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𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀 parked her car in front of the San Bernardino Hospice Center. Grabbing her nursing bag, and placing her stethoscope around her neck, and putting her name badge on her pocket, she got out, locked her impala and walked inside.

"Hi, you must be with UCLA's nursing program." an elderly nurse named Annie said. "My name is Annie."

"Hello Annie. My name is Stella Walker. Yes, I'm with UCLA's nursing program." Stella smiled

"Great, we are so happy to have you. Most of the nursing students don't even want to their clinicals here." Annie said. "But, I'm certainly glad you came."

"Oh, of course." Stella smiled.

"So, we've assigned you to a patient named Tommy. He's in room 112." Annie smiled. "He's one of our mischievous patients. He loves to play with the call light."

"Stella smiled and nodded as she clutched the strap of her nursing bag, then walked towards room 112. When she got there, Tommy sat in the bed, watching soccer.

"Hi, I'm Stella Walker. I'm with the UCLA nursing program." Stella smiled

"Oh, yes, please, come in." Tommy said.

"First, I'll start by getting your vital signs." Stella said as she wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his arm. "I know this will be a little uncomfortable, so just let me know if it gets too tight, and I'll do everything I can to make it comfortable. Personally, I don't like this experience."

"Hon, I've had my blood pressure taken so many times, it doesn't bother me." Tommy chuckled as Stella took his blood pressure.

"134/90." Stella said. "Pulse is 85."

"Is that good? Bad?" Tommy questioned as Stella placed her blood cuff in her bag

"Pulse and blood pressure are both great." Stella smiled.

After going over his medication list, as well as his family history of diseases, the normal things you go over, it was time for Stella to leave. Tommy genuinely liked her.

"Well, thank you for giving me a few minutes of your time." Stella smiled as she extended her hand for a handshake.

Tommy smiled as he shook Stella's hand, then replied, "No problem. You'll make a great nurse. You have a wonderful bedside manner, and you have a compassionate heart. Normally, I don't ask people to come back, but do you think you could come back?

Stella smiled warmly then replied, "Of course, but on one condition."

"What is it?" Tommy asked

"Nurse Annie told me you love to play with the call light." Stella said

"Well, it's there. I just want to see how long it will take for them to get here." Tommy said

Stella couldn't help but chuckle, as he truly was something else. "Tommy, the call light is for emergencies. Stay off the call light, unless you really need the nurse. You promise?"

"Promise." Tommy said

"I'll be back soon." Stella smiled. "It was a pleasure meeting you Tommy."

"You as well, Stella." Tommy smiled

──────

It was 5:30 pm when Stella pulled into the Reseda strip mall. After putting her car in park, she got out, placed her sunglasses on top of her head, and walked into the dojo. As she walked in, she found her brother was the only one in the dojo.

"Hey bro." Stella smiled

"Hey sis." August smiled as he embraced his sister. "How was clinicals?"

"They went better than I thought they would." Stella smiled

Upon hearing his favorite voice, Johnny walked out of the office and he smiled at the beautiful brunette, as August grabbed his phone. "Hey Stella." the blonde smiled

"Hey Johnny." Stella smiled. "So why is my brother the only one here?"

"Because, he's probably my only shot at winning this thing." Johnny said

"So does that mean I'm your best student?" August asked

"Don't flatter yourself. Have you seen the others?" Johnny said as August looked to his phone and laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing, just this funny picture my girlfriend posted." August said

"Wait a second, is that Daniel LaRusso's daughter?" Johnny said, somewhat angrily

"Yeah, you know Samantha?" August said

"You're dating a LaRusso?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah, why? Is something wrong?" August asked

Johnny looked at August then at Stella and sighed, then said, "We need to talk."

August changed out of his gi, and Johnny walked down the street to grab them drinks. He grabbed himself and Stella a beer and a coke for August. The three sat on the curb outside of the dojo with August sitting on one side of Johnny, and Stella sitting on the other.

"It was the summer of '82. Rocky III had just come out, my buddy was Dutch was a huge Mr. T fan, so we went to the local theater to check it out. Sitting in front of us was this group of cute chicks, eating popcorn. Dutch started throwing Milk Duds at 'em."

"Wha — Why would he do that?" August asked, softly laughing

"Because it's an alpha move, man. Babes love it when you treat them like crap." Johnny said, and Stella rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the girls got so pissed off that one of them stood up and started yelling at us. That's when I saw her for the first time."

"Saw who?" August asked

"Ali." Johnny softly smiled. "She dumped popcorn all over Dutch. Got melted butter all over him. I could tell right away, this chick was a firecracker." Johnny said, making Stella and August laugh softly

"All right, I have to meet Ali. She sounds so awesome." Stella thought to herself

"Did you ask her out?" August asked

"Yeah, I hit on her a few times till she gave me a chance. We went to Golf N' Stuff for our first date. Kissed on the Ferris Wheel. We were madly in love. Dated for two years." Johnny smiled. "For Valentine's day, instead of rings, I gave her this pink jelly bracelet. She gave me this."

Stella couldn't help but smile as Johnny reached into his pocket and grabbed his signature black karate headband, and held it in his hands. "So what happened next?" Stella asked as she took another swig of her beer

"Summer before my senior year we got into a fight. I figured we work things out eventually." Johnny said

"But?" Stella questioned

"But then Daniel LaRusso came to town." Johnny said with venom in his voice "Next thing I know, he's hitting on her. I see the two of them flirting with each other."

