Thatch's POV
I was walking to my med. Science class when I saw Griffon sitting on the floor, crying her eyes out. "Griffon?" I asked, kneeling down next to her. "Are you okay?"

"No!" She bawled. "Megan had an asthma attack & it's all my fault!"

"It can't be your fault." I told her, rubbing her back.

Griffon nodded & buried her face in my chest. "Yes, it is. I forgot to get her inhaler refilled. I didn't remember until I got the call from Rayne."

"You can't blame yourself." I held her close & stroked her hair. "You have short-term memory loss, it's not in your control."

Griffon shook her head. "That's not all."

I paled. "What else happened?" I wondered.

"I tried to call & check up on her, but Mrs. Heights signed her out of the hospital. I have no clue where they are!" Her sobbing increased. "I lost my baby sister."

I felt tears well up in my eyes & let them fall, tightening my grip on her. "We'll figure something out." After a few minutes, I moved back to look her in the eyes. "Come on, we'll go get the twins."

Griffon nodded & we headed down the hall toward the classes. Griffon stopped & fell to her knees. "Thatch…" she began.

"It's okay." I told her, picking her up & heading outside. "I know."

~Flashback~
Mom & I were walking through the halls to get to the emergency entrance. "What's wrong with them, mom?"

"We'll have to wait & see." She answered.

I ran over to the ambulance as two girls got helped out on stretchers, a two-year-old with an oxygen mask & a ten-year-old with her legs strapped down to the stretcher. A woman stuck her head out the driver's side window. "Tammy, what's going on?"

"The older one can't walk. This is the second time it's happened." Tammy answered. "The little girl has frequent asthma attacks & overheats. Poor things, ever since their dad died, they've been getting worse." Tammy sighed & cast a look at the picture of the little boy on the dashboard. "He was their guiding light, the thing that kept them going."

I nodded & left to go find the right medicine for them. When I couldn't find it, I mixed my own. Mom would kill me if she figured out I did. I found their room & injected the meds into their IVs.

The little girl's heart rate slowed & her breathing regulated. "Thanks for helping my sister." The older one called across the room.

I walked over to her & sat down by the bed. "It's no problem. I do it all the time." I told her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you a little young to be a doctor?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't try." I laughed. "My mom says I have this instinct that makes me want to help people who can't help themselves, so I'm gonna be a doctor when I grow up. To help people."

The girl nodded. "That's real sweet." she said softly. "I'm Griffon. I would say my name is Hadrea, 'cause it is, but I hate that name, so I use my middle one."

"I'm Thatch." I smiled at her. "Well, the medicine I gave you should kick in in an hour or two." I stood up & started turning.

"No!" Griffon grabbed my hand. "Please don't leave. I'm scared to be alone."

I sat down next to her again. "Why?"

"Because, if I can't walk, I can't get away if someone I don't want here shows up." She replied. "I know it must be stupid…but, I'm real scared since mama got sick & my brother has to work so often. It means Megan & I are alone a lot."

I took her hand & squeezed it. "It's okay. I'm not leaving." I said sincerely. And I stayed.

When she was let out of the hospital, her little sister wasn't allowed out. She & her brother had to go to a new town to work. "Take care of my mama & Megan for me, please?" Griffon asked.

I nodded. "You can count on me. As long as you promise to come back."

"Count on it." Griffon winked, turning to exit with her brother. And she did.
~Flashback~

I sat Griffon down on the pavement & pulled out my cell phone. "Hey, Tammy, I need some help. Griffon-"

"Say no more." Tammy interrupted. "I'm on my way baby bro!"

In five minutes flat, Tammy had rushed the ambulance to the school & I opened the back doors. I knew I could count on her. I lifted Griffon into the ambulance & cast one last, quick glance to the school, where Flannery was staring at us from the window. I waved at her & closed the doors, giving my sister a signal to speed off.

