By AcademyPrincess

"Is everything set for tomorrow?" Kota asked the group.

The boys were meeting at Nathan's, after having dropped Sang off with Sean and Owen for the weekend. The upcoming Sunday was Mother's day, and even though only a few of them still had a biological mother, or mother figure in their life, they still wanted to do something special for the one woman who always treated them no different than her own children. Erica.

During the week, they all put together a list of activities they thought that Erica would enjoy, while not having to do any of the planning herself. They'd leave the actual Sunday for whatever she may have wanted to do with her children, but Saturday would be a day for them all to enjoy with her. They even got Jessica to agree to go to a friend's house for the day, so there would be no interruptions.

"Everything's good to go," Victor confirmed. "Uncle's agreed to open the diner late. The boutique is aware that we'll be arriving between twelve and one. And I've booked Adam for a two hour time slot, just in case we get to Marie's late."

"Perfect," Kota smiled. "And the tickets?"

"Will be waiting for us at the box office."

"Was there any trouble with your parents?" North asked Victor, his arms crossed over his chest as he reclined on the couch.

"No problems," Victor answered. "George wants me to play at the dinner he's hosting for Jasmine, but that's not until Sunday."

"You'll let us know if that changes?" North questioned.

"Of course."

"Good," Kota replied with a nod. "Luke? Is the menu set?"

"Affirmative bossman," Luke replied with a mock salute.

"Luke, be serious." Kota frowned.

"Will you relax?" Luke huffed. "Everything's going to be fine. Uncle OK'd the menu, and he's even bringing in a couple of workers early so that we won't have to be behind the counter."

"And since Uncle OK'd it," Gabriel interrupted. "North shouldn't have any complaints that might ruin Erica's day."

"I'd never ruin Erica's day!" North grunted.

"Yeah, never on purpose," Nathan replied, trying to suppress his laughter.

"That wasn't my fault!" North argued. "Luke's the one who talked her into dessert before dinner!"

"It was her birthday!" Luke exclaimed. "If she wanted to have cake before dinner, I think she's entitled to cake before dinner!"

"Alright, that's enough!" Kota declared. "No one is ruining this day for Mom. Accidental or otherwise. Are we clear?"

"I was ten!" shouted Luke.

"Kota, stop worrying," said Silas, stopping the fight between the brothers before it got any worse. "Everything will be perfect, and Erica will have a great time."

"I hope you're right, Silas," Kota sighed. "She's been overdoing it at work again. I just want her to relax this weekend without having to worry about Jess or me."

"Everything will be fine, Kota," Nathan assured him. "Erica will get a relaxing weekend, even if it kills us."

"Famous last words," Gabriel whispered to Luke, and the two of them started snickering.

The guys all relaxed around the living room a bit longer, before heading out to their separate homes. North and Luke took Silas home in the Jeep. Victor drove Gabriel back to Pam, and Kota went down to Tom's house to get Jessica and bring her home.

The next morning, Kota drove Jessica over to her friend's house, before going back home and waking his mother. Victor managed to get Erica the rest of the weekend off, but she had to cover for a co-worker yesterday, and didn't manage to get home until after twelve. Knowing this, Kota let her sleep in a little longer than she normally did, but went to wake her up at nine-thirty so they wouldn't be late.

"Mom," Kota said lowly, trying not to startle her. "Wake up, we're going to be late."

After a few seconds of shaking, Erica opened her eyes slowly. Stretching languidly, she asked, "Late for what?"

"It's a surprise," Kota smiled. "Now get dressed, we leave in twenty."

Erica smiled at her son as he left the room, giving her enough time to primp herself for this unknown surprise. Dressing casually in a pair of jeans and a fitted long sleeved t-shirt, she called out to Kota as she went into the bathroom to fix her hair.

"Kota? Where's Jessica?"

"I took her over to Stacy's house," he replied.

"So she's not in on this little surprise?" Erica questioned, amusement lacing her tone.

"Nope," Kota chuckled. "So she can't help you. Are you almost done?"

"Just about."

Erica swept the brush through her hair once more before pulling it behind her to twist it up in a clip. She swiped on a coat of chapstick and smiled at her reflection before leaving the bathroom to meet her son. Kota stood in the living room, dressed similarly to Erica, typing away on his phone. The sight made Erica smile brightly, loving how much her son has matured into the smart, and confident young man that he is.

Kota pushed his glasses up on his nose before locking his phone and placing it in his pocket. As he raised his head, he noticed his mother staring at him and smiled before doing a double take.

Laughing lightly, he said, "I guess we're twins today."

"I guess so," Erica responded with a loving smile. "Now what's this surprise all about."

"You'll see," Kota replied. "Come on."

