Chapter Seven

Tim got upstairs, going to Rory's room first, opening the door to see her fast asleep in her bed. He sighed slightly as for the first time since he arrived in the driveway, his anger slipped. Closing the door, he then turned to go into Riley's room, seeing that she was nowhere to be found. The anger returned instantly as he shut the door and stood there for a moment before going to AJ's room. Putting his hand on the knob, he closed his eyes and opened the door, opening to see his other son's bed empty as well.

"Okay, so we are two and two. Where are those other cheeky brats?" Tim said to himself as he closed AJ's door. He walked down the corridor and came to his room, seeing the trash as it was spread through out the entire length of the hall. He severely hoped that for his children's sake, that his room was left untouched. Opening the door, he saw Aj as he laid on their bed, his hair disheveled beyond belief. He walked over to him and leaned in, smelling the heavy hints of alcohol on his son. He pushed at him gently, watching him move slightly , then pushed a little harder. Then in one final push, he sent him over the edge of the bed, hearing him hit the floor with a thud.

"TJ, Imma kick your ass," Aj responded slowly with menacing tone. "Damn my head hurts..."

"Good morning, Alexander," Tim said as he bent to his eye level. Aj scrambled to get up, and away from his father , his heart and stomach doing flip flops.

"D-D-Dad? How... when..." Aj stammered.

"Not important. Just going over the house. Seems as if you all had a blast. Mind telling me about it?" Tim said somewhat calmly. "And while you're at it, tell me about the drinking. Are you drunk son?"

"I- I..."Aj started as he held his stomach. He bent over and emptied his stomach over his parents bed ,saturating the silk sheets. Aj looked up at his father, a sad expression coming over his face, " I'm sorry , Dad."

"Well , that explains it all," Tim said sarcastically as he threw up his hands, " Get cleaned up and come downstairs. And don't think of running. I will catch you."

"Y-yes sir," Aj responded as he walked to the bathroom. His life was officially over.

Riley woke up suddenly, feeling the sand as it rolled over her softly, the cool breeze chilling her. She glanced up and to her right, seeing him still asleep, and smiled. He looked so peaceful as he slept and she leaned in and gave him a soft kiss. He woke slowly, his beautiful blue eyes fluttering as he struggled to keep them open. She put a hand on his chest and held it there, relishing the feeling of his heartbeat under her touch. This was a moment that she wanted to keep forever.

"G'morning," she said with a huge smile.

He sat up slightly and returned it, caressing her hair with his free hand, " Good morning, gorgeous. How are you feeling?"

" Besides the headache, I'm fine. What about you?"

"I'm good,"he said as he winced slightly ,squinting , " ok, I'm hung over. But the plus of this is that I woke up beside a beautiful woman and not a garbage pail. So , I think the day is getting off to a great start."

He let a small laugh go and she smiled again at him, " I love your laugh. You have to do it more often."

"Well, as long as you are around , Riles, I will. You bring out the best in me."

" I do?"

" Yeah, you do. There has always been something about you, Riley... I just can't explain it," he responded as he gazed into her hazel eyes.

"Maybe, this can help," she returned as she leaned in to kiss him. She parted from him and watched his smile as it grew.

" That helped. Riley..." he said as he glanced at his watch . He then sat up more, looking down towards his house, his mind racing. " It's almost six thirty! She is going to kill me!"

"Pierre? What are you...?" Riley said as he got up quickly, dusting himself off. "Who's going to kill you?"

"December! I was supposed to be letting her in," Pierre returned frantically. " I'm sorry, Riles, I gotta go. I- I'll call you."

"Okay, Fitz," she said as she watched him leave. He turned suddenly and approached her, giving her a quick kiss, then turning and taking off. She put her fingers to her lips where he kissed her and grinned heavily, saying, " I love you, Pierre."

Once he was out of sight, she bent down and picked up the blanket, folding it quickly. In that slight moment, she had forgotten what she was facing back at the house. She could only hope that Tj and Aj had gotten up before her and started cleaning. They had an opportunity to clean up the house and get it decent before their parents came back . As for the piano, she had no idea how she was going to explain that.

She walked up the dune towards the house, her mind solely on her night with Pierre. She almost passed the yellow machine that was sticking in the sand, mere feet from the house. Stopping, she knew exactly what it was. Dropping the blanket, she bent to see the body of the Ducati, seeing the ragged slide mark that extended from one end of the yellow bike to the next. With tears in her eyes, she got up and dusted herself off, feeling her anger rise as well. There was no way they were going to get away with it now.

