My Sister

**Disclaimer** I do not own any of the original Walker characters only Angela's personality and the rest of the kids. Life is mean that way. Also, the song "My Sister" is one of Reba McIntire's. I don't own it either. The only thing I really do own is my cat, and sometimes even that seems to be the other way around.

Angela heaved a sigh of relief as she stood up from the rocking chair in the nursery to place the last cranky boy in his bed for his afternoon nap. She had taken the boys for their doctor appointment that morning and let's just say that the boys had not appreciated it one bit. As she turned on the baby monitor, she glanced at her three boys one last time before leaving the room. She smiled softly as she looked. The frustrations of the morning just seem to melt away. They really did just look like angels as they slept.

Leaving the room, she headed towards the kitchen to set out stuff for dinner that night. As she passed the phone, she noticed it was blinking and paused to play the message.

"Hey, Angie. It's me," came Corrie's exuberant voice. There were days Angela wished she could bottle up that energy that poured out of her little sister. "I was just calling to say hi. We really haven't had a chance to catch up lately. Between the two of us, we hardly have the time to even glance at the phone let alone actually pick it up and call someone just to talk. How are my boys? Oh, I bet they've grown. Give them a big kiss for me will you. I miss my Thunder, Lightening, and Storm." Angela rolled her eyes at the nicknames Damien and Corrie had bestowed upon her boys. She could now understand how her mother had felt when she had named Damien Demon. "Tell them I can't wait to see them again, and don't make faces at me, Angie. You can't say that the names don't fit those boys of yours, can you. I'd better go. Call me when you get this." There was a slight pause as if Corrie had begun to hang up. The laughter and teasing were now gone from her voice as she added, "By the way, I miss you too."

As the message ended, Angela couldn't help but laugh softly. Corrie never changed.

Hey girl, it's me, I just called to tell you hi
Call me when you get this
Haven't talked lately, so hard to find the time
Give the boys a big kiss

Tell them that I miss them
By the way, I miss you too

Angela glanced at the clock and grinned. If she called right now, she would have an hour to chat before she absolutely had to begin dinner. The boys would be up an hour after that. Quickly dialing the number, Angela prayed that Corrie would have the time to talk. It really had been awhile since they had last spoken, and Angela missed her little sister.

"Hello, Corrie Walker speaking."

"Already answering you phone like a lawyer?"

"Never give up on interrogating people for their actions?"

"Me? A stuffy old lawyer scaring people into being so confused that they agree with you just to get off the stand? I highly resent that," protested Angela grinning.

"Better a stuffy old lawyer scaring people on the stand then a mean and cruel, older sister scaring her loving, innocent younger siblings into telling her all their secrets."

"I pled the fifth," stated Angela as both women began to laugh at their own banter. If felt great to hear the other woman again.

"So how are you doing, Corrie? It's been two months since we've last spoken."

"I know. I shouldn't have overloaded my schedule so much, but I do so love the challenge!"

Angela shook her head. Only her younger sister would love the stress of school. "Still determined to be the youngest ADA ever?" asked Angela although it was really more of a statement. Her little sister had finished pre-law school in 2 years and was well into her second year of law school although it was only her first year there. That was saying a lot of a young woman of 19. "Just don't burn yourself out. It really wouldn't hurt to slow down a little."

Corrie snorted in amusement, "Yeah, this coming from a wife, mother, primary caregiver, supervisor of HOPE Center, Ran…"

Anglea laughed, "Alright, I get the point. We Walkers are overachievers and can't stand to be still. Speaking of being a mother, would you like to be one? I've got three boys I'm giving away for free."

Corrie sniffed, and Angela could just picture her sticking her nose up in the air, "You can't fool me, Angela. You wouldn't give those boys up to save your life. I know for a fact that you've never given up mothering any of the mob*." Angela started to protest but was cut off. "Don't even start. I know that if I asked you would be able to tell me where each and every one of your "kids" are and how they are doing. Just like you knew where D.J. was when he ran off after high school even if you wouldn't admit it at the time. If you thought something was wrong with one of us, you would drop everything to help. You barely lifted a finger to help Dad when D.J. was missing."

Angela blushed and protested, "I only knew that he was where he needed to be at the time, and that it would have only have hurt him to let anyone find him too fast. Besides, Damien had left plenty of clues if you had known him well enough."

