"Okay, you guys can't show your mom your report cards yet?" Logan said keeping his eyes on the road.

"Why not?" Madison asked from the backseat.

"Because I haven't come up with a lie for why I'm failing history and chemistry," the boy replied.

"Why don't you just tell her that you go..." Hayden started.

"Because I don't want her to know," he told her.

"Yeah, and she's just not going to ask any questions as to why you never get home until late at night," Madison said sarcastically.

"I'll just tell her that I have after school clubs, she knows that I do soccer and other things, so that shouldn't be hard. And then I'll tell her that I go over to friends' houses and hang out or study," he said.

"Yeah, because those two F's certainly tell how hard you have been studying," Hayden said.

"She won't know about the F's," he told her.

"For now she..."' Madison started, but he cut her off.

"You know you guys are really making this harder for me than it has to be," he told them.

"Alright, alright," Hayden said. "We won't show her our report cards and we won't tell her."

She just stared at the boy.

"What?" he asked glancing at her before turning back to the road.

"You don't have to do this you know," she told him.

"Uh, yeah I do," he said dismissing her last statement. "You know how the guy is, he doesn't want me or my little sister around, and your mom's marrying him soon, so we're going to get the boot."

"No you won't" Madison said sadly from the back seat. "She wouldn't do that to you guys."

"I know she wouldn't," he said quietly, "but he would."

"It doesn't matter what he thinks," Hayden said.

"Apparently it does," he said. "He's going to be your new step dad."

"We already have a daddy," Madison said. "He's just going to be the guy that marries our mom."

"Yeah well he pulls rank over the kids from down the street," he said.
Sadness and silence took over the car for a moment.

"You guys have to promise not to say anything," he told them.

"We promise," Hayden replied.

"Pinky swear?" he added holding his pinky out to the girl.

"Pinky swear," Hayden said, wrapping her pinky around his.

"Com'on Maddie," he said reaching his hand into the backseat, "because you're most likely to blab out of the two of you."

"No I'm not," she defended as she repeated the same actions as Hayden.

The boy pulled up into the driveway of the house he had been living in for the past couple of weeks and let the girls out of the car. He waited for them to get inside then backed out of the driveway, starting what would be his routine for the next few weeks.

"You seem happy to be back home," Cuddy said pulling away from her kiss with Brian.

He had come back to town today and she was at the airport picking him up. He had finally come home, after he had called the night they had gotten back from New Haven telling her his trip had gotten extended a few weeks.

"I am," he said. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too," she said as he pulled her into yet another hug.

"Do anything fun while I was gone?" he asked.

"No," she lied, "just the same old things."

"You should really think about that vacation I was telling you about," he said.

"I will," she told him, "but now I have to go and pick up Izzy from daycare."

"Do you really have to?" he asked. "I was thinking we could go to my old place and have a little time alone."

"I'm sorry babe," she said pulling away from another kiss, "but I have to go get her. The place closes in thirty minutes and it's a twenty minute drive from here to there."

She started walking out of the airport and he followed.

"Can't her grandmother go and pick her up?" he asked. She didn't say anything. "Lisa?" he questioned.

"I'm not explaining this to you again," she told him becoming annoyed.

He sighed not wanting to get into another argument with her and sleep alone at his old place tonight.

"Are we ever going to get to spend some time alone?" he asked her.

"Of course we will," Cuddy told him opening her car door. "I've only had them for a couple of weeks since their grandma fell and broke her hip. They're not the problem, it's you who's always gone," she mumbled loud enough for him to hear.

He didn't answer, he just got into the passenger side of the car. They drove in silence for the next few minutes, the sound of her phone ringing finally slicing through the tension in the air.

"Hello," she said, not recognizing the number on the caller ID box.

Brian listened on intently as she picked up a conversation with whoever was on the other end of the phone.

"Yes, this is she?"

"Dr. Cuddy," the man on the other end of the phone started. "I'm calling about Logan Everett. It says here that I should call you in order to discuss school matters."