Flannery's POV
As soon as school let out, I dragged Aqua with me to the hospital. "Why are we here?"

"Griffon." I answered. "I saw Thatch helping her into an ambulance."

Aqua shook her head. "How do you know?"

"Who else do you know with green hair?" I countered.

"Good point." Aqua shrugged & we walked down the halls to Griffon's usual room, but it was empty when we got there. "Maybe she's already out."

"No, something doesn't feel right." I told her. "Maybe Thatch knows."

I pulled her back out & toward where a group of doctors were talking to someone, surrounding them. "Whose everyone talking to?"

"No!" The person everyone surrounded yelled. "No one else is getting that."

The doctors all started fussing. "We have to get that medicine to her & you're the only one who knows how to make it."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have transferred her to a different hospital." The person yelled back. "You guys are bigger idiots than JD."

"Hey." One of the doctors yelled.

Aqua looked over at me. "What do you wanna bet, Thatch is the one making fun of Dr. D?"

"And the girl must be Griffon." I continued.

The person, we think it's Thatch, threw a bunch of papers in the air & ran off while the doctors tried to get them back together. It was Thatch after all. We ran after him until he went outside & jumped inside an ambulance.

"Let's just open the door." I said, pulling on it. It was locked. "Thatch, come on. It's only us."

Thatch rolled down the window of the passenger side & waved at us. "Get in through the back doors. We're going to Limerick…again."

I went around to the back & opened the doors, pulling Aqua inside with me before closing them again. The woman behind the wheel turned the key & bolted out of there. "Hey, there. Thatch, bro, why'd I just go from KDMC ambulance to KDMC taxi?"

"Bro?" Aqua asked. "Are you friends or something?"

The woman & Thatch laughed. "Ha! Nah, sorry kid, Thatch is my baby brother. The name's Tammy." She told us.

I looked around the ambulance & spotted a photo of a little boy. "Who's that?" I asked, pointing to it.

Tammy turned around for a second & answered with a simple name. "Joshua."

"My little brother." Thatch answered. "He's five in that picture."

Aqua poked her head in between the two up front. "How come we've never seen him?"

"Thatch was the lucky one, that's why." Tammy answered a little coldly. "He would be twelve this year."

"How come he didn't go after you?" I felt myself ask Tammy.

Thatch shrugged. "He didn't really show any signs of being, ya know, until I was born. It got worse when Josh came along."

"We would've had a little/older sister, too, but Thomas thought it was going to be a boy, made mom get an abortion." Tammy informed us.

Thatch gave a small smile. "Her name would've been Tailyn." He turned around to face us. "It means 'talented beauty.'"

The two smiled at the memory. They must've really liked their siblings to smile, even though they were gone. "Beautiful & talented." I murmured. "Lucky girl."

"From what I've heard from bub, I'm guessing you're Flannery." Tammy turned around at a stop & pointed at me. She moved to point at my sister. "And you must be Aquanette."

"Yeah, that's me." Aqua answered.

Tammy turned back around & started driving again. "Aqua, you know you would be the spitting image of Tailyn if she were here today. She would be a few years older, but still just as beautiful."

"Thanks…I think." Aqua stated. "Is that a compliment?"

Tammy chuckled & nodded. "That is a compliment. Now, get comfortable. It's a long way to Limerick, & I'm only stopping for gas."

"Yes ma'am." we said, sitting down on the stretcher.

A good, long car drive later, we were in front of the KDMC in Limerick. "Hurry up, little peoples. I can't stay here forever. Get in, get out."

Thatch nodded & told his sister to stay calm. "We'll be back in no time. Give or take an hour."

"I'll give you three." She winked.

We walked in & headed for the ICU. Soon enough, we found Griffon's room. She must've gotten there about an hour before we did. "Guys, hey. I would get up, but I can't exactly."

Thatch pulled a syringe & medicine bottle out of his backpack & injected it into her IV. "Here, this should help."

