When Kermit eased into the driver's seat, the deafening silence of his daughter grabbed him around the throat. No explanation. No amused scolding to try to take the heat off of herself. Kat just sat there, staring at nothing, twisting a piece of her hair.

"Let's go somewhere and talk, okay?" He reached over and patted her arm as he drove. Kermit needed to get some information about what had set up the near disaster they'd just scraped through but Kat needed something more.

Kermit parked the car and they walked over to a vacant bench in the park. This part had a special meaning to her father that Kat didn't know about yet. One day, he'd tell her, but he just didn't know if the time was right.

The very second she connected with the bench, Kat burst into tears and fell into her father's arms. "I'm so sorry, Daddy!" she sobbed. "This was all my fault. You...could have been killed. KC...could have...and he's mad at me on top of it....I'm always messing things up...."

He stroked her hair and tried to comfort her. Kat felt responsible for too many people. What made her special and loving and loyal also threatened to burn her out at times. She felt guilty when she couldn't control the entire world to make it turn out a certain way for everyone she loved. *Wonder where that trait comes from,* he thought, trying to absorb some of her pain.

"Kitty Kat," Kermit began, pulling her face up to meet his own, "why don't we sort through this one item at a time, okay? Good...now, start at the beginning. You two were washing the car and...?"

Time for true confession. "Okay...we were washing the car in the driveway and Mama....OH, MY GOD!!! She's going to have a cow over this one!" Kat had just realized what would happen when they returned home with the results of this afternoon's joyride.

"Don't worry about your Mama. She'll be glad you're in one piece."

"Yeah, so she can dismember me...and you, probably! Anyway, Mama left to run to the grocery store. The car was clean and you KNOW what a *rod* it is. We decided - and I know it was a bad idea - to drive it down the block to the Apple Grill, the place where all the seniors hang out. I SWEAR we were just going to drive by and come home but when we got to the stop sign, that car pulled up beside us. They held up a gun to my window...." She sniffled, trying not to cry anymore. "It was so scary...!"

Kermit gave her a supporting hug. The thought of anyone pulling a gun on his child made his blood boil. "So, you floored it."

"Oh, yeah," she mimicked, trying to lighten her own mood. "Then we called you. I thought it was the right thing to do."

"It was EXACTLY the right thing to do. Now, you leave the rest up to me. Peter and I will find out why and who. Until we do, little girl, I want you and KC to stay close to home. Promise?"

"Considering that I'm still grounded, KC's not speaking to me and the 'Memphis Belle' is going to KILL me, that won't be too difficult."

"Sweetheart, KC's not mad at you," Kermit added. "He was just throwing a little anger your way but it's not you."

"Uncle Peter?"

"Well, maybe. But that's for him to figure out. But none of this was your fault and you're NOT always messing things up. In fact, I am DAMN proud of you for keeping your head and doing exactly what I told you. You probably saved your lives just doing that." Kermit hated to think of what might have happened if Kat hadn't kept the pedal to the floor during his high-speed approach. Savannah really would kill him if she knew about that one. "Okay?"

"Okay," she said, a trifle doubtfully, as they arose, arm in arm, and headed back to the car.

"Oh," Kermit remembered something else he wanted to say. "Peter told me that you mastered the 'one-inch punch'. All over some bully."

Squeezing her father gratefully and soaking in his obvious approval, she replied, "Yep. And I didn't even break a nail!"

"Your mother will be so pleased."

*****

Peter didn't bother to call out as he approached the broken-down buildings that surrounded the 'incident'. He had done his duty regarding the thugs that terrorized the kids. Made sure they would remain unconscious for a while. Called for backup on his radio in his car. Now, it was time for his son.

He stepped cautiously through the rubble and trash. This wasn't the best neighborhood in the city but that was why Kermit had ordered the kids to lead their pursuers down here. The less innocents involved, the better. It also happened to be a great place for one kid to hide. Peter wasn't at all surprised that Kermit was acquainted with this part of town.

