Author's Note: Since it's been awhile I'll remind you who all these characters are. Steve and Melinda are Heather's dad and step-mom. Alex is the infamous O'Neal from the basketball team last year; Courtney and Brandon are Heather's younger half-siblings who are now fifteen and four respectively.

"Oh, hello Richie," Melinda, Heather's step-mother, greeted in slight surprise when she rounded the corner into her living room and found Richie sitting on the floor with Brandon in front of the Super NES playing video games.

"Hey, Melinda," Richie greeted turning around for a split second to not seem totally rude.

"What are you doing here?" she asked flipping through the bills on the coffee table.

"Heather has to work on some class thing so I came over to keep Brandon company while she was busy," he explained. Over the past year Richie had become a rather permanent fixture at the O'Neal house. "She's upstairs on the computer."

"Oh, is Courtney home?"

"Yeah, she got here about an hour ago screaming about not being ready for a date. wait where are you?" he searched the screen looking for Brandon's spy. Brandon giggled and made his man shoot Richie's. "Gee, thanks, man."

Melinda smiled, Richie and Brandon got along like brothers. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"I was going to stay the night and go with you guys to the wedding in the morning if that's not a problem," he said turning around as the game pronounced Brandon the victor.

"Has it ever been a problem?" Melinda asked. "Of course it's fine."

"I was just checking," Richie shrugged. "You never know."

"That's very sweet of you, Richie, but you know you're always welcome here."

"Les play again, Wishie," Brandon tugged on Richie's sleeve. Richie smiled; one day the kid would learn to talk properly.

"I thought you wanted to read your new book?" Richie asked knowing that Brandon's parents didn't like him to spend a lot of time in front of the TV.

"I cann' weed," Brandon told him.

"Well, I can. Do you want me to read it to you?"

Brandon smiled broadly and ran to get his book.

"You are so good with him," Melinda commented.

"I love kids," Richie told her standing up and stretching his legs. "I used to baby sit all the time."

"You're a natural big brother."

"I was an only child."

"Either way you'll make a great father some day," she smiled at him before going to the kitchen to start dinner.

"In theory," Richie mumbled to himself. "Put in practice, I'm a little lacking. Hey big guy, is that your new book?" Richie asked sitting on the couch and putting Brandon in his lap.

"Yeah, mommy got it fow' me."

"Well, let's see what we got here." Richie opened the book and began to read it running his finger under the words so Brandon could follow along.

Ten minutes later Courtney sauntered down the stairs in a tight miniskirt and see through blouse tied just above her navel. She grinned proudly at Richie who sent Brandon to play in his room.

"What do you think?" she asked batting her heavily mascaraed eyelashes.

"Uh." Richie tried to think of a work other than tramp to describe Courtney's outfit.

"Courtney Marie O'Neal!" Melinda yelled spotting her youngest daughter from the kitchen. "What do you think you are wearing?"

"It's what all the cool kids wear, Mom," Courtney replied rolling her eyes.

"Then I guess you're not going to be cool, because you're not going out in public in that."

"Why?" the teen demanded. "I look cool!"

"You look like a hussy."

"Richie likes it, don't you?" Courtney turned to her older sister's cool boyfriend.

"You want my honest opinion, Court? I think you look stupid. If one of my date's ever dressed like that, I'd make up an excuse to leave," Richie told her. He had dated plenty of girls who dressed like Courtney was trying to, but he had graduated high school since then.

Courtney looked crushed. "You would?"

"You're fifteen, Court," Richie told her getting up from the couch and putting an arm around her. "And for a fifteen year old you're pretty hot. when you're not in one of these get ups. Now, this boy you're going out with tonight, who did he ask out? You or the MTV reject?"

"Me," Courtney answered glumly.

"Then don't you think he's expecting to go out with you?"

"I guess so."

"Now, I'm not trying to tell you how to dress," Richie added. "I'm just telling you what I like, trendy. Not ultra hip, not nun conservative, but trendy and comfortable." Courtney looked up at him. "I'm sure Heather has something that can get all that goop off your face." He tapped her lightly on the chin and winked at her, causing her to blush and giggle.

"Okay." She turned and went back up stairs.

