Disclaimer: Guess what! The IaHB characters aren't mine, though almost everyone else in this story is! Sheesh---I think I focused more on the made-up characters in this story, then the actual real characters! Well, whatever. I know that this story has taken me forever and a day to right, and I'm sorry--I've just been major stuck on it! But hey, at least I wrote it, right? *sigh* This is the story with the constantly changing title, for anyone whose interested. At first it was going to be "Gone, But Not Forgotten". Then it was going to be "Coming Home", which it was right up until I finished it. But now it's not either--Coming Home will be next, and then Gone, But Not Forgotten. Anyway, without further ado...

Readjustments

Genevieve Waite nervously brushed a lock of her bright red hair behind her ear, before folding her hands in her lap as she sat in the waiting room/living room of her attorney's office building. Lawyers always made her nervous. Maybe it was just a throw-back from all the lawyer jokes her beloved Sam had been so fond of telling, but for some reason she had never been able to be completely at ease with an attorney, no matter how nice they appeared to be. In fact, that might be what worried her--the nicer the lawyer, the more she mistrusted them.

Max Huff wasn't exactly nice. He wasn't cruel and ruthless, like the most lawyers had a reputation for being, but describing him as nice was too generous. He was too blunt, too direct to be truly nice.

However, he was a good lawyer. Actually, the best lawyer in town--and he didn't charge extravagant amounts of money either.

"Max, you have a client!" A deep female voice called from the depths of the tiny office building.

And that was probably the reason, shouting from the background. Even though Max had represented Jamie when he was convicted of shoplifting (and was probably the only reason Jamie hadn't gone to juvenile), Genevieve might not have come back to him if it wasn't for his secretary, Peggy.

The forty something woman was one of the friendliest people she had ever met in her life, with the warm, maternal personality that made it difficult for people to dislike her or mistrust her. But for all her sweetness, Peggy was amazingly strong, having raised her two teenager daughters by herself for the past six years.

"Oh, hi Genevieve. How are you?" Peggy asked, smiling. That was another thing that Genevieve like about the woman--she never forgot a face, or a name to go with that face. "Has Jamie...?"

"No, he's fine." The younger woman smiled, her dark eyes twinkling. "He's managing to keep himself out of trouble, thankfully."

"That's good." Peggy laughed, her blue eyes suddenly mischievous. "Is he still single? My oldest girl, Stephanie, still thinks he's the cutest guy she's ever seen."

Genevieve laughed out loud. "Isn't she a little old for him? Won't she be 19 in a few months?"

"I pointed that out too. Her response was a rather indignant squeak and a shriek that 'love knows no age'!" The two women laughed together, Peggy rolling her eyes. "No wonder she's so fascinated with acting--she's such a drama queen."

"Peg, if the gossip session's over..." A bass male voice asked, as Max Huff stepped out of the shadows. Genevieve swallowed hard, and tired to hold onto her stomach, while Peggy just rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, Max."

Max made a face at the woman before gesturing toward his office. "So, what seems to be the problem, Mrs. Waite?"

"I need to know how to get custody of a child, Mr. Huff."

@-}--}---

"What do you think they're talking about?" Jamie asked, shifting in the hard hospital lobby chair he was currently slouching in, his little sister Jazz seated next to him, her shoulder's held perfectly straight and her hands folded in her lap.

"Probably about everything that's been happening." Jazz guessed, looking over at her brother, her dark brown eyes scanning his taunt frame and the way he kept his eyes trained on the door.

"I guess." Jamie mumbled. "I just wish they'd hurry up." He continued, even softer.

"Jamie..." Jazz began, trying to come up with the right way to phrase the questions that were swirling around in her head. How does one ask their brother if said brother is in love with his best friend?

Thankfully, Jazz was rescued from having to find out by the entrance of their three younger sisters: Crimson, Molly and Sami. Sami, the youngest at four, was still clad in her pajamas; the pink ones, with the feet. Crimson, who had just turned twelve, was carrying her, and the little girl looked like she was about to fall asleep again at any moment. Molly trailed along behind Crimson, two of her fingers looped through one of her older sister's belt loops.

"What are you three doing here?" Jamie demanded, rising from his seat. "And where's Mere?"

"She said something about having something to do, and that she'd be home later. Something to do with the restaurant, I think.*" Crimson explained, knitting her eyebrows together. "Or maybe something else. I was about half asleep when she told me where she was going."

"Why am I not surprised?" Jamie asked, reaching down to take Sami out of the younger girl's arms. The baby of the family adjusted to her new position without even waking up.

"Bite me." Crimson snapped back, putting her hands on her hips and making a face at her older brother.

"I'm hungry." Molly suddenly spoke up, effectively stopping the battle of insults that was rapidly brewing between Crimson and Jamie.

"So, what else is new?" Crimson commented, but with no actual venom.

