"Mommy!" the twins cried.
Diego glanced down at his wife as he ran into the mansion. "Hang in there, baby. We're almost there."
"Gramma Grace!" the twins yelled.
Grace walked up to the family. "Oh my goodness. What happened?"
Tears stung Diego's eyes as he whispered, "H-help her p-please."
Grace nodded and led Diego to the makeshift medical room.
Diego laid his wife on the gurney and glanced at his twins. "Liam, Layla, stay here. Your grandmother and Pogo will help Mommy. She'll be okay."
---
Diego rushed into the boxing club, down to his room, still covered in Guinevere's blood. He figured Five and Luther were still there, and sure enough, they were.
"Piece of shit," Diego muttered, stalking towards the bed where Five was seated.
Before he could do anything, he was stopped by Luther.
"Do you have any idea what you just did?!" Diego asked angrily as Luther grabbed him and picked him up. "No! Get your ape hands off of me!"
"I can do this as long as it takes you to calm down," Luther said.
Diego let out an angry huff. "Fine."
Luther released him and asked, "Now; wanna tell us what you're talking about?"
Diego glared at Five. "Our brother's been pretty busy since he got back. He was in the middle of the shootout at Griddy's, then at Gimble Brothers after the masks attacked the academy looking for him."
"None of which is your concern," Five retorted.
"It is now. They killed a friend of mine and almost killed my wife, the mother of my children."
"Who are they, Five?" Luther questioned.
Diego aggressively urged Five to continue and he said, "They work for my former employer. A woman called The Handler. She sent them to stop me. Then, as soon as Diego's friend and his wife got in the way, well, fair game."
Diego's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, well, don't start singing just yet. My friend died and my wife was almost killed! Gwen is not fair game, and neither was my friend!"
Five's eyes widened, instantly feeling awful. "Guinevere. Is she okay?"
"She's at the house. She lost a lot of blood, so I honestly don't know. And now those two assassins are my fair game. And I'm gonna see to it they pay."
"That would be a mistake, Diego. They've killed people far more dangerous than you."
"Yeah, we'll see about that." He slammed the door behind him.
Five looked down, ashamed.
---
Back at the academy, Guinevere focused on the faint music she heard and groggily woke. She slowly brought a hand to her shoulder, instantly wincing at the pain.
Grace smiled. "Hello, Guinevere. How are you feeling?"
"Not great. Has Diego been here? Or Five? Where's my husband?"
"Diego was here a little while ago, but ran off. I haven't seen Five."
"Are Liam and Layla here?"
Grace nodded and left the room, returning with the twins.
"Mommy!" Liam and Layla cried. "You're okay!"
Guinevere hugged her twins tightly. "I'm okay, my loves. I'm not going anywhere."
---
Klaus appeared back on the bus, in olive green attire. He was dirty, bloody, and in complete shock. He started breaking down.
When he got off the bus, Klaus angrily slammed the briefcase on a bench repeatedly and threw it. He yelled and the briefcase caught fire, causing it to explode.
Klaus knelt on the ground and started brushing at it desperately before curling into a fetal position and breaking down.
---
He made his way back to the academy. Guinevere slowly stood and hummed softly to herself as that always helped ease her, and felt the pain lessen. It wasn't often she used her powers, as she liked to feel as normal as possible.
Five and Guinevere, who left the med room, made their way to Klaus' room.
Five knocked on the door and asked gently, "You okay?"
"Yeah, just a... Long night," Klaus replied.
"What about the briefcase?" Guinevere asked. "Where is it?"
Five met her eyes. "Briefcase?"
Klaus nodded. "They had a briefcase."
Five studied Klaus. "You did it, didn't you?"
"Did what?"
"You know, I can recognize the symptoms, Klaus."
"The symptoms of what?"
"The jet lag. Full body itch. The headache that feels like someone shoved a box of cotton up into your nose and through your brain. You two gonna tell me about it?"
Klaus sighed and sat on the bed.
After a moment, Klaus said, "Your pals, when they broke into the house and they couldn't find you, they took me and Gwen hostage instead."
Five let out a short laugh. "And in return you stole their briefcase."
"Yeah, I-I got outside. Gwen told me she'd join, but she never showed. So, I opened the briefcase."
Five paced the room while Guinevere crossed her arms.
Five asked in an annoyed tone, "And the next thing you know, you were... Where? Or should I say, when? How long have you been gone?"
Klaus fell silent and Guinevere asked softly, "Where did you go?"
Klaus looked down, instantly thinking of Dave. "Almost a year."
Guinevere frowned. "Five, please explain."
Five sighed. "This briefcase belongs to the people who work for my former boss. This briefcase allows them to travel through time. When Klaus opened it, he was sent through time." He turned to Klaus. "Hazel and Cha-Cha will do whatever they can to get the briefcase back. Where is it now?"