"It better." Griffon demanded. "These crazy doctors here want to cut my legs off."

Thatch nodded & sat down, & I closed the door. "Feeling better?"

"Oh yeah." Griffon said sarcastically. "I hate being strapped down to stretchers & then having some manly nurse help me into this cruddy bed."

"What's wrong with manly nurses?" Thatch asked.

"A manly, female nurse." Griffon clarified.

I winced. "Yikes."

While Thatch was getting Griffon situated to leave Aqua and I went the front desk to check her out.

"Yes how can I help you ladies?" The receptionist said.

"We'd like to check out Griffon Heights please" I said.

"Oh are you sure? The doctors here want to amputate her legs" The receptionist said.

"Yea we're sure we're her sisters she's always been like this all she needs to do is take her pain medicine, get a little rest, and to give our little sister a kiss and a hug" Aqua said with a shrug.

"If you are so sure but if you see any signs you take her to a hospital" The receptionist said.

"No problem" Aqua said. We walked into Griffon's room and saw that all of her stuff was ready.

"Alright Griffon you ready?" Thatch said helping her up slowly.

"Yep but we still have one problem we need to find Meg" Griffon said.

"Oh I already know where she is. She's at your grandmother's house, she left to go get groceries and your grandpa's upstairs watching a baseball game" I said.

"How did you?" Griffon started.

"Solar eye remember" I said tapping under my right eye.

"Oh right" Griffon said. "Let's get going"

We helped Griffon into the ambulance and rode toward Ms. Heights' house.

"For such a small town they have a lot of traffic" Tammy said.

"I have an idea" Aqua said. She pressed the siren button and all of the cars cleared out.

"Aqua how'd you know what button to press?" Griffon asked.

"I didn't it was the button that was blinking and it looked pretty" Aqua said with a shrug.

"Wow Aqua that honestly doesn't surprise me" Griffon said shaking her arrived at Ms. Heights' house and Aqua and I looked through the window and saw Megan looking bored staring at T.V. I tapped on the window slightly which made her turn around.

"Flannery!" Megan said.

"Shh!" I said pressing a finger to my lips. "Grab your things and let's go" I whispered.

She read my lips and stood up and grabbed her back pack. She ran out and gave me a hug. "Is Griffon okay? She's with you right?" Megan said.

"Yes now let's go" I said. We helped her into ambulance and Megan quickly sat down next to Griffon.

"Gigi are your legs okay?" Megan asked.

"Yes their better now let's just go home" Griffon said giving her sister a one arm hug.

Roy's POV
Riza and I were trying to get the baby to go to sleep usually he slept so well but just something was wrong.

"He seems find Roy" Riza said looking at me.

"I don't know Riza it's 10 o'clock and he should have at least gotten 3 hours of sleep right now" I said looking at my watch.

"Hey Daddy we're home" Flannery said as she and the other girls walked in.

"And we have a perfectly good explanation" Aqua said.

"Let me guess you all went to Limerick again didn't you?" I said standing up.

"Yea are you physic?" Aqua said.

"No Thatch's sister called what was it this time girls" I asked.

"Well first Griff's legs gave out again and she was transferred to the hospital in Limerick and then that mean ol' witch lady tried to kidnap Meg" Aqua said. We stopped when we heard little Roy let out a yawn.

"Oh now you want to go to sleep huh? Maybe he was waiting for his sisters to come home" Riza said.

"Smart kid" Aqua said.

"Flannery take your brother upstairs and then go to bed you've all got school in the morning" Riza said.

"Yes ma'am c'mon little man" Flannery said taking the baby from Riza.

"Now listen girls no one is going to the Limerick anymore unless someone calls your mother or I first do we understand?" I said.

"Yes sir" The girls said.

"Alright then goodnight son" I said before kissing my son's forehead as he slowly closed his eyes.

"Good night Jr." Riza said also kissing his forehead.

