Klaus had stayed up as long as he could the night prior, trying to comfort Allison but she continued shooing him away. "Yes, I'm looking for a patient named Raymond Chestnut. He may have been brought in last night from the riot at Stadler's," He heard Allison's voice faintly as she held the telephone receiver tightly in her hands. "Why is that any of your business? Of course, you don't treat Negros. How silly of me," Allison bit back at the stern receptionist before hanging up.

Slowly, Klaus sat up. His vision soon adjusted as he watched Allison pace back and forth across the kitchen. "You alright?" He asked tiredly. "No! Ray didn't come home last night!" Allison answered. "Well, I'm sure he's fine. First things first, we'll need coffee, vitamin b12, oh and a piping hot bowl of Menudo, and then we'll sort all this stuff out," Klaus muttered. Allison turned around on her heel with a look of irritation. "He saw me rumor that cop, Klaus!" She snapped.

Klaus's eyes widened with surprise, but at the same time, he knew that she was trying to save her husband's life. "I'm such an idiot," she sighed, sitting in one of the dining room chairs. "No, you're not," Klaus said reassuringly. "I promised myself that I would never do this again. Nothing good ever comes from it," Allison said, burying her face in her hands. The former junkie talked to his sister about a fable about a scorpion and frog wanting to cross the river, but both ended up drowning.

This random comment made Allison even more confused. "What the hell is the point of that story?" she questioned. "The point is frogs are bitches, and we do not negotiate with terrorists," Klaus answered. "I can't actually deal with you right now. I'm going to find my damn husband without you!" She grabbed a few things before heading to her bedroom to get changed. Klaus began to feel a little guilty as he couldn't help his sister with her pain and left the house, hoping to find Dave again and convince him not to sign up for the war.

To his surprise, the hardware store was closed, but he still didn't give up. Out of the corner of his eye, Klaus saw Dave and his uncle walk into Stadler's. "You're still going to convince him not to sign up for the war?" Ben questioned. "Yes. Now, will you please shut up and let me do this?" Klaus asked, peering over his shoulder, concerning a few nearby bystanders. "Remember, you said that you can handle this, so if things go south, don't blame me,"

Klaus slipped his sunglasses on as he walked inside the restaurant, sitting at the bar while he waited for Dave's uncle to leave the table. As he waited, Klaus mentally prepared the words inside his head and silently prayed that Dave would be convinced and go on about his life and live for a long time. After what seemed like forever, Dave's Uncle finally left the booth and walked to the bathroom, giving the former junkie a small amount of time to talk to his long-lost love.

"Hey Mamie Pink, right?" Dave asked as Klaus sat across from him. "Klaus Hargreeves. But you can call me whatever you want," he clarified, just before Dave could ask him how the latrine was looking since his visit to the store. "Listen to me, Dave. I have to talk to you about something important," Klaus said, trying to get straight to the point. Dave looked at the former junkie with a hint of confusion, wondering where this was going. "This is going to sound crazy, but... I know you,"

"Yeah, from the hardware store," Dave nodded. "No, from before. No, after. Listen, I know you're thinking about enlisting, thinking it's your duty cause your grandfather fought in World War I, and your father fought in World War II, and then that guy you're eating brunch with is your Uncle Ryan, who fought in Korea," Klaus explained. "Brian," Dave clarified as Klaus continued talking. "Mhmm and you look up to Brian. And you're starting to believe all this stuff he's saying about how being in the military makes you a man,"

Dave tried to deny everything that Klaus was saying. But Klaus kept acting the role of a fortune teller, telling Dave that if he enlisted, they would send him out to Vietnam and how fifty thousand American and Vietnamese soldiers all die for nothing. "Says you," A voice said, making Klaus look up to see that Dave's uncle had returned. "Oh hey, Brian," Klaus said quietly. Brian looked down at Dave, asking if he knew this "clown."

