Lin asked his parents to come over and watch the kids one evening so he could go to Vanessa's parents' and check in on her. They'd been texting constantly and talking each night, and she claimed she was doing much better. Vanessa had been sleeping a lot and just hanging out with her mom and relaxing. She'd been gone almost a week, and the little kids were definitely starting to miss her. She'd never been away from them for this long.

Lin opened the front door and saw Vanessa in the recliner, a blanket over her. She smiled at him as he crossed the room and planted a kiss on her lips. He'd missed her. When you're without your partner in crime and up against five children it can get a bit lonely and challenging.

"Hey," he said, biting his lip.

"Hey," she answered quietly.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better," she said. Her color definitely looked better. Her face looked like she'd actually gotten the rest she needed. The bags were starting to disappear. Lin took a seat on the couch nearby. "You left all five kids with your parents?"

"Well, Emma and Lex are more helpful than a hindrance," he said. "Usually."

He winked at her and she smiled again. He spent his whole life trying to earn those dimples.

"Sebby and Cisco are missing you like crazy," he told her. The previous night, Sebastian had woken up in the night crying for her. All he could do was lay with him and rub his back, and assure him his mother would be back soon. It was hard for him to understand why she was away.

"I miss them too," she said as her mother brought her a cup of tea.

"Hi Lin," she greeted me, and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I called my doctor," she said. "And asked to up my meds. She agreed, so I'm on 40 milligrams now."

"Good," he told her. "How many days have you been on the new dosage?"

"Three days."

Lin nodded, hoping the extra dosage would help her turn it around more quickly. They chatted a bit more about what she'd been doing and what had been going on at the house. He didn't tell her about any of the issues they'd been having. He didn't want her to worry. It was nothing his parents and him couldn't handle.

"So, do you think you want to stay for a few more days, or are you feeling ready?" He asked gently.

"Maybe one more day," she said. "I'm really enjoying the sleep."

Lin smiled at her. "Must be nice," he said jokingly and she smiled.

Lin left after giving her another kiss and a big hug. He headed back home, where the household was in full chaos. Emma was fighting with Lexi about the amount of noise she and her friends were causing while rehearsing for the talent show. Sebastian was in time-out and was screaming about it. Emilia was wailing. Lin touched my fingers to the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.

First, he took Sebastian back to his bedroom and had him sit in time-out there instead. His mom had Emilia, and Dad was trying to referee the girls. Lin walked up, trying to see what the fuss was about.

"I have an AP Chem test tomorrow," Emma said, not nicely. "So I'd really appreciate not having to listen to you and your dumb friends rehearse."

"But we're not being that loud!" Lexi protested. "You're just being difficult."

The girls' rooms were right next to each other so sound travelled relatively easily.

"Lex, how about you rehearse in the basement so you're not right next to Emma's room," He suggested. "Emma needs quiet to study for her test."

"But Sebastian and Emilia are being louder than me!" She complained.

"I know and we're working on it," he said.

Lexi looked upset, like I was choosing sides. "Lin, this isn't fair!"

"I'm not asking you to stop," he told her. "You're just taking it downstairs. Now, dinner will be ready soon so try to take advantage of the time."

Lexi stormed off to her room to tell her friends the news, stomping as she went. Lin's dad looked at him, exhausted.

"Has it been like this all afternoon?"

"Pretty much," he told him. "Sebby's been in a funk and the girls have been quarreling."

"Sorry," Lin told him. "The girls should be clearing out of Lexi's room so you can go have a few minutes of quiet before dinner if you want."

"Nah, I'll help with dinner," he told his son. "Your mom might need help with Emilia, though."

Luz was one of the most patient people in the world, but even she looked frazzled. Lin walked over and held out his hands, offering to take her, and she accepted. He walked towards the master bedroom where they could have some quiet.

Emilia's little body shook with distress as he laid down on the bed with her on his chest. He set her head as close to his throat as possible and began to sing Dear Theodosia. Immediately, her crying began to cease. Lin secretly loved that he had this connection with her. He loved that it was only him singing that could get her to quiet down. She would be a daddy's girl.

