CHAPTER 9-THE KIDS ARE NOT ALRIGHT

As Smurf was finishing up the dinner for the night, she kept her eye on everyone. She had been quietly observing everyone in order to figure out what everyone's mind was. They had pulled the job without her and she was honestly seething inside. They were her children, half of the time she helped with the jobs and now no one was in need her.

Of course J was wrapped on her leash as she was still pissed that he had gotten injured during it. She didn't know the degree of it but if Jessica needed to be called for it to be fixed then it was bad. J was morphing into her favorite especially over Baz and that was beginning to rub him the wrong way.

Baz had always been the one in charge of everything and he was to a certain degree. He knew that his ties with Smurf were running low because she wanted someone else to take his place. On top of it he wanted the money that he knew she was hiding and he was going to get it.

Pope had always had the strangest connection with her but he was beginning to act distant. She knew that he had been spending a lot of time with Lena because her own father wasn't bothering with her. He had the guilt of killing Cath haunt him and he was worried that Baz would end up finding out at some point.

Craig and Deran had always been tied together as if they were still children. The way the Cody family was divided was Pope, Baz and Julia against the three youngest Craig, Deran and Jessica. Doing things together was always in their nature and they still seemed to be close. Even though Deran was showing signs of growing up with his bar, the team work was still there. Smurf had believed she'd be able to get them back in but they were changing their ways as well.

That last left Jessica whose relationship with Smurf was never good to begin with. She had always felt like and been the outcast once she got old enough. She was never afraid to call her mother out on her lies, her controlling ways and how she pulled everyone like a string. Jessica blamed Smurf partially for her drug addiction and how hard of a life she had compared to her brothers.

The matriarch could tell everyone didn't want to be there but she was glad they showed up. Jessica and Deran were close but seemed to be annoyed at Craig. Baz and Pope seemed to have something between them. J acted weird over something and Smurf wanted to get down to it all. Plus, Nicky had begun dating his Uncle which only irritated him more.

"Dinner's ready…" She called out from in the kitchen. Luckily for her Lena had gone to a friend's down the street and even though she wanted her there she didn't have to tiptoe around questions.

The Cody family had gotten up from around the pool, glanced at one another and made their way to the table. No one knew exactly where to sit so they just figure out a place to sit. Smurf had sat at the head of the table looking at all of them, waiting for them to take a seat.

Nicky and Craig sat to her left, the closest to the house. They were joined on that side with Baz and Pope sat at the other end across from his Mother. Deran sat closest to her followed by Jessica and then J. The two of them had to stay separate after their making out scene in the kitchen even though they wanted to sit by one another. After they all made their plates which consisted on her famous meatloaf and side dishes, it was time for the awkward silence to begin.

"How's the bar doing baby?" She asked Deran looking over at him.

He looked up from his plate to look at her then looked away for a moment. "Good…Really good actually. I'm surprised at how well it's been turning out"

Smurf had smiled and placed her hand on top of his. "I always knew that my youngest would grow up to become something, you don't know how proud I am"

After hearing these words being repeated, Jessica reached for her glass of water and took a long drink. Sure she was proud of her brother as well but the fact of the matter was that she never heard that. She actually graduated high school and college on top of it, more than he ever did.

"Lena seems to be well adjusted without Cath now. I hope she's okay and I want you to bring her by here more often. She needs some sort of Mother figure in her life" She said switching her attention between Pope and Baz.

The brothers exchanged a glance but Baz was the one who spoke. "She's behind on her schoolwork but I'll keep that in mind"

"From what I heard she's been spending a lot of time with Pope. She told me earlier that you seem to be angry with her. I get that the whole situation with Cath is hard but she is just a child Baz"

Smurf had given him a stern look whereas Baz was taken back. He had shifted his eyes towards Jessica and she faintly shook her head for him not to say anything. It made her smile that she could easily push their buttons so she decided to turn back to eating.

After a few bites, she spoke up again. "I mean, I have all my wonderful children sitting here and I can't be more grateful. You all turned out fine and I don't want Lena to not have a chance"

It was time for Jessica to cough out a laugh at the remark. That was a complete lie because her children were not fine. Three of them had drug addictions, one had been babied his entire life and had a hard time breaking away, one had issues mentally and one had always been reminded that he wasn't blood related. Smurf had a perfect flaw with each of them that should could and would use against them.

The Cody sister turned back to her food and took a big bite knowing Smurf heard her remark. Clearing her throat she spoke once again, "How are you doing Jessica? Have you been able to get your job back at the clinic yet?"

After a moment of pause, Jessica answered, "It doesn't get better and it doesn't get easier. It's not like it's ever going to go away. You just have to get used to it…Not yet, I have to wait until Shaun gets back to ask him" A friend of the family but mostly Jessica's ran a medical clinic where she primarily worked. The local hospital was wary of her due to her addiction but she always had a place there.

"I always said that you would end up like you Father…" Smurf commented then took a bite of meatloaf. She smiled faintly then looked towards her.

