Falling Apart...

Chapter 1

It had been three weeks since he found out he had 17 year old twins. They had moved into his spare bedroom, and apparently didn't mind sharing it. Ande had said, "We've shared a room since we got home from the hospital, you really think we're gonna start caring now?" That had been the end of that particular conversation. He hadn't gotten them successful transfered to their new school last week, and they seemed to be adjusting fairly well. Alex joined the track team, and was already moving to the top of the class. Ande, on the other hand, had successfully managed to get practically every teacher in the school to hate her, with the exception being the soccer coach. The day of soccer tryouts he had gotten a call from her principal after an ambulance had to be called for one of the kids from the boy's varsity team when she decided to use him as target practice. When picking her up, the coach remarked that, "She has better aim with her foot than most cops have with a gun."

They all seemed to be adjusting to each better than expected, everything considered. However, things were still very awkward. The extent of their conversations was usually no more than polite chit chat. To top everything off, his dad, despite being happy to finally have grandchildren, was still giving him a disappointed look every time he saw him. His brother was quite the opposite, surprisingly. Charlie seemed to welcome his niece and nephew with open arms, although with little comment on the situation itself. Don, himself, was still working on the whole father thing though. He had never really been around kids that much, and he wasn't sure how to handle all the pressures and worry that fatherhood brought. Sure, when it came to criminals and rushing to try and solve a case before it was too late, that he could handle. Making sure his kids kept up in school, got home at a reasonable hour, and weren't getting into too much trouble, that was a whole different ball game.

"Hey dad," Don said as he entered the craftsman home.

"Hey Donnie," Alan responded, looking up from his paper, "Where's Ande and Alex?"

"They're still at school, I think."

"You think?," his father gave him a curious expression.

"Yeah, I think. Why? They'll be here in a little while," Don said in a rather sarcastic tone, knowing the direction this conversation had gone.

"You should know for sure where your kids are, Donnie, not think," Alan stated matter-of-factly.

"Come on dad, I know where they are," he really didn't want to have this conversation.

"Oh really? Then why did you add the 'I think' when you said they were at school?"

"Because, who knows, they might've finished practice early and be on their way here right now," he recognized this tone, although he was usually hearing it from his daughter, not himself.

"Fine, fine," Alan said, but clearly not ready to end the talk.

"What?"

"OK, it's just that," his father was starting to get the tone he used when he was lecturing his sons, "you're a father now, Donnie, and you need to start acting like it."

"What are you talking about? I do act like it."

"No, no you don't."

"Well, then what do you suggest?," Don was clearly starting to show his exasperation from the, recently closed, case he'd been on.

"First of all, you shouldn't have gotten Sarah pregnant!," his father hadn't brought this subject up until now, even though Don knew it had been coming. Alan sighed and sat back down in his chair. Here we go, Don thought.

"Look, dad," Don started apologetically, "I'm sorry. But it's not exactly like we'd planned on it," he paused. "She never even told me about it."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry too." Alan took a deep breath, looked his eldest son straight in the eye, and with all sincerity, "If you ever need any tips..."

"Thanks, dad," Don replied, grateful that maybe now they could move past the disappointment.

After Don, Ande, and Alex got back to the apartment after dinner they started their usual routine. Don and Alex flicked through the channels on the TV, while Ande was going through e-mails and finishing up the homework she had put off.

Alex decided to call it a night before Ande or Don, and after muttering a quick "goodnight" to each went to lay down. He was feeling unusually exhausted tonight so he decided to make sure he had all his school stuff in his backpack. He went to pick up his notebook when a picture fell onto the floor, probably hidden away until now. When he noticed which picture it was he felt a sudden rush of emotions, it was one taken of him, Ande, and their mother in Golden Gate Park three months before the car crash. Before he knew it, tears started coming, and he cried himself to sleep, clutching the picture in his hand.

About an hour after Alex had said goodnight, Ande put her computer and homework back into her backpack. On her way to the room she noticed Don had fallen asleep on the couch, but didn't wake him. As she put down her backpack by her bed she heard a sniffle coming from Alex's direction. She went over to her brother, noticing the tear stains on his face and the picture in his hand. She slowly removed the picture, kissed his forehead, and whispered "I love you, Al" in his ear. Walking back over and sitting on her bed, she looked to see which picture had upset her brother. She remembered it well. It was their first family vacation with just the three of them, usually family vacations consisted of visiting family in Peru. Ande also remembered why her mother had insisted they go away for the weekend, and she was furious. Instead of facing the anger she was feeling toward her mother at the moment, Ande merely threw the picture back in the drawer and went to bed.

The next morning Ande left right after Don, she wanted to take out her frustrations from the night before, and where better to do it than the martial arts center she occasionally helped teach at. Since she would sometimes help out teaching classes the guy who ran the gym let her come in whenever she liked. This morning was one of those when she just wanted to start hitting something, so she started taking out her anger out on one of the punching bags.

When Alex woke up to find that the picture was back in the drawer and Ande had already left, he had a pretty good idea where she'd gone. He knew his sister well enough to know that even though the picture had made him feel more alone than ever, it had also pissed her off. And since he knew better than to bother her when she got into these moods, he headed to school without bothering to wonder if she'd even show up.

Back at the gym, Ande was starting to wear herself, along with the punching bag, out. She knew she'd already missed first period, but she wasn't worried about that. Yet. She knew she'd have to hear Don yell at her for skipping school, but she was too preoccupied to care at the moment. She continued punching when she heard a familiar voice come up behind her.

"Want me to hold it for you?," he offered, motioning with his hands.

But she was still in fight mode. She swirled around, grabbing and twisting his arm, and threw him down on the ground. He countered, pinning her down on the floor under him.

"You're beautiful when you're mad, you know?," he laughed out.

She smiled.