~21~

Kacy stared at her phone as it rang for the third time. And once again, she merely stared down as the name for her ex-husband popped up on the illuminated screen. She didn't reject the call and she didn't answer it. She just stared at her phone. A part of her wanted to know why he was suddenly calling out of the blue (maybe to finally apologize?) and the other part of her knew that she had to be strong and let it go unanswered.

People often wondered why she still had his phone number in her cell phone if she was over him. And she was over him. Completely. But, there was that teeny tiny part of her that wanted things to work out between them. He was her first true love, they were married for crying out loud. And with his jarring departure, all she wanted was an apology. But if asked, of course she's over him.

She crossed one leg over the other as she slid her phone into her purse before looking out over the restaurant. It wasn't upscale or anything like that, but it was comforting. Something she hadn't really felt since moving out to Los Angeles. She still felt to be tripping over herself, trying to find her place in California.

But, getting ready for the dinner, which she insisted wasn't a date, made her remember what it was like to go out on dates, the feeling of excitement, and making sure everything was perfect. But, this wasn't a date. Yes, she instantly felt comfortable around Ronan and he made her feel like they were old friends, reuniting after a few years apart. But, they were just friends. That was easier for her to say than her daughter, but she was happy to have this time to spend with Katie and to bond a little.

That made Kacy wonder if she was really doing a great job as a parent. Katie had always been at tomboy, following her son and friends around, doing whatever they did, and he let them. It was no doubt that Kendall and Katie were always close, but got even closer after their father had left them. Kacy could even joke that Kendall was the one to raise Katie while she was out all day working at the diner, trying to bring in money.

It wasn't until they came to Los Angeles, that she had started to notice how insecure Katie was about things; especially when it came to boys and dating, as their conversation that night had dictated. Her kids were really growing up, and she knew that one day they wouldn't need her as much, but she was happy to be in the line of business where she could still be around to help out.

"Hi, Kace," said Ronan's smooth voice, knocking Kacy out of her deep thoughts as he carefully slid into the empty seat in front of her. "Sorry, I was just making sure my kids got to the pier safely."

Kacy couldn't help but smile. There was something about him that made him seem like a grown boy; someone you couldn't help but laugh and smile at. But, it also warmed her heart to always hear him refer to his clients as his "kids". It was something she had noticed since she had met him, but she wasn't sure if he realized he referred to them that way because he had known them for so long or because of his wanting to adopt them if things with Robert went in the way that he wanted.

"You look really nice," he said, giving her a smile.

"Thank you," Kacy replied, "so do you."

"I'm sorry if this place isn't up to what you were expecting," Ronan said with a somewhat, sheepish grin. He waved his hands in the air, motioning around the restaurant. "After this week, I just needed something a little more laid back."

"Laid back is perfectly fine," Kacy replied, waving her hand in the air. "I've never really been into dressing up to spend a night out. You know, unless it's for anniversaries or anything." She scratched at a spot behind her ear, pressing her lips together. Leave it to her to bring up something as intimate as an anniversary. But, Ronan didn't seem to bothered by it. In fact, he never seemed to be bothered by a lot of things. And that's what she found fascinating about him.

How someone who lived a life of hustle and bustle working with a group of five kids who, at this age would be running around trying to have fun with anything and everything they did, and still be laid back about a lot of things. She could easily see that it was just who he is, but she didn't know how he could do it. Even her head started to spin when she was getting questions left and right about how she planned on managing Big Time Rush, what she wanted their overall goal to be coupled with finding hockey jerseys and skates, and helping with school work. She didn't know how he was going to handle being a dad.

She couldn't deny that he was handsome, and he did deserve his spot on the 50 Most Handsome Men (which she only found by Googling him). Anybody could see that. But she wondered if someone who was so used to living the bachelor's life, never really having a steady girlfriend (again, what she found through Google, although there was little to no information on this) could really handle that life altering moment. Then again, there were so many things that had changed her life and she turned out fine, raising two kids alone (five if she counted Kendall's friends). She wasn't one to judge, but this was just something that was peculiar to her since he had brought up the idea to her.

"I don't want to be too forward with this, but if there's anything you're not going to finish, I'm taking my leftovers home to give to Riley and them," he commented as he reached for the menu beside his arm. "They've basically eaten me out of my own place and I don't have a lot of time in the next couple of days to go shopping."

