So here we are:

"Kon'nichiwa [hello]."

"Colnnich-iwa."

"Close, but try again: kon-nich-i-wa."

"Kon'nichiwa."

"Perfect! You got it! Now try this: O genki desu ka [How are you]?"

"O ghe-nki de-su ka."

"Try again: O-gen-ki de-su- ka."

"O genki desu ka."

"Yes! Babe, you are doing really well!

"This is the response to it: O kagesama de genki desu [Thank you, I am fine]".

"What?"

"O kagesama de genki desu."

"'Karu, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to learn Japanese. It's hard!"

"Char, you are doing really well. With Nyota and I helping, plus using the language modules daily, you'll speak more fluently than me in a couple of weeks."

"'Karu, it's not that. Do you think your family will like me?"

Hikaru leaned in to give Charlene a supportive kiss.

"Yes, they will LOVE you and accept you too. I took a big risk when I cooked for your brothers. They were huge!"

"You threatened my brothers; they were scared of your knives," Charlene chuckled.

Hikaru laughed too. "Do you think I scared your brothers? I thought I was getting along with them."

"I don't care! It worked. They were bullies growing up, and it would have been funny seeing my sexy man chopping them down to size." Charlene drew closer, hugging his waist and laughing.

Sulu looked into Charlene's eyes: "I have one more phrase for you to learn:

"Daisuki desu."

"dai-suki des-u." And what does that mean?"

"It means I love you!" Hikaru leaned closer and gave his fiancée and showed her the meaning with a deep 'I love you' kiss.

The Enterprise was in spacedock again, awaiting the installment of some new instruments and the subsequent inspection. Most of the crew were released for another extensive shore leave, this one on Earth. Charlene and Hikaru decided to spend their leave in San Francisco again.

Yuki, Hikaru's younger sister burst into the family room with excitement.

"Mother! Hikaru is coming home again! This time he's bringing his girlfriend!"

Hana sat up from reading and almost dropped her Padd. The last time Hikaru had visited, he hadn't stayed long. Hana had thought that Hikaru had not visited for a suspiciously long time; now, listening to Yuki, she surmised that his girlfriend was the reason for his absence.

"Do you know when?"

"Yes, in two days, and he wants us to meet his girlfriend this time! I can't believe flyboy got a girl!"

Hana looked at her daughter quizzically. "Why, Yuki, your brother is a handsome man!"

"Hikaru? Mom, when it comes to girls, he's the shyest thing; he even loses his voice when he tries to talk to a girl," Yuki laughed.

"Let me contact your Aunt Mayu; he probably wants to use her house again."

Hana got up and puttered over to the com-link to inform Mayu of Hikaru's arrival, thinking that if he was going to introduce this girl to the family, then it must be serious.

"I better let your Uncle Masa know as well; he hasn't seen his nephew in several years."

"Mother, aren't you curious about the girl Hikaru is bringing home?"

"No, not really. Is she in the Starfleet too?"

"Yes. He said her name is Charlene and she works in Engineering, a real mechanic."

"She sounds interesting."

"I hope so! I can hardly wait."

A few days later, the Sulu family gathered to await the arrival of Hikaru and Charlene. Uncle Masa, was brother to Hosato, Hikaru's father. When his father passed on, Masa had stepped in to help raise his nephew and niece with great pride. Hikaru was only 15 years old at the time. Masa is married to Mayu, who let Hikaru borrow the house the last time he and Charlene came to town.

The three women hastily ran around the house, making sure everything was ready for the event. There was excitement in the air, food on every table, and soft music playing in the background.

"Sister, do you think Hikaru has selected someone from our culture?" Mayu asked.

"I doubt it-assuming she's in Starfleet, which is made up of an assortment of people from all different cultures and planets. I predict it's someone outside our culture. It doesn't matter to me, Mayu. My son has found someone to make him happy. His father and I always wanted that for him."

Hana looked curiously at her sister-in-law: "Is there something wrong?"

Mayu took a deep sigh: "I hope not. I too want the best for our nephew."

The two older women clasped their hands in hope.

"How is Yuki doing with her studies?"

"She is doing well. She is here on a break from university and has been helping me as well." Hana took a deep breath: "I'm proud of my children. They have taken a productive path, which is what most mothers hope for, and they both have their health. I am content."

Mayu gave Hana a hug and a smile: "Then I share in their happiness."

"It is I who must thank you and Masa for helping me raise them since Hosato's passing."

Meanwhile, Charlene and Hikaru were at Mayu's second house, tinkering with an old hoverbike.

"This was my first bike, and it took me a whole summer to raise the credits to get it."

Charlene took a good look at it, seeing potential: "It looks like it still has some mileage in it. Let me take a look."