About ten minutes later, she was asleep so he very carefully transferred her into her bassinet. On his way down the hallway, he went into the boys' room to check on Sebastian. He had no idea what happened, so he questioned him. When Lin walked in, he was sitting in his little time-out chair rubbing his eyes.

"Hi buddy," he greeted him, squatting in front of him. "What happened?"

"Abuelo made me go to time out," he said tearfully.

"Why did he do that?" he questioned him gently.

"Because I wasn't listening,"

Lin nodded. "We've been working on this," he reminded him. "You need to do what you're asked the first time. Are you ready to listen to the grown-ups now?"

He nodded and Lin held out my hand for him to take it. Together, they went back out to the living room where things were finally quiet. Dad was cooking up some enchiladas, which smelled amazing. Sebastian ran off to play with his little brother. He finally took a breath, feeling like everything was under control.

The sounds of "Cabinet Battle #2" came from downstairs, along with the sounds of giggling. They were starting to get their costumes together, complete with fake facial hair. Lin went downstairs to check on them and make sure Lexi was okay.

"Mr. Miranda!" Savi greeted me. "Do you wanna watch us?"

"Absolutely," he said, sitting on the couch arm. "Show me a run-through."

He'd given them a copy of the instrumental version so they could pretend like it was the real thing. They weren't in full costume, but they had their fake hair on and were totally hamming it up. Lin couldn't help but laugh as they got into it, gesturing wildly as Jefferson and Hamilton battled.

At the conclusion he clapped hard, grinning from ear to ear. Lexi was smiling proudly and she seemed to be over her funk. He told the girls dinner would be ready in half an hour, so Savi and Emily would have to leave soon. Lin headed upstairs and finally allowed himself to relax on the couch for a few minutes. He chatted with his mom as Cisco climbed all over him, managing to step right on his junk. It was a good thing he was cute.

At dinner, the only person in a somewhat fowl mood was Emma, who had been cramming for an AP Chem test. According to her, the class was kicking her butt, but in reality she had a B+. She had very high standards for herself. Not having an A was really bugging her, so she was throwing herself into it.

"How's chem coming?" he asked her as we ate.

"Not good," she admitted. "I wish Vanessa was here to help me."

"Well, you could still call her," he told her. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"I don't wanna bug her," she said, sighing. Emma seemed really frustrated with whatever it was. Science was not her forte, and it certainly wasn't mine. After dinner, I encouraged her to call Vanessa.

"She's not here for a reason," Emma told him. "She doesn't want to be bothered."

"Sweetheart, asking her for help with chem is not going to bother her," he insisted. "In fact, I think she likes it. Any time she gets to be a science nerd is good for her."

She sighed and Lin noticed she was actually getting a little teary-eyed. Some days, it was very easy to set her off.

"Hey," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "What's up?"

She sighed out. "I don't know," she admitted tearfully. Lin turned her and pulled her into a hug. He just held her as she cried quietly.

"Did something happen at school?" He asked gently.

"No," she said, wiping at her eyes. "Just the normal stuff."

"Are you getting overwhelmed?" He asked her. It was a constant game of balance with her, trying to make sure she didn't overdo things.

"A little," she admitted, and Lin pulled back to look at her.

"I'll make you some tea, and then you can go to your room and call Vanessa. I bet getting help from her will make you feel better. Am I right?"

She nodded and seemed to calm down. He hoped they hadn't sent the wrong message about Vanessa. It was really the little kids' needs that were overwhelming her. Helping Emma with her homework certainly wasn't something that was contributing to her sense of depression.

Lin gave her a quick kiss and Emma disappeared to her room to wipe her tears. He brought in some tea with honey a few minutes later and he urged her to call Vanessa. She did, and they spent a good half hour on the phone going through her chemistry woes.

At bedtime, each adult tackled one of the littles. It was divide and conquer. By 8:00, they were all down for the night and everyone could finally breathe.

"V's coming home on Wednesday," Lin reported to his parents as they sat around the couch. "We think her meds are starting to kick in better."

"Great," Luis said as he relaxed with a glass of wine. "If she still needs help, though, we're around. We love helping."