Thankfully, though, Peter barely needed his Shaolin talents to track his son. Even though they had difficulties, they had a bond that could not be hidden. Peter mused how the Caine line tended to repeat itself. A lone father trying to bring up his independent son. A son fighting for his being under Shaolin discipline and honor. Even the name of Kwai Chang Caine. Jennifer told him that she had tried several different names that lasted for a few weeks, but she always came back to Kwai Chang. Nothing else seemed so...right. Destiny.

Peter had had enough of wandering. "KC?" he called out loud. "Please come out right now."

With a heavy sigh, KC knew that he was now honor-bound to respond. *Fine,* he thought, climbing out of the cubbyhole. *I'll come out but I won't cooperate.*

Peter saw his son pry himself out of a cubbyhole about twelve feet high. *How the heck did he get up there??* Looking at the scene analytically, he was impressed. It took quite a bit of balance and precision to traverse the rubbled-obstacle course. Peter had to bite his lip to keep from cautioning the boy to be careful. *He got himself up there; he can get back down. At least, I hope so....* He managed to keep his mouth shut but couldn't stop himself from moving unobstrusively underneath his son, should he fall.

KC dropped safely to the ground and stood, looking defiantly at his father, as if to say, "Okay, I'm down. What did you want?"

Peter looked - really LOOKED - at his son and was amazed, yet again, how much he saw himself in KC. Without a word, he walked up to the boy and embraced him. KC stood in his father's arms, not responding to nor resisting the hug.

"I'm very glad that you're safe," Peter told him softly. "I felt...your distress while you were in the car. I got worried. And scared. I'm sorry."

KC swallowed. He never expected his father to apologize.

Peter broke away from the hug and sat down on a large rock. Patting the rock next to him, he said, "Talk for a minute?"

KC plunked down on the rock with an almost-audible sigh.

"KC...I don't know how else to say it. I...I guess I could say I was scared about losing you but that's only a fraction of it. I suppose I'm paranoid because I've lost a lot of people that I've loved. My mother, my father, YOUR mother...."

"You're just figuring this out NOW, Pop?" KC winced as Peter threw a glare at him. "I'm sorry! I don't mean to be disrespectful but, Pop...Dad, anybody who knows you knows about this. We...I feel for your pain but you have a habit of taking your pain out on other people! Can't you just be grateful for what you have instead of mourning for what you don't have? You're living in the past but *I* need you here, in the present! If you saw me as I really am instead of the ghosts you see in me, you might not feel the need to protect me so much!"

Peter stared at him. "When did you turn into your grandfather?"

KC looked at him, uncertain whether or not his father was joking. Trouble was, Peter didn't know himself.

"You know, I never talked to my father that way...."

"Maybe you should have."

*****

After dropping Kat at home, Kermit returned to the Chinatown kwoon, only to discover that Peter hadn't returned yet from his little talk with KC. Kermit didn't envy him THAT duty. KC embodied the peace that his grandfather was known for but he also had Peter's willfulness, frankness and stubbornness in spades!

Kermit decided to go down the street for a cup of coffee. *Not that decaf-crap Savannah keeps trying to sneak in on me!* he smiled to himself. The Caines had succeeded years ago in indoctrinating his wife on the virtues of tea over coffee. Decaf tea, at that. Sometimes her hovering, tea, and constant cramming of Vitamin C down his throat got on his nerves. But, he understood her motivations, swallowed, kept his mouth shut...and sneaked in his vices on the sly.

The side door to the small restaurant opened soundlessly to let him enter. Usually empty this time of day, the loud voices sprang out at Kermit from the back of the room.

"GET OUT!!!" It was a woman's voice. Kermit plastered himself to the wall and eased closer to assess the situation. The woman's husband was unconscious on the floor. A bloody gash across his forehead. She was kneeling over him...and shouting defiance at the two meaty thugs standing over them.

"Listen, BITCH! Give us the money or...."

"Or what, big man?!" Kermit drew his weapon from his back and leveled it at the pair. "You short on puppies to kick today?!" They all stood perfectly still. All three guns trained on each other.