"How do you do that?" Melinda asked shaking her head.

"She asked my opinion, I gave it to her," he shrugged. "It's just what you would have said only I'm not her mom. I am boy, just an older version of who she's trying to impress. Do you need any help with dinner?" he offered.

"Richie," Courtney asked from the top of the stairs still red faced from scrubbing the make-up off. "Which shirt do you like?"

He cast a discreet glance at Melinda who just as discreetly gave him her approval for both choices. "I'd go with the blue," he decided. "But that's just me. What do you think, Melinda?"

"I think this teenage fashion stuff is way over my head," Melinda answered. "I'll just let you two decide."

"The blue one?" Courtney clarified holding it in front of the almost identical pink shirt.

"That's my vote," he nodded.

"Kay, thanks," she disappeared off the landing and into her room.

Richie turned back to Melinda with an embarrassed grin. "I'm really not trying to take over, I swear."

Melinda smiled at him. "As long as you're on my side, have at her. She's at that 'I refuse to listen to my mother' phase."

"She'll get over it. If this kid dumps her, she's running to you, not me," Richie assured her moving to lean on the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room. "Sure you don't need any help?"

"Can you fix the salad?" Melinda asked putting lettuce, tomatoes, and olives on the counter.

"Sure." Richie slid into position and set to his task. "So is Steve gonna be here tonight?" he asked.

"Courtney's going out with a new boy tonight, you bet he is. Who else would give the 'son, what are you plans for the evening' speech?" Melinda reached around Richie for a tomato chunk.

"I feel sorry for the kid already," Richie laughed. "Dads are scary when you're trying to take their daughter out. I have never have never been threatened harm by anything scarier than a dad. That was the only part of the first dates that bothered me."

"Steve has the theory that the more nervous the boy appears the more honorable their intentions," Melinda explained.

"It's a theory," Richie allowed.

"That helps me sleep easy at night so don't knock it," she warned. "Because I know where you're sleeping tonight."

Steve got home just in time to greet Courtney's date at the door. Richie went off to get Courtney and otherwise keep himself scarce. He found Heather in the office just as she hit the print button on the computer.

"All done?" he asked.

"Hey!" she greeted twisting to give him a kiss. "Sorry to abandon you."

"No, don't worry about it. I'm bonding with your family."

"Oh, really?" She stood and stretched. "What have you been up to?"

"Playing with Brandon, I got a part time gig as Courtney's fashion consultant, and helped your mom with dinner."

"That's what she was blabbing about when she came in here asking about my make-up remover," Heather realized. "She was all flustered 'cause she thought that she looked stupid. which she did. I'm just surprised she realized it."

"Ah, that was my doing," Richie confessed. "She wasn't listening to your mom, so when she asked my opinion I threw in some of Melinda's."

"Dinnow!" Brandon announced running into the room. Heather and Richie followed Brandon down stairs and enjoyed a nice dinner. Steve and Melinda filled Richie in on the family he was going to meet the next day and Heather warned him that her family was just as messed up as his.

"Well," Steve clapped his hands together once everyone had abandoned their food in favor of conversation. "I believe it's time for this little guy to get ready for bed." He fondly ruffled Brandon's hair. "You need a bath?"

Brandon made a face. "No!" Richie snorted into his water and Heather kicked him under the table.

"I think you need a bath," Heather told Brandon. "You played a lot with Richie today and you're getting stinky."

"No!" the four year old insisted.

"Yes," Melinda told him picking him up out of his booster chair.

"No!" he wailed as she carried him down the hall.

Heather rolled her eyes and started collecting dishes. "Every time," she sighed.

"I think it's funny," Richie admitted helping her with the dishes.

"He does it because it makes you laugh," she told him filling the sink with hot water.

"He does it because he's a boy," Steve corrected as he began spooning the left over mashed potatoes into a Tupperware. "Men don't like sissy things like being clean, right?" Richie grunted a few times from the dinning room where he had gone to get the glasses. "See?"

Heather giggled. "I swear I don't understand men."

"That's okay," Steve assured her. "I'll explain them to you. We grunt, scratch, and spit when in the company of other men and we're polite hard workers when we're around women, right, Rich?"

