The Baxter kitchen was still half-asleep.
Early morning light crept across the counters. Coffee brewed with military precision. Bacon popped like a controlled campfire. The house hadn't fully woken yet—but two Baxters already had.
Mike sat at the counter, hands wrapped around his mug.
MJ leaned against the fridge, arms folded.
They hadn't spoken a real word since MJ wandered in.
They didn't need to.
Mike grunted.
"Mm."
MJ nodded once.
"Hnh."
Mike sipped his coffee.
"Hr."
MJ shifted his weight.
"Mm-hm."
Silence followed. Comfortable. Heavy. Familiar.
Then—
"Gh."
"Mm."
"Hrr."
"Yeah."
From the hallway, Eve stopped mid-step.
She listened.
Smirked.
Translation (Eve-Only Edition):
"Mm." — You're up early.
"Hnh." — Always am.
"Hr." — Coffee's strong today.
"Mm-hm." — Mom made it.
"Gh." — You sleeping okay back home?
"Mm." — Like a rock.
"Hrr." — It's good to have you back.
"Yeah." — It really is.
"You two just said 'I missed you' without using actual words," Eve said.
Mike glanced at her. "You eavesdropping?"
"You were basically yelling," she replied.
MJ smirked. "She speaks fluent Dad."
"Unfortunately," Eve said.
Kristin entered, Boyd on her hip, hair tied back, coffee already in hand. She stopped and looked between them.
"Why does it feel tense in here?"
Mike grunted. "Hm."
MJ answered, "Mm."
Kristin squinted. "Is that… communication?"
Eve sighed. "They're bonding. Please don't interrupt."
MJ finally spoke properly. "Hey. You got a minute?"
Kristin raised an eyebrow. "Depends. Is this an apology, a favor, or trouble?"
"Yes."
She sighed. "What is it?"
"I want you to come work for me," MJ said. "At the sanctuary. Operations manager. Paid. Real pay. Full control. Daycare on-site."
Kristin froze.
"You're serious?"
"Dead serious."
She looked down at Boyd. "Let me think about it."
"That's all I'm asking."
Mike took a sip of coffee. "Hrm."
Eve translated. "He says that's actually smart."
Later that day, MJ headed out to town. He barely made it two blocks before walking straight into chaos.
Tents. Lutes. Chainmail.
A Renaissance fair.
And there—behind a booth selling tofu skewers—
Ryan Vogelson.
MJ stopped.
Ryan looked up.
Froze.
"Well," MJ said calmly, "this is unfortunate."
Ryan swallowed. "Hey… MJ."
"I hear you're allergic to responsibility," MJ said. "Still true?"
Ryan stiffened. "It's complicated—"
"No," MJ said quietly. "It's cowardice."
Ryan tried to explain. MJ didn't let him.
"You left my sister. You left your kid. That's not complicated."
Ryan looked ashamed. "I didn't know how to be a dad."
"Neither did Kristin," MJ said. "She showed up anyway."
MJ turned to leave—then stopped.
"Oh, one more thing," he said, turning back. "Get an actual job."
Ryan blinked. "I have a job."
"This is a costume," MJ said. "I've kept tabs on you. Ice trucks. Janitor. You quit every time it gets hard."
Ryan looked down. "I didn't know where to start."
"That's the first honest thing you've said."
MJ hesitated, then added, almost joking, "Also—I don't know how a nerd like you landed my sister. She was popular. I left a year before you two got together. I come back and suddenly you have a kid. Jesus Christ."
Ryan laughed weakly. "Yeah… the timeline's rough."
"Be better," MJ said. "Or we talk again. Less friendly."
MJ returned home to chaos.
"YOU MET RYAN."
Kristin stood in the kitchen, arms crossed, furious.
"You don't get to confront him," she snapped.
"I didn't yell," MJ said. "I didn't touch him."
"What did you do?"
"I told him to grow up."
Kristin sagged slightly. "I've been telling him that for years."
"That's why I said it differently."
"With fear," Eve supplied.
Kristin sighed. "Did he mention Boyd?"
"He looked scared. In the right way."
She hesitated. "…Good."
Then MJ spoke again, more serious now.
"You should've sued him for child support."
Kristin flinched. "He was sixteen."
"So were you."
"You had to get two jobs," MJ continued. "You could've gone to college. Instead, you raised a kid alone. That's abandonment."
Kristin's eyes burned. "I didn't want Boyd dragged through court."
"I know," MJ said. "But mercy doesn't mean self-sacrifice."
Mike finally spoke. "You were strong when you shouldn't have had to be."
Kristin wiped her eyes.
"Maybe," MJ said gently, "it's time."
She hesitated. "I don't want court."
"You don't need court," MJ said. "You can do mediation. Lawyers. Neutral ground. Agreement in writing."
Kristin breathed out slowly. "That… sounds better."
Mike nodded. "That's accountability."
Eve smiled. "I'll help with paperwork."
Kristin laughed weakly. "Of course you will."
She looked around at her family.
"…Okay," she said. "I'll look into mediation."
MJ nodded once. "Good."
Kristin hugged him tightly.
"I'm glad you're home," she said.
"Me too," MJ replied.
Mike cleared his throat. "Hrm."
Eve translated with a grin.
"He says: Family meeting over. Someone make dinner."
The Baxter house settled back into noise and warmth.
For the first time in a long time, Kristin felt like the future wasn't something she had to survive—
It was something she could finally choose.