Charlene knelt and started jiggling the alternator, computer relay panel, and wiring, 'Karu smiled with pride as he watched her work, leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. My girl can fix almost anything.

"There, I think I fixed it!" Charlene, wearing a dress, straddled the bike, hiking up her skirt almost past her upper thighs. She gave it a little gas and pushed the starter; thick black smoke puffed from the exhaust system.

'Karu's eyes lit up and he forgot the bike when he saw her dress move up her body. When he saw her long, brown muscular thighs hugging his bike, he almost lost it.

Charlene looked up with a big smile, proud of her accomplishment, as the engine rumbled.

"See? It still has life."

"Char, if you keep that up, we won't make it to my family's place," he said seductively, with hooded eyes.

Charlene looked at her position on the seat, and a seductive smile spread across her face.

Sometime later, Hikaru and Charlene walked hand in hand up the steps to the old-style Victorian row house.

"Wow, 'Karu! This house is nice!"

"Mom lives here alone, but my sister Yuki comes home from the university to help out."

They paused in front of the door. Charlene took a deep breath. 'Karu looked at his fiancée, smiling and squeezing her hand.

"It's going to be okay, Babe."

Charlene gave him a weak smile: "I believe you," she said, returning the squeeze.

'Karu rang the bell.

They heard the soft padding of footsteps, and then the door opened to reveal Hikaru's mother, who greeted him excitedly:

"Hikaru!"

She wrapped her arms around her son in a tight embrace. Sulu returned his mother's hug and then quickly performed the customary respect bow.

"It is so good to see you, my son! How is your health?"

"I'm well."

"Come on in-OH, OH! I'm so excited, please, please!"

'Karu took Char's hand and led her across the threshold.

"Mother, I want to introduce Charlene Masters to you."

Hana stepped back for a better view of the woman standing behind her son and saw an attractive woman with coffee-colored skin. Her smile was bright and she had deep brown eyes and short wavy hair (finger-waves).

"Welcome to my home, Charlene!" Hana stepped forward and performed the respect bow, which Charlene returned.

"The honor is mine, Mrs. Sulu."

"Please, child, call me Hana." Hana grabbed one of Charlene's hands and led her into the living area, where the rest of the family was sitting. When Hana brought Charlene in, everyone stood up. Hana politely introduced her to the family:

"Charlene Masters, this is my daughter, Yuki, my sister-in-law, Mayu, and her husband, Masa."

The two women quickly bowed and Charlene did as well.

"Welcome to our home, Charlene," the women said together.

Yuki asked Charlene, "Would like something to drink?"

"Yes, Yuki, I would!"

"Follow me." Yuki grabbed Charlene's hand and led her to the kitchen.

'Karu stood with his mother, aunt, and uncle, and bowed before them. His eyes were focused on his uncle.

"Uncle Masa, I hope I find you in good health?"

"I'm well, as I should be, and you, nephew?"

"I too am well and content with my choices in life." 'Karu was concerned and saddened by how his uncle had treated Charlene.

Mayu gave her husband a sharp look: "Masa, the girl is here to join us for dinner; let us treat her as our honored guest."

Hana shot a concerned look at Masa and led Hikaru to the dining area.

"Hikaru, go freshen up with Charlene while we set the table."

Hikaru intercepted Charlene in the bathroom as she finished drying her hands.

"'Karu, how am I doing? I feel nervous."

He gave her a reassuring hug: "You're doing fine; my mom likes you!"

"She does?"

"Yes, she does," he said, kissing her on the forehead.

"Let's go eat."

The dinner was nice and everyone spoke pleasantly in English to each other, except for Uncle Masa. Once in a while he would talk in Japanese. The others would apologize to Charlene and then continue to talk in English. Masa kept to himself, refusing to speak English during the conversation. Hikaru took note of the intentional look from his Uncle, he was growing concern about his behavior. He would look at Charlene and wondered if she has noticed.

Yuki spoke the most. She had a lot of questions for Charlene about her Engineering studies at the Academy.

"Wow, Charlene, you're a pioneer! You are one of the few women in this field!" Yuki exclaimed.

"Thanks! I like building, taking things apart, and putting them back together!"

"Was it hard?"

"Yes, I had tough competition, and there was a lot of jealousy because I knew my stuff!"

"Yuki, you should see her build and restore a hoverbike. She fixed up my old one from my high school days today!" 'Karu bragged.

Yuki looked at Charlene with admiration: "I think I'll change my plans and apply to the Starfleet Academy Engineering program!"

Hikaru started to laugh at his younger sister, who had a tendency to make big changes without really considering the cost or consequences. Her mother and aunt exchanged knowing glances.

"Yuki, again?!"

"Okay, Okay, Hikaru, but her job sounds so interesting and the adventures you guys have been on are amazing."