"How would I know? I never had the chance to get to know him because I'm sure you drove him off before Deran or I could" She answered sharply then turned to look at her Mother.

Craig had to laugh at her comment but did it slyly. He opened his mouth the laugh out loud but quickly covered his mouth. He didn't know why he found it funny but it was probably because Smurf hated whenever someone decided to back talk her.

She had stared back at her daughter finishing her food. Smiling politely again, Smurf was growing tired and annoyed. She wanted the family to get back together and this was slowly going the wrong way.

"I only meant it as a simple statement baby, I didn't mean it in any other way" She took a pause for a drink. "I kept him away due to the fact that he was a drug addict and a prick. He didn't need to be around the both of you, actually all of you for that matter"

"Well you did have two kids with him so he can't be that bad" Deran chimed in with defense for his sister. They both had discussed it between one another many times on how much they wished they had a father figure in their life. It had maybe affected them more so than the others

She had glanced towards her brother with a smirk but he hadn't looked at anyone. The table was becoming silent once again and there wasn't denying that there was tension among almost everyone there. No one else was going to say anything for a while and it remained that way.

Once everyone was either finished or near being done, Smurf slowly stood and looked at everyone in front of her. "Well if anyone here is interested I made dessert and I was thinking we could have it inside…Unless you all had plans"

Smurf began grabbing her plate along with the rest of her belongings. She asked Nicky to help her which she agreed to do as the family sat there. Once they stayed inside to clean up and Smurf to put her famous pie on plates, the Cody's exchanged glances.

"Are we all going in there or what? I don't know about you but I really want some dessert…" Craig said looking between everyone before standing up. He was the first to step inside without anyone even though he asked the question first.

"Don't you think she'll think something's up if we don't?" J asked.

"The kid is making a point" Pope spoke. "We don't go in there and she loses her head. She already knows that we ripped off the church and she's going to be on our asses until one of us confesses to how much we got…No one told her, right?"

Everyone shook their heads but no one was that stupid to say anything about it. Pope had nodded in agreement to everyone before leaving the table himself. J had struggled to get up but trailed behind him. Deran really wanted to get back to the bar to see what was going and who was there but there was a point to going inside.

That left Jessica and Baz sitting there by themselves. She had been lost in thought and was staring at the table placement. He was trying to get her attention but nothing was working. Leaning forward, he reached out towards her as she wasn't close enough and left his hand open.

"Jess…Are you coming or what?"

Hearing her name, Jessica looked up and towards him. "I'm really not in the mood to sit there and kiss my Mother's ass for her to like me Baz. I don't have it in me tonight" Her voice had been delicate.

"You think I want to? Look, I know she's saying things to get under everyone's skin because she's pissed about not being in on the job. That's what Smurf does; she wants to divide everyone to get answers. You don't go in there, she wins"

"It's not the same for you, for any of you actually. I can't do anything right by her. It's the same and I'm not going to pretend to be okay with it and we are one big happy family"

Taking a breath, he pulled away and leaned back in his chair. Baz glanced towards the open door before standing up. It was Jessica's decision if she wanted to or not and he wasn't going to decide for her. All he could do was convince her to go inside. After a few minutes, the blonde had stood up slowly and followed him into the Cody home. Everyone had been lounging in the main room usually where they all hung out.

Jessica had plopped down into one of the chairs, crossed her arms and stared forward. Smurf had been sitting closest to Pope while Deran and J were all the way across from them. Nicky had been sitting behind Craig who had been doing coke on the table in the middle of the room. Baz had stopped in the kitchen for another drink but slowly stopped walking when he saw the scene.

"Seriously man? How many times do I have to get on your ass for this?" He couldn't believe what he was looking at. Baz looked towards Smurf and held his hand out towards him. "You're not going to do anything about that?"

"Why should I baby? He makes his own choices" Smurf said with the nod of her head towards him.

Jessica's eyes had been fixed on what her brother was doing. After doing a line, Craig leaned his head back in order to feel in run through his veins and to take the drug in. Once he lifted his head back, he noticed his sister staring at him. Raising an eyebrow, he offered it toward her and that was when Baz nearly lost in.

"No she doesn't want any. Your sister just got out of rehab, how many times do I have to drill this into your head?" He said with anger rising in his voice. He looked at everyone else in the room. "No one's going to comment on the fact that he is offering her coke when she just got out? We wonder why Julia was too high to ever function"

"Baz…" Jessica said drawing her attention away from the drugs. She tilted her head towards J for him to watch what he was saying. "I'm good, it's fine"

"No it's not fine Jessica…." Baz covered his mouth for a second then continued on. "Come on, I'll take you home"

She didn't understand exactly what was going on because she had driven her jeep there. She'd have to come back in the morning and Jessica was feeling that she wanted to keep her distance for a while. Jessica didn't answer him and that let the floor stay open for Smurf.

"What are you so worried about? Jessica's a strong girl, she's can handle herself under pressure"

"She's gone to rehab six times Smurf; you really want to make that seven?" Baz fired back.