"Humph, well you certainly left Dad on his own to find out," muttered Corrie remembering that stressful time. "Anyways, what have my nephews gotten up to this time?"

Angela groaned, "Have you ever tried to take 3 boys under four to a doctor's office to get a shot?"

Corrie giggled at her sister's distress. "The Thunderstorm strikes again, huh?" She only laughed harder at the glare she knew Angela was sending her by the silence on the other end of the line.

"I wish you would give up that ridiculous nickname for my boys. It only encourages them." Angela growled. "It's not funny. We almost got kicked out of the doctor's office, they made such a fuss." She sighed, "I certainly know how Dad felt now."

Corrie stopped laughing puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"Don't tell me that Corrina Walker has forgotten something," teased Angela. It wasn't often you could catch Corrie at forgetting something with her photographic memory.

"Me, forget? No. Never," huffed Corrie, "I just needed to shift through my memories a little. Those days seem so far away now," Corrie's voice faded as both though back to that one especially memorable day.

***FLASHBACK***

"Come on, Angie," pleaded a 9 year old Corrie with big blue puppy dog eyes. "It will only take an hour."

"No way. Forget it. I'm not getting involved in anymore of your extra school projects. They only cause trouble. I know I don't need to remind you of the day the North lost the Civil War. Besides, Dad told us to clean up our room, which I must say is mostly your mess, not have a tea party," stated 16 year old Angela calmly as she hung up a few items in the closet.

"It's not just a tea party and my side of the room is not a mess. I know exactly where everything is," protested Corrie. "And how was I supposed to predict that DJ would convince the rest of the slaves to revolt, take over the South, and destroy General Sherman's March to Atlanta. He didn't follow the rules."

"Yes, well, that started World War I 50 years early and in our own back yard. I'm not going to do it."

Corrie narrowed her eyes, "We'll see about that."

Thirty minutes later, Angela growled mentally as she accepted tea from the "lady" across from her. She couldn't believe Corrie had blackmailed her. Honestly, she saw nothing wrong with doing a few fancy tricks while horseback riding. So what if she had tried standing as her horse had jumped the creek. It wasn't as if she had gotten hurt. She grimaced. This time at least. She could still remember the lecture she had gotten last time she had tried a fancy move and broken her arm. Her father had not been happy. Neither was she when she had had to face Trent and the others and inform them why she couldn't participate in the karate tournament that had occurred that weekend. She never wanted to go through that again but would have to if Corrie ratted her out to her father. He would place her under house arrest. "If you can't be trusted to make wise decisions concerning your well-being, then you will have to stay home where you can be watched until you can be trusted." That statement had replayed over and over in her head as Corrie had lectured, painted, and dressed her. There was another tournament on Saturday, and she didn't want to miss it.

"Okay," said Corrie as Angela carefully took a seat at the fancy table being careful not to trip in the shoes that she was being forced to wear. She would wonder how her little sister managed to get her hands on costumes from the 19th century if she didn't already know why they called Corrie 'Princess'**. "Now just sit there for a moment as I set up the camera equipment."

"What!" exclaimed Angela jumping to her feet knocking the table slightly. "No way. You never said anything about filming us." Corrie frowned at Angela as the table shook. "I have to document the event as well as write about it to prove I did the research. Now sit down and stop messing with the table placements. This was an important part of English culture back in the 1800s. I've spent a lot of time looking into it to help the others in my class understand what life was like in the upper class of English life back then."

"Forget it. I refused to be shown to your whole class dressed up like this." Angela tried to push her chair back from the table to leave but got her shoe caught in the hem of the dress forcing Angela to lose her balance. As she scrambled to stay on her feet, she grabbed onto the table cloth on the table pulling it with her. Corrie, trying to stop all the dishes and food from crashing to the floor, grabbed onto the other side of the cloth, but physics worked against her as Angela's weight and momentum were much greater than hers. The ending result was Corrie on top of a wreaked table on top of Angela.

Both girls were groaning as Walker and DJ raced into the room. "What happened," demanded Walker as he began checking to see that both girls were okay as DJ just stood there staring at the chaos from just inside the doorway. Both girls glared at each other and yelled, "It's all her fault. My fault? Don't you blame me!"