"I think she'd like that," Lin admitted. Vanessa seemed to be feeling a bit of shame along with her postpartum depression. She didn't like to admit she needed help, but she did. Luckily she had a great relationship with Lin's parents so she didn't mind asking them for help.

A while later, they all went to bed and Lin was looking forward to having his wife next to him once again.

___

On Wednesday, Sebastian especially was especially excited for Vanessa to be home. Francisco and Emilia didn't really understand what was happening and the girls were self-sufficient enough. When she walked in that afternoon with her suitcase, Sebastian ran for her. Vanessa scooped him up, planting kisses all over his face. She looked refreshed and glad to be home. After she'd put Sebastian down, Lin gave her a kiss and pulled her in for a warm hug.

Lin's parents stuck around until dinner time so they could visit and have a good time. Lexi was glad, however, to have her own bedroom back. She'd been sharing with her sister for an entire week and it was starting to get old.

Vanessa read the kids their bedtime stories that night, then she and Lin went to bed early. They laid in bed together, facing each other and holding hands.

"I missed you," Lin told her, looking into her eyes.

"Of course you did," she smiled, showing her dimples. Lin reached behind her and tickled the top part of her thigh, her most ticklish spot.

"Now are you gonna quit being so hard on yourself?" He asked her seriously. She sighed, fidgeting with a button.

"I think I need to go back to work," she said.

"Really?" He asked surprisingly. She'd been off for about a month and still technically had a couple weeks left.

She nodded. "I think being at home all the time is overwhelming. I know that's not everything, but I think it will help. I need time away and I need another outlet."

"Whatever you think is best," he told his wife, playing with her hair a little. "I'll support whatever you want."

"I know," she said softly, leaning forward to capture his lips. Lin deepened the kiss as Vanessa scooted a little closer to him. She let her hand slip down the back of his boxer-briefs, causing Lin to smirk.

"You are happy to see me," he joked. Vanessa responded by shifting her body on top of Lin's as she began to kiss him more hungrily. "Not shy anymore, huh?"

___

Lin woke up in a great mood, not at all bothered that he'd been awoken by Emilia screaming. Vanessa stirred next to him, so he got up and picked Emilia up from the bassinet. Vanessa sat up and was handed her infant daughter. She had missed nursing her baby. As she settled in and Emilia started feeding, she closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of closeness she had with her baby.

Lin left Vanessa to it as he disappeared into the bathroom for a shower. He was glad that Vanessa had gotten over her body-shaming post c-section. It had seemed to be another unfortunate side-effect of the postpartum depression. He thought she was beautiful no matter what. Her body had given them three beautiful children. What could be disgusting about that?

After his shower, Lin headed to the boys' room. Sebastian had gotten out of bed and found a book and was "reading" to his little brother as he sat up in his crib. Cisco seemed to be enjoying it, waiting patiently for someone to come get him. Lin smiled and sat down on the floor, pulling Sebastian into his lap. He listened to his oldest son tell a made-up story based on the pictures. When he reached the last page, he declared it the end.

"Who's hungry?"

"Meeee!!!" Sebastian said, hopping off his father's lap.

"Go say good morning to mommy while I change Cisco," Lin told him. Sebastian happily ran to his parents' bedroom and launched himself onto the bed, cuddling in with his mother. He was so glad she was back. It had become somewhat of a tradition for Sebastian to go cuddle with his mother for a few minutes if Lin was getting Cisco dressed.

Lin called for his son, Cisco in his arms, as he went to the kitchen to get breakfast started. He decided to make french toast, Vanessa's favorite. He started the boys off with some sliced mango and strawberries.

The girls were good at getting themselves started, and soon they had appeared, dressed and looking well put-together as usual.

"Don't forget your therapy appointment after school," Lin reminded Emma. Her therapy seemed to be going well. They were talking through some of the issues that led Emma to start taking Adderall and she hadn't relapsed. She'd been tempted a few times, but hadn't given in.

The girls headed out a few minutes later after scarfing down some french toast. Vanessa appeared with Emilia, her nose having tempted her into the kitchen. Her husband was so thoughtful. Once the boys were settled down with their toys, Vanessa and Lin sat down at the table with their laptops.

