Chapter 4

Saturday morning Caitlin couldn't help but wake up early. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get back to sleep so she eventually gave up around six, just before Felicity and Iris would wake up for their morning jog and went for a shower. Eventually they convinced her to join them on their run to help her burn off some of her energy.

If she knew her brother and she did, he would have set off in the middle of the night so he could really push the limits on the old car. She dreaded looking under the hood after he'd left but she knew she would have to, if only for her own piece of mind.

"Feeling better?" Iris asked as they walked back onto campus with take out coffee from the Diner.

"A little, I just can't help it, I- What did you do to my baby!" Her brother stood, leaning against her car and he had completely re-done the car on his way over, it was coated in not only the wrong colour but mud and she could tell by the look on his face he'd been screwing with her gears. "Hal I've been here a week and you destroyed my car!" Felicity and Iris stood shocked, this wasn't the car she had described, they knew he was in trouble for this.

"Cait, it's a joke, it comes right off, well the paint does."

"Get it cleaned or I'll make you wish you hadn't been born," she warned.

"Geez aren't you gonna at least thank me?" He said rolling his eyes at her.

"Not until my car is sorted."

"Not even for this?" He smirked opening the back door for two tiny dogs to leap out yapping and jumping up on Caitlin's legs.

"Peanut! Butter!" She squealed happily, dropping to her knees to cuddle her two puppies she had adopted for her sixteenth birthday. Felicity and Iris also joined Caitlin in stroking and cuddling the dogs, they were two yorkshire terriers. "Hal you stay where you are or so help me I'll set my babies on you," she said not even looking up from the dogs to see her brother trying to escape. She stood up as her roommates played with the dogs. "Take it, find a car wash and re-paint it blue. Or I'm calling dad and you'll be grounded until you're dead."

"Fine. Cait, I'm sorry, it was a joke," she said.

"I know," she said softly, "it's just, you know why I keep it that colour."

"I know. I'm really am sorry."

"OK," she said hugging her brother. They were close, they always had been, but the car was her only connection to their mother.

The girls took the dogs to the Quad and sat on their jackets in the sun, throwing a tennis ball Caitlin had gotten from the trunk of the car. Hal returned, surrendering the keys to Caitlin. "When did you set off?"

"'Bout 11."

"Tired?" He nodded. "Come on, we're gonna shower and head to the softball game, take a nap on my bed and come find us, OK?"

"Alright," he yawned kicking his shoes of in her room and falling asleep on top of the covers almost instantly.

The game started at 12 and the three girls found their way to the field, the two small dogs in tow. The game was a freindly match against Key Stone University. Central City Comets and the Key Stone Stars. Central City were top of the University leagues, rivaled only by Starling City's archers, who were sponsored by Merlyn Global. The Comet's were sponsored by STAR Labs.

Hal joined them half an hour before the game eventually finished, the Comets kicking the Stars asses. Iris had made up her mind sure after the game that she was trying out for the team but Caitlin and Felicity weren't planning on trying out themselves, though they promised they'd come to all her games when (not if) she made the team.

Since it was only half 3 Iris decided to show the girls the beach while the weather was still good. The small cove she directed Caitlin to was beautiful and mostly private as very few people their age knew it existed. She told them her dad used to bring her and Barry down there all the time when they were younger. Caitlin brought the old blanket out of the trunk of her car for them to sit on as they knew even though it was warm it wasn't warm enough to go in the water. Even the dogs stayed clear of it, despite being accustomed to playing in the sea water.

As the tide started coming in they packed away and headed back to campus. Iris and Felicity took their laptops and went to the library while Caitlin took her brother and the dogs for something to eat.

"So, Iris, have you seen detective pretty-boy recently?" Felicity asked as they walked to the library building.

"No, he hasn't been in, which is a little wierd, normally he's in every Wednesday after work but he didn't bother this week and my dad has been coming in for the coffee for the precinct." She said.

"You don't think your dad told him to stay away did you?"

"I don't think so but I certainly wouldn't put it past him," she told the blonde. "My dad can be super protective, over me and Barry. Sometimes he crosses the line without realising. Homecoming he 'happened' to be cleaning his guns when my date picked me up. At our prom he agreed to be one of the chaperones and wore his holster and gun. Guys were too scared to ask me to dance so Barry and me snuck out. My dad was a mix of pleased and mad at him for weeks."

"At least you have Barry, my mom is a cocktail waitress and all the girls at my high school hated me because they thought I was gonna steal their boyfriends."

"They branded you a boyfriend stealer because your mom was a cocktail waitress?"