Charlene wore gentle smile, pleased that she inspired the young girl.

When dinner was over, they served tea in the family room. Mayu was able to ask questions of Charlene about her family and was shocked when Charlene told her of her three large brothers.

"Hana! Her brothers are all over six feet tall?"

"Oh my, I think Hikaru is the tallest in our family," Hana said.

"Thanks, mother," Hikaru said, chuckling at his five feet eleven.

As they all sat around, enjoying the tea, Hana observed how happy her son was with his girlfriend.

But Masa sat in silence watching the girl. He saw the love in their eyes, saw the tenderness in the way they spoke to each other. But is she good enough for my nephew, the shining star of this family? Hikaru is my heart and soul. This woman could take him away from me. Then Masa broke the silence with a direct question. He spoke in his native language, addressing Hikaru.

"Hikaru! What are your intentions toward this woman? Will you marry her? Are you compatible?"

'Karu stood up and addressed his uncle, whom he considered his second father:

"I intend to marry Charlene. We are engaged. We came here to announce it and ask for your blessing."

'Karu walked over to Charlene and stood next to her; she took his hand.

"I do not know her. Is she respectable?" Masa stood up: "How do we know if she's good enough for you?"

"Masa, NO!" his wife yelled.

Hana sat in shock, holding her teacup halfway to her lips. Yuki covered her mouth in disappointment and Mayu glared at her husband in disbelief.

Charlene stood up quietly, walked toward Hana and bowed to her, the hurt plain on her face.

"Thank you for dinner; it was nice meeting you," she said in perfect Japanese. Charlene turned and left.

Hana dropped her teacup, which shattered on the floor.

Yuki's eyes widened: "She-she understood us?"

Hikaru turned to the whole family and spoke firmly, clearly struggling to rein in his feelings: "Yes! I've been teaching her." He followed Charlene out the door, slamming it behind him.

Yuki sat for a moment, feeling guilty and upset about what her uncle had said. Then she stood up: "I'm going to check on them."

Hana and Mayu bent down to clean up the broken teacup. They gently placed the pieces on the saucer. Hana slowly approached Masa; she stood up straight and spoke in Japanese:

"Masa, you are head of household, I have respected you all these years since Hosato's death. You have become a father to my children; for that I am grateful. But my son has never disrespected you and has followed all your advice. Hikaru has always respected every decision you have made for him; he is proud to call you his uncle. He only asked one thing, this one thing: to marry the woman of his choice. I see the love in my son's eyes and I see it in Charlene's. Why did you do this?"

Hana turned with tearful eyes and carried the broken pieces of the cup into the kitchen.

"Masa why? Why now!" his wife demanded.

Masa stood firm: "We don't know her. How do we know if she's good for Hikaru?"

"Masa, they were trying to help us get to know her, but you didn't let them-you didn't give them a chance-especially her!"

"But they are practically married; there could someone else more suited to him!'

"Masa! Do you hear yourself? What's wrong with the girl?"

Masa was silent, refusing to answer.

"Charlene has a career, she's intelligent, and, most importantly, she loves Hikaru!"

More silence.

Mayu took a long look at her husband of 38 years. They had come through so much, lost so much. The pain of the loss was still fresh.

"Masa, Hikaru loves you like a father. Don't do this to him! He deserves happiness. What you are doing now is breaking his heart, my heart." Tears ran down Mayu's face as she stepped closer to her husband. She placed her hands over his and looked into his eyes.

"Masa, Hikaru must live his own life; he is not Niko."

Masa snatched his hands from her, as if in pain.

"Niko is-gone, our son is gone. Please release him so you can live, my husband, so Hikaru can live his life."

Masa's face fell into lines of complete sadness, and tears formed but didn't fall. The pain of the loss of his only son was still fresh. Since Niko's death, Masa had been living his life through Hikaru, hoping he would replace his son. Mayu turned to leave her husband to collect himself. After his wife left, Masa wept quietly.

Charlene walked down the sidewalk, not knowing where she was going. She saw the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance and decided to walk toward the bridge. She turned around to see 'Karu chasing her and she slowed her pace to let him catch up and walk beside her. After a few minutes, he turned to Charlene and gave her a hug. Her tears fell the moment her head touched his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, honey, so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"He hates me, 'Karu! What did I do?" she asked between sniffles.

"Nothing, honey. I guess he wasn't ready. But I know I am ready and so is my mother!"

"How can I face him again? He thinks I'm not good enough for you."

Hikaru rubbed her back, trying to calm her.

"Char, you're the best thing that ever happened to me. I'm in love with you. Nothing is going to change that."

Yuki approached and kissed Charlene on the cheek and gave her a hug.