"He bought pink paint from the store," Dave explained, looking back at his uncle and then Klaus. "Pink paint? Makes sense," Brian scoffed. "You know, pink can be very masculine in the right setting," Klaus smiled. "Is that right? How about you get out of my seat, queer?" Klaus banged his fist against the table, trying to swallow that insult. "If only I had a nickel for every time I heard that," Klaus scoffed. Without warning, Brian grabbed his arm and threw him out of the booth.

Even then, Klaus wasn't giving up, hoping there was still time to convince Dave. He walked back over to the table, begging for at least five minutes of his time. "You just gonna sit there and listen to this pansy?" Brian said, ignoring Klaus's words. "You don't have to join to become a man. Don't sacrifice yourself... because I love you," Klaus pleaded. Brian continued to tell Dave to ignore Klaus's words and eventually told him to hit him.

Klaus continued to plead, until Dave stood up from his seat and gave him a good hard punch across the face, making the corner of his lips bleed. Klaus lay on the nearby table, stunned that his love had hit him. Slowly, he sat up and stared at Dave's stunned face for a moment before rushing out of the restaurant, holding his bleeding lip and blinking away tears.

Little did he know that someone had caught a glimpse of him.

~~~~~~~

An hour and a half earlier...

"Hey Mary, is there anything else you need me to do?" Dusk asked as she finished cleaning the dishes after giving James his breakfast. "I've been meaning to go grocery shopping. Do you mind doing that for me?" Mary asked. "Not at all. What do you need me to get?" Mary slid a small piece of paper over the counter to Dusk with a small list of grocery items.

"Alright, I'll be right back," She got into the car, driving a few blocks down onto the main road where the small marketplace stood near the bustling street corner where Jonathan's Bar and the Avon Movie Theater stood. Dusk walked inside, the list tightly in her hand as she looked around. Halfway done with the list, Dusk caught the faint image of red hair, instantly recognizing Victoria.

"Hey Vic, wait up!" She called out, getting the redhead's attention. "Hey, Dusk! Didn't expect to see you here," Victoria slightly chuckled as Dusk grabbed a nearby bread bag. "Oh, just getting groceries," Dusk said, lifting her small basket as proof. The two made small talk as they finished getting their groceries before walking down the street, heading toward Stadler's. Almost immediately, the raven's stomach grumbled, reminding her that she had yet to eat breakfast. Everything that had happened the day prior, with seeing Five and Vanya again, left an unsettling pit inside her as doomsday was coming next week. But she couldn't think about that right now.

"You want to grab something to eat?" Dusk asked, pointing at the restaurant's door. "Sure, but not from here. The people inside are real assholes," Victoria nodded. The two, grocery bags still in hand, walked over to the nearby café, the same place where Dusk had reunited with some of her family. "So, how have things been since last night?" the redhead asked as they waited for their order.

I shouldn't tell her about the doomsday. I don't know how she's going to react. "It's going fine. I spent some time with family yesterday-" "Wait a minute, I thought you said you were here by yourself?" Vic cut in, interrupting Dusk's conversation. "Well, I'm not anymore. My family stopped by in Dallas for a visit, and I just happened to cross paths with some of them," Dusk smiled, trying to hide some of the facts.

"That's nice. I wish I had some more family. The only family I have is my mother and sister. And even then, we don't get along that well," Victoria admitted with a small sigh. "I'm sorry, I kind of know what you mean," Dusk smiled, placing a hand on Victoria's shoulder, comforting the redhead. Victoria looked up, meeting Dusk's ocean-blue eyes. "Thanks, Dusky," she smiled. Soon, their food came in, and the two ate their brunch.

Afterward, the girls had to head their separate ways, hoping to stumble across one another again soon. As Dusk walked back to her car, she caught someone running down the street, wearing an orange and blue striped t-shirt, holding his bleeding lip. Dusk stared at him for a moment, thinking it was just a random person, but then a thought crossed her mind as she could've sworn this was her missed chance to find one of her siblings. Was that Klaus?