The doorbell rang and Emma ran to it, unlocking it as quickly as she could, knowing who was on the other side. She practically leaped into Lin's arms. He laughed as she crashed into him, giving her a big hug.

"Someone's happy to see me," he laughed. Emma held on for a long time. Sometimes it seemed her parents were trying to control her life, but now that they weren't around she realized how great they were. Well, she knew they were great, but sometimes it was easy to forget when they butted heads.

Finally she pulled back and just looked at him, tears in her eyes. Lin kissed her cheek and then pulled his suitcase in behind him. Emma showed him around the apartment excitedly. She was suddenly in such a better mood, now that Lin was here. It felt nice to have someone around who loved her.

Lin collapsed on the couch, exhausted from the travelling. He was glad to see his daughter in good spirits. He and Vanessa worried about her a lot. She liked to think she was a grown up, but there was still a lot she didn't know. And she didn't know what she didn't know. Emma was usually full of a confidence, but she didn't always know what she was doing.

"So how are you getting along with your roommate?" Lin asked. "Claudia?"

Emma bit her lip and stirred her drink with her straw. She hadn't told her parents that her roommate had moved out because she knew they'd freak out.

"Ummm...actually, she just moved out," she told Lin, glancing up at him.

"She moved out? When?" he asked

"Two weeks ago?"

Lin's eyebrows shot up. "You've been living by yourself for two weeks?"

"Yes?" she kept answering in questions, unsure of how he was going to react. Lin breathed out slowly through his mouth and sat back in the couch chair.

"Em, I wish you'd told me," he said, scrubbing a hand over his face. "How have you been managing?"

She sat back as well, sighing. "Okay I guess."

Lin took a good look around the apartment. It was obviously being managed by an amateur. She hadn't done any deep cleaning lately for sure.

"How have you been eating?"

"Mostly take-out and frozen meals," she admitted.

"Baby, that's not healthy," Lin told her. Back at home, he and Vanessa made sure she ate healthy because she was so active. Tons of junk food and sugar would drag her down.

"I can't cook a whole lot," Emma admitted. She could make spaghetti, frozen pizza, and pancakes.

"Well, while I'm out here I'll teach you a few recipes," he said, patting her leg. "Healthy recipes."

"Okay," she smiled at him.

"But first let's clean up this pigsty," he told her, standing up and rolling up his sleeves. "Vanessa would be appalled."

Emma laughed. "It's not that bad," she told him. Emma turned on the radio and they got to work. Lin started a load of laundry in the building's laundry room and Emma started scrubbing down the bathroom. Lin got to work on the kitchen, throwing out old take-out containers from the fridge and scrubbing the sink. A couple hours later, the place was looking much better. They ordered in Chinese and put on a movie.

The apartment had come furnished, so there was still a bed in Claudia's old room. Emma helped Lin make the bed and they said goodnight. She smiled as she turned over in her bed, glad to have a member of her family with her.

The next day was a ballet day, so Emma got up at 7 and showered and ate some cereal. She usually didn't like family watch her practice, but since Lin was here from across the country he was going to join her.

Lin had briefly seen some of practices back in New York and they had been intense. These were even more insane. He wasn't sure how the women all kept up the pace. Lin watched in the window for a while, sipping some Starbucks. After a half hour or so, he found a chair and pulled out his laptop to work. When the company broke for lunch, Lin took Emma to a diner down the road. He noticed that she wasn't overly friendly with the other girls.

"So, have you made many friends yet?" he asked as he took a bite into his burger. She shrugged.

"I don't know," she said. "Claudia and I were kinda friendly, but now that's gone. The other girls are pretty intense. Some of them are married."

Lin nodded. She'd only been out here about a month, but he'd feel better if she had some more friends and a roommate.

____

After Emma had gone to bed that night, Lin stepped out onto the balcony and called his wife. It was past 11:00 Eastern time so all the little kids would be in bed. When she answered, he heard crying in the background.

"Hi, Lin," she answered, sounding a little stressed.