"What'd you do?" August asked

"Well, I walked over to have a civil conversation with Ali. But LaRusso kept butting in. I told him to get lost, mind your own business. Out of nowhere, the guy sucker-punches me." Johnny said

"What an asshole." August said

"I know man. I did what any dude would do. I defended myself. You know, I figured that was that. But LaRusso wouldn't leave it alone. At the Halloween dance, I was sitting there, minding my own business, he douses me with a water hose. I hadn't seen the guys in months. Fricking turns a water hose on my head. So I chase him down, try to put an end to things that night. Right? Turns out the guy's got a karate master of his own. Guy comes out of nowhere, jumps us, assaults me and my friends. I think my buddy Tommy got brain damage because of that fight." Johnny said

"Oh my god." August said

"Eventually, we decided to work things out at the All Valley Tournament. So we both made it to the finals. It was two to two..." Johnny said

"What...what happened? Who won?" August asked

"LaRusso won. I lost. But what's worse is...that I lost Ali. Until..." he said as he looked at Stella and fondly smiled but she didn't see it as she was deep in thought.

"Until what?" August said

"Nothing, look, the reason I'm telling you two this, is because you gotta watch out for the LaRussos." Johnny said

──────

Upon arriving at the apartment complex in Reseda, Stella parked her impala next to Johnny's firebird, and got out, as Johnny and August were getting out of the firebird. They all started walking when Janette came into view.

"Hey guys." Janette greeted. "How was training? Hi Sweetpea. How was clincals?" She smiled as she embraced her granddaughter

"Hi grandma." Stella smiled as she embraced her grandmother. "Clinicals were fine."

"Oh, your grandson's doing great." Johnny complimented, patting August on the back.

"Auggie, go get cleaned up. I made your favorite. Fried chicken." Janette smiled. August fist bumped Johnny before walking away. Janette wrapped her arm around her granddaughter's shoulder. "Invite him to stay for supper." The older woman winked then walked away.

"Do you have dinner plans?" Stella asked

"Me? Uh... got a couple of hot pockets. I'm good." Johnny said

"That sounds like the opposite of good." Stella said. "Wanna join us?"

"I don't wanna bother you guys." Johnny said.

"It's no bother, we have plenty of food." Stella said.

"Well, I would, but..." Johnny said, but was cut off by Stella

"No buts." Stella said. "Besides, grandma's chicken is to die for"

After walking inside, Stella walked inside and walked to the kitchen to wash her hands, then took a seat next to Janette, while August sat next to Johnny. After Janette said the prayer, the four dug in to their food.

"Your father had to work late, so I saved him a plate." Janette said, then glanced across the table at Johnny. "So, August told me all about the tournament. I hope he doesn't get hurt." Janette stated

"Grandma, I told you there's referees. You can't get hurt." August stated

"At least not permanently." Johnny said, and Stella rolled her eyes. "He'll be fine."

"So have you always lived in Reseda?" Janette asked.

"No, I grew up in Encino." Johnny said

"Really? Really nice houses up there." Janette said

"Well, just because you live in a nice house, doesn't always mean there's nice things going on inside." Johnny said, then bit into the fried chicken and sighed in delight. "You were right, Stella, the chicken is to die for."

"Told you." Stella laughed

Before anyone could reply, August's phone began to vibrate. "Oh, sorry."

"Answer it, darlin'. It's fine. Don't take too long. Your food will get cold." Janette smiled. August nodded and ran to his room, closing the door behind him.

"I'm glad August is finally making some nice friends. Its been difficult for him after his mother's passing, and Nathan's job as a ranger doesn't make it any easier, as he's never home." Janette said

"Stella mentioned you guys were originally from Texas." Johnny said.

"Nathan didn't want to leave, but when they offered him a job out here, he just couldn't pass it up." Janette said, then turned to her granddaughter. "So tell me about clinicals. You have them with Lori and Kara?"

"No, Lori and Kara had their clinicals up in the ICU." Stella said, setting her glass of tea down. "I had mine at the hospice center."

"How was that?" Johnny asked.

"It was good." Stella said. "They have this one patient who loves to lay on the call light. He doesn't even need anything. He's just doing it to see how long it will take for the nurses to get there."

"That sounds like something your grandfather would have done." Janette laughed

──────

The soft sound of Elvis Presley's Kentucky Rain was heard as Stella finished her nightly routine. After brushing her teeth, she reached for her monogrammed hand towel and dried her mouth.

After walking into her bedroom, she turned on her lamp, turned off her lights, got into bed, and sat up and read her book, which was a gift from Ava

A little into her reading, her phone began to ring. Looking over to the nightstand, where her phone was, she saw she was getting an incoming call from Johnny.

Placing her book face down to mark her page, she picked up the phone and answered the call. "Hey sensei. It's a little late isn't it?" Stella smiled

"Nah, at least I don't think so." Johnny laughed

"Of course you don't." Stella laughed. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner sometime?" Johnny asked

"You mean like a date?" Stella said

"Yeah. A date." Johnny said

Looking at the photo of Ava on the nightstand, Stella said, "Yeah. I'd love that Johnny."

"Can I come and I get you tomorrow night at 7:30?" Johnny asked

"7:30 would be perfect." Stella smiled.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow night princess." Johnny said

"Wait, Johnny." Stella said.

"Yeah?" Johnny said

"You said the worst thing than losing the all valley tournament was losing Ali. Then you said until. You never finished your sentence. What were you about to say?" Stella asked

"What's worse is I lost Ali. Until I met you. Then I didn't really think about Ali anymore. I've never been able to stop thinking about you." Johnny said

Stella smiled as she fondled with her necklace from her mother. "Johnny, to be honest, you annoyed the shit out of me at first, but you grew on me. As far as Ali goes, she was your first love, and you loved her very much. It doesn't bother me that you still talk about her, in fact, she sounds kind of awesome. But I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright. Goodnight princess." Johnny said

"Good night, Johnny."