A/N: I own nothing. Set in future. Enjoy!

Chapter One

"Jake, could you come in here for a minute, please?" Reba called out to her son. She was sitting at the kitchen table reading a note that Jake had brought home from school that day. He had gotten another detention for fighting on school grounds and now he was supended. Another incident would land Jake an expulsion from the school. Reba had had enough. She was going to find out what had changed her sweet little boy. As Jake walked in, Reba took a deep breath to keep from blowing up at him.

"Can you explain to me why you were fighting at school again?" Reba started, crossly.

"The other kid deserved it." Jake said, angrily. He was tired of getting the third degree every time he did something.

"Nobody deserves to be pushed to the ground and punched in the face no matter what they said or did. You have to stop this, you don't get another warning Jake, next time it's kicked out of school!"

Jake sat in his chair, giving his mom the silent treatment. He didn't feel he was in the wrong. Kids were always bugging him and teasing him about something, mainly because his eyes had gotten bad the last couple years and now he had to wear glasses. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Jacob Mitchell Hart, what do you have to say for yourself?" Reba almost yelled. She was getting furious and losing her patience with Jake's silent treatment.

"I don't have anything to say to you," Jake fired back, "you went through my stuff without asking!"

"You better watch your tone and what you say to me, young man. I am your mother and I deserve to be treated with respect." Reba said calmly.

"Just leave me alone!" Jake shouted. He stormed all the way to his room, slamming the door when he got inside. Reba slumped back into her chair and sighed. She decided it was best to let him cool off before she went upstairs after him. Reba wondered how they had gotten to this point. With Cheyenne and Van moved out and raising their growing family on their own and Kyra and her band doing well and always on the road performing, Reba thought it would be the perfect opportunity to focus totally on her youngest child and finally give them a chance to bond, something she couldn't do for several years. But lately all they seemed to be doing is yelling at each other, with Reba eventually grounding Jake to his room.

She never wanted it to be this way. Reba always thought she had a good relationship with her son, he used to come to her with his problems and rarely ever talked back. He was good about doing chores and minded his manners when they were out in public. Now it seems like she can't get through to him. He gives her a hard time about cleaning up after himself and always has something ugly to say in return. 'He's just going through his teenage years' Reba thought to herself. 'Kyra and Cheyenne went through the same thing and we got through that.'

Jake eventually came downstairs to grab his backpack. He had calmed down and figured it best that he did his homework. Although he was trying to deal with growing up and lashing out at everyone, he still was a good student. He walked into the kitchen and pulled his bag off the table, pulling it over his shoulder and walking over to the fridge to grab a drink.

"Are you ready to talk now, Jake?" Reba asked, hoping that the time she gave him to settle down made him realize what he had done.

"I have homework to do." He said in a low tone and left the room.

'Well at least he's still getting good grades' Reba thought to herself. She worried for her son. He really had no 'father figure' in his life right now with his dad moving away after his and Barbra Jean's divorce, and his buddy Van, whom he told everything to, had his own life to live now. There were just some things that guys needed to talk about with other guys and Reba sometimes wished there was a man in her life to help her out with that, for her son's sake. But she was optimistic that it was just a phase and Jake was just trying to deal with becoming a teenager the best he knew how. She didn't always like the way he handled things, but she was determined to help him through it.

After sorting through her thoughts, Reba made a cup of tea and went into the livingroom to relax. She engaged herself in a book she had bought herself for her birthday. "I really should be reading rasing teenagers for dummies." Reba said aloud. She took a sip of her tea, then placed it on the coffeetable beside the couch. She pulled the blanket up around her body and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep while reading.

Startled by a tree branch banging against the kitchen window, Reba awoke several hours later. She had told Jake to trim that branch a week ago and remembered that he had given her a hard time about it. Clearly, he still hadn't done what he was supposed to do. Reba walked upstairs and knocked on Jake's door. There was no answer. Reba slightly pushed the door open and peaked her head in. Jake had fallen asleep with his notebooks still open and pencil in his hand. Reba smiled and walked over to his bed. She closed his books and pulled the covers up around him.

"I still love you, Jake." She whispered and gently kissed him on the cheek, "no matter what we go through I will always love you."

Reba closed the door beind her and walked to her bedroom. She changed her clothes and slipped into bed, deciding it was the perfect time to write in her journal. She had started the journal just days after Jake's first blow-up, receiving the advice from a therapist. She wanted him to write one as well so they could sort out what they were feeling and calmly talk about things, but she just recieved a scoff from him and a rolling of the eyes. 'He's just like Kyra' she thought. Once she had finished writing, she felt a little better and let herself drift off to sleep.

TBC