Jimmy answered the phone that night after dinner. Marissa, Julie, and Kaitlin, who had just come home from boarding school were watching a movie in the family room. Jimmy ran into the kitchen to answer the phone. He figured it was Sandy calling about the case, and he did not want to upset Kaitlin, who knew hardly anything about what had happened since she had been gone. He knew that Marissa would be distraught if she knew it was Sandy calling, as well. Jimmy knew that she was afraid of what was in her future.

"Sandy, hey," Jimmy said, answering the phone.

"Hey, Jimbo, how are you?" Sandy asked, trying to make some conversation before he got to the point of the phone call.

"I'm fine, how 'bout you? Have you talked with Kirsten?" Jimmy asked. Although it really was not his place to ask, he had to know about Kirsten. They had been friends since they were young children.

"She's fine. She says the place is very nice, and she gives her regards to everyone. Listen I talked with the D.A. and they don't have a lot against Marissa, but I will need to talk with her in the morning, is that okay?" Sandy asked.

"Yeah, sure, that's fine. I'll let her know. What time were you thinking of dropping by?" Jimmy wondered.

"Is around 10 good for you?" Sandy asked.

"Yeah, sure. We'll see you then," Jimmy replied. He walked back into the family room and sat back down on the couch. Marissa looked up at him.

"Who was that, Dad?" Marissa asked. She continued to look at her father.

Hesitant, Jimmy replied, "That was Sandy. He wants to stop by tomorrow morning to talk to you. He is coming by around 10."

"Okay," Marissa said, agreeing to meet with him. She turned around to watch the rest of the movie, unfazed by the conversation.

The next morning Jimmy and Julie had breakfast on the table at 8:30 in the morning. Julie at made blueberry pancakes. She set everything out on the kitchen table. They could just hear Kaitlin moving around in her room. Marissa had not woken up yet. Before Kaitlin came down, Jimmy and Julie got their plan together about what was going to happen that day.

"Why don't I take Kaitlin to the movies, shopping or something today? You should stay here with Marissa and Sandy - you two get along better. I mean, she actually listens to you, unlike me. She doesn't seem to hear a word I say most of the time," Julie told Jimmy.

"All right," he said, agreeing with his ex-wife. "And for the record, Marissa hears you, she just chooses not to listen."

"And how do you know this?" Julie asked. She put her hands on her hips and looked at Jimmy.

Jimmy sat down in one of the chairs, and began to eat his pancakes. He tried to finish chewing before he answered her. "She told me one day. You know, Julie, before I left, Marissa and I were quite close, or at least I like to think we were..." he drifted off.

"You guys were close," Julie replied, corroborating what Jimmy said. "You were her rock. She really loves you, Jimmy. She doesn't really love me."

"She does really love you, Jules," Jimmy answered, trying to cheer her up.

"No, Jimmy, she doesn't. She loves me because she has to. She loves you because she wants to," Julie explained. They silently ate after that, for they both knew it was true. Finally, Kaitlin came down the stairs, into the kitchen, and sat down at the breakfast table to eat.

"Hi, sweety. Did you have a good sleep," her mother asked.

"Yep, Mommy, I did," Kaitlin replied. Although she was twelve, she was rather small, which gave her the appearance of being younger than she was.

"So I was thinking that we could have a girls' day out today, okay?" Julie suggested. "You and me can go out and do things - just the two of us, okay?"

"Um... sure, I'll go get ready," Kaitlin said with a grin. She loved all of the attention that she was getting since she had come back home. It had been nine months since she had seen her parents, and she did not want to go back for another year she had decided.