"Yes, that's right."

"Well a few of Logan's teachers are reporting having problems with him, not disciplinary problems," he assured her before she jumped to conclusions like most parents he called. "Are you aware that he's failing two of his classes?"

"Uhhm, no," Cuddy said, shocked at the news. She knew Logan was a bright kid, and he had never complained about having any trouble with his school work. "No I wasn't," she finished. She had also seen his report cards; on the last one he had gotten all A's and B's; she stopped mid thought. 'Wait, when was the last time I saw a report card.' The man continued.

"I've also been getting reports from his teachers that he's been falling asleep in class," the man said, not shocking her so much this time. But he must have been falling asleep more than usual, since it actually warranted being mentioned in the phone call, she thought. "I was wondering if there were any special circumstances at home that the boy might be dealing with?" the man finished.

"No," she replied slowly, running all of the past events through her mind. "None that I could think of, other than his grandmother being sick, but we're dealing with that. I talk to him about it all the time, so I don't think that would be the problem."

She really didn't think that was the problem. The boy's grandfather had been really sick for a year before he died, and before that, the man still needed a sufficient amount of extra help and medical needs. This had pulled their grandmother's attention away from both of the children for the most part, Cuddy being the one picking up what the elderly woman couldn't handle. They had been all, but living with her since their mother had died four years ago. The boy had made it through the death of his mother and father, which both occurred in a relatively short amount of time. He had been helping his grandmother care for his grandfather and herself when he could. His grandfather had recently passed away, but the boy had still managed to maintain his grades and a sense of normalcy in his life through all of this. To have gone through so much, he still had the demeanor and lived the carefree life of a normal sixteen year old boy, at least she thought up until the phone call.

"I'll talk to him tonight though," she told the man. "I'll find out what's going on with him."

"Well if you find out anything and you need any help, you know the school is willing to help. We have counselors to help with these kinds of things," he offered.

"Okay, thanks," she said to the man before hanging up the phone.

She was a little hurt and offended by his last comments. She felt like she was failing him in some kind of way. And she had promised his mother, when she was on her death bed, that she would take care of the boy and his sister. The woman had known the state that her parents were in and knew they wouldn't be able to sufficiently care for her kids, but she had wanted her kids to have a normal life, a happy life. So far Cuddy thought she was doing a good job at this, but clearly she wasn't.

"What's wrong?" Brian asked after seeing the distant look on her face.

"That was the school," she told him.

"Are the girls okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, they're fine," she told him. "It's Logan, he's failing two of his classes."

"See that's what I'm talking about Lisa," Brian started again. "Here you are getting all worked up over a kid that's not even your responsibility."

"I'm not getting worked up over it," she told him. "I'm just worried that's all. And he is my responsibility."

"He's sleeping in class," he said repeating the small part of the conversation he had heard over the phone. "Every night I talked to you while I was gone he was coming in after ten, even on school nights."

She was about to defend the boy with the explanation he had given her, but after the phone conversation, she knew that that was no longer a valid excuse.

"Clearly the kid has issues," he said. "I think you should just let him go, before you..."

"Let him go where?" she yelled at him, cutting him off. He was really starting to work her nerves about the whole issue. As far as she was concerned Isabella and Logan were her kids. "He's just a kid, he needs someone to look out for him, where is he going to go?"

"I don't know," he said nonchalantly. "Maybe wherever he goes when he's staying out all times of the night."

Cuddy didn't bother replying. She was too upset with him and too worried about Logan to get into an argument with him at that moment. But she knew once she got home, three people had answers that she was looking for, and all three of them where going to be in serious trouble.

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After Cuddy had picked up Isabella, she went home, to of course find Logan not there. She only hoped tonight would be one of the nights he came home early. But Madison and Hayden were home, and she would get what she could get out of them, and deal with Logan later.

"I'm home," Cuddy said in her nice voice, masking the fact that she was upset.

