Before the rope could even be tied, there was a feral screech as a flash of sharp teeth and fiery hair descended on them from seemingly out of nowhere. Randy VIII had been drawn to the sound of conflict, and for a moment he had turned his back. Kurt wanted no part of him; he had nothing to gain by getting involved. But as soon as he had sensed real trouble, he'd dropped all of his reservations and come running without a second thought.

The crowd dispersed, leaving a bloody and broken, disconcertingly still Kurt behind....

Randy quickly inspected him. He was badly beaten, but alive--if only barely. The human hospital was not too far away, and so he lifted Kurt over his shoulders and ran there.

When Kurt was given to the doctors and taken to the emergency room the nurse told Randy that Kurt's injuries were severe but not life threatening and that he was expected to recover.

Randy nodded, visibly relieved by the news. He knew then that he could never completely leave Kurt...

Kurt was released from the hospital, he assumed that someone had come to help him but had no idea who. When he returned home he went back to his life as usual, not once considering that it might have been Randy VIII who helped him.

Randy made no move to tell Kurt that it had been him, or even to come and check on him after he'd been sent home. He'd watch from a distance as he always had, but this time there would be no fights. It left him with a sense of emptiness, worsened by the understanding that it wasn't the fights he missed. As Summer approached, he decided to clear his mind with a trip to the beach. He packed a few things and headed down to his sandcastle.

At the beach he met a young woman who called herself Baby...

Similarly as with Kurt, he had an unusually strong sense of connection to her. This time, though, there was no negative history clouding his feelings. Randy VIII was quite taken with her, and questions about Kurt were soon moved aside in favor of thoughts about Baby. He'd given her his number and address in hopes that they might meet again, and sure enough, she showed up at his door several months later--with an unexpected surprise.

As Randy's new family became a fixed and permanent addition to his life Baby began asking about Randy's history...

Not wanting to frighten her away, he had avoided the discussion for several weeks. At last, though, he decided to tell her everything. If he was going to keep her, she was going to have to know him for who and what he was. He told her about his species, his class, his violent tendencies, and how the three were connected. He told her about Kurt, and the teenage son they shared as a result of their past encounter.

Baby listened to all of it and while she openly admitted to being very uncomfortable she accepted Randy, "If I'm going to have you...I guess that means I have to take all of you," she said.

These words resonated with Randy in a very big way. Without warning he grabbed her in his arms, hugging her tightly against him.

Baby held him back, "I do...I do have one concern though...if you and Kurt fight again and something does happen to you, jail or death...what will happen to me and our baby?"

Randy pulled back to look at her. Was this what Kurt had felt? "I'll... do what I can to see that it doesn't happen," he promised.

Baby frowned, "D...don't do anything stupid, Little Randy and I need you," she said.