Disclaimer: The characters of Supernatural do not belong to me. The original characters of Abby and Kelsey Winchester do.
A/N: So, as much as I was planning not to, I wrote another Abby/Kelsey story. I want to explain something first. The Abby/Kelsey stories are not meant to be uber fluffy, everything's perfect stories. They're meant to be real. The truth is, as much as parents might mean to do good, people fall into patterns that can be hard to break. Kids fight with their parents, parents react reflexively, and sometimes, no matter how hard they try, feelings get hurt along the way. On both sides. But you try your best to make up and do better the next day.
The reason Kelsey and Jess hadn't been too involved in the stories up to this point is because the focus of the story was meant to be Abby and Sam. That changes here. Kelsey, for some unknown reason, develops a seriously bad attitude with her mother, and stops doing her household chores. Abby also gets into a little trouble of her own. Mom and Dad have to deal with it, and the results aren't what either girl expects.
I know it's been a while, but I'm getting back into the swing of writing regularly. I have a baby Evy story planned next. Stay tuned!
Monday
"Hey, mom."
"Hi, sweetie." Jess said form the stove. "How was school?"
"Same old, same old." Abby said, placing her backpack on a kitchen chair and reaching for a cookie.
Jess smiled. "Just one. Don't ruin your appetite."
"Has that ever been a problem?" Abby asked.
"Point taken." Jess said. "Did you actually learn anything in school today?"
"Biology was pretty cool." Abby talked a little about her day at school before the phone rang. "I'll get it." Abby walked to the phone and picked it up. "Hi, Dad...mom's at the stove cooking…Okay, I'll tell her…It was fine…No, Kelsey's not home yet…Okay, bye, Dad."
"What's going on?" Jess asked.
"He's working late and won't be home until really late." Abby said.
"Okay." Jess said. "Where's your sister?"
"I don't know." Abby said. "I had a question for you, though."
"What would that be?"
"Can I go to Lucy's for a sleepover this weekend?"
"Do you have her mom's permission?" Jess asked.
"Yep."
Jess sighed, emptying the pot of pasta on the stove into a colander. She pretended to think it over then said, "Sure."
"Thanks, mom." Abby said. "I'm going to do my homework."
"Okay, sweetie. I'll call you when dinner's ready."
As Abby made her way to her room, she heard the front door open and her sister walk in. She grinned. Kelsey hadn't been in the best mood lately. She fought Jess on anything she was asked to do, even though in the end she usually did it anyway. Abby knew the only reason she did it was that she didn't want Sam finding out she was fighting Jess on doing her chores. Abby had tried to ask her what was going on, only to get the brush off from her sister.
"Mind your own business, Abby."
Abby started on her homework, putting on her earbuds and playing some music to tune out the arguing coming down from the kitchen. Abby finished her homework, packed it up, and started to play a game on her computer. The arguing died down, and a half hour later, Abby walked to the kitchen to find her mom grudgingly setting the table.
"Mom? You okay?"
"Yeah." Jess answered shortly.
"You sure?" Abby asked. "You need some help?"
Jess placed the plate on the table. "Would you mind setting the table?"
Abby almost said Again? but stopped when she noticed her mom looked upset. Abby had set the table every day for the last week, when she and Kelsey were supposed to take turns. Abby took the last plate from Jess.
"I'll do it, mom."
"Thank you." Jess said. "I mean that, kiddo. Thank you."
"Sure, mom." Abby said. "What's the matter with Kelsey?"
Jess sighed. "I don't really know."
Abby smiled. "Maybe it's just Monday."
Jess laughed. "Maybe. Come on, dinnertime."
Tuesday
"Hi, Dad!" Abby said.
"Hey, kiddo. How was school?"
"It was good." Abby said, glancing at the clock. "You're home early."
"I finished my work early. Where's mom?"
"In the kitchen." Abby said, turning back to the magazine in her hand.
As Sam hung his jacket next to the door, he asked, "What're you reading?"
Abby hesitated. "You promise you won't make fun of it?"
