"Cath?!" Mari said over the phone. "Cath, wake up and pay attention. I had a nightmare."

"What?" Catherine yawned. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Mari was crying as she said, "I had a dream Josh disappeared and I couldn't find Violet. He's out at work tonight and I didn't know who else to call, I'm sorry."

"It was just a dream, Hon," Catherine sighed. "Don't let it worry you."

—————

"Ready?" Josh asked hesitantly, flipping a few switches on the soundboard. "Matt, you're sure about this?"

"Stop asking me if I'm sure. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," Matt laughed.

Josh gave a weak smile. "Alright."

Matt couldn't help but frown. Sure, Josh seemed better. Less full of laughter to cover up his sorrows, but there wasn't the confidence he had before. The feeling he could say no wrong, take no false step.

"Now?" Josh asked with a quaver in his voice.

Matt raised his hand and slashed it through the air as if he were conducting the universe on his own time. "Now."

Josh turned a dial, and the faint roar of the static underneath a police scanner could be heard on. "Now what, Batman?" He asked, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

Matt gave a little half smirk. "Now, we wait."

"I still think you're crazy," Josh laughed.

"Good."

—————

"Hey," Mari smiled, closing the front door, "Violet's at school, moping. Thought I'd come over."

"Hey," Catherine sighed as Mari came into the kitchen. "I have no idea where my husband is. I'm thinking he ran of with some hot chick from the coffee shop. Fiji, maybe? Costa Rica?"

"Cath, that's not even funny," Mari frowned.

"I never said it was."

"Matt would never. He probably went out to buy you food or to hang with Josh."

"Well," Catherine shrugged, "Ash and Scarlett are coming over in a little while. We're going to the Eiffel Tower. Please come."

"I have to pick Vi up at one," Mari said, checking her watch.

"How long do you guys have to care for her?"

"Until her mom comes back," Mari sighed. "Which honestly, Cath...I'm worried."

"You don't think she's coming back?" Cath guessed.

Mari shook her head hesitantly. "I don't. From what Josh's told me, and from what Violet's told me...the facts are scary. How could someone not want their child, Cath? It's frightening."

"Maybe it's just that she can't properly take care of her," Catherine said thoughtfully.

"I'm no mom, though, Cath. I barely know what to say to her- hold on, my phone's buzzing." Mari's face turned red. "Jack," she muttered angrily.

—————

The school bell rang loudly against Violet's skull. Just another day of pure torment as always. Another day without...who cared about that block head, anyway? It wasn't like she liked him stealing her lunch money.

Still.

It had become a part of her daily routine, and she seemed lost without him.

"Watch out!" The gym coach yelled as the baseball hurdled through the air and struck her across the jaw.

—————

"Ouch, sport. That looks awful," a friendly voice from behind Violet laughed.

"Uncle Jack?!"

"The one and the only," Jack grinned, sweeping her up into a hug.

"Excuse me, sir?" The gym coach said angrily. "Do you have a visitor's pass?"

"No," Jack stammered with a laugh.

The teacher gently pulled Violet back. "Get one."

"What happened to your face?!" Jack exclaimed with roaring laughter.

"Sports happened."

"What? You don't like sports?"

"Sports, Uncle Jack, don't much care for me," Violet sighed.

"Well, I'll have to change that. When's your mother coming up? We'll catch a hockey game."

Violet looked out the window forlornly. "She's not coming."

"Not this week?"

"Not ever."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

—————

"What did Jack do?"

"Picked up the kid. She's pretty cool. Grabbing a sub," Mari read in irritation.

"That's sweet of him. Why are you upset?" Catherine frowned.

"She has to go to school, Cath. Both me and Josh work full time, and she can't just punch her way through life. She needs stability and work."

"Now, Jack's a smart guy. I'm sure he had a good reason."

"Right," Mari sighed. "I mean, he probably thinks Jane's here, wants to see her."

"Maybe," Catherine shrugged. "Does this mean that you'll come to the Eiffel Tower with us?"

"I can't," Mari sighed.

—————

Matt creaked open the apartment door and pulled the baseball hat further over his face.

Catherine came out of the kitchen. "Hey, Hon."

"Hey!" Matt replied, turning the good side of his face toward her and removing his mask. "I'm going to grab a shower real quick."

"Alright. Why have you been wearing your mask?" Catherine frowned.

"Oh," Matt shrugged, "I just get tired of people staring at me sometimes."

Catherine nodded. "Where were you? I thought maybe you ran off to Fiji with a girl from the coffee shop."

"Catherine Collins, that's horrible. Why would you say something like that?!"

"It's just a joke, Babe," Cath chuckled.

"Right. Gotta shower," Matt mumbled, hurrying past.

Catherine sighed and put a hand to her stomach. "Your daddy is very mysterious," she whispered.

"Alright, well, I have to get home," Mari sighed, coming out of the kitchen. "I'll see you later, Cath."

"Bye, Mari."

Not long after Mari left, Carlos called.

"Hey, Carlos," Catherine smiled. "What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you about your pictures," he smirked.

Catherine sighed. "Car, you know how I feel about pregnancy photo shoots."

