"Babe! Hurry up and get down here! We have to be at Kat's studio BEFORE she wakes up", Rayne yells in their beautiful, yet echoey, Newport Beach home. They moved in only last summer, but it feels like they have lived there their entire lives. If only they could have.

Too busy finishing up the food for Kat's surprise, Rayne fails to notice her handsome husband's presence.

Vincent, only a few feet away, walks to his wife and replies, "Yes, okay honey. You didn't have to strain your voice like that, I was only a few feet away from you. Let me quickly call Jase and tell him we are about to leave."

He kisses his beautiful wife on the cheek, and then makes his way to a quieter place.

"Sorry, and ask him to meet us on the roof to help carry the decorations."

While Vincent calls Jase, Rayne searches the living room cabinet for her camera. When she finds it, she turns it on and commands it to play Kat's 6th birthday video. Watching the video as she walks to the couch, she is reminded of what she and Vincent has to do every year to keep their daughter safe. She softly touches the camera screen when Kat's face appears and whispers, "I'm sorry baby. This will be the last time, I promise."

Guilt begins to fill her, so she powers off the camera and places it on the coffee table. She is aware they could have handled the situation differently, but she couldn't risk it. This was, and is, the only way.

Vincent is still on the phone with Jase when he walks into the living room and notices Rayne's solemn expression. He hangs up, sits down next to her, and attempts to comfort her, "Today is supposed to be a happy day. Kat wouldn't want you sulking on her birthday."

Rayne musters up a small smile in response to her husbands reminder. Rejuvenating herself, she jumps up and tells him, "Okay, time is ticking, help me gather all of the decorations and food. But be careful, Kat will cry if you drop her Kimchi fried rice."

He laughs to break the tension and confirms, "I can attest to that. Last week I brought her a take out of the dish and when she noticed I dropped some of it, she literally cried. Right in front of me. I had to force her to tell me what was wrong."

Rayne and Vincent both bursts out laughing. They shrug and shake their heads at one another as if saying, "That's your daughter."

They finish gathering everything for Kat's surprise--with no food spilling--and exit the house. After placing it all into the trunk, they climb into their Limited 2438 Tesla Model Fight & Flight and take off.

10 minutes later, they park on the rooftop of Kat and Jase's UCLA Off-Campus Student Housing Complex. When they step out of their car, they continue their conversation about their daughter's well-being. Rayne says to her husband, "Its been almost 15 years Vincent, we can't keep doing this. She's in college now and you know it's only a matter of time until they find us, then her and Jase."

"I don't like doing this either, but we have to. One last time. I haven't seen her so happy. She's enjoying her first year in college, with Jase, and I don't want to take that away yet. I want to give her another year to have fun, to be normal. Then, on her 20th birthday we will tell her everything", Vincent expresses to his wife as he locks the car.

On their way to the elevator, it's door slides open and Jase steps out. He walks closer to Rayne and Vincent to help them carry the decorations. Vincent thanks him and fills him in on what he was discussing with Rayne, "I was just telling Rayne that I think it would be best for Kat to have one more year of normalcy. We have traveled ever since you both were young, and I think this extra year could be good for her, and you. How do you feel about it?"

Jase nods in agreement to Vincent's idea, "I agree actually, and I promise you that I will not waste the time you have spent training me. I will protect Kat with everything I got, I care about her. I want her to know the truth, don't get me wrong, but I am with Vincent. This is her first year experiencing what college and a normal life is like. Without all the traveling. One more year will be good for her."

Rayne sighs in defeat, but is not surprised of their answer. She too wants to give her one more year of normalcy, she just wanted to make sure they were all on the same page.

Vincent claps Jase's back and reminds him, "We didn't take you in just to train you to protect our daughter. We care about you too, and we want you to experience a normal life. So you use this extra year to have fun in college and discover more about yourself."

"Thank you, sir. For the life you both have given me."

Vincent and Rayne gives him a big hug. They appreciate Jase as much as he appreciates them. Jase has given their daughter more than they could have imagined. He is special to Kat, he is: a best friend, a counselor, a lover, and a protector. They would not trade him for anyone else.

Entering the elevator, Vincent presses 3 and they make their way down the complex. Rayne reminds Vincent and Jase of the plan, "After I open her front door, you guys have to walk very quietly. Your guys heavy feet might wake her up and we do NOT want that. Vincent, you already know what to do. While you do that, Jase and I will quickly set everything up. Got it?"

Vincent and Jase answers in unison, "Yes, ma'am."

They stop at the third floor and make their way to room 308. Rayne smiles as she reads "Katherine Reed" on a small digital marquee on the front door. Right above it she also notices an almost invisible camera, which makes her feel slightly less worried about her daughter's well being. Jase living next door is reassuring too.

Rayne scans the 3rd floor to ensure no one is around. When the coast is clear, Rayne does her thing then slowly opens the door. She is thankful to find Kat still fast asleep, hugging her pillow close to her chest with one leg drooped over it.  Looking back at Jase and Vincent, she signals them to walk inside quietly. If Kat wakes up, their entire plan will be ruined.

Vincent silently strides toward Katherine while Jase and Rayne unpacks. He gently places two fingertips on each of her temples and begins doing what he is best at. He didn't earn Lieutenant General by being weak and powerless.

