Kelsey laughed as they both opened up their Algebra textbooks, sprawled out on her bedroom floor. Both of them liked to do well at school, and Kelsey would need to catch her up in math if she would be going back to school on Monday. She'd missed an entire week.

"I can't believe you're just not going back," Kelsey commented. "That's badass."

Emma shrugged. "I'm old enough, I should be able to decide for myself. I just don't want to be there."

"I think it's good you're standing up for yourself," Kelsey told her.

A while later, there was a knock at the front door. Kelsey's mother, Janet, opened the door.

"Lin!" she smiled. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you again so soon. Come on in!"

Lin came inside, feeling a bit anxious. He wasn't sure how this was going to go down. "Listen, Janet, I've got a bit of a situation going on here," he began.

"Oh dear," Janet commented. "Please sit down." They both sat on the couch.

"So, Emma is taking this transition pretty hard, understandably. She was supposed to be coming back today, but now she's insisting that she stay and go to school here."

Janet sighed and nodded. "Kelsey mentioned something about that this morning. They have this grand idea of being sisters and hanging out all the time. I told Kelsey I didn't think it would work. That Emma needed to be with you."

Lin felt a little relieved that Kelsey's parents weren't on board with this. "Thank you for that," he told her. "I think that'll make this easier. I mean, I don't mind if Emma wants to take the train on weekends and visit, or if she wants Kelsey to come into the city. She's always welcome. We just have a full, noisy house."

"I'm sure you do," Janet laughed. "Should we go up and see the girls together?"

"That would be great. Thank you," Lin told her. The two adults began to climb the stairs, hearing the sounds of music and giggling coming from Kelsey's bedroom. Janet knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Kelsey replied happily from inside. Janet pushed the door open and stepped inside, followed by Lin. Emma's eyes narrowed and she frowned. She was not expecting this.

"What are you girls up to?" She asked them.

"I was just catching Emma up on algebra so she's ready for tomorrow," Kelsey told her.

"To what? Go back to school?" She clarified.

"Yep," Kelsey said. "She's missed a whole week."

Janet nodded. "Yes. And how will she be getting to school from the city?"

"Mom, you're letting her stay here, right?" Kelsey's eyes pleaded with her mother like it was as easy as agreeing to a one-night sleepover.

Janet sighed. "Kelsey, it's not our place to let Emma live here. Her parents had a plan in place about where the girls would go if anything ever happened to them. They're supposed to be with the Mirandas."

Emma cut in. "But that was years ago," she argued. "They made that will when I was a little kid. They would want me to be happy and stay with my friends."

"Emma, I love you," Janet told her. "I really do, but we as a family are not prepared to take in another child."

"I'm not that much trouble at all," Emma argued. "I can do laundry and I know how to cook a couple things."

"Sweetheart, it's not that easy," Janet told her gently. "We need to honor your parents' wishes."

Emma crossed her arms and tightened her jaw in frustration. She really thought Kelsey's mom would be on their side. She was always like a second daughter to them.

Lin finally spoke. "Emma, I know this is hard for you, but Vanessa and I love you and want what's best for you. You need to come be with us and your sister."

A tear fell down her cheek. She refused to look at him.

"I'll give you 10 minutes to get packed up, then we need to go," Lin told her. Both the adults turned and headed down the stairs.

"I can't believe Kelsey just offered up our home like that," Janet commented. "Teenagers don't always think things through."

"No, they don't," Lin agreed.

"So how are the girls getting settled in, anyhow?" She began to clean up around the kitchen as they chatted.

"They've only actually been with us for a few days. They were in the hospital for 4 days. We've got the guest bedroom set up for them, but unfortunately they have to share right now."

"Emma and Alexis sharing a room?" Janet made a face. "That's not going to be pleasant."

Lin chuckled a bit. "I had a feeling. We've started looking at bigger places. Our newborn son is in with us right now. Eventually he'll need a room, so really we need a 5 bedroom."

"A 5 bedroom in New York City..." Janet winced.

"I know," Lin agreed. "We've got a good realtor though, and we're in a good financial situation. Our first step is finding the girls a school. We're hoping to look at a few tomorrow."

They chatted for a few more minutes, and soon they heard slow footsteps on the stairs. Kelsey came down, holding Emma's backpack as Emma slowly made her way down in her cast. Emma continued to divert her eyes away from Lin. She still couldn't believe he'd actually driven all the way here to get her.

