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"𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄, hold this ice on your ribs." Stella instructed, as she gave her brother a bag of ice, while Janette gave him a glass of orange juice, and joined the teen on the couch.

"Thanks." August said

"Augie, why don't you tell us who did this? Your father can call the school. They can protect you." Janette said

"It'll only make things worse, grandma." August replied.

"Can't be any worse than this." Nathan said as he walked into the living room with his coffee cup in his hand

"Yes it can. If I just had more lessons, than maybe I'll—" August said

"Don't argue with me, August Lane." Nathan said

"It's not Sensei Lawrence's fault. I just wasn't ready." August argued

"No. No more karate. That man is a bad influence." Nathan said

"Nathan, as much as I'm opposed to him doing karate, he's found something he likes to do." Janette said

"Mother, we are not karate athletes, we are ranchers." Nathan said. "You know that."

"Son, in case you haven't noticed, you're not in Texas anymore. Don't take this away from him." Janette said

"Don't give me that ma. This man is a bad influence. I've seen his rap sheet. It's as long as my arm." Nathan said.

"No, you don't know him. He's a different person!" August defended angrily.

"What the hell do you see in him August? He's a loser and a lost cause!" Nathan spat.

"Nathan, that's enough!" Janette scolded

"No, mother! I said what I said. This man is a loser." Nathan said

"He is not a loser!" August said. "Stella, are you going to back me up?"

"Daddy, grandma's right. August has found something that he loves. Johnny's well...he's complicated. He has deep rooted issues. Deep down, I can tell he cares for August and wants to do what's best for him." Stella said

Nathan sighed then looked at a photo of Ava on the wall, then back at his children. "All I know is your mother wouldn't approve of this. No more karate, that's final." he said, before he walked out the door to run his errands in town

Meanwhile, in Johnny's apartment, he was passed out drunk, as his phone started to ring. Stirring awake, he reached over and answered his phone. "Who is this?"

"Mr. Lawrence, this is Ms. Jenkins, the vice principal at Robby's school. We spoke a couple of months ago." Ms. Jenkins said on the other line

"Right, yeah. Hi. I remember." Johnny said as he sat up on the floor.

"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting the big canoe trip. As much as I appreciate a boy and his father bonding on the mighty Colorado, your note said he'd be gone two weeks, but it's been almost a month." Ms. Jenkins said

"Wait, are you saying Robby's been out of school for a month?" Johnny asked

"I'm sure it's easy to lose track of time on the river. I grew up on the Mississippi Delta, but if your son's not back in school this week, we'll have to discuss holding him back." Ms. Jenkins said.

"Oh, he'll be there, don't worry." Johnny said, then hung up the phone. After taking another swig of his beer, he stepped out of his apartment, where August was waiting for him.

"Hey sensei. My dad said I can't train with you anymore, but I had this idea, that maybe if we went to the dojo before—" August started, but was cut off by Johnny

"You don't get it kid. There is no dojo. I'm closing it up. It's over." Johnny said

"What about me? I... I need you." August said. "My dad is so consumed with grief over my mom, he can't think straight, and my sister, she misses my mom so much that she—"

"Sorry kid. I gotta go." Johnny said, walking towards his car and climbed in.

Back in the Walker apartment, Janette folded laundry, while Stella sat in the living room, working on her homework assignments as Tammy Wynette's Run, Woman, Run played on the CD player, although her mind was elsewhere.

"Alright, what's the matter, dear?" Janette asked as she sat beside Stella on the couch

"Nothing, I just have a lot on my mind is all." Stella said as she tapped her pencil and wrote her notes in her notebook

"The lot being your brother's sensei?" Janette asked, and Stella gave her grandmother a look of confusion. "Sweetheart, I saw the way he looked at you last night."

"Grandma, there's nothing—" Stella said

"Darlin' you can fib to your brother, your father, even your friends, but not to your dear old grandma. She's been around a lot longer than you have. So, tell grandma what you're feeling." Janette said as she wrapped her arm around her granddaughter

Stella sat her pen and highlighter down, then sighed. "Okay. I do have feelings for sensei Lawrence. It's so strange. He's annoying one day, then it's like, I can't look away from that stupid smirk of his. That annoying stupid smirk. Then his body. Don't even get me started on his body. He's so annoying. No he's trying to change."

"Well, my Stella Blue, I think you just admitted how you felt." Janette said as she ran her fingers through her granddaughter's hair.

"Yeah, but you heard dad. I have to forget about him." Stella said

"Don't worry about your father. I'll handle him. You have to do what makes you happy. Sometimes, love comes when we least expect, with whom we least expect it." Janette said

"What do you suggest I do?" Stella asked

"Well, I think you should talk to him, that's a step in the right direction." Janette said

──────

Up in the Northern Hills, Johnny arrived at his son Robby's apartment where he resided with his mother and music was blaring from inside. He continuously knocked loudly on the door, finally getting so agitated that he opened the door.