"Of course I won't. What is it?"
Abby flipped the magazine up and showed him the cover. Mario: A Gaming History.
Sam bit his tongue and nodded. "Interesting."
Abby chose not to take the bait and sigh deeply like she really wanted to. "I think it is."
"Where'd you say mom was?"
Abby frowned. Should have known better than to think that he'd show some interest. "Kitchen."
Sam walked into the kitchen and found Jess almost done with dinner. "Hey, you."
"Hey." Jess said. "How was work?"
"Ugh." Sam groaned.
Jess laughed. "That good?"
"Let's just say I'm really, really, really glad to be home." Sam said. "Whose turn is it to set the table?"
Jess sighed. "Would you mind doing it?"
"Why? Whose turn is it?"
"Technically it's Abby's. But…" Jess said.
"So get Abby to do it."
"Sam. Let me finish, please." Jess said. "Something's going on with Kelsey, and I don't know what it is exactly, but she's not been doing her chores like she's supposed to. Abby's been covering for her a lot. She's cleaned their bathroom and vacuumed and set the table every night for a week and done everything else I asked her to without complaining. Would you just set the table now and talk to Kelsey later tonight?"
"Sure."
Jess could tell it irked Sam not to have Abby do the chores she was supposed to do, but he wisely chose not to say anything and set the table as Jess had asked. He called both girls to dinner, and while the conversation was pleasant enough, there was a tenseness in the air that Jess had been dealing with all week. As she had every night before for nearly the last two weeks, Abby cleared the table and helped wash the dishes, while Kelsey went to her room. At bedtime that night, Jess asked,
"Did you talk to Kelsey?"
"Yeah, I did." Sam said. "She's been having a tough time at school lately. She's gonna apologize to you tomorrow, and she'll pick back up doing her chores."
"What about all the ones she hasn't done?" Jess asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, don't you think she should make all that up to Abby? That's not exactly fair to Abby." Jess said.
"The two of them talked while you were in the shower. Abby agreed to give Kelsey a second chance. Kelsey'll finish out the week helping you with dinner, but Abby's going to do the rest of her chores like normal."
"Thanks, babe." Jess said.
"My pleasure."
"I'm gonna go check on the girls." Jess said. She walked down the hall to Abby's room, finding her in the process of putting her things away and getting into bed. "Hey, you."
"Hi, mom."
"Can I come in?" Jess asked.
"Sure."
Jess walked in and sat on Abby's bed next to her. "Dad told me you and Kelsey talked about chores."
"Yeah. We did."
"Thank you, honey. I appreciate you being such a good sport about this." Jess said.
Abby smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't do it for Kelsey. I did it for you."
"I know you did. Thank you." Jess said, leaning over to kiss Abby's cheek. "But if Kelsey slips again, and doesn't do her chores, I want you to let me know. Okay?"
"Okay, mom. I will."
"Good. You excited about your sleepover this weekend?"
The two of them talked for a few minutes, until Abby started to yawn. Jess kissed her goodnight, checked in on an already sleeping Kelsey, then went to sleep herself hoping that there would be a little more peace in the house.
Wednesday
Abby packed up her homework and placed her backpack on her desk chair. The situation with Kelsey was slightly better. She did her chores, but not without moping and stomping and arguing. Sam was gone until after dinner every night that week, so Abby couldn't help but think bet you wouldn't do that if Dad was here. Abby often felt like her dad liked Kelsey more than her, but he didn't tolerate disrespect from either of them towards him or especially Jess. Sam very rarely raised his voice towards them, but disrespecting Jess was the quickest way to do it.
"Hi."
Abby looked up and saw Kelsey standing in the door. "Hi."
"Can you cover for me? I've got a study group to go to."
"On a Wednesday night?" Abby asked skeptically.
"Yes, on a Wednesday night. Will you cover for me or no?"
"Why would you need me to cover for you to go to a study group? Why don't you just ask mom?"
"Are you gonna do it or not, Abby?" Kelsey asked impatiently.