Kota led Erica out of the house and over to his car, opening the door for her before taking his own seat and driving them down the road to the diner. Erica's eyebrow furrowed as Kota pulled into the parking lot, a smile on his face at his mother's confusion.

"My surprise is at the diner?" she questioned skeptically.

"The first part of it," Kota replied coyly, earning a raised eyebrow from his mother. "Come on, the others are waiting."

"Others?"

Kota didn't answer the question. Instead, he sent her another smile, before getting out and racing over to her side to open the door before she could. He took her hand, placed it in the crook of his arm, and led her inside of the diner.

Victor, Nathan, Luke, North, Gabriel, Silas and Uncle were standing in front of the counter, bright smiles on their faces as Kota and Erica walked in. Her eyes widened as her mouth dropped open, standing right in the entryway next to her smiling son.

"Happy pre Mother's Day!" they all exclaimed.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Boys! What is all of this?" Erica asked, her smile never dropping from her face.

"We wanted to surprise you," Nathan shrugged, his smile a mile wide. "You've done so much for us, we wanted to do something special for you."

"Boys," Erica gasped, her eyes glistening with tears. "You didn't need to do this."

"We know that, Mom," Kota said, wrapping his arm around her back. "We wanted to."

"So let them," Uncle huffed. "Heaven knows they haven't done anything like this for me." The smile on his face and the twinkle in his eyes take the sting out of his words.

"Oh please," Luke chuckled. "We'll throw you a parade on Father's Day, ok?"

"No parade necessary," Uncle grumbled, walking over to give Erica a hug. "Just you boys cleaning up after yourselves would be enough of a gift for me."

"Consider it done," North grunted, a wry smile on his face.

The boys laughed before getting Erica settled at the large table that had been set up for their group. Being the guest of honor, Erica sat at the head of the table, with Kota to her right followed by Victor, Luke, Gabriel, North, Silas, and Nathan on her left. She smiled at the boys as Uncle went into the kitchen as two of the diner's waiters came out with glasses of water for the table.

Uncle came back out shortly after, his tray loaded down with platters of food which he set in the center of the table. Kota grabbed one of the place settings and filled it up with everything in sight before placing it in front of his mother. Erica looked down at the plate with wide eyes before looking over to her son.

"Kota," she sighed. "There's no way I can possibly eat all of this."

"You don't have to eat all of it," Kota assured her. "Just eat what you can. We have all of your favorites."

And they did. From blueberry waffles, to cinnamon pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and all the toppings one could imagine. The boys had truly outdone themselves with this gift, and Erica was sure that it would end up being a day that she wouldn't soon forget.

After breakfast, Kota, Victor, and Gabriel escorted Erica to a small understated boutique in downtown Charleston, where she was fitted for an elegant evening gown. All inquiries on why she would need such an extravagant article of clothing were deflected by Gabriel and Victor, while Kota sat watching with a smile. His thoughts drifting back to when Sang was in a similar position when they first met her.

After Erica's dress fitting, the boys swept her down to Marie's for a full body massage, mud bath, and facial. Since it was a special day, Adam allowed Gabriel to do Erica's hair, as he and Lei did her nails. Kota and Victor watched the fanfare with doting smiles and happiness in their eyes. Once her hair and nails were done, Gabriel shooed her off to the back to get dressed in an elegant, but comfortable, green satin wrap dress; the curls Gabriel put her hair into cascading down over her shoulders.

From Marie's, Erica was swept away once again to an unknown location. Learning her lesson from her earlier question, Erica decided to stay quiet and enjoy the attention her son and his friends were lavishing her with. They arrived at a quaint little restaurant not long after where the rest of the boys waited for them. They all enjoyed dinner with light conversation about the day's events, and small hints on what was coming next. Erica took it all in stride, not prodding to find out more information, but keeping her ears open all the same.

After dinner, Erica road with Kota, to yet another undisclosed location. By this point, her anticipation was through the roof. The boys had been dropping subtle hints and inside on tonight's final activity, all throughout dinner. She loved that the boys had taken so much time to plan this day for her, but the tension of the unknown was killing her.

"Kota, sweetie," she sighed. "Where are we going?"

"To see something you'll enjoy, Mom," he responded with a smile.

Erica sighed heavily, but didn't ask any further questions. Some time later, Kota pulled into the parking lot of the Dock Street Theater, and Erica's eyes misted over with tears. The South Carolina Philharmonic had been playing all Spring, but with work, Erica hadn't had the chance to go. Her co-workers all raved about the performance and how it was a must see before they left on their tour at the end of the month.

A tear slid down her face as she looked over to Kota, her hands covering her mouth as she took deep breaths.

"How did you know?" she mumbled.

"I know you, Mom," he answered. "Happy Mother's Day."