat of that mess in our school." She looked up at them all again.

"I'm taking the principal's words and running with it. I know we have a school website, but I've set up a new Myspace Page for the school. It's the best media site since everyone is on it."

Leif and Sapphire were nodding. "Yeah, ok. What's the domain name?" The latter asked.

Joy smiled in relief and handed her a post-it note with the address on it. "Making the school better is up to everyone, so I hope you'll be there!" She said brightly and walked away with her pony tail swinging gently from left to right."

Kyle took a long draw from his chocolate smoothie.

"What's MySpace?" asked Miranda. "I know you have an information net here on Earth. Is MySpace a part of it?"

Ranook nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. Social Media is still kind of novel idea, but it is picking up speed."

"Yeah, we're both on it." Sapphire added. "It's how we keep up with the rest of the coven. Our meeting times are posted on the group page."

"I haven't even been paying attention to online stuff." Kyle said thoughtfully. "We had so much drama going on and we've been training constantly. Social media just hasn't been a priority for either of us."

"Well, maybe we should get with the times." Autumn said thoughtfully. "But if we do, then I want us to make one together."

"You bet, Corazon." He said kissing the side of her head.

Ashford's

"So, what's the point of this game?" Miranda asked as she put on the chest plate. "Is this like a combat exercise….to train future troops?"

Ranook smiled as he helped her with the side clasps. "No, this is just for fun. It's a fun competitive game. Kind of like Capture the Flag….or Dodge Ball."

"I don't know what that is." She said ruefully.

"It's a simple game. When you get into the arena, it's going to be dark and the walls are going to glow. All you gotta do is fire this laser gun at the other team, get as many hits as you can, and try to not get hit yourself. Stealth is an important skill in this combat game."

"Sounds like fun!"

"Oh it is."

Pretty soon, everyone was snapped into the gear and were all standing in the holding area.

Katsume groaned when he saw the kids of the opposing team grinning at him. "You're going down, Street Rat."

"Ya, know. I'm not a fan of that name. My real name is Katsume."

"Doesn't matter, you're stuck with it, Street Rat."

Katsume sighed and turned to look at the monitor as it came to life.

A woman with blonde hair pulled back in a pony tail appeared in a hologram. "Head's up, Players! My name is Commander Rainbow Fire and I'll be your training instructor on this combat exercise." She wore a pink sparkly tank top under her combat gear.

A second later a man around her age appeared next to her. He had short spiky hair and wore a red shirt under his armor. " I'm Commander Shih and the rules are simple. Once you hit a target, move on. It's against the rules to pin someone down and it won't be tolerated. Your equipment will be deactivated, and you will immediately be ejected from the arena."

Commander Rainbow Fire spoke again. "We're here to have fun so play nice and be safe. This match will run for 10 minutes; when time is up, the alarm will go off and the exit door will be opened for you. Leave the arena immediately so that the next group of players can have their chance to run the exercise."

A moment later, the lights went out and the walls began to glow.

"The exercise has started; godspeed soldiers!"

The door opened, and a siren went off.

"Come on, crew! Let's go!" Kyle said with a grin on his face.

They walked into the arena and the game was on!

The first five minutes were all fun and Katsume was really enjoying himself. He felt exhilarated as he hunted the people on the other team. He'd only been hit a few times and he knew he'd gotten more hits on the other team. He crouched low to the ground and moved towards the other team; and then he was knocked back on his butt. He looked up to see the guys that had threatened him pointing their laser guns on him.

"Got ya, Street rat." Then they fired on him one right after the other…pinning him.

Kyle saw it happening and walked over to him. He shoved the bigger guys away and stood between them and Katsume. "That's enough. Pinning people is against the rules."

"Pssh, how would they even know about it?"

"Because I'm standing right here." The bully turned around to see someone with a full face mask on. Only the eyes were visible and they looked annoyed.

She pulled out her laser and targeted the bully's armor. Immediately the chest plate was deactivated and the same happened to the other units and she pointed to the exit. "You've been ejected from the game. Get moving."

When they filed out, the soldier turned to see everyone watching her.

She gave them all a thumbs up and walked out of the arena and fun resumed.

20 minutes later…

Kyle glanced at Katsume who hadn't said anything since they left the laser arena. They all sat around the table after making their burritos at the burrito bar. it was an epic layout with warm tortillas and a plethora of different meats, cheeses, and toppings.

"Katsume, are you okay?"

He didn't answer and his visage looked stormy.

"Katsume!" Kyle tried again.

"What?" the Asian teenager replied.

"Are you okay? You've been quiet for a while now. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Just wishing I could be someone other than 'the street rat'. I'm sick of that nickname!"

Kyle nodded and gave him a thoughtful look. "What can we do fix this situation?"

"Well, reincarnation is out since I didn't kill myself."

"And that's a good thing, suicide is never the answer." Ranook said giving him a look.

"What then, a makeover? Tried that already. And Trent would never adopt me, we don't know each other that well yet.

"Don't give up hope just yet." Autumn said. "It may very well happen one day."

Kyle was giving him a thoughtful look.

Katsume met his gaze. "What?"

"I think I might have an idea, but I need to talk to Conner first." A moment later, he looked down at his food. But first, we feast!"

So, for those of you who never watched Power Rangers Hyper Force, that last part was a loving nod to that awesome RPG. While finishing up this chapter, I realized that I had the perfect opportunity to have some fun and took advantage of it. For those of you that know exactly what I'm referring to, You're Welcome! *wink wink*

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and will leave me some love. I will see you all next chapter!

See you all then!