Flannery's POV
Aqua and I walked into little Roy's room and put him in his crib.

"Good night little man" I said before kissing his forehead. Aqua pulled the covers over him and whined up the mobile starting the soft, gentle music.

"He's so tiny hard believe he came out of our Mommy" Aqua said.

"We came out of our Mommy too she just did it twice it much" I said with a shrug.

"Yea Grandma told me the story that Kitana was so mad when she was giving birth that after we fast asleep she gave Dad a black eye for making her have twins" Aqua said.

"Honestly that sounds like Mom and honestly I don't blame her" I said. "C'mon let's let him sleep" I said before we walked out

The next morning, all of the art students got out of class to help set up for the art show later that day. Every year, they choose a student to make the crowning piece & don't tell anyone who it is. I couldn't wait.

Griffon's POV

"Okay, Simon, are you ready?" I asked, gripping the remote control.

Simon nodded. "As I'll ever be."

I pressed a button on the remote & our mechanic spiders shot their gooey webs at Simon. The force pushed him against the wall & kept him stuck there. "It works!" Travis yelled.

"We did it!" Grant cheered. He gave me a high-five. "Thanks to your blueprints, Griffon."

"Eh, you're the one who made those super sticky, artificial webs." I reminded him, motioning to where Simon was trying to separate from the wall. "Very cool idea, I might add. And Travis helped size them down."

"It was still your idea." Simon stated, still struggling. "How do I get out of this gunk?"

Travis picked up Grant's notebook to find the solution used. "We can make a de-stickifier right here." Travis said. "We just need water."

"Hurry up." Simon whined. "This stuff feels weird."

I laughed & set the remote & spiders on our worktable. "What do you expect? It's supposed to imitate real spider webs."

"This is gonna get us an A for sure." Grant commented, trying to pull Simon off the wall.

"Of course, it's never gonna beat our next project." Simon reminded us.

I nodded & pulled the blueprint out. "It's totally high-tech. A music player that reads brainwaves & selects music to fit your mood." I sighed dramatically.

Travis came back with what we needed & I picked up an empty spray bottle. "Here you go, Princess."

"And right back to calling me that stupid name." I growled & poured the liquid into the bottle & stirred it up a little. I walked up to Simon & was about to try it out when Mr. Hecuba stopped everyone.

"Gentlemen." He announced. I cleared my throat. "Oh, & you too Griffon. We have a new student joining today. Her name is Kari."

The girl walked into the classroom & I jumped up & down. "Could she join our group, Mr. Hecuba?"

"What do you think, Kari? Would you like to join Griffon's group?" Mr. Hecuba asked.

The girl nodded. "That sounds wonderful!" She walked over to us & looked at Simon. "Why is that kid stuck to the wall?"

"He's testing our project." I told her. I squirted the water on Simon & the webs melted away. "That's Simon, Travis, & Grant. I'm Griffon."

"Nice to meet you all." She giggled as she watched Simon try & clean webs off his glasses. "I'm Hikari-Graeae. Kari for short."

"Well, you're the new Princess." Grant cheered. "Congratulations."

"What?" Kari wondered.

"Every girl that gets put in this class is given a nickname. It starts as princess &, when a new girl comes, that becomes her nickname & you're given a different one." I explained.

"Speaking of which…" Grant threw an arm around my shoulders. "I think I'll call you Buttercup."

"I'm not a pet!" I growled, grabbing his arm & twisting it behind his back. "Can we get to work on the music player now?"

"As soon as you let go of my arm." Grant informed.

I let go of his arm & held the blueprint out to where Kari could see it. "This is the project we're about to start on. It's a music player that analyses your brain waves & picks out a song to fit your mood."

"That's really cool." Kari gasped. "I get to help, right?"

"Of course." Travis replied. "How about we meet here at lunch to start on it?"