"Come on, Molly, I'll take you to get something to eat." Jazz promised, reaching out a hand to the little girl. The younger girl took it and the duo walked off, in search of the vending machines.

Left with nothing else to do, Jamie sat back down in his chair, this time careful to keep from waking Sami, who was still cradled in his lap. Crimson took the seat that Jazz had vacated, stretching her legs out in front of her, and lifting her arms above her head, her expression slightly bored.

For a minute, the Waite siblings sat in silence. But Crimson, unlike her older sister, wasn't quiet by natured--long silences tended to annoy her.

"How is she?" The girl asked, looking over at her brother. His shoulders stiffened noticeably, and his eyes darkened.

"She's okay. Talking to Val right now." Jamie told Crimson, his eyes locking on the door again, just like he had been doing before his younger sisters had gotten there.

Crimson surveyed her brother for a long second, cocking her head to the left, so that a shower of her waist length red hair fell over her eyes. Growling in annoyance, she pushed it out of her face, before turning her attention back to her brother. He was still staring at the door like his life depended on it.

"You really love her, don't you?" Crimson asked point blank, unknowingly echoing her older sister's thoughts from before.

"What?!" Jamie yelped, giving Crimson his sudden and full attention.

"You heard me. You. Really. Love. Caitie. Don't you?" Crimson asked, flashing him an acid sweet smile.

"She's my best friend--of course I care about her!" Jamie danced around the question as best he could, trying to keep his cheeks from flaming.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." His younger sister pointed out, pulling her lips into a disbelieving line.

"No, I have no idea what you mean." Jamie found that he couldn't look at his sister.

"Riiiiiight..." Crimson nodded.

Before Jamie could continue to defend himself, the door swung open, and a red-eyed Val Linear walked through the door. He jerked his attention away from his sister, and stood up, shifting the still sleeping Sami around in his arms as he did so.

Before he could say anything, Val let a small, sad smile touch her lips. "She's asleep."

"Oh." Was the only thing he could think to say.

For a long moment, neither one of them could think of anything to say. But then Val's face crumpled, a tears coursed down her cheeks.

"Oh, God Jamie, she looks so bad. How could I not have known? I'm so...STUPID..." Val berated herself, pushing her fingers through her hair.

"Val..." Jamie began, but Crimson cut him off, materializing by his right elbow.

"Why?" She asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Why what? And who are you?" Val asked, looking at the girl in confusion.

"His sister." She tilted her head at Jamie. " Why are you stupid?" Crimson asked, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at the girl like one would look at an interesting bug.

"Because...I...my best friend.." Val trailed off again, tears filling her eyes once again.

"Oooh...so you're stupid because you couldn't read her mind. Of course." Crimson nodded, her expression understanding. "I understand completely."

"There are SIGNS--I should have SEEN..." Val informed the redhead, swallowing so hard you could see it.

"Signs can be hidden, and even the people that SORTA knew about it--like him--" Jamie's little sister jerked her thumb in her brother's direction, "Didn't even realize how bad it was. How could YOU, who, I'm sure, have never known anyone else that was abused, have seen it?"

"I...I..." Val couldn't seem to think of anything to contradict the girl's statement.

"Yeah, you, you. Look, I'm sure you care a lot about Caitie--you must, or you wouldn't be here at eight o'clock in the morning. So, stop beating yourself up over this, and be her friend--be there for her, and, most importantly, stop crying about everything. Caitie's going to be fine." Crimson ordered, hands on her hips.

Val stared at the girl for a long moment, her lips moving, but no sound coming out. Then she slowly nodded, reaching up to brush the tears off her face.

"You're right. You're right." Val agreed, nodding her head to emphasis her point. She started down the hallway, but then stopped, and turned around. "Thank you." She then continued her walk down the hallway.

"Yeah, whatever." Crimson shrugged, and grinned at her brother's dumfound expression. "What?"

"You know, you're obnoxious." Jamie informed her, a small grin pulling at his lips.

"I learned at the master's knee." She smirked up at him, her eyes glinting.

@-}--}---

"Thank you for seeing me today--I hate to drag you away from your family, but this is very important..." Genevieve trailed off, eyeing the man in front of her wearily. Max waved it off with a careless flick of his hand.

"You said that already--besides, the girls won't be up until noon, and Peg's oldest is watching them. Even if they do wake up, they love Stephanie, so it's no big deal. Now, what, exactly, is your problem?" The slightly balding man asked, lifting an eyebrow and shuffling some of his papers.

"I want to get custody of a child--well, a teenager actually." Genevieve amended.

"What's the child's full name?" Max asked, selecting one of the papers he had been playing with.

"Caitlin Marie Roth."

"Birthday?"

"April 24, 1983."

"Social Security number?"