"How am I going to explain to a mad man how his favorite thing in the world was trashed?" she asked herself as she started back up to the house. Getting to the patio door, she tossed the blanket to the lounger and took a moment to gather herself...

" I swear, these kids," Tim mumbled as he came down the stairs, his head starting to hurt. He glanced out to the Tahoe, seeing that he had left the truck doors open, and stepped out , giving a shot to the broken storm door. " these damn kids."

He walked to the truck , his head down for the majority of the time and slammed the doors closed. He would come back to get the luggage. On his way back up to the door, he did a double take as he spotted the blue tarp lying on the ground where his Ducati should've been. He walked over to it, and picked it up, then slamming it down hard and stalking into the house, "ALEXANDER, RORY, RILEY... TIMOTHY!..."

"Alright ,you idiots, rise and shine. We've got a ..." Riley said as she slid the door open and walked in, coming face to face with her mother, " Mom... when, ... when did you get back?"

"Better question, young lady , is why you are..."

" YOU BETTER HIDE THOSE KIDS," Tim yelled as he stormed into the living room, death, destruction and lunacy in his eyes.

"Tim, what on earth? What are you talking about?" Alexx said as she saw her two other children come in the living room. The side stepped their father and came next to Alexx.

"My bike," he said through clenched teeth. "It's not where I left it," he glanced to his kids as they huddled tightly together, watching him closely, " YOU HAVE EXACTLY TWO SECONDS TO TELL ME WHERE THE FUCK IT IS!"

"Tim, calm down," Alexx said as she tried to approach him, but thought twice of it. Turning to her children she said, " You better start talking."

Tj glanced to Aj who glanced to Rory, who then glanced to Riley who stepped up, "It's out back."

"What did you say?" Tim asked, walking to the patio door.

"I-it's in the back. Let me say, I have no idea how it got there," Riley explained quickly. She tended to talk rapidly when she was afraid. " I mean I woke up on th beach and..."

"You woke up on the beach?" Alexx interrupted as she shot a look to Tim who was still staring out of the patio door. "Tim..."

Tim pushed the patio door open and walked out, his family following. When he came to the bike, he felt an odd sensation take over and he clenched his fist as he saw the huge , ragged slide mark that cut through the body of the bike. He looked up to the sky , then back to his beloved bike, closing his eyes.

"Go to your rooms," he said calmly.

"But, Dad.."

" Go. Now."

"Dad.. I can explain," Tj tried as he moved forward. Riley , on instinct reached out to grab him before he made a stupid mistake, but his shirt pulled away from her.

"Tim, if you value your life, which it doesn't seem that you do, you'd back the hell up and go to your room."

"Dad, I have a perfectly , viable explanation..."

"Tj, back up , son," Tim said as he felt him come closer.

"Dad,..."

The movement was quick and before he knew it, Tim had struck his son on his face open handed, panting hard. He looked up and saw Tj as he stared at him and then turned to go back in the house. Alexx watched him go , then turned to Tim, fire burning in her eyes.

"Kids, go to your rooms," Alexx said as she kept her eyes on Tim who had his head bowed, trying to maintain composure.

"But , Mom,..." Riley said , garnering a glare from her.

" I said , go to your rooms. And I don't want to hear a sound from any of you," she said sternly. They moved silently and Alexx approached Tim apprehensively, "Is it safe, or are you going to hit me too?"

" Alexx,..."

"Tim, that was rather uncalled for. I can understand that you are upset, hell, I'm on fire, but to hit Tj?"

" I trusted them, Alexx. But I trusted Tj the most. He is the oldest. I just over reacted. But have you seen my bike? It's trash..."

"Tim," she said as she laid a pensive hand on his shoulder, it automatically calming him, " take a moment, go for a walk, do something. But you know you can't talk to your kids until you get a clear mind."

"Clear mind? I'm very far from that," Tim said as he turned to walk back into the house. Everywhere he turned there was nothing but destruction. " What are we going to do about this? Our house is destroyed, destroyed, Alexx. And it's because of those... those.. KIDS!"

"Tim, baby , if you don't stop stressing about this, you are going to stroke out. We will talk about this when you get back."

"Get back? Where am I going?"

"For a walk. Cool down, then we will deal with the brat pack," Alexx said as she grabbed him by the arm. She gestured for him to come into her arms, and she took him in an embrace, holding him tightly. " Everything will work out. You'll get your bike back in order. We can bankrupt the kids' allowances for..."

