AN: Full disclosure-I've worked with kids for more than 20 years. In my experience, kids who spend a lot of time around adults who don't talk down to them have very large vocabularies and speak well beyond what is generally expected. Yesterday one 4 year old told another 4 year old that he was making "some poor life choices" and "needed to reevaluate his behavior." I kid you not! I was dying! I wrote Beth as a girl who has several of her own quirks, but was raised in a mostly adult environment and now lives on a college campus, so she is likely surrounded by people who hold more educated conversations than her school classmates would (theoretically).

I love the reviews. I'm up to Chapter 7 in this fic now, so there will be at least a week's worth of new posts, and it's always exciting to read something new. I can't wait for the premiere though. Could October just get here already?

Chapter 2

Elizabeth woke up Saturday morning, her pillow damp from the condensation of her makeshift ice pack. Her head was still pounding but she was surprised that her eyes weren't swollen shut. She rolled over and sat on the edge of her bed. Gathering herself, she stood and fought through the nausea and dizziness that accompanied the action. Staying still, she waited for it to pass and then made her way to her bureau and looked at herself in the mirror. "Oh, dear God," she muttered, looking at the bruise that extended well below her cheek bone. She shuffled out of her room and down the hall, hoping not to meet anyone and have to explain that she looked like she'd been in a fist fight because she got nailed in the face by a seven year old's fastball.

Luckily she made it to the bathroom unnoticed. It had been her plan to just go to the bathroom and wash her face, but once she was there, a shower sounded like a better idea. The hot water stung her body, but felt needed. She washed her hair and then her body. After drying off and wrapping the towel around herself, she headed back to her room. She dressed, took a couple more ibuprofen, fixed another ice pack, double bagging this time, and lay back down, the shower having worn her out.

Waking again, a few hours later, she felt decidedly better. Her eyes were a little puffy, but she could see fine and her head didn't hurt as much. She looked over at the clock. "3 pm," she mumbled to herself. She was desperately hungry and the cafeteria wouldn't be open for another two hours.

Thinking about her options, she didn't feel safe to drive and she didn't particularly want to answer questions about her appearance if she walked in somewhere. She thought about Henry. He said she could call if she needed anything.

She continued to debate calling until her stomach grumbled loudly and she decided that she couldn't wait two hours to eat. She stepped to the door, phone in hand and dialed the number he'd written on her white board. The phone rang twice before a girl's voice came on. "Hello, McCord residence,"

Elizabeth was a little taken aback. "Hi. Is this Bethie?"

"Yeah, but you don't get to call me that. Only Henry gets to call me Bethie. You can call me M. E. or Lizzie or just Beth."

"Alright, sure. What do they call you at school?" Elizabeth asked, surprisingly entertained by this precocious girl.

"Usually Beth, but occasionally I get called Chatty Cathy, which makes no sense whatsoever." Bethie seemed thoughtful.

"Okay then Beth," Elizabeth chuckled. "It's Elizabeth, you know from yesterday, and I have a problem. I was wondering if you could help me. I'm hungry and don't think I should drive and it's a long time before the cafeteria opens. Do you think you can help me figure out a way to get some food?"

"Consider it done," the girl said and hung up on her. Elizabeth held the receiver in her hand, and tried to figure out what happened, or maybe even more importantly, what was about to happen. She shrugged and picked up a magazine to flip through, but quickly abandoned that idea because her headache became more pronounced.

Only ten minutes passed when there was a knock on her door. Elizabeth had managed to avoid people all day, but figured that she was going to have to retell the story of her bruised face repeatedly as soon as she saw someone.

Begrudgingly, she opened the door and found Beth standing there. "Are you ready to go?" she asked.

Elizabeth stood there dumbfounded. "I didn't know I was going anywhere. So no, I'm not ready."

Beth let out an exasperated sigh. "We're getting something to eat. Put your shoes on and let's go.".

Elizabeth furrowed her brow as she sat down on her bed to tie her shoes. "Does Henry know you're here?"

A guilty look crossed the girl's face. "Not exactly."

Elizabeth tilted her head and surveyed the girl. "By not exactly you mean like not at all?"

Beth dropped her head. Elizabeth pointed to the phone. "Call and tell him where you are. Henry doesn't seem like the sort of dad that lets you run all over by yourself."