Understanding the firepower facing them, the two backed slowly out the door and faded into the alley. Kermit holstered his weapon and called for an ambulance. As they waited, he tried to get the story from the frightened woman. More of the same. Extorting money for 'protection'.

They were trying to resist, though. Members of the community had scheduled a community meeting for the following day.

"Ma'am, that's moving in the right direction but we should bring in the police. This is their job." The "we" etted him a raised eyebrow. Kermit considered himself part of this community. The residents only considered him because of his association with Peter Caine. Limited relation at best. "Peter Caine and I would be more than willing to speak to the group. Help change their minds about not involving the police."

She nodded her agreement. But, when the police arrived, there was dead silence. She wouldn't breathe a word. If they were to convince these people to talk, it would take a great deal of persuasion. Caine-style.

*****

Kat finished dressing and rushed downstairs as her father pulled up into the driveway. "Daddy! Can I get a ride to Uncle Peter's?"

Kermit was caught by surprise. Intellectually, he knew that she wasn't a little girl anymore but seeing it was another matter entirely. Kat was dressed to go out. Dressed like a grownup. High heels and a dress. Her hair was long and curly and she was wearing the little dab of makeup that her mother would let her get away with at fifteen. She was becoming much too curvy for her father's comfort. If there was a non-surgical way to stop it, he hadn't been able to find it.

"Daddy? Something wrong?" She glanced down at herself, trying to find what her father was staring at so intently.

"Nothing, sweetcakes. Where are you going on your first *ground free* evening?"

She didn't want to lie. Just avoid the truth. Kat had only been dating for the past three months. In that time, she'd had five dates. All had been treated to what Savannah had affectionately termed "the spook treatment." Kermit had greeted the young men with scowls and vicious glares. "Be late and die," he'd told her last date, as he sat at the kitchen table cleaning his Desert Eagle.

Kat wanted to avoid that with *this* date. "Movies."

"Who with?"

"Oh, Jason. Boy from school."

"And why isn't he coming here?"

Wheedling mode engaged, she began. "Well, Daddy....I still owe Uncle Peter an hour of meditation and since his place is in between, I thought he could pick me up there." Giving him a reassuring peck on the cheek, she breezed past and through the door.

Following, he answered, "I don't know if I like this, Kitty Kat...."

"Oh, Daddy! Don't sweat it. I've got money, I've got my phone, I've got my knee." She was already getting into the car.

Kermit Griffin forced himself to remember the advice he'd shared with Peter about "letting go." He acquiesced and dropped her off at Peter's place.

*****

"Uncle Peter!" Kat called up the stairs as she entered the apartment. "I'm here to pay up!"

Peter met her with a hug and a kiss. "You're awfully dressed up just for me, Tadpole."

Patting her uncle on the arm, she explained, "Big date later. Where's KC?"

"Studying. Guess you're on your own this evening."

Giving a little giggle, she plopped down on the mat. "Okay. I'm off to become one with the universe."

Peter rolled his eyes and left his student to her self-discovery. Katherine had only begun to concentrate when a familiar voice sounded around the corner. KC, or the 'bottomless pit', was apparently taking advantage of her arrival to grab a study snack. "Where are you going and who with?"

Eyes still clamped shut, she answered briefly, "Movies with a boy, nosy."

"One of those dorks from that snooty private school?"

"NO! A *senior*, thank you!" She wished immediately that she'd kept it to herself.

"Oh, man! You kidding me? Are you gonna get it when your dad finds out! Is it that *Jason* guy? You are way outta your league, girlie. Why would a senior want to go out with somebody who just started high school? Guys like that are only interes-"

Leaping to her feet, it was Kat's turn to lose her temper. "First of all, sprout, my love life isn't any of your or my father's business. Second, Jason wants to go out with me because he *likes* me." Poking a finger in his chest, she continued, "Something you are too much of an *infant* to understand. Especially anything about what 'guys like that are interested in.' And third, if you blab, I'll tell Caine about that nifty little magazine you have hidden under your bed! Understand?!"

"God, Kat! Blow my head off, why don't ya?! Fine. See if I care."