"Not if you're gonna keep being snotty to me like that."
Kelsey bit her lip to keep from exploding on Abby. "Please, Abby."
"Tell me what you're really doing and I'll think about it."
"Forget it." Kelsey said.
"Fine. Be that way." Abby said. "But I'm not covering for you."
"You can't tell mom anything if you don't know anything."
"What is with you lately?" Abby asked. "Why are you so snotty?"
"None of your business. Mom asks, I'll be back before dinner."
"Don't let the door bite you on the way out!" Abby shouted.
As Kelsey left, Abby shook her head and turned back to what she was working on. A few minutes later, Jess came home.
"Hey, kiddo. Where's your sister?"
"I don't know. She left." Abby said.
"She left? To go where? It's a school night."
Abby thought about telling her mom everything. After Kelsey's attitude towards her earlier, she owed her sister nothing. But she wanted to try and keep Kelsey out of trouble if she could, so she answered simply,
"I don't know. She just said she'd be back soon."
Jess sighed, aggravated beyond belief. "What the hell…?" She said, before catching herself to stop from cursing in front of Abby. "Did she say when she'd be back."
"No. Sorry, mom."
"It's not your fault. You're not responsible for your sister." Jess said. She took a look at the clock on the wall behind her. "Well, since it's apparently just you and me, what do you say we order a pizza? Whatever you want."
"Really?" Abby asked.
"Really. Go call and get the cash you need out of my purse. I'm gonna go try and call your sister."
"What about when Kelsey comes back? You want to order half of it like she likes it?" Abby asked. The thought of it made her gag-Kelsey's favorite pizza was pineapple, olives, and onions.
"Nope. Kelsey wants dinner, she can make her own." Jess said.
"Okay." Abby said. "Can we watch a movie too?"
"Titanic?"
"Yeah!" Abby said.
"Okay, but the second it's over, you go to bed. Deal?"
"Deal."
Thursday
Sam was irritated with both his girls right now, but especially with Abby. How in the world she thought she could get away with lying to them, he would never know. But he would deal with it now.
As he lingered at a long stop light, he realized that he would have to calm down before getting home. Abby had lied to Jess, and while that irritated Sam, it was nothing he hadn't done himself on countless occasions. But that didn't make it okay. As he pulled into the driveway, he took a deep breath and walked inside.
"Abby!"
Abby called from down the hall. "Coming!" A few seconds later, she came out of her room and walked towards him. "What's up, Dad?"
"Did you ask your mom if you could go to a sleepover this weekend?"
"Yeah. She said it was fine." Abby said, her stomach beginning to crawl with dread. Had Sam found out?
"Did you happen to tell your mom that Lucy's mom wouldn't be home this weekend?"
Abby frowned and squirmed. "No."
Sam nodded. "And why didn't you tell her? Because you knew she'd say no?"
"Dad, come on, I'm old enough to stay by myself for one night…"
"Not until we tell you you are." Sam said firmly. "And because you lied to get what you want, not only are you not going, but you're grounded."
"Come on!"
"No, you come on." Sam snapped. "You know better than this, Abby."
"Fine." Abby said, turning to run to her room.
"And stow the attitude!" Sam called after her.
At that moment, Jess, who had been in town visiting a friend who was sick, came home. She walked in just in time to hear Abby say fine and Sam yell at her to stow the attitude.
"What's going on?"
"Dad said I can't go to my sleepover tomorrow." Abby said.
"Why?" Jess asked.
When Abby said nothing, Sam told Jess, "I ran into Lucy's mom in town today. She told me that she was going to be out of town Friday night and all day Saturday."
Jess looked at Abby, hoping it wasn't true. "You didn't tell me you guys wouldn't be supervised."
"Mom, I'm old enough to stay by myself for a while."
"In this house, where we can check the security camera to make sure you're safe, yes. But you are not old enough to be somewhere unsupervised yet."
"This is totally unfair! You already said I could go!" Abby protested.
