A/N: Thanks again for the reviews! They went up for the last chapter, and I was so happy: ) Emily, you're crazy. But now I have my own personal soundtrack to this story. Thanks, haha.
Riley Michelle Groves slowly awoke the next morning, rubbing at her eyes tiredly. She looked at her watch and saw that it was almost nine o'clock. She'd been in bed almost twelve hours, but it sure didn't feel like it. Riley had woken up many times during the night, feeling uncomfortable in a different bed. As she stared up at the ceiling, she heard several voices in the living room and kitchen. She identified Nick and Sara's voices talking softly.
Riley turned onto her side and realized she could sense someone watching her. She glanced over at her door, which was cracked open slightly, and found a little eye staring at her from about three and a half feet up. When the eye saw she was looking at her, the body it was connected to giggled and scampered off towards the kitchen.
Riley sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. Carly, she assumed. The day would no doubt be filled with meeting new people that she didn't care to meet. As far as Riley was concerned, she'd be more content just boxing herself up in this room for the next few months. She had no desire right now to make a new life for herself, with new friends and new enemies.
Out in the kitchen, Nick and Sara both glanced down from where they were standing in the kitchen as Carly came skipping into the room, giggling. Sara was nursing a cup of coffee, still in her pajamas, leaning back against the counter.
"What's going on, giggle bug?" She asked Carly, smiling as she grabbed onto her waist in a warm hug. Sara lovingly played with her daughter's beautiful dark brown hair.
"I think Riley's awake now." She reported, with a gleam in her eye.
"Is she?" Sara questioned her. "I thought Daddy and I told you not to go bother her." She reminded her young daughter.
"I didn't bother her! I just peeked in the door and she looked at me." She defended herself with mischief in her voice.
Nick smirked from where he was rinsing out his coffee mug at the sink. Carly was just desperate to meet his daughter. She'd had her little pout in the morning when she woke up in her bed, realizing she'd fallen asleep before Riley had arrived. She'd demanded why they hadn't woken her up.
"She's gonna think we have a Peeping Tom in our family." Nick commented as he set the mug down and walked over to where she and Sara were standing.
"What's a Peeping Tom?" Carly asked as her father scooped her up and planted several kisses on her cheek.
"Someone who likes to spy on people." Nick simply explained as he walked over to the stairs. He set her down at the foot of the stairs.
"You need to go get dressed." Nick informed her, giving her two light pats on the bottom to get her moving.
"Ow." She complained as she began to walk up the stairs. However, she stopped on the third step.
"Do I get to meet her when I come back down?" Carly asked of her parents. She'd made a card for Riley, and also planned on giving her a stuffed animal as a room-warming gift.
"When she's ready, she'll come out." Sara told her, shaking her head a little. Carly sighed and continued her ascent up the stairs.
"Poor kid's gonna be bombarded." Nick commented, smiling a little as Sara stepped forward and wrapped her arms loosely around his waist as he leaned against the counter. She smiled before leaning forward to capture his lips in a slow, tender kiss.
"Maybe, but she'll be loved." She told him. Nick nodded and bent down for another sweet kiss. They exchanged several more slow kisses, taking the time to enjoy each other, before they heard movement in Nick's former office.
Both pulled away and Sara turned to put her mug in the sink.
"Sounds like she's moving." She commented as she rinsed it out and set it down. It was odd having someone else in the house – almost like a houseguest that you had to behave yourself around, but this one was permanent.
Riley groggily stepped out of her bedroom a little after 9:15 after throwing a hoodie over her standard tank top, rubbing at her tired eyes. She tried to remember the layout of the house as she moved towards the bathroom. The teen yawned as she examined a few blemishes on her face, then brushed her teeth and used the restroom. She wasn't sure exactly what they expected her to do, but Riley decided to wander out to the kitchen to find herself some breakfast.
"Good morning." Nick greeted her as she entered the kitchen. Riley looked back and forth between Nick and Sara. She could tell they'd probably been going about their daily lives, but stopped when they heard her coming. They were both standing in the middle of the kitchen, not really doing anything. Who just stood in the kitchen? Riley felt like she was interrupting their lives.
"Morning." She greeted them, sticking her hands in the pocket of her hooded sweatshirt. Sara smiled at her, and Riley decided she didn't like the way they were just looking at her. "Am I interrupting something?"
"No, not at all." Sara quickly told her, moving towards the cabinet they kept cereal in. "Would you like some breakfast?"
Riley scratched at the top of her messy bun for a moment. "You got any soda?" She asked them.
"Soda?" Sara asked her, pausing her opening of the cabinet. "For breakfast?"
Riley nodded her head, wondering why she thought that was so weird. Sure it wasn't that healthy, but that's what she was used to.
"It helps wake me up." She told them.
Nick and Sara exchanged a look but Nick opened up the refrigerator.