Kacy chuckled slightly. "It's no problem," she replied.

Although, a thought nagged at her; if there was something sinister to his request? Not from him, but from what was going on in his "kids" home. From her brief encounter with Riley, she wasn't sure if she could get a grasp on his worries, but she was hoping there would be some more time to get to know them. Not just for Ronan, but because she wanted to get to know them for herself as well. They are at this age where all they do is eat. They're growing kids, after all.

But, there were some cases that she could remember where she would come home late for work and Kevin wouldn't have fed their kids. Punishment for something, according to him. It was those cases where she had never really seen her kids eat so much so fast.

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask," Kacy commented, gaining Ronan's attention. He looked up at her over the top of his menu. "Did you ask me to meet you here to discuss things with the Jacksons?"

"Partially," Ronan replied with a nod before giving her a smile, his eyebrows twitching. "But, I seem to remember that you needed to pay me back for giving you a car."

"I still can't believe you did that for me," Kacy replied, shaking her head as she reached for her own menu. "You don't even know me."

"I know you're a good person," Ronan replied with a shrug. Kacy briefly glanced at her over her menu. "Not a lot of mothers would take their two kids, and their three friends, out to Los Angeles and watch over all of them while they try and make it into the music business. And agree to be their manager."

"I've always taught my kids to go for their dreams," Kacy said with a shrug. "Who would I be to stop them?" Her eyes scanned over the menu and she quickly decided on a hamburger and fries.

She got a lot of compliments about making a big move out to Los Angeles, and she graciously accepted every one. But, she also wanted to protect them. She gave her kids and their friends space and advice whenever they had came looking for it, but she always had a watchful eye on them. Some would call her paranoid, but she wasn't going to give anyone or anything the opportunity to hurt her kids in any way, shape or form. Not again.

"If you don't mind my asking," Ronan commented and Kacy set down her menu. "But, when did you realize that things weren't the same in our marriage?"

"Oh," Kacy commented, her eyes widening slightly. Her fingers immediately went to her hand to twist her ring, her nervous habit. She realized quickly that her ring wasn't there, and quickly faked the movement by scratching at her wrist. She hadn't worn her wedding ring for years, but still had the notion to use it as a security blanket.

"Never mind, you don't have to talk about it," Ronan said with a shake of his head as the waiter came over. The two of them gave their drink and food orders and then the two of them sat in silence. It was weird silence, but it was also kind of comfortable at the same time.

"Are you having second thoughts about wanting to become a foster parent for the Jacksons?" Kacy suddenly asked, her eyebrows narrowing slightly. "From what I've seen, you're a natural around them."

Ronan let out a bark of laughter, "Yeah, I am, now," he replied. "Riley and Rhubes hated my guts when I first met them. They wouldn't tell me anything even if I was asking them a simple question like; what's your favorite color?" He laughed a little bit. "In hindsight, it was a pretty stupid question as they had always worn red and purple, but I wanted to break the ice with them, you know? They were all pretty hard to get to know, but the boys opened up faster then the girls. But, the two of them have been taking care of the little ones for a long while so I think they were just seeing what I was all about. Now I can't get them to shut up."

Kacy laughed out loud. "They really do seem to respect you," she commented, "but aren't you worried that they'll find out what you're doing?"

"Have you and Gustavo and Kelly keep an eye on them?" Ronan asked, arching an eyebrow and Kacy nodded. "Nah. I've been yelled at by them before, but it's pretty easy to handle them once you figure out how to handle them." He leaned back slightly as two waiters came over to their table, one with their drinks, the other with their orders.

"Thank you," Kacy said with a warm smile to the waiters before reaching for a French fry. "So, how do you handle them?"

"Well, first off, if they want space, it's best to give them space," Ronan commented, "sooner or later, they'll come back to you and apologize. Happens all the time. I think they really hate disappointing people."

"It makes sense," she said quietly and Ronan silently nodded, a frown on his face. "Ronan, if you really care about them, then I don't think anything should hold you back from wanting to give them a good, safe, life."

