Part 9

"Elizabeth Rose Grissom. I'm twelve."

"And in a house full of brothers," Lindsey Dole smiled. "Must get tiring."

Lizzie shrugged. "It's not that bad. They're okay most of the time. Plus I have mom, and Lindsey comes and sees us all the time."

"You and your mom do girl stuff together?"

Lizzie nodded. "Sure. All the time. Well, not all the time, because it's so not cool to spend all day every day with your mother, but sometimes."

Gil gave Catherine a grin. She grinned back.

"Do you do things with your brothers?"

"Sometimes. Like, I don't hang out with them a lot, because Jamie and Max are younger than me, and Matt is older, but they're okay."

"You like living with them all?"

"Sure. Our house is never boring. I mean, sometimes you just want everyone to go away and leave you alone, but that's what our rooms are for. Mom and Dad have always said that everyone in the house needs to have their own space."

"So, what space do people have?"

"Matt has his own room. Jamie has the bug museum where he keeps all his experiments. Max has his treehouse, but he also uses the room he shares with Jamie. Mom and Dad have their own room and they also have an office. And I have my room."

"What kind of things do you like to do in your spare time? Like extra-curricular activities at school?"

"I do gymnastics. And swimming," Lizzie replied.

"Sounds like fun."

Lizzie nodded. "Everyone gets to do stuff at our house. We all have different interests, but Mom and Dad always make sure we get to do something special."

Greg Andrews looked up at Lizzie. "I suppose you were too young to remember what happened when Matthew came to live with you."

"I was two," Lizzie replied.

"Has your family ever told you about that night?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

Lizzie shrugged. "I don't know. I never asked. It's not important. Matt's my brother."

"Not biologically."

"So?"

Gil stifled a smile. His daughter was enjoying sparring with Andrews. Just like her mother, he thought to himself.

"How long have you known that your mother wasn't Matthew's mother?"

Lizzie blinked. "She is."

"Your honor," Greg whined to the judge.

Judge Barton looked at Andrews. "Clarify the question."

Greg Andrews turned to Lizzie. "How long have you known that your mother wasn't Matthew's biological mother?"

"I don't know," Lizzie replied. "I just know."

"How long have you known that Ms Sidle is Matthew's biological mother?"

"Same amount of time, I guess," Lizzie replied.

"Wasn't I great!" Lizzie said, grinning at her mother. "That guy is such a loser."

Catherine blinked. Her daughter was turning into a teenager. "Well, yes, he is." She kissed her daughter on the head. "You did great, honey."

"Do I really have to go back to school now?" she asked. "I want to stay and look after you."

Catherine hugged her daughter tight. "You have to go back to school. And I'll be fine. I've got your dad to look after me."

Lizzie looked up at her mother. "Are you sure?"

Catherine nodded. "I'm positive." She kissed her daughter's forehead. "Promise."

"The judge won't do any more today," Lindsey Dole told Catherine and Gil. "Two is quite enough for him and everyone else I think."

"So he'll want Jamie and Max next time?" Catherine asked, her eyes glancing over to where the two boys were eating some crackers each.

Lindsey nodded. "Yes. Jamie first and then Max."

"Then what?"

"Then it'll be Matthew, then you Catherine, then Gil and then Sara. Probably in that order."

"Okay. We can do that, right Cath?" Gil turned to his wife, who was intent on watching her sons.

"Cath?"

"Hm?" she asked, turning back from the window. "What?"

"We'll be fine with testifying."

Catherine nodded. "Yes."

Gil watched her for a moment then turned back to Lindsey Dole. "Do we need to stay for anything else? Can I take Cath and the kids home now?"

"Sure. Just make sure Matt, Max and Jamie are here tomorrow."

Catherine quickly said her goodbyes and disappeared into be with her boys. Max turned around and grinned at her, having neatly turned two crackers into two fangs.

"Max."

"What? Don't ya like them?" he asked, grinning widely.

"You look stunning," Catherine said, pressing a kiss to his head. "Go show your dad."

Max scampered out of the room in the direction of where Grissom was.

Jamie turned to his mother and shook his head.

"What?" Catherine asked, worried that the little boy was upset about something.

"He's going to end up a juvenile delinquent."

Catherine smirked. "Yeah, but he'll be MY juvenile delinquent."

The house was in uproar. Max had decided he enjoyed having fangs, and was now racing around the house with crackers in his mouth. Jamie had recently blown up the microwave…except his mother wasn't aware of it yet. Matt had Metallica blasting out of his CD Player, while his sister Lizzie was competing with him by having Madonna blasting out of hers.

Max had just commandeered Lindsey's bra from the clean washing and was turning it into a slingshot as he heard his mother and father arrive home from picking up some dinner.

Shrugging he stuck a ping pong ball in the slingshot and fired.

"What the hell was that!?" Catherine cried, as the ball went whizzing past her head.

"Oops," Max muttered. Flinging the tablecloth over his back that he had stolen for his cape, he stuck on his dad's sunglasses and readjusted his cracker fangs. Leaping into the hallway, he grinned at them. "I'm Fang Man!"

"Oh geez," Gil said, adjusting his glasses. He peered suspiciously at the bra. "Did you just fire a ping-pong ball at your mother?"

"Not on purpose," Max replied truthfully. "But Jamie blew up the microwave!"

Catherine's eyes almost bugged out of her head as she raced into her kitchen.

Jamie turned around guiltily, standing in front of the smoldering remains of her microwave.

"JAMES WARRICK GRISSOM!"

Jamie gulped. "It was an accident, I swear. I stuck this new chemical in the microwave, cause it was s'posed to be heated. I didn't know it was combustible!"

"Is it toxic?" Gil asked worriedly.

"Oh god," Catherine moaned, staring at her microwave…or what had been her microwave.

Jamie shook his head. Then he glanced between his mother and his father. "I'm so totally grounded, aren't I?"

"Totally," Gil nodded, glancing at his wife who was still in shock.

Jamie nodded and turned around, heading for his room.

Metallica and Madonna continued their competition as Catherine looked at the remains of her microwave.

"I…uh…" Gil was at a loss for words, scratching his head.

"That wasn't just any microwave," Catherine murmured, staring at it. "That was the microwave you bought me for Christmas the year Max was born. You said that the hardworking, amazing mother of your children should have the best microwave."

Gil put a hand on her shoulder. "It was its time. It served us well."

Catherine looked at him, and saw the grin he was trying to cry. Then they both burst out laughing.

"The…two headbangers upstairs probably didn't even hear the explosion," Catherine got out between giggles.

"Can you imagine Jamie's face when it happened?" Gil laughed.

That made the two laugh even harder.

"Give me my bra back you little weasel!" cried Lindsey's voice, as she came in the front door.

"It was in the clean washing! It's fair game!" came Max's voice as he streaked past the kitchen.

Gil and Catherine glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.

"MOM!" Lindsey cried. "Max stole my bra and is using it as a slingshot! And then he went outside and used it in front of the whole neighbourhood!"

Gil glanced at his wife. "We're going to start getting phone calls."

Catherine heard the phone ring. "Again."

TBC