A/N: So I read this pretty decent fic about Janine being at her mother's funeral. As soon as I find it again, I'll post it here. My thought on this was the reason's why Janine hates her mother. And apparent sister. So uhm...enjoy, I suppose. These will probably stay as short chapters.

I do not own Vampire Academy, Janine Hathaway, or any other main characters. All credit goes to Richelle Mead. The family, and their names belong to me.

Janine sat in the car on her way home. This was ridiculous - she'd rather be in school right now. Fuck, she'd rather be in a volcano than be here right now. Nonetheless, she sat in the passenger seat of her mom's lemon car, listening to some bull music on the radio while her wannabe hippie of a mother sang along, horribly off-key. Her sister was having her first kid, which really struck Janine as disgusting. Amber was only a year and a half older than the redhead, putting her at barely seventeen, and already, some Moroi had tapped that. Janine knew better - knew that many Moroi men had gotten a piece of Amber. This was just the first one to hit home.

Sarah, Janine and Amber's mother, was almost as bad - except her insides had told her that three kids was more than enough for her, and quit letting her carry kids. No one in the family really talked about Joshua. He left at fourteen and never returned. Sarah had cried for three months solid, with Amber right along with her. Even now, it sickened Janine to see them act so pathetically.

Pulling up to the house, Janine groaned. A few other people were already here. The redhead silently prayed that she'd already had her kid and that Janine wouldn't have to witness that as well. As they walked in the door, she wondered if there really was a god. Amber, with her strawberry blonde hair, was lying on the couch cuddling a little bundle of gurgling joy. A few people crowded around her, the rest chatting eagerly over to the side. These people were all relatives to Sarah - the woman had six siblings - and they all disliked Janine for her brash attitude and low-impulse control.

The day continued on much like any other day - Sarah criticized Janine for her complete dislike in staying home. A few of her aunts asked her when she was going to settle down and get a boyfriend. Only one person in the family, her uncle Nathan, told her that she was going to be a good guardian, and told her that he hoped she got the hell out of this family as soon as possible.

Later that night, it was apparently time to drink. Janine sat next to Nathan as everyone downed some homemade whisky, talking of all the things that had happened since the last time they'd seen each other. Someone brought up the beauty of birth, and the entirety of the females jumped into the wonders of Moroi men. That was Janine's cue to get the hell out, drunk or not.

Stumbling outside, she groaned and stretched, laying out in the yard and staring at the brightening sky. Everyone would be going to sleep soon, and the younger girl contemplated how much it'd take to hitchhike home. Nathan joined her at sunrise, not saying a word, but just watching the sky and humming a song she hadn't heard since she was a kid.

"You could be easier on your sister and mum," he muttered in a slurred accent. "They're good people - even if they aren't sure how to go about being that way." A low chuckle at his own joke, he turned to look at her with a lopsided grin.

Janine nodded, stealing a glance towards him. "I know," she responded, shrugging a bit. "I just don't like the choices they made."

"None of us do, Janey. You know Oliver is a guardian - that's why he never comes back around anymore. I retired just a year ago. You'll make a good guardian, just don't forget that your family does need you. They can't always find comfort in the bed of some vampire."

He left her with those comforting words, rising and muttering in Gaelic about getting some sleep. Janine stayed out until about midday, then finally trudged inside, puked, and passed out on the couch.