I have to apologize for this extremely late update. I got very last minute conformation about when I could leave for my Christmas vacation. So, right now I'm in Iowa; where the internet is limited and the cell phone service is like, nil.

Big time thanks to thegreatbluespoon for helping me with this. Between the yelling at each other with text messages and over the phone as it cuts in and out repeatedly, we finally agreed. And thanks to Amanda Hawthorn and Just Thinking, glad to have you back, even if it's for a short time.

T&T: Youth and Reckoning

Chapter 11

"You gotta be shittin' me?!"

"Hey…watch your language." Grissom barked at his son.

"Sorry," AJ replied sarcastically.

"Keep it up and you'll be grounded."

"Ooohh, I'm really scared." Rifle laughed at his friend's comment towards his father.

Grissom shook his head and looked back down into the book he was reading. Hormones were rapidly taking over AJ's body and the boy was becoming more and more of a smart ass every day.

AJ and Rifle were sitting at the breakfast bar; they were supposedly working on their homework, but that's not what they were doing. When Rifle whispered he had discovered his brother's Playboy collection, AJ couldn't help his outburst.

"So, do you think you can come over?" Rifle whispered.

AJ leaned back in the chair and eyed his father. "I don't think he'll let me go. I'm still in trouble from that thing at school." He replied quietly.

"Dude, that was weeks ago."

"Tell me about it," he sighed as he rolled his eyes.

Rifle thought for a moment. "Ask your Mom, she always lets you do what you want to."

AJ glared at his friend. "Trust me; I have a better shot asking Dad."

They looked back down into their books and continued making futile attempts to do their homework.

Kassie and Stacy entered the house squealing and talking so fast that no one but them knew what they were saying. Kassie ran over and stood in front of her father, unable to contain her excitement. She tried to remain silent as she bobbed in front of Grissom.

His eyes never left the book when the girls entered, but with the feeling of her eyes boring into him, he looked at her over his glasses. "What?"

She squealed. "Daddy, Daddy, guess what, guess what?!"

Grissom sighed, "What?" He repeated.

With a big smile she gave her announcement. "Clinton asked me to the prom. Can you believe it? Me!"

"Who's Clinton?"

AJ was quick to answer his father's question. "He's a jock. He plays football and basketball." He yelled from the kitchen before joining them.

"Would you shut up?" Kassie yelled at her brother.

"No, he's a jerk!"

Grissom watched the exchange between his two children silently.

"He is not!"

"Yes, he is. He dumped Rifle's sister when she told him she thought she was pregnant." He got in his sister's face and she turned into his challenge.

"Wait, wait, wait…hold on, you two." Grissom went from his lounging position on the couch to sitting up paying close attention to his kids. "This Clinton, he's had sex, with your sister?" He pointed to Rifle.

The redhead nodded.

"How old is your sister?" He inquired.

"She's twenty."

"Kassie, how old is this Clinton?" Grissom stared her down. "And don't you dare lie to me."

Kassie whined and fell into a chair. "But…"

"No buts, tell me." Grissom ordered, keeping his voice stern.

"I know!" AJ blurted out.

"Shut up!" Kassie exclaimed.

"Screw you!" He fired back.

Grissom was on his feet faster than he thought possible. AJ was quick to take several steps back, but his father's strides were larger. He roughly grabbed AJ's arm and stormed up the stairs.

"Ow, you're hurting me!" AJ tried to pull himself free of his father's grasp.

Grissom never said a word until he reached AJ's room. "I don't know what the hell goes through your head before you speak, but I'm betting on nothing. If you want to cuss, that's fine, but not under this roof. And I never want to hear you back talk your sister again. I'm sick of it!" He slammed the door as he left.

AJ sat, stunned, on his bed. It was the first time he had really ever pissed off his father to the point of being dragged to his room. He gave himself a shrug and looked for something to occupy himself with.

After Rifle and Stacy were sent home, Grissom began a discussion with Kassie. "Look, I know you're excited about going to the prom, and I want you to go. It's one of those 'once in a lifetime' things."

"Did you go to yours?" She asked.

Grissom shook his head. "No, and your mother didn't go to hers. Look, Kassie…" He tried to think long and hard about what he was going to say.

"Hey, you two, what's going on?" Sara entered with Sydney in tow.

Kassie stood and embraced her mother. "I was asked to the prom today."

"Really! That's wonderful, sweetie." She looked back to Grissom. "What's the problem?"

Grissom put his head in his hands and watched out of the corner of his eye as Sydney went up the steps to put her things away. "It's about the boy that asked her to the prom."