"Sorry to interrupt your circle jerk." Johnny said, as the boys turned off the music 

"What the hell, man? Don't you knock?" Robby asked

"Been knocking for five minutes. Guess you couldn't hear me over over that trash in your boom box." Johnny said

"What the hell's a boom box?" Cruz asked

"What the hell's that thing on your face?" Johnny retorted, referring to Cruz's mustache

"It's a mustache." Cruz said, and Trey chuckled

"What are you doing here?" Robby asked

"Got a call from your principal. Heard about our trip to Colorado." Johnny said

"Well, I had not idea what a real father-son trip looked like, so I had to use my imagination. If makes you feel any better, next time you can pick where we go." Robby said

"This isn't about us. It's about the fact you should be in school, not wasting your life hanging around with these jackholes." Johnny said, pointing at his son's friends.

"Hey, screw you, man!" Trey said

"Screw you!" Johnny spat back, then turned to his son. "Is your mom around? What am I saying of course she's not. It's three in the afternoon. It's happy hour somewhere."

Robby stood up, and angrily said, "Don't, don't talk about my mom like that.

"Look, I get it. School can be a drag. But you got your whole future ahead of you." Johnny said

"Oooh! Does that mean I can grow up and have my own strip mall karate school?" Robby asked, and the other boys snickered

"I'm not talking about me all right? You could still make something of yourself." Johnny said

"Like your old pal Daniel LaRusso? Must be nice to be a winner." Robby said

"Whatever. Go to school, don't, I don't care." Johnny said

"See, that's the thing. You don't care, or this wouldn't have taken so long." Robby said

"The school just called me this morning." Johnny said

"It took 16 years, and I'm not going to school. I'm done, and mom's okay with it, so we're good. You can go." Robby said

──────

Stella walked into Sal's diner, where Johnny asked her to meet him. As she looked around the diner, she saw families happily eating their dinner. 

"Johnny?" Stella said as she walked to the table

The blonde looked up and smiled as he stood up from the table and embraced her, trying to hold in the tears. "Hey princess." Johnny smiled

Stella smiled into the embrace, then sat down at the table across from the blonde. "What can I get for you sweetie?" the waitress asked

"A burger with fries and coke please." Stella smiled

"You got it." The waitress said

"Talk to me." Stella said. "What's going on?"

"You told me about your life. Now I want to tell you about mine." Johnny said

Stella smiled gently and folded her arms on the table. "After highschool, I partied through most of my 20's all of them actually, and my 30s. Next thing I knew, this girl I was dating got pregnant. I didn't know the first thing about being a dad, I was unprepared, so eventually I screwed everything up." Johnny said

The waitress placed Stella's food and drink down in front of her and walked away, and Johnny resumed his story.

"Pretty sure I screwed up every meaningful relationship I ever had actually, starting with my ex-girlfriend, Ali." Johnny said, and Stella gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Johnny, that's all in the past, all you can do is live in the here and now, and I'm sure Ali forgives you." Stella reassured

"Nah, I messed up pretty bad. But I just want you to know, I care about August. He hasn't given up on me, and I will always have his best interest at heart." Johnny said

"I know that Johnny." Stella said. "August really looks up to you. After what happened to our mother, I didn't think I would ever see him smile, but taking karate lessons, that made him happy. Like it helped him find some kind of peace." Stella said

Johnny smiled softly at the beautiful brunette, then turned his head, and she did too when they saw a father and his 6-year-old son sharing a sundae. Stella looked at Johnny who was smiling at the two.

Johnny felt Stella's consoling hand on his, then he turned his hand over, and for the first time, he held her hand, which felt nice, like it was always meant for him to hold. "I'm all right, princess." Johnny reassured.

"Johnny, I have faith in you. I know Robby will forgive you." Stella said

──────

Johnny knocked on the door of the Walker apartment, and was surprised when Nathan answered the door. Nate himself rolled his eyes and was about to slam the door in Johnny's face.

"Please don't close the door. Look, I know I wasn't there for him when it mattered. I let him down, and I guess I let you and your family down too. I know there's no do-overs, but that kid... is the only person in the world next to Stella who hasn't given up on me, and I don't want to give up on him. I know I messed up big time, but if you let him come back, I won't fail him again. I promise. All right? Please, just think about it." Johnny said, then after he finished, he walked away, and Nathan closed the door

"I can see why Stella likes him." Janette said as she crocheted a blanket in the living room.

Nathan furrowed his brows in disgust. "Mother."

The next day, Johnny stood in his office drinking a beer, until the shop bell announced someone's arrival. Stepping out of the office, he saw it was August and Stella.

"My dad said I can train again." August said

"With a little persuasion from our grandma and I." Stella said as she took a seat on the bench in the corner

"That is if we still have the dojo." August said, as Johnny walked closer towards him, but kept his eyes on Stella.

"We do for now. But I need to know, if you're ready to take things to the next level?" Johnny asked.

"Yes, Sensei." August said

"You got your ass kicked because you didn't have any defense, so I'm gonna teach you the best defense that you can know. And the best defense... is more offense." Johnny said as he held both of his fists up