Disclaimer : As always i do NOT OWN cheaper by the dozen, any of the characters, or the grass they walk on.

So thanks for ALL the fabulous reviews. I love all of ya. They are always appreciated!

It was 5:30 am, Kate sat on the couch staring at nothing imparticular. Soon the twelve Baker kids would be waking up for school and her peaceful morning would be no more, so she was taking this opportunity to think about some things. Number one on her list was Jake. She ran the situation over and over in her head. "Stays in room. Lashes out. Sleeps alot" she would say repeatedly to herself. The first thing she thought was drugs, but he was always at home, other than school, "and its not like kids walk around with marajuana in their pockets at school right", she thought. "That couldn't be it", she wanted more time, she needed more time, to think about this. But before she knew it, it was 6:15 and 8 kids came shuffling down the hall. Jake,Mike,Henry, and Charlie were still sleeping. Charlie had graduated highschool but he was going to college, although his first class luckily for him didn't start until 10:30. She always needed to wake Henry considering he usually ended up pulling the alarm clock out of the wall because it won't stop ringing (shocker huh),causing Jake to stay sleeping with nothing to wake him up. Mike was a late sleeper too but she only had to wake him up once and he got right up. She stood up and hiked up the stairs preparing to start her morning rounds.

Jake heard the alarm clock, he heard Henry yank the cord out of the wall and throw the clock to the other side of the room, and he heard his mom's voice nearing his door. "Jake,Henry, wake up!" ... he didn't move. "Mike wake up", he heard his mom call and walk down stairs, around 5 minutes later he heard mike run out of his room. "Jake! Henry! NOW!" his mom screamed from downstairs. "Go make sure they're up" she instructed Mike.."I'll do it" grinned Sarah, holding her lacrosse stick. "No, i don't think we need anymore injuries this week", Kate warned. Jake had fallen asleep and he didn't notice that his sleeve was rolled up with his arm hanging off the bed. Mike trudged up the stairs and banged on the boys' door. "Come... On...Guys" Mike said still hitting the door with his fists. Why was he still knocking he asked himself. He turned the door handle and started to run towards Jake's bed but stopped cold,horrified by what he saw. Multiple scratches on his brother's arm. No, not scratches, cuts, deep cuts. Jake rustled in his sleep and he was whipped out of shock. "J-Ja-Jake...Henry wake up" he stumbled on his words. Jake finally sat up and looked at Mike, "Dude, whats wrong, you look like you've just seen a ghost", Jake mumbled. "Yeah, you're face is all pale, Henry chimed in. "If you aren't ready to leave soon you might get left behind, so hurry up", Mike said gloomily. He turned around slowly and wandered into the kitchen where everyone was finishing breakfast and getting ready to leave for school. Sarah,Jake,and Mark were in middle school, Henry was a freshman in highschool, while Lorraine was a senior. Everyone else, besides Charlie, were in elementary. Mike was in fourth while Sarah and Kim were in fifth. Pretty soon they were all on their way to school, most of them happy.

Jake sat in homeroom room not paying attention to a word Mr.Melene was saying. He hated having math first period, he hated math period. He tried desperately to keep his eyes open while the teacher droned on and on about fractions and decimals. Jake was flunking that class, but his parents didn't know. He had mastered the art of forging his dad's signature the year before and signed all the notes his teacher sent home with him. When the bell rang Jake wasn't happy or sad. He didn't have feel any particular emotion at all. He was on his way to second period thinking about how much he didn't want to go, and how much he wanted things to be how they used to, and how much he knew that they would never be. He felt his eyes water, and he couldn't be seen crying. He ran into the closest bathroom and into a stall, throwing his belongings to the floor. So he would be a few (or maybe more than a few) minutes late, it was better than his entire class seeing him weak. Everyone thought he was tough,sad,but tough. One day not too long ago he had overheard some kid refer to him as "that emo dude". He wasn't sure if he liked that. He wasn't sure if he cared. He dug his hand into his pocket feeling for the sharp metal object he craved, but it was empty. He panicked and dropped to his knees, searching frantically through his backpack. He knew it wasn't in there, but he was desperate. Finally, he found a protractor. The one that had belonged to Nora, before they made the childproof ones with the plastic covers. Suddenly, hand me down school supplies didn't seem so bad. He yanked up his sleeve and gasped as he watched the blood trickle to the surface. He sighed in relief and sank into a sitting position, holding his knees. He knew he was at risk of being caught skipping but he didn't go to class. He sat on the filthy floor until second period was over. He didn't like the idea of calling his parents, but he liked the idea of staying at school even less. He went to the nurse's office complaining of a headache and had his mom pick him up. The ride home was quiet, too quiet. Kate hated hte awkward silence, "Jake,honey, are you feeling better" she asked sweetly, "No", Jake replied simply. He pretended to fall asleep so he wouldn't have to engage in small talk with his mother any longer.

When they got home Jake went straight to his room. He used the two and a half hours of alone time to sleep.

Ah, sorry guys! I know it took quite awhile to get the fifth chapter up but i've been busy with school and what not. I'll try to get chapter 6 up quickly. Remember to always review as it makes the author (namely me) extremely happy ;)