"Sorry guys. I promised Aqua I would help her with something." I lied. I would be putting the finishing touches on my 'project.' It made me so giddy. "Eu nu pot să aştept pentru a termina proiectul meu!"

"That's okay. Hope you get it done." Kari said.

I blinked. "You understood me?"

"Yeah." Kari shrugged. "I've spoken Romanian all my life."

I threw my arm over her shoulders & walked out of class with her & the guys as school ended. "Kari, I think I'm gonna like you."

"Thanks." Kari smiled. "If you like me now, wait 'til you hear me play trumpet."

"I really like you." I repeated. "But, why trumpet?"

"My dad played & taught me." Kari answered.

I chuckled. "Same here. I play trumpet, too."

"Wow, are we ever alike or what?" Kari gasped.

I laughed & headed toward the stables. "I know. How weird. Oh, I have to get to work."

"Me two." Kari replied. "I got one a few days ago."

"How long have you been here?"

"A couple weeks. It took me a while to find an engine."

I nodded. "I used the old family car. Turns out it still works great, so I take it to school every now & then."

"That's so lucky for you." Kari smiled & pushed open the gates to the stables.

I stopped dead in my tracks. "You work here?"

Kari looked over her shoulder & nodded.

"Way weird." I grumbled, walking to Wildfire's stall. "We work at the same place, too…Where's Pepper?"

"In here." She yelled, walking out of Hunter's stall. "Jimmy Lee gave you the day off, G. Why are you here?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

"Get going." Pepper pushed me out of the barn. "Jimmy Lee said it was because you had something special to finish."

"Your project." Kari reminded me.

I cringed at the memory. "Fir-ar! I forgot!" I ran out the door fast as I could. "Ta-ta."

"See you at the art show tonight!" Pepper called back.

I ran back to the school & pulled my project out from it's hiding spot. "One last thing & you're gonna be perfect." I said. I opened my carving kit & selected the right tool before going to work on the finishing piece.

Kari and I walked into band class and walked over to Aquanette who was putting a bass clarinet together

"Hey Aquanette this is Kari, Kari this is my older sister Aquanette" I said. I was used to calling the twins my sisters but I wasn't ready to call Uncle Roy and Aunt Riza my mom and dad just yet.

"Hey" Aqua said.

"Mr. L got you playing bass clarinet today?" I asked.

"Yea it's not that I mind but having to play all of these different parts in confusing" Aqua said with a shrug. "Hey have you guys seen Flannery?" Aqua asked.

"No I was just about to ask you the same thing" I said.

"That's so odd it's not like her to miss class" Aqua said rubbing her chin. Just as the bell rang Flannery ran in with her flute already put together.

"I'm here, I'm here" Flannery said panting.

"Well good please sit down and get started on your part" Mr. Lincoln said.

"Yes sir" Flannery said sitting down. She slowly went through her part which was odd because I heard Flannery play that part a million times and she was usually so great at it. When Mr. Lincoln wasn't looking I sent Flannery a text message. 'What's wrong?' I texted to her.

'It's nothing' She texted back.

'You look so tired' I said.

'It's nothing I've just been really busy these couple of weeks' Flannery said. 'I'm just tired'

'Why didn't you just stay home?' I said.

'I don't like missing school. Now please let me get back to my part' Flannery said.

'Okay fine' I said before I snapped my phone close.

"Is something wrong?" Kari asked.

"Possibly I don't know" I said with a shrug.

Later at lunch I invited Kari to sit with us. We sat down and saw Flannery typing something on her PDA.

"Flannery are you okay?" I asked.

"I already told you Griffon I'm fine now please I'm trying to do my work I have to finish my term paper" Flannery said still looking at her PDA.

"Flannery quick question when was the last time you got some rest?" I asked.

"Yesterday afternoon I had to stay up all night and finish my article for the school paper and make Aqua's dress for the art show tonight." Flannery said.

"Flannery why don't you take the car and go home and just forget about the dress I can buy one from Brier Rose" Aqua said.