"I just want to be sure," Ronan replied, pulling the bun off of his burger to pick of the pickles before squirting ketchup onto his burger before nearly drowning his French fries with it. "It's a big risk I'm taking. I mean, I could be wrong, but I don't think I am." He picked up his burger in his hands and took a bite, making sure to chew and swallow it before talking again.

"If you don't think you're wrong, if it's a gut feeling, don't ignore it," Kacy said before taking a bite of her burger. She put her hand over her mouth as she chewed and said, "Robert is…pretty intense. You saw him at the meeting, he always seemed to be bringing thigns back to his kids, their careers, making sure everything would work in their favor."

"Intense is a good word to describe him," Ronan said with a nod, licking ketchup off of his thumb. "He's always been that way, ever since I met him." He let out a heavy sigh. "He can be too intense sometimes."

"Why do you put up with it?" Kacy asked. She answered for him before he even opened his mouth, "for your kids." Ronan nodded. "Do you know you always refer to them as that? Your kids?"

Ronan blinked in surprise. "I do?" he asked, seeming to actually be really shocked. He relaxed into a grin. "I didn't realize. Maybe that's a sign, huh?"

"Maybe," Kacy replied with a shrug. "I'll continue to keep an eye out, but I haven't seen anything alarming. When they were over at the Palm Woods for dinner, like I said, they were well behaved, but they seemed closed off. I saw Riley the other day as well, she seemed a little annoyed that I got her name wrong, but when I told her that I wanted to get it right, she seemed to relax a little."

"It's just the fact that you're trying is what matters to her," Ronan explained to her and Kacy nodding in understanding. "Just keep being yourself and before long, they'll be more accepting of you. Kace, I really appreciate you doing this for me." Kacy stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. "What?"

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head. "You just called me Kace. I haven't been called that in a long while, that's all." An apologetic look crossed his face. "Don't apologize. It's really ok."

The two of them continued their dinner eating in silence until either of them brought up a topic of conversation that had them going for a while, their childhood, his career, her life back in Minnesota, and a whole bunch of other topics as they continued their dinner before paying and making their way to Java Joe's to meet up with Gustavo and Kelly.

"Well, it's about time," Gustavo commented in his usual, loud voice as soon as he spotted them.

"Inside voice, Gustavo," Kelly said, rubbing at her temples with her fingers.

"I am using my inside voice," Gustavo replied. "Sit McGuire." He then turned his head towards Kacy and nodded at the empty seat and then said through clenched teeth, "won't you please join us?"

Kacy exchanged an amused glance with Kelly before sliding into the last seat at the table. "How are you doing?"

"Exhausted," Kelly replied, truthfully. "Gustavo here thought it would be a good idea to try and figure out how Griffin chooses the demos."

"Hey, my plan would've worked if it wasn't for your high heels," Gustavo commented, crossing his arms over his chest.

Kelly tilted her head back and forth, showing that it wasn't untrue. "You try running in heels and then get back to me," she commented and Ronan laughed. "Three weeks is a long wait." She then looked back over at Ronan. "But, it'll be time well spent. Gustavo and I have been talking—"

"We want…no, we need our bands to get along," Gustavo interrupted Kelly, "and we have three weeks to do it." He turned towards Kacy. "Unless you have any objections to it, I'm going to make them hang out with each other."

"Gustavo, it's not that easy," Ronan pointed out to him, "you can't just make them be friends especially with my kids."

"I don't care," Gustavo said, putting his hands into the air. "I need this to work. I have a plan—"

"Wait a minute, I didn't know about this plan ahead of time," Kelly said, an alarmed look on her face. "You have to start running plans by me from now on so I can tell you when they're stupid."

"Which would be all of them," Ronan commented, "oh, save for hiring my kids to work for you." He gave a double thumbs up. "Big props for that one." Kacy laughed at the exchange.

"The way I see it, if Griffin doesn't choose to the dogs's demos, we could get their little friends to back them up," Gustavo commented, "seeing as they're really the only ones that truly see how hard they are or are not working."

"That's…" Kelly blinked in surprise. "That's actually not a bad idea." Gustavo gave a smug smile.

"It makes sense," Kacy said, slowly nodding. "But, does that mean we have to…try and be friends with Robert?" She got three identical 'are-you-crazy?' looks in reply. She put her hands up defensively. "Ok, bad idea. Sorry."

