A/N: This is going to be the last chapter of What Breaks a Family. Though it has, admittedly, been a difficult story to write, I don't regret for one second making the choice to write it, and I want to thank all of you for your encouragement, feedback and positive energy through this process, longtime readers and new readers alike, but I especially would like to thank 12wallflower, 14hpgirl19, 2amWritersClub, Amyprentiss-reid, BrandSpankingNew, BrightlyShining, Chimericaldreams, Chloris, Craftygirl11, Claire Randall Fraser, Crayolakid0413, Crazyobsession101, , D, Daisyangel, darktwistygirl, Dino-dog83, dreamsweetmydear, Eeyore08, HpDork FreakaZiod, Hxchick, ilovereid, IwKa, Jenny Crum, jgroovydaisy, JillR, jojo831, Kdzl, Luv2write0205, Magpiezz, Miss R Hood, Mjandersen, Musewars, PenNuser, Pinkturtle55, pipinheart, Rach5, Reelingthoughts, Remy, Shannon, SilentStardust, Stayshiny, Sugarhigh9394, Susannah2000, Tara621, theangelsarecoming, Velizara95, Whatif-ifonly, xxxSQ215xxx Yanirose & guests for your support. If you would like to read more adventures in the What Makes a Family universe, please check out What Unites a Family, which takes place immediately after What Makes a Family ends.

I hope you enjoy the last chapter.

Spencer kept his call going indefinitely. Chances were, eventually, someone would hear it. Hopefully, that person would be Penelope. He was sweating and shaking and hoping no one followed him down here. Taking the walkie-talkie with him, Spencer started piling things in front of his door. A desk chair. His satchel. A large piece of luggage filled with extra blankets. Lots and lots of hardcover books. He was not strong enough to move his desk, dresser or bookcase, so these would have to do. Then, he sat in front of the door himself. Spencer had heavy doubts that an extra 74 pounds of weight would stop people who really wanted to get in and do him harm, but he had to try.

"Spencer to Penelope. Over?" he tried, his voice shaking. His eyes fell on the scars around his wrists. He did not usually look at them, but his wrist was in his direct line of sight and Spencer couldn't help it. The rope burns had been the most severe there, and Spencer fixed himself up via advice on a website that Aaron used to tease him about. It had made Spencer feel small. But what else could he have done? It was three days before Derek found out about what happened. By then, they were healing, but they weren't healed. Thankfully, with time, they had. Spencer thought about unzipping the luggage and getting some blankets. The shaking was bad and he was so cold. He hated being cold. However, if he got blankets out of the suitcase, there might be less weight against the door.

Tears slid down his cheeks. "Penelope, please come in…" he whimpered.

Emily rushed through the house, trying to do ten-thousand little things. She needed her painting for JJ to dry. She needed JJ's mood to pick up, and for Derek to hurry and get back with his last minute gift. She called him again and left a message, knowing that he had picked up Aaron from therapy and that Derek had mentioned something about the mall.

"Derek, it's Mom. We're looking to do presents sometime in this century, okay? So, try to make a decision and drive safely, okay? We'll wait for you and Aaron to do presents."

"Hey, Emily?" Dave asked, surprising her, just as she hung up the phone. "I have to bring out more lasagna, but Spencer took off through here a little bit ago. Looked pretty shaken up."

"Thanks, Dave," Emily said, and changed directions, forgetting about the painting and everything else. Instead, she made her way downstairs and tapped on the door to Spencer's room before turning the handle.

The door wouldn't budge. "Spencer, it's Mom. Open the door, please," she said, trying to stay calm. It had taken him a month to earn his door back after his bullying - and his impulsive plan as to how to deal with it - were brought to light. She didn't like the idea of her twelve year old barricaded in his room for any reason.

"I can't," he gasped. "Please go away."

"Spencer. Answer me honestly, honey. Are you safe right now?" Emily pressed, her voice low and calm.

"Yes, if I can stay in here. Just please don't come in. You'll make it worse. I'm having a stress reaction," he confessed.

His voice grew suddenly muffled, but Emily distinctly heard some kind of distress call that ended in the word 'over.' She thought fast. The walkie-talkies. Penelope. "I'm going to get Penelope for you."

"Thank you," he said, his voice shaking.

Penelope ditched her greeting duties as soon as Emily informed her about Spencer, hiding out in his room and sending out some kind of signal to her via walkie-talkie. She went in the back door and waited outside his door.

"Spencer, it's Penelope," she called gently. "What's your 20?"

"Where's your walkie-talkie?" he shot back. "You can't come in here…"

"No one else is out here. I swear, my most excellent big sister promise in the universe, okay? Please let me in. I want to help."

"I can't. They'll get in…" he managed, his voice breathy.

"Honey, listen to me. No one is out here. It's just me. Everyone's either outside or upstairs. I locked the back door behind me, and I've got an eye line up the stairs. The door is closed. No one is coming."