"No! I'm fine I only have to more classes and then go home and then I have to finish Aqua's dress and then I have to go to the Art show and pass out business cards for the Brier Rose" Flannery said.

"Flannery why don't you let me do that? She is my aunt after all" Thatch said.

"No, no I wanted this job and I'm going to do it. Now I have to get this printed I'm going to the library" Flannery said standing up and walking out of the lunchroom.

"Flannery better slow down some she looks really sick." Thatch said.

"She says she's been really stressed lately she's really had a lot of stuff on her plate" I said.

"She does look pale she better slow down before she gets sick and her hair starts falling out" Thatch said. "It happens all the time with business people" Thatch said with a shrug.

"Oh no that cannot happen Flannery's the last branch of the Tusinko family thickness" Aqua said.

"The what?" I asked.

"Back the in day besides being rich and famous the Tusinkos were known for thick and rich hair though my hair is rich in the hardly seen ice blonde color it's not as thick as Flannery's hair if her hair fails out before she has a chance to have a child it will be the end of the Tusinko family hair. Ay dios mio the horror!" Aqua said.

"Man you guys are weird" I said.

"Say what you want but that stuff is important to us" Aqua that day we arrived at the house and Aunt Riza was rocking the baby to sleep.

"Hey girls how was school?" Aunt Riza asked

"Pretty good I finished my painting for the art show tonight" Aqua said sitting down.

"That's wonderful I can't wait to see it" Aunt Riza said. "Flannery honey what did you do today?"

"I finished a project, a term paper, studied for an exam, put extra hours into tutoring, turned in article for the school newspaper, and helped with the school rejuvenation project" Flannery said counting on her fingers.

"Wow you did a lot do you want to take a nap before we go to the art show" Aunt Riza said.

"No can't I have to finish Aqua's dress for when she wins her award" Flannery said before standing up and walking upstairs.

"Aunt Riza you've got to find a way to get Flannery to stay she's way to over worked" I said.

"I know what you mean, she's trying to get all of these extra things for when she goes off to college but I will try" Riza said.

"We need a plan." Aqua murmured, looking at me.

I had already flipped my phone open & hit a button on speed-dial. "Hey, Alex. We need your help with something."

"Talk." Alex said.

I sighed & shook my head. "Your girlfriend's gonna have a mental breakdown unless she takes a break. Now use your pea brain to figure out where you come in."

"I see you've been talking to Megan." Alex grumbled.

I laughed, "Nope. I just need someone to make fun of & Aqua just makes it too easy."

"Anyway," Alex interrupted, "you must need me to distract her, huh?"

"Maybe your brain ain't so small, after all." I shrugged. "Talk to you later, Alex. Get here before we leave this time."

"Where are you going?" Auntie R asked.

I shrugged into my jacket & headed for the door. "Picking up my bunica to take her to the art show. Meet you there, okay."

"Bye." the two called.

Aqua's POV
As everyone walked into the art show, Pepper & Kevin Hoang ran up to me. "How about a special interview for the school paper?" Kevin asked.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well," Pepper explained, "everyone wants to read about two interviews, yours & the mystery artists. We had a poll last week & you won."

"Your pretty popular." Kevin commented. He held up his voice recorder. "So, what do you say?"

"Later, okay?" I told them. "I wanna take all the art in first."

Griffon & Kari were talking over by some photography portraits, along with an old woman. "Aqua, this is my bunica, Antanasia Heights." Griffon introduced her.

"Bunica means 'Grandmother,' by the way." Kari clarified.

I nodded. "So she's your dad's mom?" I asked.

"Yeah. She can't speak much English." Griffon told me.

"Good to know." I said absentmindedly.

The principal cleared his throat later on in the night. "Okay, before we give out the awards, I would like to introduce our mystery artist for the year." he stated, motioning to the large item covered by a cloth. "Please welcome…"