While Vincent is working through her mind, Jase and Rayne quickly decorates Kat's studio. They spread the balloons they prepared beforehand all over the room, and decorate the walls with streamers. The letters K-A-T are hung in front of Kat's bed, with streamers pouring down from it. They created it specifically as a backdrop to take pictures in front of.

After 10 minutes, everything is set and Vincent wraps up. Katherine subsequently opens her eyes to find her mom, dad, and best friend standing next to her bed with breakfast and cake. Her family yells, "Happy 19!"

She quickly sits up with a huge smile plastered on her face, "Oh my goodness, what are you guys doing here? How did you even get in? Is that my favorite Kimchi fried rice with sunny side up egg? AND my favorite chocolate ice cream cake?"

With tear filled eyes she hugs her parents and Jase. "Awe you are the best. I love you guys," she declares as she grabs her food.

Everyone moves to sit on the couch and enjoy breakfast. Katherine feels grateful to have a family that loves her so much. The fact that her parents allowed her to go to an actual University after being homeschooled her entire life, AND surprised her today, is more than she could ever ask for.

Kat glances at her parents with appreciation and love. She can only visualize how much they have sacrificed for her and Jase being here. She knows that her parents aren't telling her the full truth of why they were always traveling. They never got to settle down until recently, and she can tell that ever since then, they have been extremely cautious of their surroundings. Like they are afraid something will happen.

An hour and a half later, Rayne and Vincent stands at the front door to say their goodbyes. Jase says he will stay to hang out but will visit them later; Rayne and Vincent gives their daughter a long hug. They remind her and Jase to have fun, stay safe and to call if they ever need anything, then they part ways.

P.S. As you continue reading, you will understand what I mean by "do her thing" "do what he is best at". The pieces will fall into place. What her parents have been doing, hiding. Who they really are, and who Kat really is.

FEEL FREE TO COMMENT/CRITICIZE!!

"Thank you for today, I had fun. If it weren't for you, mom and dad, I would still be in my bed." Katherine tells Jase, then laughs, "Probably binge-watching anime or doing homework." 

Getting closer to Katherine's studio, Jase replies, "You don't have to say thank you Kat. And invite me next time when you do, you know I love anime."

"And have you spoil everything? I'm okay", Katherine counters.

"What?! I don't spoil anything for you. I only give you a heads up before something big happens", Jase replies sarcastically. 

Katherine laughs, "Right. That's not spoiling at all."

They make it to the front of her studio and Kat unlocks the door. She pulls her hair behind her ear and tells Jase, "Thank you, again. Now go before you miss the next ride. Call me when you get to my parents house, okay?"

Jase gives Kat a bearhug and replies, "I will. Sleep well. I'll see you tomorrow."

He releases Kat and gives her a peck on the forehead, making Kat blush. After a final verbal goodbye, he turns away to leave. He steps into the elevator and presses RT. Before he steps out of the elevator, he powers off all the rooftop cameras then makes his way to Kat's parents house.

He arrives in front of their house 5 minutes later, and grows excited to tell them about the day he and Katherine had. They always love hearing about their daughter living a normal life, and Jase  loves to talk about Kat. He has known her his entire life, but he has never grown tired of her. It seems like each day that rolls by, his affection for her grows.

Knowing they are home because of their car in the front, Jase opens the wide wooden door. To his surprise, he finds the house nearly empty. All the photos are gone, the closets are all empty, some of the furniture remains but they are all flipped over or destroyed. "'What is going on?", he thinks.

He walks around the house, looking for someone or a clue, at the least. After circling the house a couple of times, he notices a pile of ashes in the fireplace and an unburnt note on top of it. "Please. Keep Katherine safe", it reads.

Jase plops down onto the ground in defeat. With his head hung down, he reads the note again. He fearfully wonders, "How long until they find out about her?"

Soon after, he catches sight of a half torn picture in the ashes. He grabs it and recognizes it immediately. It is an old picture of Kat laughing in the drivers seat of their old trailer. The trailer they used to live and travel the world in before they moved to Newport Beach.

"They probably knew they were coming and destroyed everything of Kat's beforehand. Considering how powerful they are, they possibly bought us a year, at most", muttering to himself aloud.

He sits in his thoughts for a while then digs his phone out of his pocket to dial Katherine's number. She answers, "Hey, you there already?"

Met with silence Katherine utters, "Hello? Jase? Did I just get butt dialed?"

Jase whispers nervously, "Umm, no. I'm here."

"What's wrong? Are you okay? Did something happen?"

Ripping off the band-aid, Jase announces, "I'm at your parents house right now, but they aren't here. Your parents and almost everything in the house are gone."

A long pause fills the nearly empty house, and Jase suddenly feels unsafe in the place the people he cares for most, used to call home.

"What? What do you mean gone? We were with them this morning", Kat stutters.

"They vanished, Kat. I can't explain it but..."

In her kitchen, Katherine drops her phone and falls onto the ground. She knows Jase wouldn't joke about something like this, but she just can't wrap her mind around what he said. Vanished? How can they just vanish? Forgetting Jase is still on the line, she curls up into a ball and weeps. 

Next chapter is present time. A year after this event.