"You're just self conscious," Carlos reasoned. "You're beautiful, and you'll be kicking yourself if you don't do it."

"I'll only do it if Matt wants me to, but I think he'll be on my side."

"If you don't do it, I'll tell him about that time in tenth grade when you-"

"I'll think about it," Cath interjected quickly.

"Thanks," Carlos grinned. "Now, is something wrong? And don't lie. I can hear it in your voice."

"Matt's being weird," Catherine shrugged. "He got up in the middle of the night and went somewhere. He returned five minutes ago. He didn't say where he was and it's all very clandestine."

"Unfaithful?"

"God, Carlos. No."

"Sorry. I had to ask," Carlos chuckled.

"It's just odd because he was wearing his mask. He hasn't worn it...well, since we started dating," Catherine sighed. "I just don't know what's going on and it's freaking me out."

—————

Matt shaved and took a deep breath as he looked in the mirror.

It was going to be a long day.

He opened the medicine cabinet, and with a shaking hand, grabbed Catherine's concealer.

He turned his burns toward the mirror and carefully assessed the large black and blue lump that was forming under his eye.

Stupid porcelain. He knew he should have chosen leather.

"That guy could punch," Matt thought in awe, shaking his head. He remembered the pain as his body had been thrust the four feet, landing stiffly against the brick wall with a clunk that led him to believe he'd fractured every bone in his body.

He put the makeup on a soft beauty blender and dabbed it under his eye until the black blended in with his scars.

Good enough.

—————

"That was beautiful," Ashley smiled, sitting at the island in the kitchen.

"Carlos and I go to the Eiffel Tower and take pictures a lot," Cath nodded. "He wants to do my pregnancy photo shoot, though I don't really want one."

Ashley nodded. "But?"

"He's blackmailing into doing it," Catherine sighed. "Never tell Carlos Daei any secrets, girls."

—————

Josh walked sluggishly through the front door.

"Where have you been?" Violet asked with a laugh.

"Out."

"What does 'out' mean?"

"I was out, okay?" Josh snapped.

Violet's eyes narrowed. "Why does your arm look funny?"

"You look funny."

"Josh!"

"Leave me alone, Violet."

—————

Mariah came in and set her keys on the kitchen counter. It was funny the way Paris gave her a sort of peace that she never felt anywhere else.

She knew Violet missed home, knew that she missed those silent pleasures that her mother gave her, though she would never admit it.

"Babe?" Mari called, creaking open the old cabinets and looking despondently over their contents. "You home?"

Violet peeked around the corner. "He's fine. Don't freak out, okay?"

"Why?" Mari asked slowly.

Violet bit her lip. "There was an incident."

"Violet," Mari exclaimed, her eyes brows shooting upward, "what happened to your face?!"

"Sports happened. Come on, Uncle Josh needs you."

"Why?" Mari frowned, her eyes still fixed on Violet's swollen cheek.

"He kinda broke his arm."

"What?!"

"He kinda doesn't wanna admit it."

"How on earth did he manage that?" Mari sighed.

"He doesn't want me to tell...he didn't want me to say about the arm either, but I figured it was kinda important since he was crying about it."

"Violet," Mari said sternly, "how did he brake it?!"

"I can't say," Violet sighed.

—————

"How did you girls like your ballet lesson?" Catherine smiled as they entered the doorway.

"It was great," Ashley grinned.

"I can't believe you did ten fouetté turns before falling over," Scarlett gaped.

"I used to be able to do thirty," Cath chuckled. "Then I got pregnant. I'm blaming Matt for that one."

Ashley laughed before checking her phone. "Mom wants us to be back at the apartment in five. See you tomorrow, Cath."

"See ya," Catherine smiled.

After the girls departed, Cath took a shower and dressed into fresh clothes. She went into the bedroom to grab her hairbrush and saw Matt laying in bed, holding and ice pack to his eye. "Babe," Catherine gasped, "what happened?"

"Nothing," Matt said quickly, pulling off the ice pack.

Catherine moved over and put her hand on his cheek. "Your eye is swollen. Why?"

"I poked it with a pen of some sort," Matt mumbled. "Stupid me."

"You don't get a black eye from a pen. Don't lie to me," Catherine said firmly. "What did you do?"

"I'm not lying!...There was a pen involved."

"Then you aren't telling the whole truth, Matt. I can tell. Now, will you just tell me what in God's name happened?"

"Josh saved my life," Matt said in embarrassment, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and sitting up.

"Baby," Cath said softly, sitting down on the bed, "I want to know the whole story."

"I'm starved," Matt laughed, jumping up and rubbing the back of his head. "Are you starving? You wanna grab a pizza or something?"

Catherine pulled him back down. "Talk now. Eat after. You're not getting out of this."

"It's stupid. It doesn't hurt too bad, okay?"

"Tell me," Catherine said sternly. "Right now. You're not leaving until you do, so start talking."

"We...we, uh...we played superheroes."

Catherine sighed. "Go on. I'm interested in how that lead to you getting hurt."