"That guy doesn't want anyone to be his friend," Gustavo said, jabbing a fat finger onto the table. "Sure, with just a few words he could have you jumping in circles, and he has no problem attending important social events, but he won't ever actually hang out socially with anyone one unless he can get a connection with him."

"Face it, Kacy, all Robert cares about is Robert," Kelly replied with a shake of her head. "Surely, you've noticed that he's never really been around us despite his kids being contracted to working closely with our group." Kacy's eyes swiveled over to Ronan when Kelly said 'his kids' but Ronan didn't show anything on his face as he leaned back in his chair. "I've got to hand it to the man, he really knows how to run their careers."

"Even I have to admit to that," Ronan commented, giving Greg a nod of thanks as he reached up to take his mug of coffee. "Thanks, Greg."

"Is my pleasure," Greg replied, giving a quick nod of the head before scurrying over to help another customer.

"Has anyone else noticed that whenever we meet up all we do is drink coffee?" Kelly asked as Gustavo and Ronan took a long sip o their drink.

"Mmmhmmm," Ronan and Gustavo said in unison, nodding, swallowing their coffee. Ronan wiped his mouth with his napkin. "It's because this is one of the only places we haven't gotten kicked out of because of Gustavo." Kacy raised her eyebrows at the bigger man who merely shrugged, taking another long sip of coffee.

She jumped when her cell phone rang and she quickly reached for it, giving her coworkers (friends?) a smile of apology. She the little message icon on the screen of her phone and saw that she had gotten a new text message (and she had missed a few from her ex-husband). She opened the newest one and saw that it was from Katie.

Katie (Daughter): On the way back to the PalmWoods.

Kacy: So soon? Is something wrong?

Katie (Daughter): Just meet me at home, please! Rhuben and Dak are driving me.

"I have to go," Kacy said as she got to her feet. "My daughter needs me. She has a little emergency." She then turned towards Ronan. "She says Rhuben and Dak are driving her home?"

"Considering they have younger siblings to drive around, they're responsible drivers," Ronan said, batting his hand into the air. "It's Riley you really have to worry about." He then gave her a look of concern. "Everything ok?"

"I'm sure everything's fine, but I'd really like to get home," Kacy replied with a half smile. "Thank you for dinner, and I enjoyed talking to you guys again." She hitched her purse up onto her shoulder. "I can't wait to do it again, under more pleasant terms." She then looked over at Kelly. "Do you have my cell phone number? Just so I can get in touch with you in case things come up."

"That's a good idea," Kelly said as she pulled her cell phone out of her purse. The two of them exchanged numbers, and Kacy gave everyone a wave in goodbye before making her way out of the coffee place and to her car. As soon as she got into the driver's seat of her car, she locked the doors and pulled out her cell hone.

Kacy: On my way, sweetie. Be there in 15 minutes.

..

.

Kacy swung the door open to apartment 2J and stopped short when she saw her daughter, flat on her back on the orange couch, a pillow underneath her back, staring up at the ceiling. "Katie?" she asked, closing the door behind her. Katie merely lifted her head before dropping it back down. Kacy made her way into the living room, setting her purse and keys down onto the kitchen table on the way. She sat down on the table and faced her daughter, stroking her cheek when she noticed tear tracks. "What's wrong?"

Katie quickly wiped at her eyes. "Uh, well, my stomach was hurting real bad and…" she trailed off for a moment, looking uncomfortable. "Mom, I got my period. My stomach really hurts and…mom, it was terrible."

"Ohhh," Kacy said, giving her daughter a small smile. "Katie I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"It was, mom," Katie said with a sniff. Kacy gently pushed her daughter up into a sitting position and sat down, allowing her daughter to put her head in her lap. Katie briefly closed her eyes as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I barely had any fun, and I'm sure the guys know and, ugh!" She grabbed the pillow from behind her and covered her face with it.

"Well, Kendall knows all about girls and their periods," Kacy said in a soothing tone and Katie's eyes snapped open.

"Not him," she said, "Patrick and Noah."

Kacy blinked in surprise, holding back a small laugh. "Sweetheart, they have sisters, too. I'm sure they're used to it and not embarrassed about it." Katie seemed to start pouting. "And you shouldn't be either. Getting your period is a good thing. In fact, I was starting to get worried about you."