"It's..." Genevieve reached into her purse, and tugged out the little paper she had written Caitie's social security number on. "589186727"

"Alright--now, to the real questions. On what grounds do you want to sue for custody?" Max asked, never taking his eyes off the paper he was writing on.

"Parental abuse and neglect." Genevieve stated promptly, glad that Lonnie had told her the proper phrasing of the charge.

Max whistled, and tapped his fingers on the desktop. "That's a pretty serious charge--and a hard one to make stick. Has DHS investigated yet?"

"No, and I'd rather they not." Genevieve replied.

"If the charge is abuse, then they'll have to." Max told her, and Genevieve cursed fluently in French.

"Those idiots at DHS won't help her at all--their slower then Christmas, and normally wrong to boot." Genevieve snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You've had run-ins with them?" Max asked, his tone curious.

"When I was a teenager." Genevieve's tone warned him to drop it. "Besides, if DHS gets involved, they'll either leave her that house, or ship her off to foster care, neither which is a good idea for her."

"True." Max looked impressed with her knowledge of the workings of the Department of Human Services. "So, how are you related to the girl?"

"I'm not." Genevieve admitted, and sucked in a breath when she saw Max's expression become one of slight worry. "What?"

"How long have you know her?" He asked, and Genevieve shrugged.

"About two months." Max's expression got even grimmer. "You don't think I have a shot of getting her, do you?" Genevieve realized, looking at the man her expression as bleak as his.

"No, I don't. I'd say your chances of getting her, if her parents fight for her, is slim to walking out the door." The lawyer admitted.

The woman shut her eyes, and massaged her temples, the bitter taste of bile filling her mouth. God, what was she going to do? She had to get Caitie out of that house, now. She didn't have time for DHS to investigate and make a decision. She'd wasted enough time already.

She winced when she thought about all the time she had wasted, all those months she could have spent trying to get Caitie out of her house. But she had just sat back, and let that child be beat--what kind of person was she, to let someone else suffer the way she had?

A swell of self-loathing threatened to drown her, but she pushed it back hastily. First, you have to help Caitie, she thought to herself. Then you can beat your self up.

Suddenly, something Max had said popped into her brain, and her eyes flew open. Eyeing Max for a minute, she leaned back in her chair.

"What do you mean, if they decide to fight for her?"

@-}--}---

Caitie looked so small, lying there asleep on the bed, Jamie thought, staring at the young woman from the doorway of her room. So small and so fragile--like a china doll. Who could ever wanna hurt her?

Crimson poked him in the back, and he stepped into the room, still carrying Sami. He carefully laid the little girl down on vacant bed beside Caitie's. That done, he turned back to his best friend. As he did so, he caught sight of his little sister, standing in the doorway, her face paler then normal.

Jamie suddenly remembered that this was the first time that Crimson had seen Caitie since she had been in the hospital. He swallowed hard, and held out an arm to the girl. She obediently walked forward, slipping under his arm and laying her head on his chest. The two looked down at the sleeping girl for a long time, the room silent except for the sound of breathing.

"She looks so...broken, Jamie." Crimson whispered finally, her voice cracking like thunder in the room.

"I know. But...she's okay, Crimmie. She'll be okay." Her brother told her, hugging her against his side.

"How...how do you know? How do you know that her parents won't do this again, won't hurt her worse next time? How do you know that they won't kill her next time?" She asked softly.

"I...I won't let that happen." Jamie swallowed, having to fight the sudden burning at the back of his throat. "I won't let anyone else hurt her, ever again. I don't know how, but I swear to God, nobody else is ever going to hurt her again."

@-}--}---

The ringing of Jazz's cell phone surprised the fourteen year old. Blinking in confusion, she pulled the phone out of her purse, and flipped it open, holding it to her ear. Hardly anyone ever called her on her cell--it was mostly for emergencies and the like.

"Hello?" She asked carefully, looking over at Molly who was still happily chewing away on some horribly disgusting meat substitute.

"Jazz!" Her mother's voice sounded oddly excited about something.

"Mom?" The girl asked, knitting her eyebrows together. "Where are you? What are you doing?"

"I'm at Max's!" Genevieve told her, before continuing on. "I have the greatest news!"

"Max? Max who? What news?" Jazz was really confused now.

"Max--Max Huff, my lawyer!"

"Your lawyer? Why were you talking to your lawyer?"

"Are you at the hospital now?"

"Yeah--we all are. I'm in the cafeteria with Molly, and Jamie's got Crimson and Sami. I think their visiting Caitie. Mom, why were you talking to your lawyer?"

"Good! Good! I'll be right there--I wanna talk to all of you about something. I'm on my way now! Be there soon; love you! Bye!" The dial tone sounded in Jazz's ears.

Jazz hung up her phone as well, confusion marring her face. Molly looked up at her from where she was eating, her red eyebrows knitted together.