Walker took a deep breath and gave a sharp whistle to silence them. "Stop all that noise." As he pulled Corrie and the table off Angela, he saw Corrie had a gash on her forehead that was bleeding quite forcefully and that Angela was holding extremely tightly onto her stomach while taking only shallow breaths. "We are going to the hospital."

"No doctors," yelled both girls still glaring at each other. Walker ignored both girls, handed Corrie over to DJ, picked up Angela, and led the way to the truck as both girls struggled to get down and kept blaming each other the whole way to the hospital.

****END OF FLASHBACK****

Both women laughed at the memory. "As I recall," said Angela, " Dad had to restrain you to let them stitch up that cut." Corrie just laughed harder, "At least I didn't try to sneak out of the hospital."

"I would have made it too, if Damien hadn't chosen just that moment to come and check on me," said Angela haughtily before chuckling, "We Walkers aren't known for behaving well in the hospital. I know they have a secret code they say over the intercom to warn the whole building whenever one of us comes in."

"Do you remember what happened later that night?" asked Corrie.

"You mean after Dad made us clean everything up and then sent us to bed at 5:00 in the evening," said Angela as she quietly went up the stairs to check on the boys. "You crawled into my bed, asked me to teach you those horseback riding tricks, and then, we spent the whole night giggling as we plotted out how to convince the rest of the mob to join in on the tea party to make it more authentic especially since we would have to be behind the camera to hide our injuries."

Corrie sighed, "Those were the days. Every once in a while, I wish we were kids again."

Angela looked at her sleeping boys and whispered, "Me too."

I was thinking just today
About how we used to play
Barbie dolls and make-up
Tea parties, dress up
I remember how we'd fight,
make up, and laugh all night
Wish we were kids again
My sister, my friend

Angela shut the bedroom door and headed back downstairs as Corrie changed subjects, "By the way, I met someone last month."

Angela raised an eyebrow as she entered the kitchen and opened the fridge to get out the vegetables to cut up for a salad, "Oh?" Corrie just shook her head, "Don't be like that. I think I really like this one. I'm going to bring him home for Christmas. What do you think? Too soon? Our family can be pretty overwhelming. I don't want to scare him off." Angela burst into another round of laughter as a second memory flashed into her mind. Corrie huffed, "What is so funny about that?"

"Remember the last time you brought a boy home for Christmas Eve dinner? What was his name?" giggle Angela.

Corrie blushed, "I thought we agreed never to mention that ever again. I was just angry that Dad was being so stubborn about what I was going to do after high school. He wasn't near so strict with DJ."

"Yeah, well, you were only 16 and wanting to move across the country to live on your own. Who could blame him? Did you really think bringing that boy into the equation was a good idea?"

"He was 19, and I just wanted to get back at Dad for being what I considered a jerk." Corrie complained. Angela just snickered, "Yeah, that was the way to go about getting your way."

***FLASHBACK***

The normally joyful dinner table was strained in silence as the Walker family ate dinner on Christmas Eve before going to church. Angela and DJ just grinned covertly to each other as they watched the battle of wills unfold before them. Corrie and Walker had been fighting for the last week over what she was going to do after high school. Walker thought she was too young to leave home, and Corrie thought she had the right to choose her own future. To prove just how grown-up she was, Corrie had brought a 19-year old date to dinner. However, she had never expected him to show up drunk. Instead of addressing the issue, Corrie was pretending that everything was fine and had been trying to make polite conversation throughout dinner, but Walker's silence nor his glare had changed in the last hour. The final straw was when the young man jumped out of his seat and ran to the restroom to expel what little dinner he had ingested. DJ followed the young man in case he needed a hand.

Corrie threw down her napkin and glared at her father, "Fine. You win. I'll stay home forever." Walker's face changed from forbidden stone to just plain tired and weary, "Corrie, that's not what I want and you know it."

Tears filled Corrie's eyes, "What do you want from me then? I'm not a little girl anymore, Dad. I have to find my own way in life. You taught me that."