The tense moment was interrupted by a knock at the door downstairs. Kat jumped up and escaped to her date.

*****

Clarence Choi was stomping his way around the office. Every time things began to fall into place, SOMEBODY interfered. One of these mice would rise up and piss him off no end. Now Griffin was in on the act. He and Caine were going to stir things up at that community meeting.

"I'm sick of this bullshit!" He hurled his glass across the room. Every time he got his place back with Bon Bon Hai...those Caines were there to dump him into the slammer. It was time to take control. Today, it was Griffin that drew his attention. He was not Shaolin. And his weakness had now been revealed. Perhaps he was the key to topple the resistance.

"MARTY!!! Get in here!"

As his right hand man swaggered in, Clarence detailed the evening's schedule. He would have to approach his adversaries on a different level. Their...soft underbelly. Their children.

*****

Kermit had used up the battery in his cellphone over the past four hours he'd spent driving around town looking for his daughter. He and Savannah had called each other over and over, comparing notes. They'd called Kat's cellphone only to get a frustrating "the customer you are trying to reach is unavailable." She'd missed her curfew by a terrifying four hours now and Kermit Griffin was kicking himself.

Gripping the wheel in fear, he could not believe that he'd let himself relax over the past three weeks. After that incident with the kids in his car, things had returned to normal. The two teenagers had cooperated and stayed close to home. No further incidents or accidents. No sign of the perpetrators' boss or their purpose, no matter how hard Kermit and Peter had looked. The car was stolen (as Kermit had suspected) and the men could have come from Rent-a-Thug. Anybody could have hired them....

When Kat wanted to go out on a date, her father had consented. *Stupid, stupid, stupid!* he thought as he drove. He hadn't even asked the boy's last name or what theatre they were going to. Wanted her to feel that he trusted her.

He did trust Kat. It was the rest of the world he worried about. Screeching to a halt in front of Peter's apartment, he beat on the door. A bleary-eyed Peter Caine answered the door. "Kermit? What's wrong?" From the look on his partner's face and the fact that it was four in the morning, it must be serious.

"Has Kat been here? Has she called?" he blurted out as he pushed past Peter into the room.

By then, KC was awake as was his grandfather. They joined them and listened.

"No, Kermit. Not since last night. She came for her last hour of mediation and then her date picked her up. You mean to tell me she didn't come home?!" Peter understood the severity of the situation. Kat was prone to a touch of "over the top" behavior, but not this. Putting a hand on Kermit's shoulder, he said, "Don't worry. We'll find her. KC!!"

"Here, Dad." KC was wide awake and scared to death.

Walking over to his son, he asked, "Do you know where Kat was going? Where she might be?"

KC struggled for only half a second. Kat would be mad but she'd just have to get over it. He tried to warn her...."She went out with some senior. Jason...somebody. I told her he was too old and all guys like that...." He stopped. From the look on his uncle's face, Jason Somebody would be in pieces. Soon. "Uncle Kermit, she wouldn't stay out this late."

Kwai Chang Caine quietly, without informing the group, reached out to the child he'd known since her birth. Searching for her with his mind, he received no response. Her life force remained strong, yet she could not respond to his beckoning. "Kermit," he stated as calmly as he could under the circumstances, "Katherine is alive but I believe that she is unconscious."

In the face of Kermit's mixture of emotions, KC blurted, "Bet I can wake her up!" Grabbing his grandfather's hand, he said, "If you'll help me."

Peter and Kermit stood, stunned, as KC and Caine dropped to the floor, assumed the lotus position and closed their eyes.

Pooling their strength and focusing on the bond between the two teenagers, KC searched for Kat's lifeforce. *Kat? Kat! KAT!!!! WAKE UP, DAMMIT!!!*

To even the surprise of Caine, Katherine weakly responded, *KC. I'm...in trouble.*

*I know. We're all here...where are you? What happened?* KC was too afraid. Caine offered his calming influence to help his grandson maintain his link with Kat.