Guinevere looked at her brother-in-law as she rubbed her sore shoulder with a wince. "Klaus, tell me you didn't."
"Gone," Klaus replied. "I destroyed it. Poof."
"What the hell were you thinking?" Five asked, annoyed.
"What do you care?"
"What do I care? I needed it, you moro -- so I could get back. I could start over!"
Guinevere glanced at Klaus. "Whatever happened to you, I'm sorry. But you left me alone there."
Diego walked up and embraced Guinevere, causing her let out a pained gasp, as he was pressing onto her injured shoulder.
"God, I'm sorry, Gwen," Diego said, looking between the two. "You two look like shit."
"Why thank you," Klaus muttered sarcastically. "Hey, where are you going?"
"Nope."
"What?"
"I'm not giving you a ride. Not even you, Gwen."
Guinevere looked at her husband defiantly. "You can't stop me. Grace can watch the twins."
"Do you really want to test that, Guinevere?"
"Diego, can't I spend some time with my husband?"
Diego sighed. "Fine." He turned to Klaus and rolled his eyes. "Well, let's make this a party, why don't we. Fine."
Klaus patted Diego's shoulder. "Okay, great. I'll just get my things. Two minutes."
He went up the stairs and Diego turned to his wife. "Are you okay?"
Guinevere nodded. "Yes. The twins are enjoying playing with safely deemed medical tools."
"Little doctors in training."
"That they certainly are."
Diego kissed her temple. "I'm glad you're okay, Gwen. If I lost you, I -- I love you, Gwen."
"You haven't lost me." She ran a hand through Diego's hair. "I love you, too."
Klaus rejoined the couple and asked, "What'd I miss?"
Diego and Guinevere shared a smile before saying, "Nothing."
Klaus grinned. "Sure. Let's go!"
---
They climbed into Diego's car and after awhile, Diego asked, "You two okay?" No one answered. "Wow. This is a first. My brother Klaus is silent. Last time you were this quiet, we were 12. Ran down the stairs wearing Grace's heels, tripped over, and broke your jaw. How long was it wired shut again?"
"Eight weeks," Klaus mumbled.
"Eight glorious weeks of silence."
They neared a bar and Klaus said, "Hey, just drop me off here."
The tires screeched as Diego came to a stop. "You sure you're okay, man?"
Klaus remained silent and walked inside.
Diego turned on the engine and Guinevere placed a hand on his shoulder. "We should make sure your brother is okay."
He glanced back. "Gwen, I'm sure he's-"
"All due respect, dear, but he's not. Klaus is resorting to alcohol once again."
"Okay. Let's go inside."
Diego parked the car and the couple walked into the bar. Diego shielded Guinevere from prying eyes until they reached Klaus.
Diego placed a hand on Klaus' shoulder.
Klaus let out a sigh. "Just go away, please."
"Not until you talk to us," Diego told him.
"I guess. Is that a threat? Are you threatening me?"
A vet stood. "Hey, guys. This bar? It's for vets only."
"I am a vet," Klaus shot back.
Guinevere looked at the picture and saw Klaus in the picture.
The vet frowned. "Really?" He let out a chuckle. "Where'd you serve?"
"None of your business," Klaus said.
The vet ignored his words. "You got balls comin' in here, pretendin' to be one of us."
Klaus turned to the vet. "Oh, I have every right to be here, just like you. Asshole."
Diego stood in front of the older vet and placed a hand to his chest. Another vet stood and Guinevere stepped back.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Diego said. "Hey. Slow down, Marine. My brother has just had a few too many. Let's just call it a day, all go on our way."
"Sure thing."
"Thank you," Diego answered, turning back to his family. "Klaus-"
"As long as you apologize," the vet added.
Klaus giggled and Diego said, "Fine. I'm sorry. He's sorry. She's sorry. We're all sorry. So are we good?"
The vet pointed at Klaus. "I wanna hear him say it."
Guinevere frowned. "Look. Can we just call it and go?"
The vet glared. "No, we can't just drop it and go, little girl. I want a proper apology from him."
"I'm not a little girl!"
Diego pushed Guinevere behind him. "Hey, man, I'm just trying to-"
Klaus turned around. "No, no. He's right, Diego, Guinevere. He's right. He's right. I'd like to apologize that you are depriving some village of their idiot!"
The vet swung at Klaus and he head-butted the man.
Diego attacked another vet as Guinevere kicked several away from her.
Once the fighting had died down, Diego checked his wife's wound.
He removed the bandage and his eyes widened.
"What?" Guinevere asked.
"Your wound. It's almost healed."
Guinevere glanced down and nodded slowly. "That doesn't surprise me. The music I've been humming has helped tremendously."
"You're using your powers again?"
"To heal, yes. I don't use them much anymore, as you know, especially after the birth of the twins."
"Just be careful, okay?"
"Always, my dear."