Chapter 25

'What's with this 'family meeting'?' Liam asked as he and his sister drove home after his day at school.

'I have no idea' Hope admitted. 'Dad just said it was important that we all be there for dinner – said he has something important he wants to run by us.'

The intensity with which Neal had spoken when he'd called the family together led them to believe that something major was afoot and Hope wondered if her dad hadn't finally decided to go to St. Louis to meet his mom.

'Do you think maybe he wants to tell us he's decided to go meet with his mom?' Liam asked as Hope gave him a puzzled look.

She didn't think he'd even noticed that their parents had had a fight; he hadn't been home the night they'd had their big blow up and Liam always seemed to be in his own little bubble, especially lately.

'What?' he said as he looked at his sister's surprised face. 'I see stuff...'

'I know you do, squirt' she began, once the surprise had passed. 'It's just that you've had a lot on your mind lately and I didn't think you'd even noticed that Mom and Dad had been fighting.'

It was Liam's turn to give his sister a dirty look. 'I am a part of this family, you know...' he said, with mock hurt.

'I didn't mean that...' Hope began '...it's just that you're...quiet and with you, it's all happening right under the surface; I never know what's going on in that head of yours.'

She ruffled his hair playfully as he ducked, laughing.

'Keep your eyes on the road there, Mellon girl' he teased right back.

WCWCWC

'I booked our plane tickets today' Sara said simply as she and Neal stood in their kitchen, getting dinner ready. 'Are you sure you want to do this?'

Neal nodded. 'Yeah, I'm sure' he answered. 'Did you talk to her?'

'I did' Sara responded as she turned to face her husband. 'She's thrilled but... I could tell she was nervous. She's arranged for us to have lunch together in the dining room at the retirement home. Our plane gets in at about eleven so...'

Silence fell on the busy kitchen, the sound of the pendulum from the grandfather clock in the nearby dining room the only noise in the quiet house as Neal's thoughts turned to the reason he'd asked the kids to be home for dinner.

'What do you think the kids will say?' Neal asked as he finished setting the table.

Sara could see the apprehension in every one of her husband's movements, an unusual occurrence for the typically cool-as-a-cucumber ex-con.

'Probably the same thing I said at first' Sara responded '...but they'll come around.'

Neal stopped what he was doing and walked over to where Sara stood, cutting up vegetables for a salad; Raffie at their feet, hoping for wayward pieces of food to drop to the floor.

'Thank you' he whispered, lacing his arms around her waist, and placing his chin on her shoulder. 'I know that I'm asking an awful lot...'

'I'm used to it' she said playfully as she turned to face him.

She ran her hand up and down his cheek. 'You are such a wonderful, generous man, Neal Caffrey. How could I possibly stand in the way of doing what's right.'

'But this affects you just as much as it affects me – ' he began before Sara interrupted.

'We are in this together, Caffrey. Don't you know that by now?' she asked, gazing into his grateful eyes.

Throughout their almost nineteen years of marriage, they'd learned to respect each other and be in tune with the other's wants and needs – and seeing Neal happy had become the most important thing in Sara Ellis' life just as her happiness had become paramount for Neal.

He smiled his megawatt smile in response and leaned in to give her a gentle kiss as Raffie whined nearby, obviously in need of some attention himself.

'I don't know what I'd do without you, Repo' Neal said, his voice full of emotion.

She really was his rock, the one person he could count on above all others and he couldn't imagine his life without her there by his side, every single day. Sara's eyes crinkled as she smiled back at this amazing man in her arms – always there for her and their children. How could she not support him when he always aspired to do the right thing – no matter how difficult that 'right thing' might turn out to be.

The moment was interrupted by the sound of the front door and the comforting voices of Hope and Liam wafting through the house - obviously in the middle of some heated discussion about something or other.

'It was NOT!' they heard Liam say.

Raffie's tail began to wag madly and he galloped to meet the dynamic duo at the door.

'You are so full of it!' Hope could be heard saying in the distance, her voice full of mischievousness and affection.

Neal winked at Sara and returned to the task of getting dinner on the table.

WCWCWC

'Look, Dad, this is all very nice but Liam and I are dying to know why it was so important for us to be here for dinner' Hope said as she took another bite of the delicious quiche on her plate (was that a piece of asparagus her dad had tried to sneak in?)

Neal had been apprehensive about diving into the subject but apparently, the time had arrived to come clean. He gave Sara a surreptitious glance and took a deep breath before beginning to speak.

'Well, now that this ugly mess with Caitlin is behind us...' Neal began, sounding uncharacteristically nervous. 'Well, your mom and I... we've been talking about ways we could help Caitlin – so she can get her life back on track.'