"Ever..." Tim responded as he took in her comfort. He returned the hug tightly and whispered, "Thank you. Those kids should be thanking God for you. If I was a single parent..."

"Well, thank god you aren't. Now go on, babe."

"Alright," Tim returned giving her a peck on the cheek. "I'll be back in an hour."

"Okay, I'll try to find a place to start cleaning," she said as she sighed heavily . There was literally no starting point. " Or maybe , I'll go lay down."

"Um, I wouldn't suggest that," Tim mentioned as he turned slightly. " One of our drunken kids had an accident on our bed. Unless you want to clean it..."

"Never mind ," she said as she waved him off, "I'm cleaning."

For the first time since getting home, Tim let a smile grace his face and a small chuckle out, "You want to join me for a walk?"

" Maybe that is a better idea. I think the kids know not to come out of their rooms," Alexx said as she followed Tim out of the door. They would return to handle their business.

Horatio pulled up to the house, his eyes fixated on the yard and house itself. It was still standing , and there were no hints of foul play, so that was a plus. His heart began to return to its normal rhythm as he stopped the Hummer and put it in park. His sole intent was getting inside to find his obedient children, in their beds, asleep. He walked a few paces then stopped , noticing that the Lexus was parked sideways in the other space of the driveway. He then looked to Kyrie, who had gone to inspect her car. The tail light was broken and there was a huge gash from the rear door to the fender and her vanity plate was crushed.

"What the...?" Kyrie expressed almost breathlessly. Her daughter wouldn't see the light of day until she was forty. She felt Horatio come to her side and came to her senses, " She's going to need a twenty four carat gold explanation for this."

"Let's get in there," Horatio said as he looked down to see Tim's yard, decimated. "I severely hope that they had nothing to do with that."

Kyrie shook his head as Horatio unlocked the front door, seeing Azerra and Aleera walking from the study. Azerra wiped her eyes to see her father as she stood stock still, his inquisitive gaze boring through her. Aleera almost bumped into her and she reacted with a grimace.

"Zerra, why did you stop... D- Dad?"

"Care to tell me why you ladies were in there?" Horatio asked , his hands on his hips.

Azerra hesitated slightly, not really wanting to get them in trouble, but then realized that it was better them than her, " There's a very good explanation for this, Daddy."

"Alright, I'm waiting."

"You see, Dad, there was this intruder, he came through the patio door, he was going through your stuff."

"An intruder?" Horatio asked as he glance to his wife who had a mortified expression on her face, "Where is your sister and brothers?"

"Hj is upstairs, but as for Pierre and December, I don't know. The last I saw of her, she was going out with Sebastian Hamilton. I saw his car parked out front last night."

"Hamilton?" Horatio dropped his head, feeling his temper rise. He then gave himself chance to cool down, speaking in a quiet tone, "Zerra, go get your brother and bring him in here."

"On it , Daddy," Zerra said lightly as she moved to the door.

"Oh, and Zerra, don't think you got out of anything."

Azerra's smile dwindled as she opened the door, seeing Pierre as he snuck through the foyer. Closing the door, she went to him with a scowl on her face, " You are in some serious trouble."

"How bad is it?" Pierre asked , sighing deeply. He knew he should've listened to his instincts.

" You remember how he was when I took his sunglasses and let Mr. Boo Bo wear them and they got broken? He's passed pissed."

The door to the study opened and Horatio came out, "Azerra..."

"Here's one, Dad. I'm going to get the other."

"Never mind, come in here with your sister. Pierre..."

"I'm coming ," Pierre said as Kyrie walked out , a glare coming to her face. She passed her children and ascended the stairs silently. He walked in after Azerra, his stomach turning.

Horatio sniffed as he passed, " Son, have you been drinking?"Before he could answer, Pierre felt the bile rise and burn and then emptied out his stomach on to the rug. "I guess I got my answer. Clean that up and then take a seat. We've got some things to talk about."

Pierre nodded as he walked out of the study and Horatio glanced to his daughters, giving them a silent warning; they instantly knew not to move. He then turned to walk out, leaving them in a strained silence. From this moment on , whatever happened next was anybody's guess.

Kyrie tossed the bags on the bed, seething at the loss of a minivacation, " These kids," she said to herself as she changed clothes and refreshed herself. It was going to be a long day. After she finished, she walked into the hallway, hearing foul language coming from Junior's bedroom. She approached the door and opened it, seeing him playing feverishly. Had all of her children lost their minds?

"Junior," she called calmly as she approached him.