Sara knew by his tone of voice that there really was a problem. "Okay, why don't we sit down and talk about this?" She sat on the couch next to Grissom, while Kassie sat in the nearby recliner. "So, what's this boy's name?"

"Clinton."

"Tell her what he's done." Grissom threw in his comment.

"Dad." Kassie whined.

"Hey, to me, it's very relevant."

Sara giggled. "Hun, stop talking like a CSI to our kids." Grissom shrugged his shoulders. "Kassie, what is your father talking about?"

Kassie sat back and curled her legs up against her chest. "Dad, I swear I didn't know."

"Gil, what is she talking about?" Sara was starting to get worried.

Grissom leaned back into the couch and proceeded to tell Sara exactly what he had learned from the boys. Sara was appalled. "No way is this boy going to take you to the prom."

"But, Mom…" Kassie drew out.

"Honey, I'm serious. You're nineteen, and I'm almost positive that there's going to be more than one boy at the prom to dance with."

"That's not the point. If I don't have a date…"

"Kassie, the fact that this boy has already had sexual relations, and has faced a pregnancy scare…" Sara started.

"And that he wasn't man enough to face it, and dumped the poor girl." Grissom quickly added.

Sara sighed and wanted to say something about Grissom's comment, but she knew he was right. "We just want to keep you safe. Nine times out of ten, boys that are like him, the only thing they want is sex."

Kassie curled back up into the chair and gave a slight nod.

With a smile, Sara added, "You're a beautiful young woman, I'm sure there's more than one guy that wants to take you to the prom."

When their daughter smiled and began to see what they were worried about, she stood and crossed the living room. She gave Sara a hug, and then moved to her father. "I guess you guys are right. Other than Clinton, JD, Jon, and Button have all asked me."

"Button?" Grissom had to ask.

Kassie laughed. "It's his nickname. We gave it to him in Junior High Home Ec, he got the highest score for repairing a button on a shirt. So, we all started calling him Button and it stuck."

"See, a man that's handy. I'm sure you'll find someone." Sara encouraged.

"I'm going to go call him right now!" Kassie fled the room and headed for hers.

"A man that's handy? You do realize how bad that sounds, right?" He smiled.

Sara shrugged. "Well, I like a man that's handy." She flashed him a smile and leaned into him.

Grissom put his arm around her. "I'm not as spry as I used to be."

She kissed his cheek. "But you're still handy." He pulled her tighter against him. "Where's AJ?"

He sighed. "You had to ask."

Sara sat up. "Why, what did he do now?"

With a grunt, he stood. "I got sick of his swearing and back talking." He headed for the basement. "I swear that boy's going to be the death of me."

"Speaking of…" Sara paused. Grissom halted his progress and turned facing her with a raised eyebrow. "You have an appointment tomorrow."

"Is it that time already?" Sara nodded with a smile. "Between the Proctologist and your son…" Grissom never finished his sentence and headed for his retreat.

Sara couldn't help but laugh out loud. She picked up one of Kassie's magazines left on the table. It was one containing nothing but prom dresses. She opened the book to a random page and looked over the girls in the fancy dresses. "Oh, my God!" Sara quickly shut the magazine and shook her head. "Prom is expensive."

With three to go weeks until prom, and still not having a dress, Kassie continually pestered her parents about that fact. Finally, Sara agreed to take her dress shopping. Kassie phoned ahead to Stacey, because heaven forbid she be left alone to shop with her mother.

"Gil, we're leaving." Sara called down the basement stairs. "AJ's across the street at Rifle's, something about a project, and Sydney's at Soccer." Grissom smiled as he watched his tarantula gently cross his hands. "You're on your own."

He heard the door shut and just appreciated the silence of the Saturday afternoon.

AJ and Rifle walked across the street. "Why are we going to my house?"

Rifle replied. "You heard my Mom; if we get anything on the floor in the garage, my Dad's going to kill me. So, I figured since your Mom is gone, there's extra space."

AJ shrugged his shoulders. "Okay." The boys entered the nearly empty garage. "Crap."

"What?" Rifle looked around.

"There." He pointed to the black truck. "Dad's truck is in here." Both boys looked at the truck. "I got it." AJ snapped his fingers, walked over, and climbed in behind the wheel.

"What are you doing!?"

"I'm going to move the truck." He shrugged.

Rifle shook his head. "You can't drive."

AJ smiled. "Yes, I can."

"Prove it."

"Fine, get in."