Slowly, the door eased open a few inches so that Penelope was forced to wedge herself not-so-gracefully through a too-small opening. She closed the door behind her immediately and took in the amazing mess behind the door, and Spencer, who sat in the middle of it, looking traumatized.

Penelope didn't need anymore information. She sat on the floor and gathered him in her arms, covering them both with a blanket.

"What are you doing?" he asked, going stiff in her arms.

"Chill out, baby brother. It's called comforting you, and it's part of my big-sisterly duties."

"I don't need comforting," Spencer objected.

"Your trembling body seems to think otherwise," Penelope observed, and then let the silence grow around them until Spencer spoke.

"The crowd," he said, his voice hoarse, like it had been after he'd caught Aaron's bullies in the act. "I didn't notice them at first. I wasn't paying sufficient attention. I sat down alone to eat my cake and the next time I glanced up, they were all around me. And then one of them smiled at me…and laid a hand on my arm," he confessed, shuddering. "It reminded me of the football team…"

"Sounds terrifying," Penelope said, and meant it.

"It was," Spencer confirmed, swallowing. "Extremely."

"I'm here now, and whenever you're ready we can go back to the party. I'll stay right with you. The buddy system. How does that sound?"

"Unwise," Spencer said, drawing closer to her. "It still feels dangerous to me."

"Well, then, maybe we'll wait 'til all the guests go home, and go out when it's just family. Sound good?"

"Yes," Spencer admitted, breathing a sigh of relief.

JJ glanced up as she heard familiar voices. Derek and Aaron were coming toward her, big smiles on their faces. She couldn't even enjoy the cake, really, but she was glad they were there. She didn't have the heart to tell her mom that she didn't want a whole bunch of people over to celebrate her. Thankfully, the crowd was starting to thin out. JJ didn't feel like she deserved to be celebrated. After all, she had screwed up her own life, and now there were medical bills and pain, not to mention the hell she'd put her family through. She walked unsteadily around the side of the house and leaned against it, standing just inside the wooden fence. Reaching into her pocket, she felt the pack of cigarettes and pulled them out. She was prepared to light one until she remembered that she didn't have a lighter. Of course not. JJ could barely tie her own shoes, what would she do with a lighter? She crammed the cigarettes back into her pocket. It was definitely better to forget about them, but it didn't make her feel any better.

"Hey, baby."

God. Neither did that voice. JJ glanced over, making out Stan, as he scaled the fence and dropped down in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"You look better than I thought," he complimented. "Even if your hair is kinda short and those glasses are kinda stupid."

"What are you doing here?" JJ pressed, enunciating each word carefully, for his benefit.

"Came to wish you a happy birthday. What'd you think I was here for?" he asked, leaning close and breathing into her ear. She nearly gagged at the alcohol on his breath. He leaned in and kissed her before she could react. It was wet, awkward, and disgusting. She shoved him away, trying to keep her balance.

She hadn't thought this through. Over here by the fence had been a great option for privacy, but it was also terrible for the same reasons. No one could easily see her here. Not unless they came looking.

"What's wrong, baby? Don't you remember how hot we were? You need me now. And let's face it, I'm doing you a favor. So, let's sit down, have some cake, and I don't know…maybe some drinks…loosen you up…"

"I can't," she told him honestly, Spencer's warning echoing in her head about not mixing her anti-seizure medicine and alcohol. Remembering that it was drinking that led her here in the first place, with a brain injury and difficulty with nearly everything she used to take for granted.

"Sure, you can," he urged. "Come on. I just want to see you."

"Okay, you did. So you can go," JJ insisted.

"What?" Stan hissed. "What did you say to me? Who do you think you are, you little bitch?" he asked squeezing her shoulders tightly.

Aaron had finally managed to shake Derek. He hadn't liked leaving Aaron alone, especially when there was food involved. Derek had been preoccupied by something before, but the minute Dave's lasagna and salad and garlic bread came into view Derek was like some kind of guard at Aaron's side, constantly asking, "You good?"

In a way, it was kind of nice. Food was still a difficult area for him to navigate. Any change at all in the routine of it might set Aaron back. The good thing was, Derek knew it. He stuck close to Aaron's side, while he went through the buffet style line in the kitchen, and then sat with him when Aaron found a place at the table. He didn't go outside, because he knew he couldn't have eaten. It would have messed with his head too much. So, he'd stayed inside, and made a concerted effort to eat everything he'd served himself. He felt better when he treated himself well, anyway.

"Okay, I'm done," Aaron said.

"All right, cool. I'm gonna wrap JJ's stuff," Derek decided, taking off to find tape and scissors.

"Hey, will you wrap mine, too?" Aaron called. He hated wrapping stuff. He wasn't any good at it, and JJ deserved things that looked nice.

"Sure, kid," Derek nodded.

Aaron headed outside, through the back door and surveyed the yard from the deck. JJ was usually easy to spot, which was why Aaron thought it was weird that he didn't see her right away. She hadn't been in the house, either.

Deliberately, he walked down the stairs, greeting the guests with practiced politeness and asking if any of them had seen JJ. None had. Aaron was working his way toward the corner of the house when a sound caught his attention. It was strange and strained. Like a curse, only muffled.

