Disclaimer: I don't own.

A/N: :) I felt like we needed some of the girls. For the record, I had half of this chapter written before psychic-Jellybean wrote her review this morning. -glares- :) Just sayin'.

Hope you guys enjoy! Reviews?

I curled up on the futon with Alexis, wiggling my toes in slight uncertainty. I never slept well in a new place, and I wondered if Sara's house counted as a new place—I had never lived here before, but I'd slept here a few times just fine. We were quiet as we listened to the sounds of running water as Sara and Griss got ready for bed… and when it had been quiet for a little while, the door opened slowly and Kaitlin was there in her tank top and too-short-shorts, closing it behind her.

"…Can you believe this?"

Alexis grinned, scooting closer to me so Kaitlin could squish in on the end. I scooted too. "…They're really serious about it. They bought us beds… not like cheap beds they found at someone's rummage sale… real, nice, new beds."

"How do you know?" Alexis asked me.

"The paper they have form the furniture store was on the counter in the kitchen. …It was expensive."

Kailin maneuvered herself so her head was by our feet, lying on her side and bracing her head on her hand. "Well of course they're serious… the rings they gave us at the wedding were a bigger deal than beds…"

Alexis shook her head. "I don't know about that… It's easy to buy us each our birthstone and leave. …They both have good jobs, so money is like… not a big deal. …It's harder to go pick out furniture and think about how everything is all going to work without getting scared and running away screaming."

I nodded and Kaitlin rolled her eyes. We knew better than to get upset—she just didn't like to be wrong. "…Are you guys scared to move to Vegas?" I asked, in part because I was, and in part because I was excited—I really, really wanted to talk about Vegas.

Kaitlin shook her head, her eyes now fixed on her hand, admiring the birthstone ring there. "No. It's a desert… all they have is gambling, which kids our age can't do, and sand… We'll be the hot surfer girls from Cali." She grinned and though Alexis followed suit, looking like she liked that idea, it took everything in me not to snort in disbelief. I wondered, sometimes, if she really believed some of the things she said or if it was all a front.

"Yeah, but… what if we end up in school with some casino owner's kids…? Then we're not hot surfer girls, we're poor beach bums…"

Alexis smiled. "We're not poor anymore, Jilly. We've got parents."

Kaitlin giggled. "…Are you guys going to call Griss 'Dad'?"

My eyes widened at the thought. It hadn't occurred to me, but would he expect that? …If he didn't, didn't we owe it to him? I mean, Sara loved us, but Griss… he hardly knew us. …He was doing a lot for us by adopting us. …We definitely owed him.

Alexis shook her head. "No… that's too weird. Besides, unlike you guys, I know my dad…"

I frowned. I hated when she called him 'dad.' He was a step-dad, in prison, who hadn't cried at her mom's funeral. She didn't have a dad anymore than we did… or, at least, Griss was as much hers as he was ours.

Kaitlin giggled. "We're like Annie! We'll have to call him… Daddy Griss-bucks!"

I laughed. "That's just… creepy."

We were all giggling then, when a soft sound made us all freeze, holding our breath to stay quiet. When it didn't come again, Kaitlin whispered, "…I think it was someone in the hallway. It sounds like they went back to bed…"

"Maybe it was Hank." I suggested.

Alexis' eyes were wide and bright, a smile twisting her lips. "…Maybe it was the bed creaking…"

Our jaws dropped, which was the exact reaction Alexis wanted. She giggled and I picked up my pillow and hit her with it. "That's gross, Alex!"

Kaitlin, however, seemed to agree. "Well… They are newlyweds. …Newlyweds do it all the time." She said, very matter of fact. I gave her my best disbelieving look.

"How would you know?"

"Cosmo." She replied flippantly. Neither Alex or I were sure whether she'd actually read a Cosmo or not… she claimed her foster mom got them, but we'd never been allowed over, so we couldn't be sure. …She liked to throw it out whenever we tried to call her on something.

Alexis smirked. "Well, whether they're doing it all the time or not, I think they're doing it now…"

"What? Why?!" I asked, horrified at the thought.

"Listen."

We sat very still, listening… and then we heard… heavy breathing. …Panting.

"Oh, ew!" Kaitlin whispered into the stillness, but… it sounded too close. And… strange.

I crawled out of bed, headed for the door.

"…Jill! What are you doing?!"