Rifle climbed in the passenger seat as AJ took the keys out of the cup holder and brought the truck to life. He reached up and pushed the button on the garage door opener. Rifle quickly pulled his seat belt down and fastened it. Once the door was raised, AJ shifted into reverse and backed the truck out in the driveway.

"See, nothing to it." He turned to face his friend before reaching up and hitting the button to close the door once again.

"Now what, genius?"

"Now…" AJ smirked and continued to back out of the driveway. He put the transmission in drive and headed down the street. "…We go for a spin."

Rifle began shaking his head. "No way, man, we are going to get in so much trouble for this!"

"Relax, will ya? Cops hardly cruise the neighborhood streets." AJ shrugged as he continued to drive. "We're just taking a little cruise."

After a few minutes of driving, Rifle relaxed. "Hey, we should call Crystal and Kristen."

"Yeah!"

Rifle fished out his cell phone and dialed. They made arrangements for the girls to meet them down the block from their house.

AJ pulled up next to the twins standing on the corner, and rolled his window down. "Hey, you pretty ladies need a ride?" They both smiled and climbed in.

Once AJ had the truck moving, Rifle decided he wanted to sit next to Kristen. He crawled over the consol and into the back seat. Then Crystal made her way to ride up front with AJ.

They drove around the neighborhoods, avoiding the main streets for nearly half an hour. Rifle was flirting with Kristen in the back seat, while AJ was charming Crystal as he drove. Never bothering to look in the rearview mirror, he failed to notice the silver Charger following them around.

Grissom was napping on his couch in the basement. He was thinking about his impending retirement; it was just over a month away. Brass was planning to retire the week after, so arrangements were made to have their parties together. Thoughts of having time to do all of the experiments he had plans for were interrupted by the shrill sound of his cell phone.

The ring tone told him who it was before he even picked it up. "Can I help you, Jim?" He asked casually.

"Yeah, do you know where your truck is at the moment?"

Grissom sat up, wide-awake. "It had better be sitting in the garage." He stood and headed upstairs. "Why?"

"Oh, well then maybe the one I'm following isn't yours."

"Jim." Grissom's voice warned as he neared the garage door. "This had better be a…" He froze.

"Gil, you still there?"

"I'm going to kill…that…boy." He gritted his teeth as he glanced over the empty space.

Brass couldn't help but release a slight chuckle. "I'll take care of it." He didn't want to divulge on the details of what he was witnessing and hung up the phone. He hit the lights and gave the siren a brief scream.

"Whoa, what the hell was that?" Rifle jumped up to look out the back window to see red and blue flashing lights. "Ah, shit!"

"What?" AJ looked in the side mirror and noticed the lights, but was more concerned with the vehicle they were coming from. "Shit, it's my Uncle."

AJ pulled the truck to the side of the street, hitting the curb before stopping completely. His head fell into the steering wheel.

Brass exited his car and walked up to the driver's window. "Gentlemen, ladies, out of the truck." He took a step back as the four occupants climbed out. "Over here." He pointed to his car, and gathered the four adolescents between the two vehicles.

"You're not going to tell my dad, are you?" AJ was the first one to ask. The others bombarded him with similar questions.

"I've already talked with your father." Brass pointed at AJ. "As for the rest of you, I'll take you home, but do you guys know how dangerous it is to be driving around without a license? What would have happened if you got in a wreck, or if someone had hit you?" He shook his head. "You're lucky I'm the one that spotted you." The four kids were hanging their heads in submission. "Get in the car."

Brass removed the keys and locked Grissom's truck. He made a mental note as to its location so he could bring the proper owner to it. Without another word he took Kristen, Crystal, and Rifle home. He sat with AJ in front of his house.

"I can't believe you would do something like this." Brass stared out the windshield. "AJ, what were you thinking?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I guess I just wanted to prove to Rifle that I could drive."

"AJ, I have been teaching you to drive because in a few years you'll get your permit, and trust me, Drivers' Ed is much easier when you've already had experience."He looked past AJ and saw Grissom standing on the front porch.

"I know. Why doesn't Dad help me?" AJ looked at Brass.

"Well…right now your dad's really busy at work. He and I are retiring in several weeks. There's nothing to my job, so someone will be able to come right in and take over. That doesn't happen with Gil's." He tried to explain. AJ looked back down at his shoes. "Look, I know you're just having fun, and trust me, I did a lot of it when I was young." Brass put a hand on AJ's shoulder. "Have you talked to your dad? I mean, other than all the bugs and stuff, he's a pretty cool guy. You can learn a lot by just being around him. I know I did."

After glancing at Brass, AJ turned to look out the window at his father. Grissom was just watching them, his arms crossed. "This is going to ruin our weekend, isn't it?"