"Well, it started when Josh came back. See, we had been talking about back in the day when we'd be hanging out, watching TV or practicing or something, and we'd catch somebody pick-pocketing or some police scanner thing would come on the radio...and most of the guys are so freaked out by a man in a mask that they take off running, but- anyway, we were both saying, that life's pretty...simple now. And we don't get to do as much rough housing as we'd like, being family oriented, and well, one thing led to another, and I suggested we maybe...play vigilantes for a night. So, Josh hacked into the police scanner, and he and I got all suited up just like old times...you're freaking out, aren't you?"

"Just continue."

"I don't want to," Matt whimpered.

Catherine sighed. "Are you hurt badly? Do you need to go see Jack? I can take you now, if you want."

"I already went. This is nothing, that guy had some teeth, though, I'll tell you. I've never seen sharper canines in my life, Cath," Matt said, wide eyed.

Catherine wrapped her arms gently around him. "I'm just glad you're okay. Don't you ever pull something like that again. Do you hear?"

Matt looked severely sad. "I'm not young anymore, am I?"

"You're still young, Baby. You just have responsibilities now. I don't know what I would have done if something happened to you. Please don't do that again. I could have lost you."

"Josh broke his arm," Matt admitted. "It's all my fault. I was getting pummeled, and he stepped in like freaking superman and scared the guy off. He looked so- he's so different from when we were younger, Cath, from when I really knew him...He's a stranger and it terrifies me."

"Shh," Catherine said softly. "Let's not talk about it. Now, I seem to remember you saying that you were hungry?"

"He's gone somehow, Cath. The Josh I knew is gone, and I let it happen," Matt moaned, putting his face in his hands. "I let him down."

"Hey," Catherine whispered, putting her hand on his shoulder, "you didn't do anything."

"Exactly," Matt laughed sadly, "I didn't do anything. I didn't listen, I didn't think- it was always 'He's Josh. He's always happy and fine.' I thought Mari would just fix him. I've been a terrible friend, Catherine. And there's no excuse for it."

"Don't worry yourself about that now, Sweetheart."

"I have to. Now he's hurt and it's my fault. This was selfish, and some stupid part of me was trying to show him that us together could still be like it used to. But it can't. We're both in different worlds. Marriage, Honey, as much as I love it and you, kinda sucks as far as friendships go."

"I know what you mean," Catherine chuckled. "But Hon, you can't blame yourself. Now, why don't you rest?"

"No, Cath, we can't just put everything off," Matt laughed. "Things have to be dealt with. I have to go explain to Mari and set this right."

"Alright. Go ahead," Catherine sighed. "There's a few things I have to take care of. I'll wait here. Say hi to Josh for me."

"Will do," Matt nodded, kissing her cheek. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

—————

"Issac, open the door."

"No."

"Josh."

"No."

Mari sighed and produced a key. "You brought this on yourself," she muttered, unlocking the door and walking in. "Hon, what happened?"

"Nothing. I'm perfectly fine."

Mari put a hand to her head. "Josh, get in the car. Let's get this over with."

"Mari-"

"Josh, I have a killer headache, and I feel like crap. Get in the stupid car."

"I don't need to see Jack."

"Hon, you've been crying," Mari sighed.

"Have not," Josh pouted.

"So help me God, I will slap you silly if you don't get in the car right."

"Fine," Josh grumbled.

Mari helped him up and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I didn't know I was signing up to be your caretaker when I married you, ya know."

"You should have known," Josh chuckled.

"Sometimes I forget why I did it," Mari sighed, shaking her head.

Josh kissed her forehead. "Because you love me...right?" He asked nervously.

"Of course I love you, ya idiot," Mari chuckled.

"Okay, just checking," Josh sighed in relief. "So, Violet ratted me out?"

"Yep," Mari nodded. "What the heck were you thinking?"

"I was thinking, 'Gosh, how is my wife so gorgeous that I can barley look at her?' And then I fell down the stairs."

"That's not what Violet said," Mari smirked. "She said that you and Matt were playing superheroes and got pummeled by some crook."

"Yes, and as I was being pummeled, Darling, I thought 'As long as I survive this, I'm going to love my wife twice as hard as I do now,'" Josh grinned weakly.

"Let's go, Romeo," Mari chuckled.

"Hey Romeo dies," Josh laughed softly."I think I'm more of a Peter Parker."

"Maybe that was a threat," Mari smirked.

"Nothing I can't handle," Josh teased, hopping into the passenger seat. "Mari?" Josh asked after a moment, fear in his eyes.

"Yes, Hon?"

"Am I...are you happy? Am I doing all this marriage stuff right?"

Mari smiled fondly. "You're the best husband on the face of the earth."

"I mean, you would tell me, right? If I was doing it wrong?"

"Of course."

"Mari?"

"Yes, Josh?"

"You don't think...I mean, I'm different. Am I different? From when we first met?"

"Yeah," Mari shrugged, "but in a good way. You don't do that weird laughing thing to hide what you're feeling."

"What weird laughing thing?" Josh laughed awkwardly. "I don't do a weird laughing thing."

"My mistake," Mari smirked.

"Mari?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you more than pretzels."

Mari laughed loudly. "Wow. That's something. You know what, Josh?"

"What?"

"I love you more than pretzels too."