"Abby, go to your room." Sam said. "Your mom and I need to talk about how long you're grounded for."
"This is totally unfair!" Abby protested again. "I do everything I'm supposed to and you're punishing me. Kelsey welshes on her chores and all she gets is a 'don't do it again'."
"Where is Kelsey?" Jess asked.
"I told her she could go get some ice cream with her friends." Sam answered. "She promised to be home before dinner."
Jess reacted almost instantaneously. Abby's face flushed red and her mouth was opened in another protest. Jess grabbed her shoulder and pointed towards Abby's room. "Room. Now."
"Mom…"
"I'll take care of it. Go to your room. We'll talk later." Jess said. "Go."
"Can I go…"
"Abigail, get to your room. Now. I'm losing patience with you."
"If I could finish, please." Abby said through gritted teeth. "Can I go to the bathroom first?"
Jess nodded, and Abby quickly went to the bathroom. She stomped towards her room and stopped just short of slamming her bedroom door. Jess turned towards Sam and pointed towards their own room. "Same with you. Let's go."
"Jess…"
"Our room, Sam. Abby's listening." Jess said. When their bedroom door was shut, Jess angrily asked, "You let Kelsey go out with friends?"
"She's getting better…"
"No, Sam, she isn't. She's doing her chores, but she's not doing them until she stomps and gives me an attitude about how unfair it all is. And what happened to talking about it when we decided to punish the girls for something?" Jess asked.
"I didn't punish Abby…"
"You told her she was grounded." Jess pointed out.
"Well, yeah, but I didn't say how long."
"Sam, I don't understand why you said anything without me here. And Kelsey only asked you because she knew that I would have said no." Jess said.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know it was that bad with Kelsey."
"Well, now you do. Now Abby thinks that Kelsey can do whatever she wants and act however she wants and pretty much get away with it." Jess said.
"That's not true. I didn't know Kelsey's attitude was that bad. All you told me was that she wasn't doing her chores."
"Okay. You're right. Fair point. But you have to stop reflexively saying no to Abby. It's like your first instinct with her is just to say no, and it's getting old." Jess said.
"She lied to you!"
"And we will deal with that. But when she asked to go to the bathroom, you didn't even let her finish her sentence before you jumped down her throat."
Sam sighed. "You're right."
"Look, I don't want to fight with you about this. I have an idea. Let's tell them this. If they want to do something, like a sleepover or go out with friends, they have to have both our permission. If one of us says no, we talk about it with each other, and if one of us is still bothered by it, the answer's no. Deal?"
"Deal." Sam said. "When do you want to talk to them?"
"You call Kelsey and tell her she has to come home." Jess said.
Half an hour later, Kelsey and Abby were sitting on the living room couch. Sam and Jess had used the time to iron out the details of what exactly they were planning to do. Abby's arms were crossed over her chest, huffy after the argument in the hallway. Kelsey looked oblivious to anything being wrong. Jess decided to quickly address both of them.
"Alright you two. Family meeting. It seems we have a bit of an issue here. Before we get into specifics, new family rule. If you two want to do something, you have to ask me and Dad. If one of us says no and the other says yes, Dad and I will discuss it and come to a unanimous decision."
"What happens if Dad says no just to say no?" Abby asked. "If he had his way, I'd be in my room studying until I was thirty."
Abby's accusation stung Sam, but he didn't get the chance to respond to it. "If Dad says no, he has to explain to me why he said no. We will both be fair about this. If either of you thinks we're still being unfair, you're allowed to appeal, but we make the final decision together. No more asking Dad because mom will say no, or vice versa. Clear?" Both girls nodded their understanding. "Abby, you first. You knew that if you told me Lucy's mom wasn't going to be home I would have said no to a sleepover over there. You also know I would have gladly let Lucy come over here. So why did you lie to me?"