Brass smiled. "Well, I can put in a good word for you."

He continued to watch his father watching him. "It's okay. I need to handle this myself." AJ pulled the lever and climbed out of the car.

Grissom never moved as his son approached him. His breaths were deep and steady as he tried to control his anger. He always thought he could never raise a hand to a child, but when the child does nothing but disrespect and steal the notion entered his mind.

AJ stopped in front of him and sighed. "Look…Dad…I can't say I'm sorry enough for what I've done. I know lately I've been a jerk to my sisters, and I can't explain why. What I did today I know is completely unforgivable, and I wouldn't blame you if you grounded me for life." AJ went from looking at the ground to staring directly into Grissom's eyes. "I don't know why I do what I do; I feel this impulse and act on it. So for whatever it's worth, I'm sorry."

The minute AJ looked him in the eye and apologized, ready to accept whatever punishment he would receive, Grissom's mind went blank. If there was one thing useful he had taught his son to do, it was to accept responsibility for his actions. "Go you your room and sit tight until I get back."

AJ quickly moved around his father and headed for his room. Grissom walked down the lawn and climbed into Jim's car.

Brass looked at his friend as he headed back to the parked truck. Grissom never flinched until Brass spoke up. "He didn't mean anything…"

"I don't need parenting advice, thank you."

"Gil, listen to me, will ya?" Grissom looked out the window, giving the indication that he didn't like where this conversation was heading. "The boy acts as if he's starving for attention."

Grissom looked at Brass. "He gets plenty."

Brass sighed. "Not that kind. I remember when I was his age, I did all kinds of stupid stuff; I was just better at getting away with it. Look, what I'm saying is that he spends more free time with me than he does you, and he doesn't get it. Hell, I don't understand it."

"I've been very busy lately and he knows that," he snapped.

"He's twelve and he knows you're hardly ever home." This time Brass was rewarded with a warning stare. "Sorry…but look at it this way, since he was seven, AJ's been going with me out on the boat at least once a month. I'm teaching him how to drive…"

"So I should blame you for this." Grissom interrupted.

Brass was quickly losing his patience. "Would you shut up and listen to me for five seconds!?" Once he had regained his cool and the shocked look disappeared from Grissom's face, Brass continued. "Just promise me something, once this whole retirement thing takes effect, spend more time with your son."

Suddenly it all sunk in. None of the kids asked him for help on their homework, they all went to their mother; he would just come home, escape to his basement, eat dinner with them, and disappear again. With that abrupt reality, Grissom looked at Brass and gave a slight nod.

Brass smiled and handed the truck keys to Grissom.

After securing his truck in the garage, Grissom pocketed the keys and headed to AJ's room. He was sitting on his bed staring at the computer's screen saver. AJ never took his eyes off of it until his father sat down in front of him.

He released a sigh, trying to think of how to proceed. It was AJ who broke the ice. "Are you going to ground me?" He spoke solemnly.

Grissom looked at his son. "Yes, and then some." AJ nodded and looked down at his feet. "No internet, if you need it for school, you can use mine when I'm home. You'll be responsible for cleaning up the upstairs bathroom, and doing the dishes after dinner. No friends over after school and you'll go straight there and straight back."

AJ gave a quick nod of his head before making eye contact with his father. "I am sorry." Grissom only narrowed his eyes slightly at the boy. "Is there any way I'll still be able to go with Jim next weekend?"

He sat back and thought for a moment before responding. "If you get caught up on all of your homework, and get through with your responsibilities, I'll consider it."

"I'm not behind on any homework." AJ protested.

"I don't think so." Grissom fished out an envelope from his pocket. "This is from your teacher." AJ quickly averted his eyes. "You haven't turned in any of your homework for science in the past three weeks."

"It's easy. I ace the tests, so what's the big deal about the work?" he defended.

Grissom looked at AJ, he was once in his shoes when he was in school. To him, the homework was a waste of time, and he always passed the tests with flying colors. "I know, just please…do it."

Once he felt he had discussed the situation long enough, Grissom left AJ to get started on his punishment.

Sorry, I forgot to mention the time warp at the beginning. As for the joy riding, I had my first truck when I was 11. Well, until my Mom wrecked it. Damn, I was one pissed off 11 year old.

I'll try to get more written while on sabattical, but my next update may be late as well. Give me a chance to get home. I'm making a stop at thespoons'. I guess we're going to a movie and I'm hooking up with her brother, schwing. (Copyright infringement anyone?) (Thanks, Jess.)

Thanks again ya'll.

TDCSI