"Don't open the—"

I swung it open slowly, squinting in the darkness down the hallway towards their room… Hank was lying there, breathing heavily. Quietly, I gestured for him to come to me and he hurried over, tongue lolling out of his mouth, and into the room. I closed the door as quietly as I could.

"I told you it was Hank."

"Thank god!" said Kaitlin, while Alexis just giggled.

I climbed back into bed and Kait patted the bed until Hank jumped up to lay by our feet. She scratched his ears and I frowned.

"…You know… they're probably not doing it now, because it's our first night here, but… eventually, they're going to." They gave me duh looks, but I kept on. "No, I mean… not just eventually. …They're going to do it with us in the same house. …Chances are, we will hear it, eventually."

We all made faces, thinking about that… and then Alexis giggled. "…Do you think he's got hair on his butt?"

We all burst into laughter, causing Hank to open his eyes and give us a disapproving look, and then we were shushing each other in between our own laughter, knowing we'd be in trouble if we woke them up.

"Shh!"

"Shut up!"

"Seriously, guys, we're gonna get in trouble…"

Somehow, though, that just made us laugh harder. I was wiping tears from my eyes by the time we'd settled down and then… "Yes." Kaitlin said.

We both looked at her, confused for a moment… and then realized what she was saying 'yes' to…

We were burying our faces in the pillows, trying to keep our laughter quiet, and Hank jumped off the bed, curling up in the corner to sleep instead, which only made the problem worse. Eventually we got to sleep… but the morning was worse. I couldn't look Griss in the eye. …I kept seeing a big, gross, hairy man-butt framed by Sara's legs… It was so embarrassing.

Sara woke us up, knocking on the door and then opening it with a knowing smile, saying that if we all wanted to shower before school, we needed to get up. I usually showered at night, so I rolled over, but Kaitlin slid out of bed and hurried out. …I was asleep again when she came back, shaking Alexis' shoulder and waking her up, telling her it was her turn. I was suddenly glad I didn't shower in the mornings… the water would probably be cold by now.

I got up when I heard Alexis leave the room, dressing and doing my hair in the little mirror in the office and then taking my turn at the bathroom—deodorant, bathroom, brushing teeth—before I knew both Alex and Kait would take it over, doing their hair. …Ponytails were just so much easier than what they did every morning… I was pretty sure I'd be thirty before I cared about doing my hair in the morning. …And really, when you're that old, it doesn't matter anyway.

While they fought over the mirror, I went into the kitchen, keeping my eyes on the floor because Griss was there. He offered to make me a bowl of cereal, which was so nice I felt like hugging him again, but the image in my head as well as too many years in foster care had me shaking my head politely and making it myself. …Despite this, halfway through my bowl, he slid a plate with two pieces of toast over to me. …I sucked it up, met his eyes and gave him a smile and a thank you… and then turned away. Gross.

I was done eating when Kait and Alex came out and had cereal. Sara hurried out a minute later, pausing to ask us how we slept and if we were up late (her eyes a little too knowing), and if we needed anything before she left for work… and while she hugged each of us, kissing the top of our heads, I realized that I had slept well. …I never slept good in strange places.

The kiss she gave Griss before she left was gag-worthy, and enough to keep me avoiding his eyes for the whole car-ride to school. He dropped us off, and though I wanted to hug him (but not look at him), I refrained. We were at school and certain appearances needed to be kept up.

…As we walked into the building, it felt like… almost like when you have a really nice new shirt or a super cute haircut… you look at everyone you pass as if you expect them to be looking at you, noticing something different… your head held high with buoyant confidence. I wanted everyone to ask what was different about us… about me… but I knew I wouldn't volunteer the information anyway. Sara had told us how kids treated her when they found out about her mom killing her dad, and we were not eager to repeat her experience.

…Still, a girl in my math class told me she liked my shirt—it was a shirt I'd worn a hundred times before and never been complimented on—and another girl in the lunch line asked if I'd done something different, today… So I knew, even without telling people what it was, that I was different, now. I wasn't the girl whose dad beat her mom and then left her to die while her daughter slept upstairs. …I was… The girl who had a super pretty, super smart, super young mom, and a famous dad.

…I mean, nobody really knew who Griss was, but Sara liked to tease him, calling him 'The Famous Gil Grissom,' so I figured that people who liked bugs and dead bodies would know him.

…Either way, I liked the new me way better.