KC could feel her fear and pain. Physical pain. *I'm in one of those warehouses on the dock. It's got a red roof and a really old Barq's Root Beer ad painted on the side. I'm scared, KC. I think my arm's broken.*

*Don't worry, I'm coming. What happened?*

*You were right about that jerk Jason. He started....well, you know, and I made him stop the car and let me out. When he drove away, I tried to call Daddy but the line was busy. Before I could try again, these guys drove up from nowhere. I ran and tried to hid in this warehouse. The floor caved in...think I'm in the basement. My arm hurts.*

*Hang on. We're coming to get you. Okay?*

*KC...there are rats down here.*

KC knew how terrified his friend was. Once, when they were little, one of the bigger kids had locked them in the basement of Mr. Lee's store. Katherine had been bitten by a rat before Mr. Lee found them. She'd been scared to death of mice and rats ever since. Even KC's hamster made her tremble. *Try not to be scared. Sit tight and hold on.*

*Just hurry. I played dead but I think those guys may come back.*

KC severed the connection and leaped to his feet. He was halfway to the door when Kermit blocked his path. "Hold it! Did you reach her? Where is she?"

KC hesitated long enough the remember that HE couldn't drive and that his conversation with Kat had been self-contained. "Uncle Kermit, she's alive and down at the docks." Grabbing Kermit's hand and pulling, "I'll show you."

Katherine Griffin was stone cold scared. Something she rarely admitted. Scared and hurt. Hurt worse than she'd told KC. KC would have hold her dad and she didn't want him to get hurt trying to get to her. When the floor caved in, she'd landed on several metal drums. She had no idea how long she'd been there. Blood was running from her head. It hurt all over and she swore to God she'd listen to that little internal voice next time. Her father had always told her that "before you're about to screw up, you'll hear it."

She'd heard it, all right. Inside her head and from KC's mouth. She'd just turned up the volume on her own will and didn't listen. Now, the only thing she could hear was that rustling sound all around her. Screaming hadn't helped. They were all around and they weren't the least bit afraid of one kid with a broken arm and a smashed head. *At least I'm up here off the floor,* she thought, trying to comfort herself.

Jason had turned out to be exactly what KC said he was. After that 'one thing'. His little detour to the docks gave it away instantly. He'd made his move up her leg while the car was still moving and Kat nearly broke his hand. Jason stopped the car at her ear-piercing screaming of "MY DAD'S GONNA KILL YOU!" and let her out.

If she'd been paying attention, maybe she would have noticed the car waiting behind them at the end of the warehouse.

Kat did have sense enough to run when she saw them coming. Four men with guns made for an unbalanced fight. She'd run into the warehouse to hide and hadn't gone twenty feet before the floor caved in under her. In the brief moments before she'd lost consciousness, she heard their conversation.

"Shit! The boss is gonna be pissed. We were supposed to catch her, not KILL her."

"Yeah, looks dead to me."

"We gonna try ta get rid of the body?"

"Shit, no! Who's gonna find her down here? Maybe the boss can still claim that he has her. How's that P.I. gonna know the difference?"

"What about the other one?"

"Tomorrow."

Now, she was trapped down here with her guts twisting at that sound. Suddenly, a rat dropped down from the upper level and landed on the drum beside her feet. Frantically kicking and screaming, Kat shoved it onto the floor with its friends. Panic was winning over all those years of training. They were squeaking and squirming. It was too dark to see them but she could hear. It was getting louder and louder. It couldn't be ignored. She could hear her heart pounding. *Keep breathing,* she told herself. *Daddy's coming. Relax.*

But every breath was full of those things. When the next one dropped down onto the drum, she lost it. Screamed herself hoarse and wrapped up in a ball. Covering her head with her good arm trying to drown out the sound. Trying to hide. She didn't hear the Corvair screeching to a stop out front.

"This is it, Uncle Kermit." They piled out of the car in a flood.

Kermit ran toward the warehouse, only to be yanked back as Peter grabbed him by the back of his jacket. "What the hell are-!?"

"Kermit, look at the floor."