Walker got out of his seat and crouched down by Corrie wiping the tears from her face, "I know exactly what I taught you, and you make me proud every time you stand up for what is right for you and your beliefs." Corrie looked away from him in embarrassment, but Walker gently turned her face back to his, "Listen, Princess, let's say we decide to look more carefully at your plans for college after Christmas and see how we can make your dreams come true while keeping my fears of my 16 year old girl out in the world on her own at bay."

Corrie threw her arms around Walkers neck kissing him on the cheek, "I love you, Dad," she whispered into his ear. "I love you, too," he whispered back.

Angela quietly left the table to give them a few minutes alone while she went to check on DJ and their guest. She found them in the living room. DJ had was sitting in the armchair reading a book, while the young man lay passed out on the couch with a bucket next to him. She placed a blanket over top of him. "Did he say anything?" she asked her brother frowning as she watched the young man grimace in his sleep.

DJ grinned, "Well, he might have asked if Dad was going to kill him," Angela just waited as her brother smirked even more, "and I may have told him that Dad would never do such a thing."

"And that's why he looks like he's having nightmares?" asked Angela drily. Damien just shrugged innocently, "He did look a little greener around the gills when I mentioned that Dad would just throw him in jail for underage drinking and only let him out under the condition that he be the punch dummy at every Kick Drugs program for the next 1000 community service hours."

***END OF FLASHBACK***

As the laughter died down, Corrie sighed, "Poor Matt. He never wanted to come with me that night sure that Dad would kill him for looking like he was dating an under aged girl. I found out later that he drank to get the courage to even show up that night. I don't know what Dad ever did to him, but he never, ever drank again." She shook her head at her own foolishness at that time. She should have just have spoken to her father calmly from the beginning, and they could have avoided the whole situation. Walker was never one to stand in the way of anyone's dreams, especially his own children's. "I've sure learned a lot since then."

Angela smiled, "Haven't we all."

Oh yeah, before I forget, I met someone
I think I really like him
I was just wondering if I'm jumping the gun
By going out on a limb
And invite him home for Christmas
To meet the family

Seems like just yesterday
You brought home oh, whats his name
He had been drinkin'
What were you thinkin'
After dinner he passed out
We can laugh about it now
We've learned a lot since then
My sister, my friend

Corrie looked at her watch and gasped, "Oh shoot, I have to go. I have a meeting in ten minutes, and it takes 8 to get there."

Angela grinned. Corrie may be smart, but she was almost always running late. "Have a good night then."

"Wait, Angie, I'm not ready to hang up yet," begged Corrie as she ran around the room gathering what she needed for the meeting. "Can't you come up here sometime before the new baby is born so we can hang out. We can stay up all night and gossip and argue. It'll be just like old times. Surely that husband of yours can watch the Thunderstorm for a little while."

"Sure," agreed Angela putting the final touches on supper. "How's next Wednesday and Thursday? Dad is taking the boys to the reservation, and my darling husband will be away at a convention."

"That'd be great, Angie, I'll clear as much of my schedule as possible" said Corrie pausing in her mad rush for the door. "You know, I don't say it enough, but even with all the fights and all the problems we had, I'd do it all again."

Angela smiled gently starting a familiar argument, "Worst enemies?"

Corrie smiled as well disagreeing, "Best friends?"

Both girls finished together, "Sisters."

Do you think you could come and see me sometime soon?
We could just hang out like we used to

It's late, and I should go
But I can't hang up the phone
Until I tell you
What I don't tell you enough
Even though at times it seemed
We were more like enemies
I'd do it all again
My sister, my friend

Oh my sister, my friend

*The mob refers to all the kids in the extended Walker family. For an exact list please refer to chapter 22 of my Life Changes story although the ages will differ depending on which time period of this story that you are reading.

** In Chapter 4 of Life Changes Angela refers to Corrie as Princess. It's a nickname given to her by Walker because Corrie is known for always getting what she wants. It's a trait that has remained with her through the years.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know I've been off the grid for a long time and I can't promise that anything will change. I had this story started a long time ago and finally felt like finishing it. I do have more ideas for my Life Changes story, but I rarely feel the urge to write, and Walker is no longer really my thing. Although, I am pretty attached to the characters I created. I know this story probably left you with a few questions, but I don't want to give everything away as that would ruin the future events of Life Changes in case I do write more. My new love is NCIS, although I will probably never write anything for it.