"That pretty much covers it!" Richie called from the dinning room. After doing the dishes Richie and Heather went up to her room to get ready for bed and watch a movie. Heather went into her bathroom while Richie just used her room to change. Once they had settled down to start the movie, Brandon came running in wearing nothing but a too big football helmet.

"Sorry," Melinda apologized coming in after the naked child.

"Good night, Brandon," Heather and Richie chorused.

"See they're going to bed, too," Melinda told Brandon as she carried him into his room.

Richie flopped down on Heather's bed on his stomach so he could get a good view of the screen and Heather settled behind him propping her chin on his shoulders. Twenty minutes into Back to the Future Richie was asleep. An hour after that, Heather was too.

Alex O'Neal pulled into the driveway of his parent's house and noted that Heather was already there. That meant that her boyfriend would be coming in the morning. Alex quietly entered the house and went upstairs to his room. On his way down the hall, he heard a movie playing in Heather's room and went in to say hi. He opened the door and found her half draped across Richie's back both in their pajamas. or underwear in Richie's case. He stomped over and stood over Richie arms crossed.

"What are do you think you're doing?" he barked jerking the pair awake.

"Alex!" Heather exclaimed. "What are you doing in here?"

"I could ask him the same thing," Alex sneered down at Richie.

"Well, I was sleeping," Richie told him.

"Alex, get a grip. He's just spending the night." Heather rolled her eyes.

"In your bed?"

"That's the way we usually do it," Richie told him.

"Do Mom and Dad know about this?" Alex asked Heather.

"Of course they do," Richie answered for her. "You think I'd just stay at their house without them knowing?"

"I don't know, would you?"

"No!"

"Alex, get out," Heather ordered. "This is none of your business."

"None of business?!" Alex repeated.

"What's going on in here?" Steve asked appearing in the door.

"Sorry, Steve," Richie apologized. "Alex is just a little thrown off by my being here."

"What's you're problem, Alex? He does it all the time," Steve told him.

"You let him stay here?"

"He's Heather's boyfriend, why wouldn't we?"

"You're not afraid he's going to try to pull something?"

"Hey!" Richie protested. "This only goes as far as we're both willing. I'd never force Heather into anything!"

"He and Heather have talked and what they do is none of your business," Melinda said from behind Steve.

"You're just turning your backs to this?" Alex was appalled.

"Heather made her decision a long time ago," Melinda told him. "And it's none of your business. It's between her and Richie."

"So you're okay with this?"

"We trust both of them. Now leave them alone," Steve said sternly.

"Just because your mom was a tramp doesn't mean you have to be, too," Alex told Heather before leaving.

Richie followed him into the hall. "Hey!" He grabbed the older man by the arm and turned him around. "You'd better be glad you're her family, otherwise I'd be all over your ass for saying something like that to her. And if you do it again, I won't give a damn who you are. Nobody talks about my girlfriend like that, got it?" he warned in a harsh whisper.

"My mother was not a tramp," Heather growled from her door.

"Heather's mother was a very nice woman," Melinda added. "You shouldn't say that about anyone much your sister and her mother."

Richie's eyes bore into Alex's. "Looks like your opinion has been out voted. Got anything to say."

"I'm sorry, Heather," Alex said sincerely. "I just hate seeing you with this guy; it brings out the worst in me." Having the final word he turned and went into his room.

"What did I ever do to you?" Richie asked as the door closed.

"Come on, everyone back to bed," Melinda ordered. "We have a busy day tomorrow."

"Are you okay?" Richie asked Heather.

"I'm fine," she assured him crawling under the covers next to him. "When Alex gets mad he says whatever comes to mind. I think he's torn between hating me because he's parents almost broke up because of my mom or loving me because I'm still his sister. He just doesn't know what to do."

"I can't believe he said that to you," Richie grumbled. "I don't care how mad he was or what his excuse is. that's just rude."

"Calm down, Rich," Heater rolled over and kissed his nose. "I can handle him."

"But I wanna handle him. the little." He was cut off when Heater pulled him into a deep kiss.

"Now, happy thoughts, so you wake up happy," she told him as she lay back down and snuggled into his shoulder. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," Richie answered with a grin.