Riley had cried herself to sleep by the time Serena got home, so Mia had a little time to talk to Kevin. She had made it clear to him that if Riley woke up she would need to leave and Kevin understood. He wouldn't let the little girl suffer again because of an issue between him and his fiancé.

The others were elsewhere in the house, getting a tour mostly of the upstairs so Mia and Kevin could have some privacy to talk things over.

Kevin had prepared a tea for Mia and set it down on the table for her. He could see there was something wrong and he wanted to help. It still hurt to look at her, but he couldn't fight the urge to help. He sat down.

"Maybe if you explain to me what happened?"

"I can't have kids, Kevin."

"I know," he nodded his head, "but what you did? Calling off the wedding? Calling us off? Mia, that's not like you. Why didn't you come talk to me? If you can tell me you were about to kill yourself, why can't you tell me the doctor said you can't have kids?"

Mia shrugged her shoulder and stared into her tea, "You didn't deserve that."

"I know, Mia, but…"

"I know you want kids, Kevin. That's what I'm talking about. You're terrified of them, but you want them. Almost as much as I do. And you would make a great father. You should be able to have that. I know it's stupid. Just like how I almost killed myself because dad wouldn't be at my wedding. It's stupid and I'm sorry I hurt you."

Kevin leaned back in his chair, "It did hurt, Mia. Not the kids part. We'll get over that. You just walked out."

"I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry."

"You left it all behind. If things hadn't worked out this way, you'd be in Pennsylvania right now and we… we would be over. I don't want that."

"You don't?"

"I don't know about us, but I don't want you to leave me like that. Suddenly. It hurt, Mia."

"I'll never make it up to you, I know…"

"But you know what hurt even more than that?" Kevin asked and Mia shrugged her shoulders. He took her hand, "It hurt so much more because it hurt. Because I still love you. I still want to be with you. I want to get past this…"

"I do too," Mia said. "It probably doesn't mean anything now but… I do want to get married to you. I want to have your kids. Even if I can't get pregnant. Even if we have to find another way. I realized I need to be a little flexible."

"Where was this back then, huh," Kevin sighed. He looked to Mia for a moment and saw how upset she was and he could feel how much it hurt him to see her upset. He wanted to make everything better for her. "Why don't you move in?"

"What?"

"It's our house. You have every right to be there. You can sleep in the guest bedroom but… but I want you to come home. I want to try this again."

"Seriously? But Kevin…"

"Mike's got your ring," Kevin said, "We'll do like a test drive until he and Emily come home. If we can get this resolved by then, or if we're feeling confident, we'll go back to planning a wedding. If things just don't work out, at least we gave it a shot. I'll move out."

"Kevin…"

"No. You lost the ability to have kids. I know how much that meant to you, and if I walk away, you'll be losing prince charming too," he flashed her a little smiled and then gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "You're going to at least keep your dream home."

Mia didn't know what to say. Tears clouded her vision and without thinking she threw herself into Kevin's arms.

Serena had been wrong. Her dreams could come true. Kevin was truly perfect.

"I love you so much," she told him and kissed him passionately, and her heart soared when he returned it with just as much passion. She would do all she could to never lose him again.

But then she heard a scream from upstairs and her heart tore in two. She wanted to stay with Kevin and prove to him she was trying to make things work, but Riley needed her. Kevin let her go and smiled.

"The kid needs you."

"Are you…"

"Go. It's okay. I'll stay here and convince the others to stop with the glares. I guess our trial run is going to include a little girl."

Mia gave him a smile and another kiss before darting upstairs. Serena had promised Riley she would be waiting for her when she got home. Mia didn't want that promise to be broken.

She burst into the room and looked to the bed. Riley was sitting up, hugging her pink Ranger Teddy Bear and sobbing. Mia's heart shattered for the little girl again as she heard her cry for her mother.

"Shh," Mia whispered and sat down beside Riley. She took her in her arms and hugged her, "It's okay. You're safe. The pink Ranger saved you."

"I… I… I want mommy," Riley looked up at Mia with her teary eyes. Mia felt a little piece of her dying inside.

"I know you do," it was all she could say. At this point she really didn't know what to do. She just held the little girl and did what she could to calm her down.

Eventually the sobbing subsided, and the cry for her mother also stopped, but Riley was still upset. Terrified, even. Mia didn't know how to make her feel better, or safer.

Then she saw the Ranger mask on the night table and smiled. She gave Riley a kiss on the head and got up. Riley let out a scream.

"MIA!"

"It's okay. I have a surprise for you. Can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah."

"Pinky promise?"

Riley nodded her head, dried her eyes with her hand and then wrapped her pinky around Mia's. After making the promise Riley looked up and then gasped, "Pink… Pink Ranger?"

Beneath her helmet Mia smiled and nodded her head, "I promised I would keep you safe, remember?"

"Yeah," Riley's smile went from ear to ear and she nodded her head excitedly. Mia then surprised her again when she removed the helmet. There was so much shock and excitement in Riley, Mia was worried she was going to explode and spray confetti and streamers and balloons all over the room.

"MIA!" she launched herself into Mia/Pink Ranger's arms.

"The pink Ranger makes everything better," Mia promised the little girl, "I'm going to find you a home, alright sweetheart. I'll make sure it's a good one. You're going to be okay."

"I love you," Riley nestled into Mia, resting her head on Mia's shoulders as she got comfortable in her arms. Mia smiled and stroked the little girl's back.

"I love you too."

The End

Author's Note: Still some more to come, just in a different story. The Rangers have saved the world and they're getting their new lives started. I've been waiting to write this part so look out for the final installment of the Way of the Samurai Series: Way Of The Samurai: A New Life.