Abby could hear that her mom wasn't trying to yell at her. She was just trying to understand. So Abby took a deep breath and explained, "You two let Kelsey do stuff by herself all the time. She's only two years older than me, and she can go shopping, she can go to the movies, she can go to sleepovers, whatever. If there's not going to be an adult around, you just make her call home. You let her do whatever she wants, and you still treat me like a baby."
Sam started to say something, but Jess placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. She turned back to Abby and said, "So you don't think it's fair that Kelsey gets more independence than you?"
Abby nodded.
"Okay. I got that. But think about this. When the weather's good, who takes you to school?"
"I walk to school."
"Right. And when I need something form the corner store, who do I send?"
"Me." Abby reluctantly admitted.
"So I do let you do stuff by yourself." Jess pointed out. "Do you see my point?"
Abby fought the rising tide of frustration welling up inside her. She was much more likely to reach her mother than her father. Jess understood when she got frustrated that she wasn't trying to 'have an attitude,' as Sam would put it. She was just trying to express her feelings. Abby took a deep breath and explained,
"I get yours, but I still don't think you get mine."
"Okay. So tell me what I'm missing." Jess said.
"I don't have a choice about going to school. And I do like helping you, but going to the store for you is a chore. And even with those things, I'm still on a tight leash. If I'm even a few seconds later than you think I should be getting back, I don't hear the end of it. I might as well just get you two to go everywhere with me."
Sam regretted it the second it came out of his mouth. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
An annoyed Jess glared at Sam with a withering look. "She's been calm and explaining herself respectfully right now. Would you please do the same?"
Sam wanted to be annoyed, but he knew Jess was right. Abby was trying to be reasonable, and it wasn't fair to treat her the same way he didn't want her to treat them.
"Go on, Abby." Jess said.
"I just want to do fun stuff by myself too." Abby said. "Feels like you two don't trust me."
Jess nodded, and when Abby didn't say anything else, Jess asked, "Is that everything?"
"That's everything." Abby said.
"Okay. First off, it isn't you that your father and I don't trust when you're out of the house. It's everyone else. That's why we keep such a tight reign on you. We're not willing to take the chance of something happening to you. Do you understand?"
"I guess."
"And if you had wanted to talk about loosening those reigns, I would have gladly listened to you. Your father and I would have come up with a plan." Jess said.
"Would have?"
"You can't lie to me about something and expect to get privileges back for it."
"So I'm grounded?" Abby asked.
"Sort of." Jess said.
"Sort of?"
"You. You are restricted to the house this weekend. You can do anything you normally do on a weekend, but you have to stay here. After that, you are allowed to leave the house, but your father or I has to be with you."
Abby didn't like it, but it was a lot better than the perpetual grounding she'd envisioned. "So it's like probation."
"That's a good way to put it." Jess said, impressed.
"I can play my video games?"
"Yes. Anything that doesn't involve leaving the house."
"How long?"
"Until your father I decide you've earned our trust back." Jess said.
"Okay, mom." Abby agreed. "I'm sorry."
"I know. Prove it to me. And after you're off probation, we can talk about lightening those rules a little. Deal?"
"Deal."
"Alright. Kelsey, your turn." Jess said. "Sam?"
"You, Kelsey Marie, are grounded."
"What?" Kelsey asked. "Abby lied to you!"
"Yes, she did. And she's being dealt with." Sam said. "You, on the other hand, have been acting like a brat for the last week."
"I've done everything I was told to do."
"Have you done it respectfully? Or have you done it with the same attitude you're giving me right now?" Sam asked. "When your mother tells you to do something, I expect you to do it."
"I do."
"Without slamming doors, or yelling, or fighting her on it." Sam clarified.
"So I've got to agree with everything?" Kelsey said. "I'm not allowed to say I think something's completely unfair?"
"You're allowed to say it, but you are not allowed to be disrespectful about it." Sam said sternly. "You know you are not allowed to do that."
"And what exactly have I asked you to do that's unfair, Kelsey? You've had chores since you were old enough to walk." Jess said.
Kelsey, unable to find a good reply, crossed her arms over her chest.