"Who was that?" She asked, tilting her head to the left.

"Mom. She's on her way to the hospital--she wants to talk to us all about something." Jazz told her little sister, chewing on the bottom of her lip. "Are you done?"

"Uh huh." Molly told her sister, nodding her head.

"Then come on--Mere said she'd be here soon."

@-}--}---

Caitie stirred, slowly opening her eyes. The first thing she laid eyes on was Jamie and Crimson Waite, standing beside her bed, looking down at her. She let a small smile touch her face, and the siblings smiled back at her.

Jamie broke away from his little sister, and moved closer to her, reaching out to gently take her hand in his. Caitie's smile grew, and she slowly twined her fingers around his.

"Okay, you two, get a room." Crimson ordered, laughter in her voice.

Jamie blushed scarlet, and Caitie felt her face get hot as well.

"Very funny, Crimmie." Jamie muttered, studying his shoes with sudden interest. Caitie was suddenly very interested in her feet as well, not the mention the end of the bed.

Before the two could wallow in their embarrassment any longer, the door flew open, and Genevieve Waite nearly bounded through the door, her long red hair flying out behind her. Caitie had to muffle a giggle; the woman looked very much like her youngest daughter did whenever the little girl got excited about something. Molly and Jazz were right behind her, both looking slightly baffled and a little winded.

"Mere?" Jamie asked, tilting his head to the right as she came to a halt at the end of Caitie's bed. "What are you so excited about?"

"I went to see my lawyer today." Genevieve began, ignoring her only son's question for the time being.

"Uh oh...what'd you do this time Jamie?" Caitie teased, and Jamie glared at her, but the smile on his face took the bite out of the expression.

"Nothing, nothing." The older woman assured the girl, the smile slowly disappearing off her face. "I went to do something that I should have done months ago."

"And that was..." Crimson began, twirling her wrist around in the universal sign for 'continue please'.

"I went in to see about getting custody of Caitie." Genevieve stated, her eyes dancing across the suddenly shocked expressions on her children and Caitie's faces.

"Wait...what...like, custody custody? Like, I would be living at you're house, stuff like that?" Caitie asked, the first one to break out of her stupor.

"Well, it's not like it would be THAT much of a change." Crimson noted. "You're there more then Jamie is!"

"Yes, that's what that means." Genevieve chose to ignore her second oldest daughter as she studied Caitie's stunned face.

"And, my parents would like, pay you?" Caitie guessed, wrinkling her eyebrows together. The older redhead shook her head.

"No; it be like you were one of my own children." Genevieve explained.

"Like--one of your own?" Caitie echoed, her face shocked. "You would... do that? For me? You'd...you'd take me in? Why?"

Genevieve slowly moved around the bed, until she was standing right beside Caitie's head, across the bed from her son. She smiled gently at the younger girl, before reaching out to smooth back some of the girl's dark brown hair. "Because I'm not going to let some one I love, and some one my children love, be hurt, not when I have the power to stop it. I won't allow it."

As Genevieve spoke, Caitie's eyes had slowly been filling with tears, and then spilling down her face. She dashed at them angrily, trying to calm herself. "I can't let you do that, Genevieve...I mean, no offense, but your house is packed as it is."

"You can share me and Molly's room." A sleep little voice offered, and Sami suddenly appeared next to her mother, only her eyes and the top of her head visible over the edge of the bed. "We're little, and neat!"

"Or you could have my room." Jamie offered, putting his hand on top of Sami's head. She turned around and held her arms out expectantly toward her brother, and he scooped her up, settling her on his hip.

"We'll figure it out later." Genevieve told her, a small smile pulling at her lips. "That is, if you want to live with us."

"I...I mean..." Caitie trailed off, looking around the room at the faces of the people standing around her. When she turned her gaze to Jamie, their eyes locked, and a swell of...something rose in her chest. Looking down, a small smile pulled at her lips.

"You don't have to decide now." Genevieve told the girl, smiling softly. "I know it's a tough decision..."

Without warning, Caitie burst into laughter, shaking her head. The Waites looked at her in confusion, their looks nearly perfect mirrors. When the injured girl finally got a hold of herself, she told them what she had suddenly found so incredibly funny.

"This sounds like something from one of those really bad Lifetime movies!"

Crimson snorted in amusement and agreement. However, Caitie's merriment over the situation soon faded into a somber kind of happiness. Reaching up to nervously tuck a lock of her dark hair behind her ear, she locked gazes with Genevieve.

"Seriously, though...I...would like it...love it...if you would...I mean...can you?" The dark haired Goth girl stuttered, looking at the older woman. The matriarch of the Waite family smiled again, and nodded.

"I can--and I will."

*Genevieve's restaurant, appropriately named Genevieve's appeared in my story Spanish Guitar, if you don't remember seeing it before in this series...