He did and saw the rotten wood. If it hadn't supported Kat's weight, it damn sure wouldn't hold him. He dropped to his knees to try to look inside. "KAT! Can you hear me?!" There was no verbal response but he could hear her sobbing down below the Swiss cheese of the warehouse floor. "Don't worry, Baby! I'm coming!"

KC and Caine had found several boards to stretch across the remaining support beams of the warehouse floor. Peter slapped a flashlight into Kermit's hand as he slid out to the spot where his daughter had fallen through. "Kat, I'm here. Oh, my God...."

He could see Kat wrapped up in a ball, lying on a metal barrel and, below her, the floor was covered with RATS. Trying to keep her calm, he called out, "Kat, baby. Hang on. We're getting you out of there. Kat! Can you hear me?"

She couldn't answer. Paralyzed with fear. Rocking back and forth.

Just then, another car pulled up beside the Corvair. Savannah jumped out and ran to the warehouse. "Kermit! Where is she?!"

Peter stopped her progress. "She's down there. We're going to get her out, but you have to stay back. There's rotting wood there." Reluctantly, Savannah stopped and waited for her husband to answer her.

"I can see her, Scarlett. KC, go to the car and...." Kermit was about to tell KC to get the rope from the car trunk when he saw Caine casually leap twenty feet into the hole to land on the floor beside the shivering child.

"Katherine," he said gently and quietly, "I am here with you. Do not be afraid." Ignoring the vermin scuttling across his feet, he reached out to touch her.

Kat jumped as if she'd been shocked. "Make 'em go away. Please. I want my Daddy." Eyes still clamped shut, she fell against her teacher.

"This, I can do." Briefly releasing her, he crossed his arms, then flung them wide, dispersing the air and energy surrounding them. The rodents fled to the outer recesses of the basement.

"Caine! Here's the rope." Kermit lowered a rope with a large loop tied in the end so that they could pull her up.

Taking the time to examine her, Caine found that her arm was indeed broken. Her ribs were bruised and the injury to her head had left her with a concussion. He knew that he must treat her before she would be able to hold onto the rope. Taking her into his embrace, he focused his energy into her wounds. He could feel her pain and fear dissipate as he strengthened her with his chi. After a few moments, she was strong enough to hold the rope and Kermit pulled her up from the basement. He cradled his daughter protectively as Peter retrieved the rope and helped his father out.

Carried by her father, Kat sobbed and shook all the way to the car. Kermit laid her on the seat and Savannah slid in on the other side. "Baby. Tell Mama what happened."

Kat rested her head on her mother's chest. She wanted to tell them every piece of information she remembered but she couldn't at the moment. All she could do was cry.

KC was on his way to the car to be with his friend when his father stopped him. "Pop? I've got to go to her."

"KC, she needs them right now." Peter wrapped his arms around his son. Trying not to think about what could have happened to Kermit's daughter. Trying not to think about someone coming after his child as well.

KC frowned. The fact that Kat needed her loving parents now was undisputed but he could also feel that Kat was full of a certain urgency. There was something Kat needed to do or say.

*Kat?* he reached out gently. *Kat...tell me what it is. I'll tell them. Kat? Do you understand?*

*...yes...yes....*

Without further prompting, Kat told KC everything, especially about the conversation she overheard, as her father carefully positioned her in his lap in the passenger seat of the Corvair while her mother prepared to drive her to the hospital.

*Don't worry, Kat,* he assured her when she was finished. *I'll tell my dad what you said. Don't worry - you just rest....*

In the car, Kat laid her head gratefully on her father's shoulder and cried herself to sleep.

KC came back to the physical world as his father shook his shoulder slightly. "Don't worry, KC - she'll be fine."

"I know."

Peter looked at his son carefully. He had never seen that look on KC's face before. "You okay, Champ?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah. Kat just told me what happened." He turned and related everything that Kat had told him - deliberately excluding what the thug had said about 'the other one' and that the attempt would be tomorrow. KC flexed his hands unobtrusively, making fists. He knew his father would never allow him to be the bait for these jerks. But there was a little matter of payback KC felt he had to discuss with them.

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