"WHAT?" Junior answered angrily as he lost footing on his game. He pressed another button just as the screen went blank. He looked up to see his mother holding the cord to the tv in her hand, not looking very happy.

"I'm going to try and forget that you just raised your voice to me and ask what you were doing playing this? You know that you were forbidden to play this, right?"

"I got it from Pierre," he answered as he dropped his head. Now he knew he would never finish.

"Still , you knew it was forbidden. Go downstairs," Kyrie instructed as Junior slammed the controller down. Kyrie glared at him as if he were crazy, " You better watch your attitude, mister."

"It's not fair! I didn't buy it!" HJ returned his voice rising . Kyrie stepped forward some, her anger building.

"Boy, you better get moving," Kyrie said through clenched teeth. "And don't give me that look!" After he left, she went to the console and took the game out. More evidence against them. Shaking her head, she walked out of her room just to bump into her eldest as she tipped past Junior's door. " Just what do you think you are doing?"

December stopped and glanced up at her, a sheepish smile coming over her, " Mom, what are you doing here?"

" Your father had a feeling everything wasn't on the up and up, and apparently he was right. Just where do you think you are going?"

"To bed."

"Um hmm... and where have you been?" Kyrie asked with a raised eyebrow, crossing her arms at her chest, she wanted to see just how far her daughter was going to take this.

" I, uh, I took a walk on the beach."

"On the beach?"

" Ah, yeah," December responded quickly as she moved towards her door.

" Make a u turn and go downstairs, and join your brothers and sisters in the study."

"Mom, can we not do this right now? I'm bushed."

"What about that did you not understand? Get your ass down there now," Kyrie said, her voice rising several octaves.

December turned and stalked downstairs, her demeanor flipping through anger to hesitation with each step. Getting to the study, she saw her brothers and sisters as they sat on the leather couch, the obvious signs of wariness about them. Each of them had been caught in one way or another.

"Look who I found," Kyrie said as she closed the door behind her.

"Now that everyone is assembled, let's get some answers," Horatio said as he stood behind his desk, noticing the disarray of his belongings. " Who wants to be first to tell us what happened from the moment we left until now?"

"And don't you all start talking at the same time, either. Confusion isn't going to help your position," Kyrie huffed.

Pierre glanced to his siblings and then to his parents, taking in a deep breath, " We didn't obey your rules..."

"Well, that's pretty damned obvious , son. Who messed my car up?" Kyrie exclaimed loudly as she focused her attention to her daughter.

"Why are you looking at me? I didn't do it," December returned haughtily.

" I did," Pierre interjected sullenly. The gasps from everyone was heard clearly as he looked up to his family, the surprise evident. " I took the car to make a store run for Riley. The party was getting out of hand, I had to do something."

"Pierre," Horatio responded disbelieving.

"Good, Pierre trashed the car, can I go now?"

" December, sit down and shut up," Kyrie growled as she focused her attention on Pierre. " Pierre, you are going to have to pay for this. No allowance for four months. And because you went to a party without our permission, you come home directly from school and get on your homework, no tv, no video games, no phone, and no going over to the Speedles. I think you had your fun for the summer."

"For the summer, but Mom..."

"Son, I think you better watch it. You are getting it light," Horatio said as he set his gaze on him. " Go upstairs and change. You are going to help them clean up."Pierre nodded silently as he moved and left the room in a hushed state, " Now, you young lady. What's this I hear about you and Sebastian Hamilton?"

"Let me take a guess as to how you knew," December responded as she shot daggers at Azerra.

" It doesn't matter how I know, what matters is that you walked right over my wishes for you not to see him. He's a Hamilton, he doesn't care about you."

" He's not like his Uncle. He really loves me."

"Sure. December, I forbid you to see him ever again," Horatio intoned gravely.

" You know what, you can forbid all you want. I don't have to listen to you. You're not my father!" December yelled as she tore out of the study.

"December!" Horatio called out to her, his temper flaring. Kyrie put her hand on his arm and glanced to him.

"I'll go talk to her. You finish here."

Horatio nodded as he turned his fury to his remaining children as Kyrie exited the study, " Aleera, Azerra, you are on punishment for a week. No tv , no phones, no computer."

"But , Dad!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

" You want to make it month? It can easily be done," he glowered.

"No , thanks,"Azerra remarked lowly as she turned to walk out, Aleera followed her as they made their way up the stairs. " Great a week. But it could've been worse."

"Tell me about it,"Aleera said as they passed December's room.

Back in the study, Horatio stood down Junior, his demeanor calming somewhat, " Junior,..."

" I know, no video games for..."