"I hope you are not offended, my new sister!"

Charlene broke into a smile: "Thank you, Yuki."

"Oh my, your Japanese is great, perfect even. Who taught you?"

"'Karu taught me the most, my best friend is fluent in most languages, and I worked through some of the Starfleet language modules."

"Our language is hard to learn, but YOU spoke perfectly-WOW, mom was impressed!"

"REALLY?!"

Oh yes, they will never pull a fast one on you, they were totally surprised you understood them the whole time when they spoke Japanese!"

Hikaru saw how his sister was trying to support his fiancée and help her fit in. He smiled at his sister, grateful she was making Char feel accepted.

Charlene frowned at 'Karu: "What about your uncle, 'Karu? I don't want to be a problem in your family."

Hikaru took a deep breath and looked into Charlene's pain-filled eyes. "I'm marrying you, not my uncle. We will be in space for years; I have to live with you, honey."

"OH, that is so-so sweet! And mushy for you, Hikaru! This is serious!" Yuki commented.

Charlene giggled at her statement. Karu gave his sister a smile and then stuck out his tongue at her.

"Come, ladies, let's head back and try to work this out."

Karu steered the ladies back up the hill toward the house.

Meanwhile, Masa was having a long, deep conversation with himself about his actions toward Charlene. He didn't hate the girl. He missed his son, Niko. Mayu was right: he was living his life through Hikaru. He did everything and more like his real son, but he was not his son. Hikaru was his nephew, whom he saw as a replacement for his lost son. He had been repressing the hurt for so long that he had taken it out on this innocent woman. Masa's heart was heavy. He hadn't meant to cause such hurt, even though he himself was still hurting from his loss after all these years. My nephew deserves happiness too. Masa had chosen to wallow in his sorrow. He knew he had to make amends before Hikaru left and returned to duty on the Enterprise. If he left the wound untended, it would only fester over time. It was torture knowing that his only nephew had left his house in such anger-anger that he had caused. Masa took a deep breath; he had a duty as head of the household and he needed to set an example for the family. He deeply regretted his words against the woman; after all, she was an honored guest in Hana's house and he had disrespected her.

When 'Karu returned with the women, he was ready to face his uncle and demand an apology for Charlene.

"Yuki, please take Charlene into the kitchen with mother. I'll be right back."

"Okay." Yuki gave him a worried look.

'Karu gave Yuki a peck on the top of her head and Charlene a kiss on the lips. Charlene gave him a worried look, as if she were trying to tell him not to make it worse. He gently patted her hand and left for the family room.

'Karu saw his uncle facing the window and cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Uncle Masa?"

The elderly man turned slowly toward Hikaru, to face his would-be son, his second lost son. Hikaru was everything a father could ask for in a son.

"Uncle-"

Masa cut him off with his hand and stepped forward. He bent his body at a 45-degree angle, which is the highest respect to ask forgiveness. 'Karu's eyes widened as Masa spoke:

"Moshiwake arimasen deshita! [I'm very sorry for what I have done!]"

"I only wanted to treat you like my own son, and I have failed-I have failed you and your fiancée. I had no right to disrespect you or your mother's guest, it is her house. Please let me rectify my behavior."

Masa stood for 15 seconds, waiting to hear Hikaru's answer. Hikaru's eyes misted up; he saw the love in his uncle's eyes and recognized the sincerity of his apology.

"Arigatou gozaimashita [Thank you], Uncle."

'Karu turned to retrieve the ladies from the kitchen. He returned with Charlene, holding her arm. His mother, Aunt Mayu, and Yuki followed the couple.

When Masa saw Charlene this time, he performed the deep bow again and offered his apology to her:

"Moshiwake arimasen deshita! [I'm very sorry for what I have done!]"

"Arigatou gozaimashita san" [Thank you, sir].

"We are family, and we have our differences. I would like to learn more about my new niece-in-law," Masa said, smiling broadly.

Charlene didn't know what to do. Should I hug him or say something profound? But she returned his warm smile.

"Your Japanese is great; I know you were taught by a great teacher!" Masa said, looking at his nephew. Masa looked around at the rest of his family and saw the warmth and happiness pouring from them. Hikaru was happy and relieved that things had turned around, and he got the blessing that he wanted.

"Come, my family, we have a big wedding to plan!"

The family gathered around and started talking about the wedding plans and 'Karu and Charlene's future together. They spoke of Hikaru's antics when he was a kid, and his mother showed baby pictures of 'Karu with spiked hair and missing front teeth, which greatly amused Charlene.

"Isn't he cute, Charlene?"

"Oh yeah, teeth and all," she said laughing harder; the rest of the family joined in.

"Oh brother, I hate those pictures!" 'Karu said, laughing too.

There's nothing like family.