Title: Thanksgiving

Author: Latisha C

Genre: General/Humor

Rating: T

Upload: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 at 10:02 PM

"Parents are the boneson which children sharpen their teeth."

-- Peter Ustinov

Sari shot up out of her bed in fright. She had just been awoken by a loud booming sound coming from downstairs. BOOM Slipping on her robe and slippers she exited her bedroom, entering the long hallway. She was just about to walk down the steps when a hand shot out and grabbed her arm in the dark.

Instinctively, Sari pivoted and brought her foot up and kicked it into the person's stomach

Then with a jerk Sari twisted the person's arm to one side, pivoting on one foot and planting the other into the person's stomach with a powerful side kick.

Immediately, Sari's arm slipped from the man's grasp. She ran over to the top of the stairs and turned on the light, to see who it was she just kicked. Looking down, she found her father stretched out on the floor.

"Oh shit." Sari ran over and knelt down towards her dad. Gently she turned him over onto his good side. "Dad, are you all right?"

Lifting his shirt, he looked down bruise located on the side of his ribs. Taking his finger he touched it and recoiled from the pain. Looking up his daughter, he put on his best sarcastic smile and replied, "Just fine, thanks."

BOOM "Oh for crying out loud, we're coming," Shawn yelled down the stairs, before turning his attention back to his daughter. "Help me up so we can go and curse whoever this is out."

Shaking her head, she helped him up and together they walked down the stairs and opened the door.

"Kevin," Shawn uttered in surprise. "You're three are early."

Smirking, the trio entered the foyer, dumping their bags on the floor. "Yeah, well we just couldn't wait to get out here and come see this daughter of yours."

"By the way, what took you so long to come and answer the door? We must have been outside, banging away for a good five minutes. Did you not hear us or something," Scott asked, taking a seat on the small loveseat located in the entryway.

"No, but I did just get kicked in my side," Shawn answered, as if talking about the weather.

It seemed Shawn's words garnered him the desired response from the guys. "By who," Scott asked, finally noticing that Shawn was hunched over holding his side.

Shawn said nothing, only pointing at Sari in response.

"Sari kicked you in the side," Scott asked, struggling not to laugh.

"Yes and quite powerfully too," he answered, turning to look at his daughter. "By the way, what was that about? Did you not hear me calling you in the hallway?"

Sari shook her head. "I couldn't hear a thing over the incessant pounding," she turns to look at them, "you three were doing." Running her hand through her hair, she took a seat. "But you did blindside me, by coming out of nowhere like that."

"Yeah, but did you have to jerk my arm like that? I think you almost dislocated it pulling like that."

"It was a reflex response. It's not like I just up and decided to kick you in your side for fun," she automatically snapped back. "I'm not that sick, you know."

"Fine, just please don't do it again. I don't think my body can take another one of your reflex kicks."

Standing off to the side, the three men just looked at each other and laughed liked they haven't laughed in a long time. Coming up alongside Sari and Shawn, Paul and Kevin each slung an arm around their shoulders and guided them back up the stairs. Scott stayed behind to pick up the forgotten bags as he didn't want anyone tripping over them later on in the day.

"We've missed this about you guys," said Kevin.

"Missed what? Our petty fights," Sari incredulously asked.

"Yeah," Paul easily answered the three now walking down the hall. "Especially your 'chicken or the egg' arguments. I swear you two can argue over the most trivial things at times."

"Hey," Sari and Shawn answered, with offended looks on there faces. "Now that was just uncalled for, Levesque," Sari added, hitting Paul in his chest.

"Ow," he responded laughing. "It's the truth and stop hitting me, already. You think you would've outgrown this hitting thing of yours already. But no, here you are 16 years old and still forever hitting people."

"Well, I would say she has outgrown her hitting stages. Now she's progressed to kicking people, preferably in their sides, right Shawn?" Kevin added, ducking away from Sari's hand.

"What did you two come all this way just to clown on me?"

"I'm hurt. I would never clown on you as you so kindly put it," Kevin spoke, a mock look of hurt on his face. "Just consider it us fulfilling our duties as uncles to tease you."

Sari, who by now was walking ahead of the group turned and looked at Kevin, raising an eyebrow at the statement. "So now you two have given yourselves the, official title of uncle to Sari Michaels," she asked, opened up the door to one of the three-person holding guestrooms.

"Kid, we gave ourselves the title of uncle the minute you were born. You just didn't know it at the time," Paul answered, as the three men entered the guestroom.

"Really, well you'll let me know if there's a change in title again won't you," she dryly asked, watching Scott walk in with the bags in his arms.

"You'll be first to know after us, shortcake," Kevin answered, taking his bag and claiming the bed by the window.

Letting out a little laugh, Sari turned to her father who was standing in the doorway near the lamp. "Do you need help to wrap your side up?"

"Nah, I'll be fine to do it myself this time."

"Good because I don't know about you four, but I need to rest up before the grandparents from hell come tomorrow evening. Goodnight," she sweetly sang out, before walking out of the bedroom.

Shaking their heads at the young woman's antics, the three men turned to look at Shawn.

"And that was my lovely, one of a kind, daughter. Isn't she just swell," Shawn joked.

"Oh yeah, a real riot that one is," Scott laughed, taking a seat on the bed nearest to the door. "So, aside from her usual quirky self nowadays, how's she been doing since Allie died?"

"She's been handling it well so far," Shawn answered averting his eyes from the three men's in the room. "But than again, I'm not really sure as she's taken her obsession with cooking the perfect dinner to a new all time high this year."

"And you? Have you taken the time to properly grieve? I mean you and Allie were together for quite some years and now with it being the holidays," Scott trailed off.

"I'm good, Scott. I made my peace with her death two weeks after we buried her. I know she's in a better place now, and I can live with that. Now, I just need to worry about my underage kid, not going off the deep end with this dinner of hers."

Rubbing a hand over his face tiredly, he looked back up at his three best friends.

"Okay, I'm going to level with you right now and then I'm going back to bed. Sari is driving me nuts with worry. I mean, yeah she's back to usual self, personality wise, but with a vengeance. Lately, she obsesses over everything now. Do you know that I've resorted to begging the kid to go out and have some fun with her friends, because she's always in the house nowadays?

"Well, have you tried talking to her about your concerns, Shawn?"

"Not yet, Kevin. But I will, tomorrow even; I just have to find the right way to bring it up with her."

Standing up, Shawn bid the guys goodnight and went back to his bedroom to salvage whatever time spent sleeping he could.

Sorry for the slow update you guys. But it's just hasn't been an easy couple of days. I'll be back with the next chapter soon. I meant it when I said, I was going to finish this short story of mine. I can't wait for the weekend to come.

Lori