Hope and Liam listened in silence, both of them wondering what all this was leading to. Hope had already agreed to work with the teen at the gallery – is that what this was all about?

'After everything that's happened... well, Caitlin got thrown out of her foster parents' house' Sara added; it was important that the kids know that she and Neal had come to this decision together, and that they were united in what they were about to propose.

'... and that's her third strike, so she's burned that bridge' Neal added. 'Social Services don't want to try to find another home for her so they've decided to send her away... to live in a group home somewhere upstate.'

Hope let out a sigh; as exasperating as the teen's behavior was, she felt sorry for her. The kid had a good heart and amazing talent but she hadn't gotten the breaks that she and Liam had been lucky enough to have in life. She looked at her parents, realizing how lucky they both were to have been born to Sara Ellis and Neal Caffrey.

'Your dad and I... well, we'd like to apply to Social Services to become foster parents for Caitlin...' Sara blurted out, before she lost her nerve. '...just until she's an adult.'

Neal watched Liam and Hope's faces for clues as to their reactions but they both just sat there, mouth dropping at the bombshell they'd just heard.

'The system has given up on Caitlin and I... well, we...' he added as he looked over at Sara '...we don't want to give up on her.'

'Wow, Dad!' Liam said, as he put down his fork. 'I didn't see that one coming.'

'But we don't want to do this if you guys aren't on board' Neal added hastily. 'This would be a huge commitment for all of us and we need to think carefully before we even put in on the table as an option.'

He was well aware that the conclusion he and Sara had finally arrived at – after hours of discussion – needed to be validated by the whole family. Adding another member to the household would affect everyone – even Hope who didn't live at home full time. In order to go ahead with the crazy scheme, everyone had to be involved in the final decision – after all, the repercussions would be felt by each and every member of the family unit and neither Neal nor Sara was prepared to upset their family dynamics, regardless of how much they wanted to do this.

It took a few minutes, but Liam was the first to speak up, breaking the heavy silence.

'It's fine with me' he said in his usual laid-back way.

'Where would you set her up? Would you put her in my room?' Hope asked spontaneously, realizing how selfish and petty she sounded.

'Well, your dad and I talked about that' Sara admitted '...we could revive those plans we had for renovating the attic.'

There was a fleeting look of sadness on Neal's face as he recalled the plans they'd made for a fourth bedroom when Sara had unexpectedly gotten pregnant seven years before; after all that time, he was still sad when he thought about that little baby girl they'd lost.

'That's silly, Mom' Hope answered, coming to her senses. 'Why don't you just give her my room; after all, I'm away most of the year.'

'Well, we could talk about sleeping arrangements later but for now, we want to know how you'd feel about having Caitlin living here with us' Sara said, sensing that Neal was getting emotional.

'I think it's a wonderful, generous thing to do' said Hope, with a smile as she reached out to touch her dad's hand.

He'd grown quiet and she could see the emotions peeking through his clear blue eyes. The touch brought Neal back to the present and he smiled at his daughter, grateful for having such great kids.

'Caitlin will turn 18 in a couple of years and once she's legally an adult, she might choose to go off on her own' Neal explained.

The kids nodded and Sara looked on, realizing that the decision they were on the verge of making would have life-changing, long-lasting repercussions on their family life. If they were given the green light by Social Services, they would become the surrogate parents of a very unruly, strong willed young girl who would challenge them in ways they had never been challenged by their own kids, yet she believed they were doing the right thing by Caitlin and by the same token, teaching their kids a very valuable life lesson about paying it forward.

She and Neal had been up late into the night discussing the conditions under which such an arrangement might work. There would be rules Caitlin would need to agree to before she even stepped into the house – plenty of rules; the same ones that applied to their own kids. It had to be made crystal clear that there would be zero tolerance for illegal activities of any kind: stealing, drugs or skipping school and Caitlin would have to walk a straight line in order to maintain the privilege of sharing their family life. Despite the safeguards they would put in place, the thought of raising such an impulsive, boisterous teenager was terrifying and yet, Sara knew that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Caitlin, giving her one last chance at a productive life and steering her away from a potential life of crime.

'Guys, if we agree to do this and the authorities and Caitlin agree, there'll be no turning back. Are you sure you're okay with this? We don't want to rush you into anything... but the authorities will be making decisions about Caitlin's future over the next few days if we don't speak up' Neal said.

Liam and Hope stood and made their way to stand between their parents, putting their arms around each of them so they were one solid unit instead of four distinct individuals.

'Were good, huh, Liam?' Hope asked as she kissed her mom's cheek.

Liam nodded and Neal let out a sigh of relief.

Although he had no idea what they were really getting into, he felt that, together, they owed it to Caitlin and to themselves to give this a try.

TBC