Beth looked at her like she was stupid and then laughed as she picked up the phone. "Henry is not my dad and he would probably flip his lid of he heard you say that." Elizabeth laughed and Beth dialed the number.

"Hi… Yes, I know… Elizabeth's… Yes, I know… I came to get her for dinner… She's hungry… Because she called and told me she was hungry… Yes, I know… We'll be there in a minute… Love you, bye."

Beth turned to Elizabeth. "I hope you like spaghetti and meatballs, because that's what's on the menu." She shot a grin at Elizabeth that she couldn't help but return.

"I'm ready. Let's go." They had almost made it out of the building when Elizabeth ran into a group of her friends.

"Where have you been all day Liz-what the hell happened to you?" one of them asked as the others gasped.

"Language," Elizabeth shifted her eyes to Beth. "Nolan Ryan here, let a pitch get away from her and it appears that my face is a good backstop." She glanced down at Beth who shrugged guiltily. "I'll live. Anyway, I'm headed out to dinner. See ya."

The pair walked along the sidewalk. It was a short jaunt as she could see Quincy Hall from her own building. "So, Henry isn't your dad?" Elizabeth started.

Beth laughed. "He says we make an odd pair. He's my uncle, but I live with him and he's my guardian."

Elizabeth nodded. "That's a big word for a seven year old." Beth shot her a look. "Or maybe not," she corrected herself.

"Look, the short story is that my mom isn't in a position to take care of me." Beth said, airly as though she'd told this story hundreds of times. "Grandma and Grandpa were my legal guardians, but then Grandma got cancer and they couldn't commit to keeping me full time anymore, so Henry brought me to school with him, and now he takes care of me."

"I'm sorry about your mom. I know what it's like not to have your mom around. But I'm glad you have lots of family that cares about you."

"Is your mom in jail too?" Beth asked, wide eyed.

"No. She died-in a car accident, and my dad too."

"That stinks. I at least get visit days with my mom once a month." Beth looked at Elizabeth a moment. "I've never met my dad. Who did you live with when your parents died?"

"My grandparents, but they were really old and they died last year." This was getting much heavier than Elizabeth had intended. Tears started to well up and given her headache, she didn't need to be crying.

"So now who do you live with?" Beth asked.

"Well, you saw where I live now and in the summer, I can go back to the farm where my grandparents lived. When they died, my brother and I got it to share." Elizabeth stated.

"You have a brother?" Beth asked. "That's awesome!". She stepped in front of Elizabeth and pulled the door open and pointed upstairs. They walked together and Beth pointed at a door. Suddenly she stopped short. "Just so you know. I am forced to hang around a lot of grown-ups and I don't like most of them, but I like you."

"Thanks. I like you too. You're actually the only kid I know, so I don't know if I like other kids or not," Elizabeth said seriously.

"Well, I can tell you that I'm a pretty cool kid," Beth said, pushing the door open.

Henry stood in the center of the room with his arms folded across his chest. "You have some explaining to do young lady," he said.

"I know. I should have come to find you. I should have let you know what I was doing and I know I'm not supposed to leave without telling you."

"Super. Great. Fantastic. But we've been through all of this before. To your room for a while and no books."

Elizabeth looked horrified, "No books?" she mouthed to Henry as Beth sulk, heading off to her room.

"I promise ten minutes without something to read won't kill her."

"Oh, I thought you meant just in general." The relief in Elizabeth's voice was evident.

"No, I wouldn't take away reading, but she needs to know that leaving without telling me is serious, moreso for her than other kids." Elizabeth could tell immediately that Henry felt like he'd just said too much and was trying to figure out how to back out of the sharing he'd just started.

"Beth isn't really shy about sharing her story, so over the ten minute walk, I learned quite a bit."

Henry rubbed his hand over his face. "I sort of wish she wouldn't share quite so easily. I think it scares people off before they get a chance to know her." Henry changed his direction. "How are you feeling?"

"The headache is still there, but overall, I'm better than I thought I might be. I haven't eaten since yesterday though and I'm starving." Elizabeth grinned at him. "Beth assured me that she could remedy that situation."

