Author's Note: Filler chapter. More Lucy POV too. This chapter was a mess and I had SO much trouble writing it, but there will be much more progress on the Kai and Lucy front so I hope you enjoy that! I've roughly planned out the entire story and just to give you a heads up, the next couple chapters or so are gonna be kinda dull. More filler chapters. All the action is towards the end of the story. Seriously, cross-my-heart promise.

And I am fully aware it's been more than A YEAR (OMG) since my last update and sooo many special dates, holidays, and events have passed by that I have no clue where to start. SOOO sorry! Typing this, I feel like there's no way I can make up for all the dedications these past few chapters were supposed to have, but I hope everyone had a spirited Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's/Valentine's Day/Easter/whatever other holidays you guys celebrate :) and enjoyed your summer vacation! Mine is almost over - only a few days left. For those who have already started, I feel you.

Lastly, this story has 105 REVIEWS! (and at 17 chapters no less!) It really brings tears to my eyes and a huge smile to my face and just BLOWS MY MIND. I don't even know how this is POSSIBLE since I haven't updated since LAST YEAR but THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! for all the support and love and encouragement! If I could I would give every single person who has EVER reviewed or read this story a huge hug and a high five. Thank you guys so much! *smiles tearily*

Chapter 18

Lucy's POV

Kai and I spent the rest of the day catching up on what had happened since the last time we had seen each other. There never seemed to be a moment that lacked conversation. We had sandwiches for lunch and then chatted some more. In the middle of a lively conversation about Italian food, apparently Zane made the best lasagna, I happened to glance at the digital clock resting on the counter. It read 3:18. "Oh shoot! I almost forgot about sitting at the O'Brien's tonight! I have to get my stuff together!"

"Stuff? What stuff do you need to bring to a baby-sitting job?" Kai looked at me doubtfully while leaning his chair back.

I shot a look at him and he returned the chair back to a stable position. "Well sometimes I bring some books or a game to play, but today Hailey wanted me to bring a crafting kit so I went out to buy one that has stuff to make little felt flowers and stuff."

"Wait, you bought something for a kid to use?" Kai furrowed his brow.

"Yes. I buy things for them because, one, it keeps them happy, two, I love doing projects with them, and three, when they're happy and like doing projects with me, their parents call me back and I get more money to buy more things for them."

"I see," Kai replied vaguely, but I could tell my logic still mystified him.

As I stood up to remove the dishes I moved onto a different topic. "I'm going to need my car, you know."

"Oh yeah, of course! I can drop you off at your babysitting thing and I can go to Moana and get your car and drop it off at the place, no problem." Kai shrugged.

I glanced over my shoulder in the middle of washing the first plate. "I can go with you, you know. That's an option too." Kai gave me a look. "What?"

"Well you know how you are…"

"And how is that?"

"You're, well, you can be kind of, sort of, emotional…," he hedged.

"What does that have to do with getting my car back?" I questioned, turning around to face Kai. I considered putting my hands on my hips for emphasis but nixed that idea since my hands were drenched in suds.

"Well, taking evidence from past experiences, you might not handle going back so soon so well."

"I think I can handle it."

"Besides, Moana's all the way on the other side of the city and your sitting job is…"

"Across the city."

"Fine," he sighed in defeat.

"Okay then. I'm going with you," I confirmed with a confident smile. "I don't have to be at the O'Brien's house until about 5:45. We should leave soon. That way there will be time to spare in case we run into any problems along the way."

"Alright. How about I finish washing those dishes for you and you go get ready?" he asked as he stood.

"Woah woah wait a minute. Did you just offer to wash dishes? Since when do you do dishes?" I stared at Kai as he came up beside me and plunged his hands into the soapy water.

"Well I do live with seven other people. And it's not like it's an impossible task to learn. Will you stop looking at me like that? I'm not an alien!"

"Wait hold on," I squinted at Kai and leaned closer until we were almost nose to nose then splashed a clump of bubbles across his face. "Hah! Now you look like an alien!" I laughed as his expression changed with surprise, but unfortunately I was too busy laughing to notice Kai take on a sly look.

Before I knew it, my hair was a soapy mess as well. I stared at Kai in shock, though I shouldn't have been surprised that he would try to get revenge. Only a second passed before we were both engaged in a good-natured bubble fight, flinging suds at each other without a care in the world. Then somehow in a blur of moments and flying soapy water, I ended up with my back to the sink and Kai's captivating amber eyes staring into mine only inches away. He held my wrists against the countertop and I could feel his warm hands against my own skin as he smirked down at me.

I inhaled sharply. It wasn't that I disliked being so close to Kai, exactly, it just… startled me… And I guess it startled him too, because in the blink of an eye Kai had straightened and was standing a few paces back, leaving me still leaning against the sink trying to catch my breath and calm my racing pulse.

Taking a pause on the situation I knew was becoming more awkward by the millisecond, I wondered where and when and why all of this had become so delicate. It had been a couple years since we last saw each other, but it hadn't been awkward then. But to put my thoughts bluntly, why was it now?

I darted a glance at Kai and then back to the floor.

I reached for a hand towel lying nearby and slowly dried my hands, testing out the words before I said them, "Do you mind finishing up? I'm, uh, I'm going to get my stuff ready to go."

"Uh yeah. Sure." His voice was low and his eyes didn't meet mine.

After I escaped to the safety of my room, I stared at my reflection, noting how my cheeks were still pink. Feeling my face begin to burn more as the memory begged to be replayed, I turned away and began to pack my bag.

*line break*

The ride was mostly silent. I guess both of us were still thinking about what had happened earlier. But I thought I could almost feel the motorcycle beneath us lose its solidity and flicker a few times, though I had no idea what that meant.