"Are you still wanting to go back to work?" Lin asked his wife as he scanned his e-mail.

"Yes," she said. "I'm about to call my boss."

"The daycare doesn't take babies until they're six months old, right?" Lin asked her.

"Right," she said. "Between your parents and my parents I think we should be okay."

Lin nodded as he opened up an email and began reading. Vanessa got out her cell phone and called her boss, who was thrilled she'd be coming back early. It was a Thursday, so they decided to come back on Monday. Once Vanessa had hung up, she looked happy and relieved. Lin hoped his wife was officially on the upswing.

___

At school, Lexi was struggling to stay awake in her social studies class. It was probably her least favorite class because the teacher mostly stuck to lecturing and worksheets. Her teacher noticed.

"Alexis," he cold-called her. Lexi sat up straight, blinking her eyes. She had no idea what the question had been.

"Uh...could you repeat that?"

Her teacher sighed, frustrated that half his students seemed to be zoned out. He was about to answer when all of a sudden, there was a pop-pop-pop sound coming from far down the hallway. A few seconds later, the intercom sounded with the principal's voice.

"Code red," he said in a serious voice. "This is not a drill. Code red."

The kids had been drilled on this, so they immediately got up and went to the corner of the room away from the sight of the door. Mr. Johnson went to the door and locked it, then pulled down the blinds and turned off the light. He then joined his students in the corner. There was no need to shush any students this time. Many students pulled out their phones and started texting friends and family.

Some of the students were in shock, and some were crying softly as they heard more gunshots sound throughout the building. Lexi immediately thought of her older sister. She wasn't sure where in the building she was right now, but she prayed that she was tucked away somewhere in a corner like she was. Lexi wanted Lin and Vanessa. She was shaking. She linked hands with a girl next to her - not someone she knew very well, but they both just needed to touch.

After the first minute, it was completely silent for a long time. The students could only hear the sound of each other breathing. Eyes searched face to face, and constantly went to their teacher for clues. Mr. Johnson was fighting to stay calm, but they could tell he was also worried. As the minutes passed and no more loud bangs were heard, they started to get more and more relieved, but they were still tense. It was most likely over, but they weren't going to move until they were told.

About fifteen minutes after the ordeal had begun, there was a pounding at the door. Everyone jumped and gasped, their hearts immediately racing.

"Police! Open up!" They heard a loud, authoritative voice yell. Mr. Johnson stood and tentatively pulled up the blinds to check to make sure it really was a police officer. The officer held up his badge, and Mr. Johnson unlocked the door. He walked in and surveyed the mass of students huddled in the corner.

"The second floor is cleared," he told everyone. "I need everyone to stand up slowly and put your hands on your heads. We're going to file outside and go across the street to Preschool of America."

The students were eager to follow any directions and they quickly complied. Lexi joined the sea of elementary, middle and high school students filing out the doors to safety.

___

Lin began getting a barrage of texts on his phone. However, he was in the middle of a phone call so he hadn't been able to check the messages yet. Finally, his phone call ended and he started looking through his texts. Many were from fellow parents at Hunter. Lin's heart dropped. There had been a school shooting. A shooting at his kids' school. He'd sent them there.

"Shit," he muttered as he searched for the remote and turned on CNN. "V!" He called down the hall to his wife. "Come here!"

The details were just starting to fly in. There was an aerial shot of the school with video of kids filing out with their hands on their heads. Vanessa walked in and put her hand to her mouth.

"Oh my God, Lin," she said quietly. They both watched, stunned, as the news commentator updated the audience on what had happened. There had been a single shooter who had been "neutralized", which they assumed they meant had been shot.

Lin finally got his senses and pulled out his phone to text Emma. Lexi didn't have a phone yet, though she'd begged for one for the past year. At this moment, he wished he'd given in and gotten her one.

Are you safe?

Lin stared at his phone, waiting to see the three little dots pop up that showed the person was texting back. After five minutes, nothing. Lin tried to reassure himself. They were in the middle of an evacuation.