"Well the meatballs aren't quite done, but I'm sure we can come up with something. He turned around and headed into the kitchen and rummaged around in the fridge. "Here we go," he called. Elizabeth followed and leaned against the end of the counter while Henry put together a small vegetable tray from miscellaneous bags of veggies in the crisper drawer. Elizabeth reached around him and pulled a bottle of dressing from the open door.

"Thanks. This is fabulous and a much better choice than I would've made if the cafeteria had been open. I probably would've hit the sundae bar first."

Henry laughed. "I'm going to get Bethie. Make yourself at home." She pulled a barstool around to where she'd been leaning and continued to munch carrots."

Pretty soon, Beth was at her arm stealing a celery stick to snack on. "Are you ready for dinner? It's my night to cook," she said.

Elizabeth arched her eyebrows at the girl who then dismissed Elizabeth with a wave of her hand. "It's obvious that you are unaware of my skills." Elizabeth watched slack-jawed as the seven year old prepared the pasta and had the sauce at the ready. Henry sat on the couch "watching" TV. Elizabeth could tell he was watching Beth, but he didn't hover. "I'm not allowed to move the pot off of the stove. Can you dump the noodles in the strainer?" Beth asked Elizabeth.

"Sure." Elizabeth hopped off the barstool and moved around the end of the counter, removed the pot from the stove and turned to the opposite side of the galley kitchen to dump the pasta into the strainer that Beth had placed in the sink. After having drained and rinsed the pasta, Elizabeth returned the pot to the stove so Beth could finish. She added the meatballs, which Elizabeth removed from the oven for her and poured in the sauce. Once it heated through, she plated the meal and Elizabeth helped her carry it to the table.

They all sat down to eat. "This is the best spaghetti I've ever had," Elizabeth raved, and Beth beamed. They ate in silence for the first few minutes and then the three started chatting. Beth told Elizabeth all about her school and the uniform she had to wear, which she hated, and the teachers that were nice and the ones that weren't. There were stories of people she knew and recess and getting in trouble, culminating with Henry getting called to the office because Beth had left the school grounds without permission.

"I was only trying to catch the kitten and return it to the old lady next door," Beth insisted.

"We've been through this before. It doesn't matter what you were trying to do. What matters is that you broke a safety rule and you could have been hurt. You cannot just do what you want, whenever you want."

"I promised I wouldn't do it again and I haven't."

"And I'm thankful. I'll get the dishes. Why don't you run and take a shower and I'll check to make sure you have the soap out of your hair in a few minutes? Then it's off to bed with you. We are getting up early in the morning."

Surprisingly, Beth scampered off to the bathroom. Elizabeth stood and gathered the dishes. "I'll do these. The meatballs were fabulous by the way."

"Thanks. And thank you for being so nice to Beth. She often feels like the third wheel around here."

"She's sweet. Tell me. How did college aged Henry get to be the guardian of a seven year old?" Elizabeth filled the sink with water and carefully put the dishes in.

"I'm sure Beth already told you about Maureen," Henry said, taking the first plate from Elizabeth to dry it.

"Is that Mom?" Elizabeth asked.

Henry nodded, "Yeah. Maureen is four years older and has been a mess as long as I can remember. Drinking and smoking in middle school and started with drugs before Bethie was born. Bethie has always lived with my mom and dad, regardless of where Maureen chose to be. When she was 20, she was arrested on drug charges. My parents didn't have the money to get her a decent lawyer so she got the maximum sentence even though it was her first offense. I think it turned out okay, because it forced her to get clean, but I don't know how she'll do once she gets out in a couple years. Maybe she'll be okay, but I wouldn't count on it. She's got a big chip on her shoulder. Anyway, my parents were Bethie's official foster parents, but then last summer, my mom was diagnosed with cancer and my parents just weren't in a position to do all of the medical stuff and commit to Bethie, so I was the closest legal aged adult around. I have two younger siblings, but they are only 14 and 16. They wouldn't have been much help to my parents if they had tried to keep her. This isn't what I thought college life would be like, but she's like my little sister. I was eleven when she was born and there hasn't been a day that we haven't been together. I wasn't going to let her go to a foster home in Pittsburgh just because I wanted to run around and drink with my friends on the weekends.