"Alright, let's hit the road," he announced as he made the way to the front door. Kelsey put her backpack in the back seat and then the two hugged.

"This sucks," Kelsey commented as they embraced.

"Tell me about it," she mumbled.

"I hope you're not in too much trouble. Text me later."

She climbed into the car and sighed, giving into the fact that she was being taken away from her home again.

The drive back started silently. Lin was still too annoyed to start any sort of discussion. He had a very busy life, and he would have liked to spend the day relaxing at home and spending time with his sons. Emma started messing around with her phone to pass the time.

Finally, Lin thought he was ready to have a talk. "Em," he began. "Why are you so opposed to living in the city with me and V?"

"Because it's not my home," Emma quickly answered back. "Nothing against you and Vanessa, but I don't want to be in the city. I want to be with my friends."

"Have you ever thought that you could make new friends?" He pointed out.

"I don't want new friends," she told him.

"You know, there's a lot of opportunities in the city you can't get out in the suburbs," he continued. "Better schools, more dance studios, more fun things to do."

"I know. I just like things the way they are."

"I know, sweetie," Lin told her. "But you've gotta give it a chance. You can't just decide you're going to stay with your friend in Danbury. You're gonna need to trust Vanessa and me. Do you think you can do that?"

Emma sighed. "I guess I can try."

"Thank you," he said. "And do I have your word you're not going to pull anything like this again?"

"Yes," she grudgingly agreed.

"Good. Let's put it in the past."

He made it sound so easy. All she wanted was the past.

____

A half hour later, they were back at the apartment. Lin carried her backpack in so she could walk a little easier with her crutches. They'd had a chat in the car, but Emma could sense he was still not happy with her. He wasn't going to just let her off with a chat. She soon got her answer.

"Phone," Lin held out his hand.

Emma gaped at him. "Seriously?"

"I had to take two hours out of my day to come get you," he pointed out. "Maybe next time you'll listen."

Emma decided not to argue, not wanting to piss him off anymore. Up until now, Lin had always been like a fun uncle – giving her extra money and letting her get away with things her parents wouldn't. Now, he was acting like a dad. She reluctantly handed over her phone and he tucked it in his back pocket.

"Why don't you go grab my laptop and start looking up schools in New York City," he told her. "See what performing arts schools there are."

Emma found his MacBook and plopped down on the couch. She typed in "performing arts schools New York City," and was pleasantly surprised to find there were quite a few. She started clicking around to learn more about the programs. Most of them, of course, required an audition, and students were only accepted at the beginning of a new semester. This was a random time of the school year when a lot of schools just weren't looking. Plus, her left leg was still enclosed inside a cast that wouldn't be coming off for at least a month. It would take a while to build back up her strength as well.

She sighed and kept clicking as Alexis plopped down next to her. "Looking at schools?"

"Yep," Emma replied. "Have you started?

"No," Alexis admitted. "There are so many I wouldn't know where to start."

"Here, let's do a search for middle schools," Emma said, typing her new search into the search bars. Again, mountains of options.

"Uncle Lin!" Emma called. He walked over from looking through some paperwork at the counter. "There are so many schools. How do we know what to look for?"

"Let me ask around a bit," he told them. "I've got some friends with school-aged kids. You should look at Hunter. Vanessa and I both went there, and I have to admit we turned out pretty darn good."

Emma typed it in, finding out it was a K-12 school. She also found out that students are only admitted in Kindergarten and 9th grade. She mentioned that to Lin.

"I might have some connections," Lin said casually. It would be different living with someone who had enough fame and respect that people might be willing to pull strings for him. Scrolling through the websites, it seemed like a decent place to go.

"Okay, I guess we could visit," Alexis said.

"Great," Lin said. "I'll set up a tour for tomorrow. Anywhere else?"

Emma rattled off a couple of the performing arts schools that looked decent. Lin wrote them down in a notebook so he could give them a call later on.

"Alright," he told them. "I think once Vanessa's done in the shower, she's going to take you two out shopping. You can get some clothes and decorations for your room if you want."

A few minutes later, Vanessa walked out, fresh and made up from her shower, carrying Francisco on her hip. She handed him off to her husband and gave him a quick kiss. "He hasn't pooped since yesterday, so he's probably going to explode on your shift."

"Great," Lin sighed. "Terd fest coming right up."