"Two weeks. I'll be up there to get them in a minute. And of course, no television."

"Of course," Junior replied starting out of the door. Horatio stood back, trying to gather himself from what had transpired, his thoughts coming to his eldest daughter. All he wanted was to protect her, but it seemed as if he was pushing her away. Letting a sigh out, he opened the door to the study and walked out, going upstairs. Some repairing needed to be done.

"December, open this door," Kyrie demanded as she pounded on the door. She was livid at the comment her daughter had made about Horatio. He had been more of a father to her than Dante .

The door opened roughly and she stood face to face with her daughter, the tears coming down her face. Kyrie's demeanor softened slightly as she entered the room and closed the door, watching her as she flopped on her bed. She moved closer to her in hopes of understanding her better "What is the meaning of that, December? Horatio has bent over backwards for you in more ways than one. He has been there when no one else has."

" But he's not my father!" December spat, " he's just someone you shacked up with then just happened to marry."

Kyrie's movements were quick, slapping December hard in her face. As soon as she had done it, she pulled back and stepped forward some. December moved away from her, the tears stinging her eyes. Never in all of her life, had she been struck my her mother.

"December, I-I 'm sorry. It's just that , Horatio has done everything he's known how to connect with you. Every time you rebel and say things like that, it hurts him. He wants nothing more than to make sure that you're okay. To protect you."

" Sebastian doesn't have an ulterior motive, mom," December said quietly, " he loves me for me."

"Are you sure about that, baby girl? There are men out there that would do anything to bring your father down, and dating his daughter, is a better reason than any. He's just looking out for you, December. You are his princess, always have been , always will be."

At the sound of his nickname for her, her heart softened and she pulled her mother into a tight embrace. Sometimes, she didn't know how to feel, and it made it worse for everyone else. Pulling away from her, she looked her mother in her eyes, " You have to have faith in that I will do the right thing, mom."

"At this point, December, that faith is shot. But this is a starting point, let's work from here, alright?"

"Okay," December yawned heavily. The night of partying was finally catching up to her.

"By the way, Angel, no tv, no computer, no internet and no phone for a month. And, you are going to bring Sebastian to meet us. Oh, and one more thing..."

" I have to apologize to Daddy."

"Right. And get dressed, you are going to help the Speedle kids clean up, since you guys helped make the mess."

December nodded as her mother left her room and sighed heavily. When she did hit the pillow, whenever that was going to be, she wasn't planning on getting up.

Alexx opened the door to the house, being faced with the destruction and sighed heavily. The walk had done wonders for them both, their anger slowly dissipating . Entering into the house, she turned to look at Tim who had a grimace on his face, gaging his demeanor. When it was obvious that he was somewhat calm, she stood at the stairwell and called up to them.

"Kids, come down!"

Within seconds , the entire brood was down the stairs, standing beside each other. They remained quiet, for fear that their father would lash out again. Tim walked to his kids and looked at them all, remembering how it was when he was a kid. He did some stuff in his day, but nothing as crucial as this. Standing with his hands on his hips, he took a slight glance away from them and then cleared his throat, while Alexx stood behind him, her arms crossed.

"First, I do want to apologize to TJ for earlier. It was uncalled for, and was unproductive," Tim said as he centered his gaze on his first born son.

"It's alright, Dad. I deserved it," TJ responded as he shrugged slightly. He had an hour to think about all that had gone down and he soon began to see that he had taken this , like just about everything else , way too far.

" No one deserves to get hit, Tj. My temper got away from me, and I should've been able to walk away. Now, we have to discuss what went on here. Let's start from the beginning," Tim said as he started walking towards the kitchen. The rest of the family followed him and watched as he stood in the middle of the destruction. " Let's take it room by room. First, who sprung for the beer?"

The kids looked between each other as Tim glanced to Alexx, who took a step up, " It's best you tell the truth now, kids. What's done is done, now is the time to get it out ."

Riley looked to Tj as he stepped forward, " I got it."

"Tj," Riley said through her clenched teeth. Why would he lie to them?

"Timothy, son, you know that it's illegal to buy this stuff," Tim gestured to the keg. " How did you get it?"

" I had some help, but I paid for it,"Tj continued.

Riley and AJ gave each other short glances as her father came up to TJ, " You paid for it? With what money?"

Tj dropped his head suddenly ,trying to think of a way out of it. He didn't want to get his best friend in trouble for something that was all his idea. " I-I had some money saved up."

"So, you are the mastermind of this? How long had you been planning it?" Tim asked , his demeanor remaining calm.