"Hey V," he said. "Everything okay?"

"Cisco won't settle down," she said. "He's been up twice. I'm trying to rock him."

"Wanna FaceTime?" I suggested. She agreed, so they hung up and Lin called back on FaceTime. Vanessa held the phone so Cisco could see his father.

"Hey, buddy!" he greeted his youngest son, whose face was contorted mid-cry. Cisco reached out his little fist towards his father's face and started to cry a little less. "Why are you so upset?"

The little boy cooed back as Vanessa adjusted him on her lap a little bit. It had been a trying couple days with all the kids. Her parents had come by to help, but still most of the work fell on her. She was obviously still nursing Emilia, and the boys still needed a lot of help. Lexi hadn't been as helpful as usual. In fact, she'd been pretty morose. Vanessa suspected she missed her sister.

Then Lin started to sing to him. Out of all the kids, Cisco seemed to appreciate his singing the most. He stopped crying completely as his father crooned to him over the phone from the other side of the country. He cooed and his eyelids started to droop.

"I'll call you back," Vanessa whispered to her husband as his eyes closed completely. Vanessa put her son in his crib, tucking him in. She let out a breath, relieved that all the kids were finally down. She poured herself a glass of wine and then sat up against the headboard in their bed. Vanessa called her husband back, ready to talk to him now.

"Hey baby," he greeted her, feeling badly that she was home with four kids.

"Hey," she said softly. "How's San Fran?"

"It's good," he said, looking out at the San Francisco skyline. "Emma actually let me watch her practice. Their workouts are insane."

"I bet," Vanessa said, twirling her hair a bit. "Is she coping?"

He sighed. "Well, I found out yesterday her roommate moved out two weeks ago. Got a gig in Boston."

"So she's been living by herself?" Vanessa asked, exasperated.

"Uh-huh," he said. "Her place was a mess. I mean, she cleaned up for me but she obviously has no idea how to keep up a house. Her laundry was piled up. I don't think she'd done any for weeks."

"Jeez," she said. "Can she not find another roommate?"

"The company will only allow other members to live there, and there's no one else who needs a place. V, she can't keep going like this."

Vanessa felt her stomach drop a bit, knowing what he was thinking.

"Lin, you can't move to San Francisco," she told him outright.

"Why not? She obviously still needs someone."

"Lin," she sat up and set her wine glass on the bedside table. "I have been alone for two days and I'm already at my wit's end. I cannot live like this permanently."

Lin sighed, not wanting to put Vanessa in a tough position, but also not wanting to leave Emma by herself.

"And I don't want you to have to do that," he admitted. "We just...we need to figure something out. I don't know what, but we do."

The line was silent for a few long moments.

"Anyways...how are the kids?" Lin asked his wife.

"Mostly fine," she said. "I think Lexi misses Emma."

"Yeah," he said. "I was afraid she might. Tell her to call tomorrow night. We can all FaceTime."

"It's not the same," Vanessa reminded him. "FaceTime is not the answer to missing people."

"I know that, V," he told his wife.

"Yeah," she almost whispered, then sighed. "Well, give Em a hug and a kiss from me. I miss her."

"I will. She misses you too. Love you."

"Love you too."

They hung up and Lin let out a huge sigh. He wasn't sure what to do about the whole situation. Obviously Emma was in over her head trying to live alone, do ballet full time, and do online school. If he were to move here, that would be unfair to Vanessa. She'd have three children under the age of 6, plus a middle schooler. Their parents tried to help out as much as they could, but it would still mostly be on her. And what would he do? Work on his laptop all day? He supposed he could do work out here.

They could move out here, but that would be uprooting them from everything they knew. Vanessa would have to quit her job and find something else out here. The kids would be away from their grandparents, who were a huge part of their lives. Lexi was finally making some good friends with Emily and Savi.

Lin stood up and went inside the apartment. He got a beer out of the fridge he'd bought earlier and plopped down on the couch. He turned on the TV and thought. The other solution would be to make Emma move back to New York. That would absolutely devestate her. But she was only seventeen. What 17 year old had a full time job she moved across the country for?