A minute later, his phone rang with a call from the school. It was a recorded message sent out to the whole Hunter community.

"We have unfortunately had a shooting at school today. We will update you with details as they become available. All students are being taken across the street to Preschool of America. Parents can come pick up students there as soon as possible."

Lin tucked his phone in his pocket and told Vanessa he was going straight down there. Vanessa nodded and took a seat on the couch to watch the news broadcast. It was a long shot, but she was hoping to see Emma or Lexi on the television.

___

A subway ride had never taken so long. It was torture waiting to make it to the school's stop. When the doors open, Lin flew out and started running up the stairs. He found his way to the preschool, which was overflowing with kids and parents, all looking frazzled. Kids were crying and clinging to their parents.

He rushed around the building, looking for a sign of either of his girls. His searching became more and more frantic. Why couldn't he find them? Had they been taken to the hospital? The whole scene was chaotic and unorganized. No one had dealt with this sort of situation before. All the grade levels were mixed together, so there was no way of knowing where your kid was.

Finally, he caught a glimpse of Lexi hugging a classmate on the other side of the gym. Half of his heart sighed in relief, but the other half was still tense with worry. Lin rushed across the gym and he could see the relief on Lexi's face when she saw him. She ran to him and Lin enveloped her in a tight, long, hug. He didn't even try to hold back his tears.

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" He asked, cradling her head in his hand.

"Yes, Lin," she told him, but he noticed she was shaking. He pulled back and rubbed her arms, hoping the friction and heat would calm her down a bit.

"You're safe now," he reiterated, looking at her eyes. "Everything's gonna be okay. Have you seen your sister?"

"No," she teared up. "I haven't seen hardly any of the juniors."

Lin texted Vanessa that he'd found Lexi, but hadn't found Emma yet. He looked around the gym. Quite a few parents he recognized as having juniors were hanging around, looking worried. He turned back to Lexi.

"What did you hear? Where were you?"

"I was in social studies class. We heard two or three shots, then we went to the corner, and we heard four or five more. Then it stopped."

Lin's heart began to beat faster. Nine shots. That could mean nine kids were injured or dead. Emma could be one of them. Lin took his daughter's hand and they began to walk around the building again. He asked parents and kids he knew if they'd seen Emma and he was told no every time.

Once parents had signed their students out, they were allowed to leave for the day. Slowly, families began to file out, stunned but relieved. As the numbers began to dwindle down, Lin started to get more and more worried. He should have seen Emma by this point.

Vanessa called and he picked up. "Any sign of her?"

"No not yet," he ran a hand through his hair. "I should've seen her by now."

"Are they sure they've cleared the whole school?"

"I don't know, V," he told her, his heart pounding. Just then, one of the police officers called out for everyone to gather around. "They're announcing something. I'll call you back."

He didn't wait for his wife's response as he and Lexi hurried over to get close to the officer.

"We are still in the process of clearing the basement," he told us. "There are several rooms we haven't been able to get to yet because we've needed to clear the scene in the hallway."

Nobody wanted to ask what the "scene" was. Were our kids laying on the floor of the hallway dead? Lin's stomach churned with sickness.

"Eleven students have been taken to Mount Sanai Children's Hospital," he told them. "We do not have those students' names yet. We're working to check for identification and question the students."

That was all the police officer had to say. Several officers were on the phone, talking with colleagues and getting updates from the hospital. Lin observed several police officers go up to families to deliver news. By their reactions, it seemed that their children were being treated at the hospital. No one was being told their child was dead.

Lin checked his watch. It felt like it had been hours, but it had been only ten minutes since the officer had announced his news. Vanessa texted him that she was coming down to pick up Lexi to bring her home. Lin would stay and wait for news. She showed up fifteen minutes later with Emilia in her stroller. They kissed and hugged briefly before Vanessa took Lexi away from the horrible scene.

A few minutes after Vanessa and Lexi had left, Lin heard a voice call him.

"Mr. Miranda?"

Lin turned to meet eyes with a police officer. "Yes, that's me."

"Are you the father of Emma Miranda?"

"Yes. Is she alright?"