Sebastian, who had been playing quietly nearby, cackled with laughter. "Terd fest!!"

Vanessa eyed her husband. "We really don't need him getting into potty humor," she jokingly admonished him. "We'll never hear the end of it. Girls are you ready to go shopping?"

Alexis and Emma found their shoes, and Emma located her crutches. "Vanessa, can we rent a wheelchair or something at the mall? My arms are going to be killing me."

"Sure, I bet we can find one," Vanessa said. With that, the women all went for a shopping spree, while Lin stayed at home with the two boys.

Several hours later, the women returned after a very successful shopping trip. They'd gotten more of the essentials, and picked out a fun new bedspread for the bedroom. They'd also bought some things to brighten up the room. The girls were in good spirits; shopping always helped.

____

Later that night, everyone had long since gone to bed when Lin was awoken to the sound of Francisco crying. Vanessa groaned in bed, exhausted. Lin gently kissed her forehead and decided to get up so she could rest some more. He went over to the bassinet at the foot of their bed, where his youngest son was wailing, carefully picking him up.

"Ssshhh, ssshhh," he bounced him around, "It's okay, buddy." He took a quick peek at his diaper and saw that it was clean. It was a little early for his nighttime feeding, but Lin decided to go make him a bottle. Francisco still cried as they made their way down the dark hallway, hoping he wouldn't wake up anyone else in the house.

Lin expertly multitasked, getting the bottle ready while holding his son safely in his arms. As he was gently talking to his son, he noticed some movement from the couch. He walked over softly and saw that Alexis was curled up on the sofa with a blanket.

"Lex, what are you doing out here?" he asked as he rearranged Francisco in his arms. Once he was in position, he guided the bottle to his mouth and the child began to eat hungrily.

"Can't sleep," she said, and he noticed a hitch in her voice. Lin sensed she'd been crying, and began to make his way over to the couch. He sat on the edge and looked down at her. Lexi's face was red from crying.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" He asked, gently rubbing her arm.

"Nothing," she said dismissively.

"It can't be nothing if you're out here at 2:30 a.m." he pointed out.

"I don't know," she said, wiping at her eyes. "I guess I just miss my mom and dad a lot."

Lin nodded and tucked a piece of fallen hair behind her ear. "I know, sweetheart. I can't imagine how it feels. What do you miss the most?"

"Just...hanging out. Being silly," she said. "But I keep thinking about everything they're going to miss. They're never gonna see me go to high school, or graduate, or get married."

"No," Lin admitted. "But in a way they'll be there. If you keep their memory alive, you'll have them there always."

"That's a lame way to think about it," Alexis told him, and it made Lin laugh. "It's not the same as actually being there."

"There are other people in your life that care about you," he went on. "That will be there when you graduate and when you get married. Just because your parents are gone, doesn't mean you're all alone."

Francisco cooed as he continued to suck on his bottle. "Like this little guy," Lin gently stroked his son's cheek with the back of his pointer finger. "If Sebastian is an indicator, he'll be crazy about you. I never thought they'd have big sisters."

"But I'm not really his sister," Alexis pointed out. "We're not even blood related."

"No, but you're growing up in the same house now. That's the same as a sibling, isn't it?"

Alexis shrugged as Francisco neared the end of his bottle. Lin set the bottle down on the coffee table and then lifted him to his shoulder. He began rubbing circles and gently patting his back. "This little guy needed a midnight snack. Do you want anything before you go back to bed?"

Alexis shook her head and pushed herself up, yawning. Lin put his arm around her and kissed her temple. "Hey, we're going to get through this together," he said, looking at her with concern. "It's okay to be sad and upset. It's okay to be angry. You've gotta tell Vanessa and I how you're feeling, okay? Don't keep it in."

She nodded again and then both slowly stood up. As softly as they could, they both made their way down the hallway to their respective bedrooms. Thankfully, Alexis didn't have school in the morning so she didn't need to worry so much about lost sleep.

Lin gently put Francisco back into the bassinet and climbed back into bed himself. Vanessa stirred, turning over on her side. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," he told her. "Lex was up. She missed her parents a lot."

"Of course she does," Vanessa said, her voice croaky from sleep.

"I just wish I could do something about it," Lin commented.

Vanessa reached out and gently touched his cheek. "You are," she whispered. "You're here."

They exchanged a quick kiss before easily drifting off into a deep sleep.