"Thanks," Katie muttered.

"Sorry," Kacy replied with a small smile. "Do you have any questions? Do you need to know about pads and tampons?"

"No," Katie commented, "Riley explained it all to me." Kacy gave a short nod, but didn't say anything. She was hoping to have been able to have that conversation with her daughter about this, but it wasn't like she could schedule when she was going to have her period. She tried to have conversations with Katie beforehand, but she always got uncomfortable and would try to change the subject. "But…could you run me a hot bath?"

Kacy chuckled. "Sure," she replied and Katie slowly got off the couch, making her way into their room. Kacy headed into the bathroom and plugged the drain, drawing a warm bath for her daughter. I can't believe how fast she's growing up. Maybe she's old enough to know about her father.

"Thanks, mom," Katie said as she walked into the bathroom in a robe, her arms filled with clothes and a book.

"You're welcome," Kacy replied, getting to her feet. "If Kendall and the boys get back, I'll tell them not to bother you." Kacy closed the door behind her and leaned against it for a moment.

Wandering into the kitchen, she picked up stray cups and plates and washed them, turned off the coffee maker and headed down the hall to her bedroom, her mind filled. She flopped on her bed and contemplated the ceiling.

Ronan tapped the railing in the elevator as it slowly slid down into the first floor of his condominium. The elevator stopped moving dinged and the doors slid open. Riley spotted him and smiled as she made her way over to him.

"Sorry for dropping in," Riley said as she gave him a hug. He instantly returned it, hugging her back a little tighter than he needed to.

"It's no problem at all," Ronan replied with a smile. As he took a step back, looking down at her as the two of them turned and headed back to the elevator he had just left. "You know my place is always open for you guys. How was the pier?"

"Good," Riley replied, glancing over her shoulders as she stepped into the elevator.

"Something wrong?" Ronan asked as the elevator doors slid shut.

"No," Riley replied with a shake of her head. Her eyebrows twitched and she looked up at him. "Kendall was making sure I got in ok." She gave him a look as if it was the craziest thing on the planet. "He saw me walking."

"You walked all the way here?" Ronan asked as he jabbed his thumb into the numbered buttons on the wall panel of the elevator. "From the pier? By yourself?"

"Geeze, calm down, dad, it's no big deal," Riley said, crossing her arms over her chest, slumping into the corner. "I was meeting some friends in town and just walked here."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Ronan asked, feeling an odd emotion wash over him when she had jokingly called him 'dad'. "It's after nine."

"Ten o'clock actually," she informed him, glancing at her watch. "I was already out, and I needed a quiet place to write some songs so I came over here."

That wasn't uncommon. A lot of the time Robert would pawn his kids off on him, making him change his plans at the last moment. In most cases, it was a great distraction from his work, but in this case, he didn't think she was telling the truth. Not entirely anyway.

"Mind if I crash on your couch?" Riley asked, taking her phone out of her pocket, her thumbs flying over the pad as she typed something out.

"Yeah, no problem," Ronan replied, running his fingers through his hair as the elevator doors slid open. He pulled his keys to his condo out of his pocket. He unlocked the door and swung it open and Riley made her way inside, kicking her shoes off, leaving them by the door. He watched as she made her way into his bedroom and came out a moment later with a guitar in one hand, a pad of paper in the other and a pen sticking out of her mouth. "I'm going to call your dad to tell him you made it safely."

Ronan made his way over to the phone on the wall, watching as Riley slowly turned around to face him, a expressions sliding over her face as quickly as a slot machine, so fast, he almost missed it. But, she shrugged, dropping down onto the couch in the living room, spitting the pen down onto the table. "You have anything to eat?"

"Yeah, I'll get you something in a minute," Ronan replied, taking the phone off of the receiver jabbing his thumb into the starred number 5 before putting it to his ear. Balancing the phone between his ear and shoulder, he made his way over to the refrigerator. The phone rang in his ear as he looked around for something for her to eat. I really have to go shopping.

"Hey, Ronan," Sydney's voice came over the line.