Aaron came around the house, and his entire body tensed as he saw Stan Hoban kissing JJ roughly, his fingers digging into her arms. Her entire body was stiff and her legs were shaking. Her lips were pressed together and she was doing her best to keep space between them. Aaron didn't even think as he wedged himself between them, and shoved Stan back. Defending others always had come easier than defending himself.

"Get out of here before I call the cops," Aaron said, his voice flat and certain.

"You really wanna do that and ruin JJ's nice party?" Stan asked, his voice mocking.

"Seems like you already did an adequate job of that," Aaron said. He moved to JJ's side, putting an arm around her in support. "Did he hurt you?"

JJ bristled. "Too weak," she spat.

Stan's jaw tightened and he lunged for JJ, but Aaron blocked her and knocked Stan to the ground with a single well-placed punch to the nose.

"You're an asshole," Stan exclaimed, but quieted when Aaron merely took an intentional step toward him. "You're nothing, JJ. Just a brain-damaged little tease," he gasped as his nose bled. "I'm the best you could get, and now? You got nothing."

"I have my family," JJ said fiercely.

"What the hell is goin' on?" Derek exclaimed as Stan undid the latch and stumbled out to the yard and toward his car.

"We handled it," JJ said confidently, though she was still shaking. "Aaron hesitated me. I mean, protected. Aaron protected me."

There was a pause while Aaron caught his breath and Derek watched Stan retreat.

"Can someone call him a cab?" JJ asked tentatively. "He's drunk as hell…"

"Yeah, let's do that," Derek confirmed, and with JJ between them, Aaron and Derek walked with their arms around their sister until they found her a chair. And Derek pulled out his phone and dialed.

"Sounds like we missed some excitement," Penelope speculated, as she, Spencer, JJ, Aaron, Derek, Emily and Dave sat around in the fading April light.

"Not that exciting," JJ shook her head, trying to keep her energy up. She had already been social for an undetermined amount of time, ate cake, fended off a stalker, and opened gifts - Aaron's had been her favorite - but she tried to keep that to herself because she didn't want to hurt anyone else's feelings.

"Seriously, are you okay?" Emily asked.

"Fine," she confirmed, "thanks to you guys."

"I'm sorry I didn't get you a present. I just really didn't know what you wanted." Spencer said, genuinely regretful. He was practically sitting in Penelope's lap, but she seemed okay with it, so no one commented.

"I have everything I want." JJ said, tired but happy, "Right here."

Is a family still a family when it's broken beyond repair?

The question lingered in Emily's mind, just as it had months before in the moments just prior to her life changing forever. It haunted the edges of her mind and memory when Spencer hugged her goodnight and thanked her again for helping him. She thought about it when Penelope embraced her, and told her she'd be heading back to Pennsylvania tomorrow, then hugged JJ, and followed Spencer inside. She breathed it in as she watched Aaron hesitate, his knuckles bruised from defending his sister - as he whispered "I love you" in her ear and thanked her for being his mother. It reverberated when Derek stood awkwardly, and then scooted his chair closer to her in the dark, confessing that he and Jordan were serious. That she might be the one. And would Emily give her blessing if he, someday, decided to propose? Emily affirmed them all, until she was left with just Dave and JJ.

She watched carefully as Dave handed her an envelope. "Happy birthday from your grandma," he said, choking on the words.

"How…" JJ breathed.

"Jordan dropped it off. She said it looked important. It is." Dave confirmed. Emily reached for his hand, brokenness a memory at the back of her throat, as JJ tried to read the note but could not manage either because of the dark, her eyesight or emotion. She set it on the table and nodded at Emily.

Carefully, she picked up the paper and read:

"Dear JJ,

There are only three things you need to know in the wake of this. I love you. I will protect you. And I will be your angel, guiding and guarding you. Love, Gram."

JJ was speechless. Dave was speechless, and Emily was most definitely beyond any coherent words. JJ just stared at the letter, touching it gently and nodding to herself, as if to say that it all made sense somehow. Finally, Dave excused himself, wishing JJ a happy birthday and kissing both her and Emily on the tops of their heads.

Suddenly, it was just Emily and JJ. They stared at the letter until JJ got unsteadily to her feet and extended a hand to Emily. They walked in the house together, past Penelope on the couch, and to JJ's room where she got into bed, fully clothed. Emily stood in the doorway, turning off the light when JJ gave the okay.

Emily was about to leave when something stopped her short. Made her seize the moment and ask the question that hovered behind her lips. "What do you think you'd like to be?" she asked. "In the future?"

"An artist. Like you," JJ answered honestly, surprising Emily.

"Why?"

"Because…you can make anything beautiful…" JJ yawned.

That was when Emily knew for sure that her family would suffer tragedy and torment. Her family might crack under pressure and do all the wrong things while trying in vain to just do the right ones. But she knew that a family was still a family, because its bonds were never truly broken.

Because there was always hope.

The End.