After a while, Lin turned off the lights, checked in on his daughter, then went to bed himself.

The next day was a hard one. Emma seemed to be off for whatever reason. It was a little painful for Lin to watch - the instructors singled her out several times and he could tell Emma was getting frustrated. After being her father for several years, he could tell things from minor expressions on her face. When they broke for lunch, Lin had a feeling she didn't want to eat at a restaurant. She'd want to go home.

She slipped on her track pants and hoodie, stuffing her hands in the pouch, head down. Lin followed her down the stairs. He didn't bother trying to get her to talk right now. She'd start crying and she hated crying in public. They walked to her place wordlessly, and Emma slammed the door behind her. She immediately rested her head in her hands on the breakfast bar. Lin sighed and rubbed her back.

"Tough practice," he told her. He heard her sniffle and knew she was crying.

"It's like this all the time," she told him tearfully as she started pacing the kitchen. "I'm the newest so I suck in their eyes. I can't do anything right. I can't believe they haven't fired me."

"Em, they're not gonna fire you," he followed her with his hands in his pockets. "They hired you because they know you're talented. They're just trying to up your game. You just turned professional."

"I've been pro for a month now," she said, as if that were a reasonable amount of time to compare herself to others who'd been doing it for years. "I should be better now."

"I've been watching you practice for the last 3 days," he reasoned with her. "I've never seen you work harder. You're being too hard on yourself."

Emma shook her head and opened the fridge. She chugged some Gatorade. Lin sighed and decided it drop it for the moment. He went to the pantry to see what was there.

"Mac & Cheese?" he asked.

"I'm not hungry," she told him as she walked to the couch.

"Em, you need to eat," he told her, getting out the box of pasta.

"I can't eat when I'm pissed," she told him.

"And how often have you been pissed the last month?" he asked her. Lin thought she looked thinner than usual, but he knew better than to question her about her weight. Lin started making the Mac & Cheese anyway as Emma watched some TV. If he wasn't there, he was sure she'd just go back without eating. That really concerned him.

Ten minutes later, he brought over a bowl to Emma. She immediately set it aside.

"Emma," he said in a serious tone. "Eat."

"No thanks," she told him. Lin sighed and set his own bowl aside.

"Emma," he went on. "Are you happy?"

"Of course I'm happy," she said. "I'm doing what I've always wanted to do."

"You don't seem very happy," he told her honestly. "I'm not sure I've heard you laugh since I've been here. Is this still what you want to do?"

Emma stared across the room, considering this for the first time. She'd been working her ass off at the studio and they all still thought she was an amateur. And she was. She didn't belong in the professional world.

When she didn't answer, Lin scooted a little closer, letting his elbows rest on his thighs. "You don't have to stay here," he told her gently. "If you're miserable and lonely, then it's not worth it."

"But I signed a contract," she told him.

"You're a minor," he told her. "Vanessa's a lawyer. She can get you out. You can come back to New York and go back to ABT, then major in dance at college."

She was silent, considering this, but she was also very stubborn. She'd committed to SBF and what did it say about her if she just quit after a month? When she went looking for another ballet job, what would they think? They'd think she was uncommitted.

"I have to stay," she said quietly. Lin sighed and linked his hand with hers. She took herself too seriously.

"Don't feel like you're in too deep, because you're not," he told her. "Vanessa and I are your parents and we're here to look out for your best interests."

She nodded and picked up the bowl of Mac & Cheese. She took a few bites, and Lin went back to eating his own. Emma ended up eating about half the bowl. It wasn't enough, Lin thought, but it was something at least.

____

Back in New York, Lexi collapsed onto her bed at home. Emilia was screaming in the living room and Vanessa was trying desperately to get him to calm down. Abuela was here, entertaining the boys. Everyone was there helping the little kids. Lexi felt like the cliche middle child. Lin was off in San Francisco with her older sister, and all the adults here were too busy changing diapers and feeding kids to pay attention to her. Emma wasn't here to talk to.