"You are restricted to school and your room. No after school activities, no friends, no TV, nothing but schoolwork and your four walls."
"I can't do chores if I'm stuck in my room all the time."
"Kelsey Marie, keep it up. You're writing a check with your mouth your butt's about to pay for."
Every mouth in the room dropped, especially Kelsey's. Sam had not spanked either girl since their early school days, but Kelsey could tell it wasn't an empty threat.
"Now, as I was trying to say, your only exception to this is chores. You are gonna do all the chores in the house this weekend. That includes all the laundry, cleaning it top to bottom, cooking dinner, and cleaning up from it."
"But I've got homework!"
"Then you better figure out how to get it all done, I guess." Sam said unsympathetically. "After this weekend, since you'll be in the house most of the time, you'll be doing your sister's chores as your own."
"How long?" Kelsey asked through gritted teeth.
"Until your mother and sister both tell me there's been a drastic change in your attitude." Sam said. "I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but I've given you plenty of chances to talk about it. Your mom works hard for this family, and I won't allow you to continue to hurt her like this. As for your sister, you could learn a thing or two from her."
Abby was amazed. A compliment from Sam for her was a rare treat. The two of them butted heads quite often, and it was a nice change of pace.
"Thanks, Dad." Abby said.
Sam smiled and winked at her. He was just as surprised as she was, but he'd meant what he said. He was impressed with how she'd handled it when Jess announced her punishment.
"Do you girls understand what we've told you?" Jess asked. When both girls nodded, Jess said, "Okay, Kelsey. Go to your room. Remember, you start cooking dinner tomorrow, so I'd start thinking about what to make."
"Whatever."
"Strike two, Kelsey. Apologize to your mom or you're sleeping on your stomach tonight." Sam said.
"Sorry, mom." Kelsey said quickly, turning to go to her room.
"Let her go." Jess said under her breath to Sam. She turned to Abby, who hadn't moved. "You okay?"
"Yeah. I know I messed up. I'm sorry, mom."
"Sweetheart, I just don't get it. Why didn't you just ask me if Lucy could stay here this weekend?" Jess asked. "You did have permission from her mom to have a sleepover, right?"
"Yeah, I did. Lucy's staying by herself for the night while her mom's gone, and I just thought it sounded like fun to do something together with no grownups around." Abby said.
"How about this?" Sam suggested. "Your birthday's in six weeks. If you do what your mom laid out earlier, no complaining, then for your birthday we'll let you and Lucy pitch a tent in the backyard."
"You two will leave us alone? The whole night?" Abby asked.
"We will stay in the house the entire night." Sam promised.
"Deal." Abby said. "Hey, Dad? Why are you being so cool about this?"
"Because you've been so cool about it." Sam said. "I'm very proud of you right now. You messed up, but you were very mature accepting your punishment the way you did. Keep it up, you'll be off probation in no time."
"I second that." Jess said. "You've been very mature all week. With the big exception of lying, that is."
"Guys…" Abby blushed.
"Sweetie, you have a few more restrictions than your sister only because she's older than you. But the older you get, and more importantly, the more responsible you get, the more likely we are to let you be more independent. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah, it does." Abby said. "Thanks, mom."
"What do you say we go start on dinner?"
"Actually, I was thinking. I'm not restricted to my room, right?"
"Right…" Jess said.
"Could we eat in here and watch a Disney movie?" Abby asked.
"As long as it isn't 101 Dalmatians." Sam joked. The movie had long been Abby's favorite, and Sam had seen it so many times that he could recite lines from it.
"Okay." Abby said. Digging into the movie case in the living room, she promptly pulled out 102 Dalmatians. "How's this?"
Jess was shaking from laughter. "You did say as long as it wasn't 101 Dalmatians."
"Put it in, silly girl." Sam said. "Hey."
"Hey." Abby said.
"I'm sorry I blew up at you earlier."
Abby smiled. "It's okay. You made up for it with 'you could learn a thing or two from her'."
"I meant it." Sam said. "I love you, kiddo."
"Love you more."