"Hey, Little Man, is your dad home?" Ronan asked, finding a bag of green grapes in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator. That was weird. Having known them for years, he made sure to keep popcorn and grapes on hand whenever they came, but it was weird that there was some left over. He knew there wasn't a chance there'd be any leftover or if he tried to get some, he would lose a finger or two.

"No, but he'll be back in about an hour. Why?"

"Just wanted to let him know that Riles got here safely," Ronan replied, turning to face Riley, holding up the bag of grapes. She paused in her playing and gave him a thumbs up before picking up her pen, scribbling something down on the sheet of paper before playing again. "And tell him that she's starting the new song he wanted."

"New song? Oh yeah! Ok, cool. No problem."

"Is everything ok?" Ronan asked, kicking the refrigerator shut with his heel.

"Yeah, we're just doing homework," Sydney replied, "and Noah's making brownies."

"Well, save some for Riles and me," Ronan replied, taking the bowl over to the sink. He flipped on the faucet and pulled on the Ziploc tab on the bag. He then held the bag underneath it, slowly moving it back and forth to wash the grapes. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye."

"Bye," Ronan replied, before ending the call, putting the phone back. He grabbed a bowl and dumped some grapes into it. He walked over to the couch and handed the bowl to her. "You know where everything else is if you need it. I'm going to be in my room looking through work emails if you need me."

"Cool, thanks," Riley replied, reaching for the bowl of grapes. "You rock."

"You roll," Ronan lamely replied, earning a weak laugh from her, before making his way into his room. He grabbed his laptop and collapsed onto his bed, listening to the faint sounds of the guitar being played as he worked.

He made his way through all the emails in his inbox, replying instantly to those that he needed to know, taking the time to take down notes for interview proposals, and TV appearances to run by Robert as well as song samples to possibly use on new songs, taking note on which ones he thought his kids would like. He paused for a moment, staring at the ceiling.

He really didn't notice that he referred to the Jackson as "my kids" until Kacy had pointed it out to him. But, he did look at them as his kids. He's known them for years and has looked out for them, and given up space in his condo whenever they just dropped by, or whenever Robert suddenly told him to look after them for who knows how long.

He enjoyed having them around and treated them more like friends then kids, and they, in turn, treated him like a friend more than an adult. They had a great relationship, which is what made it so hard for him to think that something like their father beating them was going on whenever he wasn't around. Often times he wondered if that was why they came over unannounced, like now, but didn't know how to bring it up.

She didn't look to be in any pain or anything, he thought, cupping his hands behind his head. It was at that moment, he realized he didn't hear the guitar playing anymore. Setting his computer aside, he got out of his bed and left his room, instantly spotting Riley asleep on the couch, his guitar still in her hand. He stopped short, when the thought of her holding it as a form of weapon came to mind. He quickly tried to calm himself. She just fell asleep while playing, that's all. How many times have you done that, trying to come up with a new melody?

He then made his way to the hall closet and grabbed a blanket and an extra pillow before making his way back over to her. He carefully placed the pillow beneath her head and removed the guitar from her hand. He pulled the blankets up to her shoulder, and she let out a sigh through her nose, clutching the blanket tighter around her before rolling over so her back face him, curling up into a ball. Ronan blinked when a spot caught his eye.

He gently brushed the hair on the back of her neck aside and his breath caught in his throat when he found a bruise peeking out slightly from the hair on the base of her neck. He was sure that he would find out how big it was if he actually looked, but quickly brought his hands back, jumping when he hit the bowl of grapes. It was half eaten, but still had enough water on it to spill out onto the paper she had written on. He quickly grabbed it, waving it in the air to dry some of the spots. Luckily, not a lot of it got wet.

He held the paper in his lap and peered down at some of the lyrics she had written.

He set the paper down where he found it, and clicked off the lights in the room and in the kitchen before making his way back into his room. He was at a loss for words. All of the Jacksons's songs had a story behind it. But, he was afraid to ask about this one. Afraid to finally hear the truth.

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. Just worry about yourself. When it all comes down to it, you're the only one who matters.

A/N: Again, I have seen Big Time Moms and I know Mrs. Knight's first name is "Jennifer" and not "Kacy." I just like the idea of the K-theme running in this fictional family as it does in Kendall's real life.

I hope you liked this chapter.

Cheers,

-Rhubes