Soon we reached the outskirts of Moana and I spotted my small silver car still parked by the side of the road. I sighed in relief and tugged the helmet off my head. After I disembarked from Kai's over-sized motorcycle, I rummaged through my bag, knowing that I hadn't forgotten my keys. Thankfully, they were in there, nestled next to my dead cell phone and my wallet. As I walked over to unlock my car, I heard Kai's footsteps echo behind me. However, I couldn't bring myself to look at him quite yet. From what I could see, the small town was already rebuilding and if I hadn't known any better, I never would've guessed what had happened here just twenty four hours ago.

But at the thought of what had happened, my joints locked and I couldn't stop staring at the buildings, imagining smoke and crying voices. My lip trembled and I bit it, forcing myself to keep my often overactive emotions in check. I turned away from Moana's town limits with effort and shuddered with a deep breath as I opened my car door. All of a sudden I was enveloped in a warm hug, and I didn't hesitate to return it.

"He's not coming back, is he?" I whispered into Kai's shoulder, feeling small and vulnerable.

There was a pause as I felt Kai's arms tighten around me. He exhaled softly into the evening air around us before saying, "I-I'm sorry Lucy, but I – "

"No it's not your fault. The explosion. It was…" I trailed off as another wave of emotion hit and my vocabulary was momentarily reduced to monosyllabic words. "It was big… And loud…"

Another pause. But suddenly Kai tensed and stepped away, gently grasping me by the shoulders and leading me back to the curb.

"Lucy, look, I have to tell you something." From the tightness in his voice I could tell it wasn't something good. I said as much.

"Uhm, well, it depends on how you, uhh, take it. I mean, in the best case scenario, your reaction isn't too extreme, but knowing how you are, it probably won't be like that, but I really hope you don't, that this doesn't - ," he rambled. I stopped him by covering his hands with my own. As our eyes met, I could almost see the inner-turmoil through his amber irises.

"Alright. Just- just know that I'm telling you this because I think you deserve the truth and I just need to get this off my chest." He took a breath and exhaled, and I could feel the warmth on my cheeks.

"First of all, you need to know that when I found your dad, he was in really bad shape. He couldn't talk, and I'm pretty sure it was out of pain. I didn't have time to do a thorough assessment, but I'm pretty sure there was some degree of internal bleeding as well as broken bones." I stared at Kai. Where was he going with this?

"I had your dad and we were so close to getting out. But after the explosion we were all thrown aside, and the guys were just focused on getting me, us, out of there. There was a lot of rubble and we never actually found your dad."

It took me a few seconds for his words to sink in. The first thought that hit me that the guy I trusted most, my best friend who I had only been reunited with for less than twenty-four hours had lied to me. Lied to me. But that rage-provoking thought was quickly followed by something much more positive.

"Are you saying that my dad could be alive?" I exclaimed, gripping Kai's hands. "Ohmigod we have to go find him! If he's still in there, then there has to be a chance…" I trailed off as I took in Kai's forlorn expression.

"Lucy, I know you've been through a lot, but I have to be completely honest with you and say that there's really no way he could've survived that. And I know you want to hope he's still alive, but that kind of hope, it just, it'll just make it worse when you have to face reality."

The words themselves were blunt and bordered on being harsh, but I was feeling too numb to process them. [What he was saying made sense, it was probably the truth, but I couldn't admit that. The conclusion was too painful.]

"Okay," I said [instead]. "Okay."

There was a moment of silence when Kai said in a resigned tone, "Look. I know you need some space. It'll do you some good after all of this, to think about it, process it. But let me at least drive you to your sitting job, okay? I don't want you driving when your mind is likely to wander."

I nodded, seeing his logic. For a quick second, I felt Kai's hands tighten around my own, but then he let go and I immediately felt the absence of his nearness as he stepped away towards the driver's side of the car. I mumbled the address and strapped on my seat-belt while Kai started the car and backed carefully out of the parking spot.

The ride to the O'Brien residence was quiet. The quiet whiz of passing cars and the gentle hum of the engine was the perfect background noise as I tried to sort out my thoughts. Unfortunately, the ride didn't last long enough and my thoughts were still a tangled ball of feelings and what-if's when we pulled up in front of the simplistic two-story house of the O'Brien family. Kai turned off the engine and for a couple seconds my mind was blank.

But I knew a distraction would be good for me. "I'd better go," I murmured, opening my car door and stepping out. Kai met me on the walk.

"I'll get to see you again, right?" Kai asked, searching my eyes.

"I really hope so," I replied honestly. "I would hate for the first and last time I see you to be under such bad circumstances."

"You have Nya's phone number right? Don't be afraid to contact me, uh, I mean, us, for somethinganything, anything, all right?"

"Of course."

"All right then. Have fun. Good night," he said softly.

"Good night, Kai," I repeated, but I couldn't leave him just yet. As if he could read my mind, he pulled me into a tight hug. I breathed in his warm scent one last time before he pulled away.

"You better get going," he nodded at the doorway. "Looks like they're waiting for you."

I turned around to see the door cracked open. "Thanks. For everything. Good night," I repeated again. Finally, I turned away and walked up to the door. Just as I reached the stoop, there was a flash and a muffled roar as Kai sped off on his motorcycle. I held back a sigh and forced a smile on my face as I stepped into the O'bBrien household.

Whew this chapter was EXHAUSTING! Thanks so much for staying with me :) Just as a little side note that I feel is pretty important - I went back over my story and tried to even out some consistencies - mostly that of character descriptions and personalities and my timeline. It would be awesome to hear from you guys what you think about my revisions, especially Lucy. If you have the time to go back over it, I would really really REALLY love it! Thank you guys so so so much! I love you all! ~Cheers!~