"I just saved up the money for a rainy day, but I didn't plan the party until the day you told us that you were going to Vegas," Tj returned simply.

"And what about you three? Did any of you have a hand in this?" Alexx asked as she stood next to Tim.

"No," Tj interjected as he stood firmly, his siblings looking at him with wide eyes. For once, he was standing up to his responsibility. "This was all me."

" But , you guys participated, right?" Tim asked turning to the remaining kids.

" Yes," they replied in unison.

"Alright," Tim sighed heavily as he took in the destruction of his beloved kitchen. " Here's how it's going down. First, you are going to clean this house, top to bottom. Today. No computers, no phones, no TVS, nothing. When you are through with cleaning up the inside, you are going to move to the outside. Meanwhile, your mother and I will be totaling up the losses. There will be no allowances for awhile, and Tj, Aj, give me the keys to your bikes."The sound of groans were heard from the boys as they dug in their pockets and produced their bike keys. "It's safe to say that the Suzuki motorcycles are out of the picture. Riley and Rory, your computers comes out today, and your trip to the summer camp is out the door."

"But , Dad!" they protested in unison.

" Angels , be glad that is all that I'm doing for you," Tim said as he passed them. "Aj, you will forgo your soccer camp . Everyone will be pitching in their savings to help replace the piano, and as for my motorcycle, Tj you are going to get a job to pay for it. And this alcohol business, I'm shocked and surprised that my children, who know I'm a cop, and who have heard many of your mother's stories of her victims, would even think twice about drinking. But just in case you didn't get the message, you all will be sitting in on one of her interventions. There is another one scheduled for Monday. So, after school, you get down to the lab."

"Is that really wise?" Tj asked , stuffing his hands in his pockets deeper, " I mean, we are minors."

" Exactly my idea. You guys need to see what alcohol really does. As for after school, you will be doubling up on your home work. If the teacher assigns twenty problems, you do fifty. I think all of you have had your fun time. No after school activities, straight home. When you get home, forget you even have a radio , cd player, tv or computer. All of it will be gone."

"Aww come on , dad."

"That's not fair..."

"Dad..."

"I didn't do anything..."

Tim held up his hand, quieting the children instantly, " This is light considering what I was going to do. You can thank your mother for that. Oh, and by the way, you all are grounded for the next three months."

"But , Dad, that's all of summer!" Rory said as she glared at her brothers.

" Correct sweetie. You are going to spend the summer volunteering at the lab, and I stress the word, volunteering. Running papers, picking up trash, you know."

"Grunt work," Aj sighed. The thoughts of having a carefree summer had flown on the wind.

" Yes. Maybe working will teach you all some responsibility and propriety. When you aren't volunteering, you are reading. I will get a list of books that you will read, and give a report on. There will be no idle time on your hands."

The sounds of their frustration were heard as Alexx rolled her eyes, " This is a cake walk, ladies and gents, and your chance to right what you did wrong, and what you did was very wrong. Someone could've gotten hurt or killed. Things could've been stolen,... You guys are really lucky that it turned out the way it did. I have to wonder how many of your friends were here."

"I'm going to give them a call and see," Tim said as he walked out to the kitchen and looked out the broken door. He could see Horatio as he approached with Pierre and December in tow. The look Horatio had on his face mirrored his an hour ago, the blue eyes icy with disappointment.

"Speed, I have two very willing and able helpers," Horatio said as he gestured their way into the house. " They know that they are not to leave here until it's done, isn't that right?"

"Yes, Dad," they both said lackadaisically.

"Good, now, you kids be good. Speed, call me when you guys are through," Horatio said with a grin. " Enjoy this Pierre and December, it's the last you will see of the outside for a while."

Tim nodded his head as Alexx appeared behind him with two black plastic bags, " They are starting in the living room. There is to be no talking."

Pierre and December nodded sullenly and took the bags, walking through all of the trash. Neither of the kids were in a good condition to be cleaning, but they would have to deal. Pierre shot Riley a glance as she looked his way, a small smile coming over her face. If this was the last time she was going to see him for awhile, then she was going to make the best of it.

" What a befitting end to the party of all parties," Pierre quipped out loud as the rest of them began to snicker softly. The sound of Alexx coming in behind them cut them short, and they continued to pick up.

They heard the phone ring and then heard Tim as he walked in the living room, " Sure, Anni you can send Sian over to help. I'm sure she will learn a few things today as well."

The group of kids looked between each other, apparently ,they wouldn't be alone.

End...