In which Ellis and Nick are brothers and Rochelle and Coach are parents. Welcome to the family, folks. Inspired by a conversation with my friend.

I don't own Left 4 Dead.

"Welcome to the Family"

"Mom, why can't Keith come?" said Ellis, fidgeting in his booster seat. Rochelle rubbed her temples, trying to hold the inevitable headache at bay. Next to her, Coach sighed.

"Can you shut him up?" asked Nick, her other son. Bringing a seventeen-year-old and a five-year-old to a theme park, what was she and Coach thinking?

"Because this is family time, Ellis sweetie," she said.

"But then why didn't grandma and grandma come, too?" he said. In the rearview mirror, she saw Nick grit his teeth.

"It's Mommy, Daddy, Nick, and Ellis time," she answered, knowing that answer was good enough for him.

"Whispering Oaks will be fun enough without Keith," said Coach. Rochelle turned up the air conditioning and put her feet up on the dashboard. Savanna, Georgia was so unbelievably hot compared to Pennsylvania.

Around nineteen years ago, when Rochelle was still in her early twenties, she met Coach in Philadelphia while working. Within a year they were married. In another year, after finding out she couldn't get pregnant, they adopted three month old Nick. Five years ago they decided they wanted another son and adopted Ellis. Ever since Ellis could talk, the two had been bickering nonstop despite the age gap. And now that Coach's mother had developed cancer and they had to move back to his hometown, Nick was worse than ever. Life was a constant headache.

In the back seat, Ellis' face brightened. "I can be with Nicky?"

"Wait, no, you can't be serious!" The older son leaned forward, grabbing the back of his father's seat. "There's no way I'm spending the entire day with him! I was hoping to pick up some hot girl and spend the day with—"

"No, you'll be taking care of your little brother," said Rochelle. "Besides, I thought you didn't like southern girls."

Nick threw himself back against his seat and crossed his arms, sulking. She tried the radio, but only picked up country and bad rock. She turned it off. Ellis was talking again, as usual.

"Mommy brought me and Keith to the park," he was saying, "and we were climbing on these really big rocks. Mommy kept tell us to come down, so I came down and so did Keith, but he fell and scraped up his—"

"Ellis, can you just shut—is now really the time?" Nick snapped. Rochelle, though, noticed that his eyes immediately went to his little brother's legs and arms, which were covered in band-aids. No matter how much Ellis talked about Keith, he never mentioned himself, but Nick always checked for injuries. It was cute, really, that he cared even if he refused to admit it.

"Okay," came the cheerful reply. "Are we there yet?"

"Another twenty minutes," answered Coach. Nick groaned.

"As repayment for having to deal with the kid all day," said Nick, leaning forward again, "can you pull over and let me drive?" Rochelle almost whacked her head against her head against her knees—she should have seen this coming.

"No, honey, you can't," she answered and her head throbbed.

"Why can't I? I'm seventeen, I have a license! I legally have the right!"

"You're scary when you drive," said Ellis from the back seat, which caused Coach to laugh.

"You heard the little guy, Nick," he said. "Not a chance. You're grounded from driving until Tuesday."

"The fuc—"

"Do you wanted us to extend that for swearing in front of your brother?"

"Sorry, Mom. Listen, the cop was having a bad day, he wasn't used to the way we drive up north, I was only six miles over the speed limit. That's not a lot."

"You were still given a ticket," said Rochelle, "and you were still speeding. I've seen the roads; people don't drive as recklessly here. You're grounded for six more days, you'll survive."

"It's only fifteen minutes, please? It's been over a week since I've been behind the wheel."

"No means no, Nick."

"Dad, can Nicky take me on the roller coaster?" said Ellis.

Giving into her aching head, Rochelle rummaged through her bag for a couple of Advil, which she found in a plastic baggy at the bottom. Then she took the water bottle from the cup holder, unscrewed the cap, and took the pill. By the time they reached the park, it would take effect. Sweet relief.

"I don't think you're tall enough, Ellis," said Coach.

"Yeah, shrimp, you deprive me of even that fun."

Coach turned off onto the exit that led to the park and Ellis started on another Keith story. He didn't get far, though, before Nick snapped at him again to be quiet. For a moment there was silence in the car. Rochelle waited patiently for the Advil to kick in.

"See, guys," said Coach, pointing to his right, "that's Whispering Oaks."

"Wow!" Ellis immediately grinned and Nick, being the typical sullen teenager, shifted his body so he was turned away. They parked and got out. Rochelle took her youngest son's hand, making sure he didn't get lost, and they headed for the entrance where they would buy the ticket.

"Okay," she said as her husband talked to the overweight teenager in the booth, "Nick, your dad and I are going to split up from you for a bit to get food. You two can do that later since you ate before we came. Listen, stick with him and make sure he doesn't leave your sight. I'll have my cell phone—"

"I know, Mom," said Nick, obviously struggling against the urge to glare.

Ever since the incident with his car, he'd been on his best behavior for the most part, which wasn't all that hard, she supposed. Since they moved to Savanna in the middle of his junior year and it was now August leading into his senior one, he hadn't made any friends to actually get in trouble with. His overall personality didn't help either, really. Even so, she did feel guilty. Ellis, though, being the outgoing five-year-old, had no problem making friends with the resident daredevil, Keith.

"Hands, please," said the boy in the booth. When they all stuck out their arms, he stamped the back of their hands and quickly ushered them through. "Have a nice day and enjoy your stay at Whispering Oaks."

"Place hasn't changed," said Coach with a wide smile, staring at some peanut man right in front of them. "Okay, you comin', Ro'?" She nodded.

"Bye, boys, we'll meet up here around two," she said, leaning down to kiss Ellis on the cheek. Nick, surprisingly, let her hug him.

"Bye!" said Ellis happily as they walked away. Right before they turned the corner, though, Rochelle turned back to give her two boys one last check. Nick was putting Ellis on his shoulders. She smiled.

When it all came down to it, she couldn't have asked for a better family.