"Henry," Beth called from the bathroom.

Henry smiled and placed the glass in the cabinet. "I'll be right back." A few minutes later, Beth emerged from the bathroom in pink frilly pajamas and a towel wrapped around her head.

"Elizabeth, would you comb my hair?. Henry always pulls it." Elizabeth grinned.

"I'm not sure I'll be much better. The only hair I do beside my own is my horse's."

"You have a horse. That is so cool. Do you ride her? Is it a girl horse? Are you rich?" Beth was brimming with questions.

"Hold on and I'll tell you all about Buttercup while I comb your hair, but I'm going to finish these first. Why don't you get your comb and if you want, I'll braid your hair too." Beth jumped up and down in excitement. "And a couple hair ties." Elizabeth instructed as Beth ran off.

Elizabeth finished the silverware and left it on a towel to dry and headed over to the couch. Beth sat at her feet and handed her the comb and hair ties. She squirmed with anticipation. "Tell me all about your horse Buttercup." Elizabeth started telling Beth everything there was to know about her horse as she worked through the little girl's light brown hair combing out the tangles. Soon, Beth had two French braids running down her head and trailing down her back.

"All finished," Elizabeth said and Beth pulled the braids around to look at them and then ran her fingers over her head. When Beth turned to look at her, Elizabeth was shocked to see that she was crying. "What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked.

"I just love them so much. Now I will be just like the other girls in my class." Beth threw herself on Elizabeth's lap and hugged her tight. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like them. You are much more willing to sit still than Buttercup."

Beth was smiling, but tears continued to stream down her face. "No one has ever said that I sit still before. Everyone just says how wiggly I am and they tell me to be still."

"I bet none of those people have ever tried to braid a horse's mane before or they wouldn't say that."

Beth hugged Elizabeth again. "Good night. Thanks for coming over for dinner. I hope you aren't hungry anymore."

"I'm very full. Thank you for making me a wonderful dinner. Sweet dreams Beth."

Beth turned to Henry sitting in the chair. "Do you like my braids?" she beamed.

"I love them. Good night Bethie. I love you." Henry kissed her forehead.

"Good night Henry. Love you." Beth skipped out of the room.

Elizabeth turned sideways on the couch and pulled her knees up to her chest. Henry moved from the chair to the other end of the couch and sat facing Elizabeth. "How hard is it?" she asked softly.

"What? Being 18 and a parent to a seven year old? It's hard. It sucks sometimes. I'm not prepared to deal with teachers and doctors and trying to explain the actual situation is almost worse than letting people think I had a kid at some impossibly young age. And then there's dumb things like buying special shoes for school and making sack lunches and fixing a healthy dinner every night. There's a general lack of compassion for how ill equipped I am to do this. But, the alternative is unacceptable. So, here I am. There will be a time when Bethie is a little older and I'll have more freedom. Mom may get to a point where she feels like she can take her back. Hell, Maureen may pull her head out of her ass and decide that her daughter is more important than where her next high is coming from. Who knows what could happen? Until any of the above does happen, I'll just hang out and keep doing the best I can and pray to God that I get better at doing it."

"It's important. You know that, right? You are the difference between that little girl knowing she's loved and feeling like she doesn't belong anywhere. I know that feeling a little too well. You are Beth's lifeline. She needs you, even when it's hard. Actually, especially when it's hard." Elizabeth and Henry sat in silence for a few minutes. "I should really get back before it's too late. Thank you for dinner. This probably wasn't the way you envisioned your evening, so thanks for entertaining me." Elizabeth stood and Henry followed suit.

"You coming over was a pleasant deviation from our normal routine." Henry smiled.

Elizabeth laughed, "I don't know that I've ever been referred to as a pleasant deviation before."

"It's a good thing. I promise." Henry suddenly looked a little uncomfortable. Elizabeth stepped over to the writing desk that was against the wall and picked up an ink pen. Crossing back to Henry she took his hand and wrote her phone number across his palm, before dropping the pen on the coffee table.

"If you need anything, give me a call. A break. Someone to talk to. A date?" She raised her eyebrows at him. "I'll be around. Thanks again for dinner," She walked to the door, opened it and turned back to Henry, giving him a small wave before stepping out and closing the door behind her.