"Diet Coke alright?" He asked her, deciding it wouldn't be wise to get picky with her about her diet on her first day here.
"Got any regular?"
"Nope, sorry." He told her, picking up one of the few cans of soda they kept in the house. Both he and Sara ate pretty healthily, and they didn't buy a lot of sugary things for Carly.
"Diet's fine." She told him, holding out her hand to accept the beverage. Nick handed it over to his daughter, and she walked over to the breakfast bar. He realized this was one of many small discoveries he would be making about his daughter every day now. And hopefully as she opened up, he would learn even more important things about her. But for now, he knew she liked everything but country, and liked soda for breakfast.
"We'll have to go shopping later." He told her. "Anything to eat?"
Riley cracked the can open and shook her head, taking her first sip. Sara looked away and busied herself with something else. It was hard for a health nut to watch.
A few moments later, Carly's footsteps sounded on the stairs. She tripped about halfway, because she was so excited that Riley might be down there. Finally, she reached the bottom and she looked at her parents excitedly.
"Is she here?" She asked them in quite a loud voice. Nick motioned with his head towards the breakfast bar. Carly's eyes followed the motion and her eyes fell upon Riley, sipping her Diet Coke. All of a sudden, the nervousness struck her and she just stared at this new person.
Nick took Carly's hand and led her around the breakfast bar until they were a couple feet away from Riley. Carly held her father's hand not tightly, but not loosely and stared a bit wide-eyed at her half-sister.
"Riley, this is my daughter Carly." He told the teenager, causing her to turn on the stool to face the younger child.
"Hey, Carly. How's it going?" She asked the little girl.
Carly studied her closely and didn't answer the question, sticking one finger in her mouth to play with her cheek. Nick shook his head and let go of her hand, ruffling her hair instead.
"She gets a little shy around new people." He explained, and then bent down so he could whisper in Carly's ear. "Can you answer her question, Carly?" Nick prompted her, gently removing her finger from her mouth.
Carly didn't take her eyes off of her and flashed a toothy grin. "Hi Riley. I'm doin' good." She answered a bit shyly, reaching her arms back to hold her father's hands again.
Nick shook his head again and smiled a little at Riley, apologizing for her sudden shy bout. He took Carly's wrists and pulled her up off of her feet, causing her to giggle. He repeated this action several times and then tickled her sides.
"Go see Mommy, you little booger." He told her. Carly giggled and ran towards her mother in the kitchen. She soon attached herself to her mother's leg while she sifted through some mail.
"She's a lot of fun once you get to know her." Nick told her, watching his daughter interact with his wife in the kitchen.
"I bet." Riley told him, then took another sip of Diet Coke. Nick turned back to his oldest.
"Well, I'm gonna go get Nolan up. Why don't you get dressed and then we'll go grocery shopping to buy some stuff you like." He suggested, checking his watch. Nick was not one who liked to laze around all day on the weekends, but he could sense Riley was.
"Alright." She said, taking the last swig from her can. Riley then hopped off the stool, taking her can into the kitchen to throw it away. She disappeared into her bedroom as Nick went up the stairs to get Nolan.
"Are you gonna give Riley her card?" Sara stroked Carly's hair as she concentrated on a piece of mail.
"Oopsie. I forgot." She told her mother, wrapping her arms around her waist and burying her cheek in her side.
"That's okay. You can give it to her later." She assured her.
"She's pretty." Carly commented, still hugging her mother loosely.
Sara looked down at her and stroked her hair over one shoulder. "Yes she is. And so are you my dear."
"Love you, Mommy." Carly told her, giving her one last firm hug before dashing off to the living room to find the card she made for her new sister. Sara smiled at her after saying that she loved her back, and shook her head.
About forty-five minutes later, the family of five was finally ready to go, after Riley's extra-long shower and lengthy time in front of the mirror. She self-consciously played with her straight hair as she sat on one of the couch, her other arm crossed over her chest as she waited for Nick to load up Nolan in his portable car seat.
She watched uncomfortably as Nick spoke softly to his son and Carly babbled on to her mother. Riley knew she wasn't part of this family yet. This was not her family, nor did she want it to be at this point. She bit back a few tears as she realized that at this time last week, she was lounging on the couch with her mother. How could life change so much so quickly?
"You ready to go?" Nick asked her as picked up the car seat, with a gurgling Nolan inside.
"Yeah." She told him, struggling to compose herself and hide her emotions in her voice. Nick noticed, despite her attempt to cover it up, but didn't know what she wanted or expected from him.
"Okay. Let's hit the road." He announced to everyone. Nick caught up to Riley as she walked out the door, and gave her a pat on the back, bit didn't say a word. Riley accepted his gentle touch, but wasn't sure if doing so was a betrayal of her past life, or the beginning of the acceptance of her new one.