"Pretty much, but getting on with guys is so much easier than getting on with most girls."

"Are any of them still with their boyfriends?"

"I don't think so, but I think that's more because of their personality than my doing. I mean I had a boyfriend but it didn't end well."

"Mind me asking how bad?"

"I got a restraining order against him because he took a virus I created to change his grades at college. Moron changed the grades on things he? before they were turned in. I broke up with him and he got suspended but he became obsessed. My mom made me get the order, which he violated, repeatedly, and is in prison."

"Nice. My last boyfriend was a moron too. Dumbass tried stealing my dad's car, in front of the police station."

"Wow."

"Yep."

Caitlin took Hal to Big Belly Burger which they ate in the car, the dogs sleeping on the back seat. "Thanks Cait."

"Don't worry about it, how're the others?" She asked after their younger half siblings.

"They're OK, they miss you, Whitney misses you too," she smiled, she liked Whitney, her brother's girlfriend. "So does Mandy." Caitlin let out a sigh, she and her step-mother had always been on shakey terms since she suggested getting rid of the car. Caitlin had been so upset she slept in it for a week until her dad offered to help her fix it up. That was nine years ago. "Cait come on, that happened years ago, she didn't mean it to be mean."

"I know," she sighed, "it was just too much all at once, I mean dad putting all mom's stuff in the attic, redecorating the whole house after mom put so much work into it, this is my last connection to her." She said softly.

"I know," he said placing a hand on her arm. "Gotta admit it was funny when she couldn't find you that first morning," he said remembering how Mandy had gone to wake Caitlin, aged nine, for school to find her missing. Their dad found her in the back seat of the car hugging the bear her mom had bought her before she was born. Since then Caitlin and Mandy had had their differences.

"Look, I like Mandy and she's been really good for dad but mom's just... mom."

"Yeah, even I think it was a little over the top for her to wanna adopt us. I mean she's great but I'm happy with just dad. Can't believe (took the word 'you' out) dad let you change your last name though."

"I missed mom, he didn't know what to get me for my birthday."

"So he got you paperwork?"

"Hey, I love being a Snow. Just like you enjoy being a Jordan." After they finished eating she drove him to the train station, bought him a packed lunch and reluctantly handed over the two dogs. "Give everyone a hug for me?"

"Even Mandy?"

"Even Mandy, bye Hal." She watched him get onto the train before heading back to campus.

After a second week of lectures and shifts they found themselves at the weekend again and for Iris that meant Softball try-outs. Unfortunately Felicity had the breakfast shift so she was at work but Caitlin was in the stands with her tablet and book making notes as she watched. She put the tablet down as Iris took her turn at bat, watching intently, silently cheering her on. She watched as Iris hit it and it went flying straight towards the far fence as she ran around the bases.

After batting her team took to the field where she took a turn as a deep fielder and pitcher. Iris excelled in both positions, pitching two outs and catching another. After changing in the locker rooms she made her way over to Caitlin in the stands. "You were amazing out there."

"Thanks, I hope I make it."

"Are you kidding? You have to, you were certainly one of the better players out there."

"Thanks, do you have plans for tonight?"

"Not really, I need to return a few books but I can do that in the morning, what did you have in mind?"

"There's a quiz tonight at Jitters, normally I team up with Barry but someone called in sick so I have to work, I told him I'd help him find another team if you're interested?"

"I'd love to, last summer my dad sent me and Hal to see our mom's brother and parents in England and they took us to a pub for the quiz every weekend. What time does it start?"

"Starts at 7:30, my shift is at six but my dad is coming for me tonight."

"I meant to ask if you guys were brought up together how come he has the car?"

"We made a deal whoever learnt first would have the car in their name and the other would be able to drive it. When we were taking lessons a drunk driver drove into us and the door pannel shattered my arm, we were OK but it took me a while to get comfortable behind the wheel again," she explained as they walked back to their dorm.

"Wow, I'm sorry about that," Caitlin said.

"It's OK, I don't mind he used it more than me anyway, Barry was on the track team, Lacrosse team and Basketball so he needed it for some of the away games. So are you up for tonight? I'm gonna text Felicity after her shift about it, she finishes about 7 tonight I think?"

"I think that's about right, sure, I'll go, if there's a time you're not working we can do boys V girls," Caitlin suggested.

"That would be so cool, I'd love to see the look on his face if we won." Iris laughed, "alright let me grab my purse and I think I want a burger after that try-out, I'm starving."

"That doesn't surprise me, you didn't slow down," Caitlin said, "and we can tell Felicity while we're there."

"Great let's go," Iris smiled.