She pulled out her phone and started looking through her social media feeds mindlessly. Lin had posted some photos of his trip on Twitter, including some shots of Emma at the ballet studio. She looked thin. Too thin. And unlike every other time she'd seen her sister dancing, she didn't look that happy.

Lexi turned onto her side and pulled up her text messages. She tapped Emma's name and shot her a quick message.

Miss you. Give Lin a noogie for me. Xoxo

The phone showed the message had been delivered, but not read. Emma was probably still at the studio, working her butt off. Lin had texted her earlier to say she would try FaceTiming them later. It had been a couple weeks since she'd spoken with her sister. They were texters.

Lexi focused on getting her homework done so she could have a good chat later. At around 9:30, she FaceTimed her sister, knowing she'd likely be done at the studio by now. A few seconds later, the screen changed her sister's face appeared on screen, smiling.

"Lexi!" she practically squealed.

"Hi!" she told her sister as she adjusted the phone. Lexi sat up in bed, cross-legged. "Are you home?"

"Yeah," she said, walking with her phone to the kitchen. "Lin's cooking me dinner. Enchiladas."

"Yum," Lexi said as her sister turned her phone to show Lin. He smiled and waved at the screen.

"Hey, Lex!" he called.

They chatted about silly stuff for a few minutes, and Lin was glad to see Emma smiling and laughing. Her family brought out the best in her. Lin continued making dinner as Emma laid down on the couch and chatted away with her little sister. They were starting to get a little closer now, he thought. Perhaps it was Emma moving across the country that made them realize how important they were to each other.

After a while, Lexi handed off the phone to Vanessa so they could catch up. Vanessa was a little concerned at what she saw. Her face looked really thin and she had bags under her eyes.

"Sweetheart, are you feeling alright?" she asked her daughter, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"You look kind of a pale. Have you lost weight?" she asked. Emma rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I'm fine," she told her. Lin had texted her about her not eating much.

"Are you eating enough? You're active for eight hours a day so you need your fuel," she reminded her.

"I haven't been very hungry," she explained. "I've been frustrated at the studio because they've been really hard on me."

"You need to try to eat more," she told her daughter. "I'm sure Lin's enchiladas will help with that."

"Yeah, I can't resist those," Emma admitted. "How's Emilia?"

"Oh, you know," she said. "Dramatic as usual. She went to the doctor for a check up and she's now twenty pounds."

"Good eater!" Emma commented. "Is she still up?"

"No, she's down for the night," Vanessa told her. With the time difference, it was difficult for Emma to see her little siblings. The weekends were the only time they could really talk. Sebastian was always eager to put on a show.

"Give her kisses for me," Emma said.

"Dinner's ready!" Lin called from the kitchen.

"I gotta go," Emma said. "It's dinner time."

"Okay. I love you," Vanessa said, giving her an air kiss. Emma blew one back and then hung up. She was feeling much better now that she'd talked to Lexi and Vanessa. Her spirits were lifted a bit, but she also missed them.

"How's Lex?" Lin asked as they sat down at the table.

"She's good," Emma said. "The little kids are driving her a little crazy."

Lin nodded as he set his water down. "I worry about that sometimes. They all need so much attention, I worry that she feels forgotten."

"I'm sure she's fine," Emma commented, but knew her sister felt this way sometimes. Being one of five kids was difficult sometimes.

"I'll have to call her tomorrow to catch up," he decided. Lin and Emma shared pleasant conversation as they ate, making their plans for the next day. Emma had ballet, of course, but then they were going to do a few touristy things. Lin kept thinking about how he had to leave in just a few short days. While he'd been here, he felt like Emma needed him there. Or, at least, someone. He worried about leaving her all alone again, even if it was just temporary. For the first time in a long time, he thought about his friend Phil, Emma's real father. What would he do in this situation? Silently, he asked his friend for help.