"Hey mom," Madison said from her spot on the sofa.

"Hey girls," Brian said stepping in the door behind Cuddy.

All he got was some mumbled responses. She went to fix Isabella a snack and left the little girl in the kitchen before returning to the living room to confront the girls. She took the remote off of the coffee table and turned the television off.

"Uh, we were watching that," Hayden said.

She just rolled her eyes at the girl.

"Do you have something that you want to tell me?" she said trying to give them the chance to come clean.

The girls just looked at each other confused. "No," Madison replied.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked folding her arms.

Again the girls looked at each other, knowing that they were in trouble for something, but not willing to tell anything, to prevent incriminating themselves with something she didn't know about.

"I love you?" Hayden said.

"Nice try," she said. By this time Brian had made his way back into the living room with them. "Did you get report cards a couple of weeks ago?"

The girls just looked at each other, this time with panic in their eyes. This told Cuddy all she needed to know.

"Go get them," she said. The girls got up and walked out of the living room. "And bring your cell phones too."

The girls returned with their phones the requested pieces of paper.

"Why do you want our phones?" Madison asked.

"Because I don't want Logan getting a warning before he comes home," she told them. "And this is your punishment for not giving me your report cards." She took the phones and then began examining the papers. A look of confusion came over her face.

"I don't get it," she said, "you guys have good grades." She stared at them for a while. "You were covering for Logan."

"Great, now he has them lying for him," Brian said, making Hayden shoot him a mean glare.

"What's going on with Logan?" she asked them. "Where is he?"

The girls just looked down at the floor, trying not to make eye contact with her. "So you're not going to answer?" she questioned again... Still nothing. "Fine," she said, "go to your rooms and do your homework, and do not touch those computers until I get to the bottom of this."

The girls did as they were told.

"Now do you see where I'm coming from?" Brian asked. "You have your own kids to worry about, you don't need extra kids especially if he's going to be a bad influence on them."

Cuddy just listened, but she didn't say anything. She would try to defend Logan but Brian thought he had a valid point. She knew that Logan wasn't a bad influence, because he and the girls were just the same. They all would do their dirt and drag the rest in behind them. Since they had discovered that they could work together, it was always them against her. She had to admit, it was hard trying to keep track of three teenagers, and Brian didn't seem like he was willing to help.
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She had just finished putting on Isabella's pajamas when she heard the door open. She went to the door thinking it was Logan, but to her surprise, it was House. She was happy Brian hadn't seen the way he just walked in, with the key he had stolen.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him quietly as Isabella ran past her only to be scooped up by House.

"I'm always here," he said about to walk around her, but she stepped in front of him.

"I told you Brian was coming home today," she told him.

"And?"

"And that means call before you come over," she replied.

"I'll try to remember next time," he told her, not really meaning it. He went around her still holding the little girl in his arms.

"Guess what," Isabella said not giving him a chance to respond. "The mean man's back."

"He is?" House questioned as if surprised. "Well you just make sure you sleep with Lisa tonight, between her and that mean man. If you do it enough, he'll eventually turn into fairy dust and go away, if we're lucky, forever."

Cuddy just rolled her eyes and she was about to go into the kitchen to warn Brian of their guest, until the door opened again. This time it was the person she had been waiting for.

"Where in the hell have you been?" she asked, making the boy's eyes shoot up to meet hers.

"I uhh, I..." he faltered a little with his lie. "I was studying at uh...Landon's house."

"You wanna try again," she asked him. "This time try the truth."

Her yelling had made everyone in the house come into the foyer. Brian just looked as House stepped out of the living room.

"Danny," he acknowledged him by nodding his head towards the man with a fake smile on his face.

Brian just rolled his eyes, before turning his attention back to Cuddy and Logan.

"That is the truth," he lied again.

"Give me your backpack," she said reaching for the bag off of the boy's back.

He handed it to her, and she began to search through it. It didn't take long before she pulled out the piece of paper she was looking for. She unfolded it, and saw that the boy's report card consisted of the two F's she had been warned about and the rest C's and D's.

"Why didn't you tell me you were having trouble in school?" she questioned.

"I'm not having trouble in school," he told her.

"Well that paper says differently," Brian chimed in. "And how dare you pull these girls into this mess with you?"

The boy just put his head down and looked at the floor. House looked down as he felt the little girl grab onto his left leg. She was obviously terrified by all the yelling going on around her, so he picked her up. She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and putting her head on his shoulder.

"Shut up asshole," Hayden said.

"Hayden!" Cuddy yelled as all the adults just looked at the girl.

"He doesn't know what he's talking about," she continued. "Logan didn't pull us into anything."

"So you admit you had a part in this?" Cuddy said. The girls didn't say anything. "You're grounded for a month," she continued.

"Don't, punish them" Logan said. "He was right. I asked them to lie for me."

House saw the boy look at him out of the corner of his eyes, as if he was waiting for him to jump in and start yelling at him too. Cuddy just stared at him, a look of concern, disappointment, and anger on her face.

"So where have you been?" she asked him calmly. Again the boy didn't say anything.

This set Brian off, as he now started yelling at the boy. He stepped between Cuddy and Logan and started getting in the boy's face. Upon the loud outburst, House felt the little girl jump in his arms, as she buried her face into his neck and tightened her grip on him. Hayden was the first to step in between them and push Brian away.

"Stop yelling at him," she said. Then she turned to Cuddy. "Mom aren't you going to do anything."

"Go upstairs," she told the two girls, "take Isabella with you."

"Are you serious?" Madison questioned.

"Go," Cuddy said quietly.

Hayden snatched the little girl from House's arms and stormed off upstairs. Madison stood there for a little while longer.

"I don't believe this," Madison said, before turning to follow Hayden.
House went after her, figuring he could get her to tell him something faster than Hayden or Logan. He caught the girl at the bottom of the stairs.

"What do you know?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You know what I mean," he told her. "Where has Logan been going?"

The girl just looked down at the floor. "I promised I wouldn't say anything."

"Well there's obviously a problem, and your mom can't fix it, unless she knows what it is. So one of you has to tell her what it is."
The girl looked at him then back to the floor before she started speaking.

"He has a job, that's why he's been getting home so late," she began. "He's scared that after Brian marries mom, him and Izzy are going to have to go back and live with his grandma, and that since she can't take care of them,they are going to take Izzy away. Sooo...that's why he got a job. So he can save money and take care of Isabella. He didn't want to tell mom, because she would make him quit after seeing his grades."

House stared at the girl, before he nodded letting her know she was free to go upstairs. He made his way back to the foyer where Brian was still yelling. This time it was Cuddy who was standing between them. Brian wasn't trying to solve the problem, he was just berating the boy. How did he expect the boy to tell them what was going on when he didn't let him get a word in.

"Go upstairs and pack a bag," House told the boy over Brian's yelling.

Logan and Cuddy just looked at House, while Brian still focused on the boy.

"What? Where is he going?" Cuddy asked.

"I'm taking him to my apartment," House said. "He doesn't need to be here right now. Not while he's here anyway," he said looking to Brian. The boy just continued staring at him. "Go," he said, "unless you want to stay here and finish the polite discussion you were having."

The boy just stepped around them and went upstairs to pack a bag. Cuddy just looked at House a little surprised by his actions, but thankful none the less. She knew that the situation had gotten ugly, and really didn't want the boy to be around Brian at the time either. He shot her a disappointed glare and she looked down at the floor. She did feel a little guilty about letting Brian jump in the boy's face. She should've jumped in and defended him, but she was torn. After all, Brian was her fiance and if he was going to be a part of their family, the kids had to learn to respect him and he had to be allowed to get his opinions across. The boy returned down stairs with an overnight bag and he and House left, leaving Cuddy to rethink her current living situations.