Pope turned towards his mother. "Is that what you trying to do? See how well she does under pressure?" He had wondered if there was a goal to it al when he first noticed it.

"Hi…Hello? Can we all act like I'm here and I can speak for myself. Baz, I appreciate you standing up for me but I can talk. I should get going anyway; I can't really be around this stuff for the sake of my own sanity"

Standing back up, Jessica wanted to remove herself from the situation before anything got worse. She really was two seconds away from doing coke with her brother that she could feel her hands shake out of the need for it.

"Are you two becoming some sort of thing again? Another incident perhaps?" Smurf asked moving a little bit on the long couch. She had a faint smirk on her lips once again. "Cath is gone what, a month or two and you decide to have a fling with my daughter?"

Jessica was standing next to Baz as she was just passing him but stopped with her back facing her mother. He had stared at Smurf but kept his cool. They both were still keeping their relationship hidden and he was going to do his best to move her off the topic for Jessica's favor.

"Nothing is going on between us. I'm the only one who has something to say to you because no one else wants to defend her. Didn't you ask Pope and I to watch over her to begin with?"

"That doesn't mean screwing her Baz" Standing to her feet, Smurf walked towards the middle of the room. "What were you two doing earlier that took the both of you a long time to come out? I can only think of one thing…"

J had felt it was in best interest to speak up. He had liked Jessica since he met her and he knew how much all of this meant to her. Even though it had been a few weeks of knowing her, she was his aunt and his mother's sister. "Jessica couldn't figure out where you put the glasses and she asked him where they were" He voiced which made Smurf look his way. "When I went into the kitchen Baz wasn't even in there"

Jessica spun back around and gave J a thank you look while he changed his focus between them. "In all due respect, I don't understand what's going on. You invited me over for dinner and now all of a sudden I'm getting remarks thrown in my face"

Crossing her arms, Smurf faintly narrowed her eyes towards her. "I'm not making any remark towards you, if I said something to hurt your feelings…"

"Oh Deran, I'm so proud of you. Oh my youngest has done so much for himself. I love my brother, I do but why is it that he gets all this praise when I did everything for myself?" Jessica started counting on her fingers. "I actually graduate high school, I went to rehab, paid for a nurse degree while working at a strip club because my own Mother wouldn't help pay, I got my own car and place"

"Where is this coming from?" Craig spoke up clearly bothered by what she was saying. That was his biggest problem with her was her opinion. It always made him feel like she thought too highly of herself and better than them. "Ever since you came back here you want all this praise because you're clean again. How long will this last Jess?"

"Hey!" Baz said with enough loudness in his voice to get Craig to slowly rise to his feet. Nicky had grabbed his hand to hold him back. All hell was breaking loose for no reason at all. Deran was even confused on why he was being used as an example.

Smurf had commented to the boys to calm down and she moved over to her daughter. She smiled before pulling her into a hug, one that Jessica didn't really accept. It was all damage control on her part in order to get her back in good graces. After at least a minute, she backed away and kept her hands on her upper arms.

"There, is that what you wanted?" She asked her gently.

Shaking her head in faint disbelief, Jessica spoke, "I'm going home. I don't have patience for any of this, not tonight. You are my Mother Smurf..." She had more to say but it wasn't supposed to be said in front of everyone there because they clearly were watching the show.

Baz was still offering to take her home in order to speak with her more on the situation. They needed to talk about what happened earlier and this mess that was starting. Jessica didn't want him too because she didn't want to return in order to get her jeep. She had to wait for him because Smurf wanted him to stay for a moment so she went and sat at the pool, sticking her feet into the water.

Waiting a couple of minutes until she left, Smurf now turned her complete attention to her son. Unlike Jessica, she got right in his face and stared him down. "What are you trying to do? Turn my daughter against me?"

It wasn't a secret that they weren't getting along because of the last job. The whole church heist was done because Baz had a hunch that she was stealing from them. He wanted to pull something that didn't involve her so they could split the money evenly.

"Oh, so she's your daughter now?" Baz fired back staring her down as well.

That made the whole room turn upside down and Smurf feeling insulted and angry. "You know what Baz, I took you in when you were younger. I raised you, I fed you and I gave you a safe place to stay. You were beat constantly and I was here taking care of your wounds. It took me weeks to get lice out of your hair and this is the thanks I get? You did a job without me and now you think you are running the show?"

All the arguing had made Deran get up and wait a few minutes. He didn't want to be there anymore with all the arguing going on. The bar was more important than what was going on so he decided it was time to leave. He wasn't going to get in the middle so he gave a signal to Pope and left without a sound.

"I get it Smurf; I'm not your son. You mind me of that all the time and you can stop throwing it in my face…" It was best for him to just back away from the fight before anything else was said.

Taking a few steps back, he started to back away to the outside patio. Smurf thought of it as an accomplishment because she knew that he wouldn't talk back to her. He had done so before Jessica had returned home because they had gotten into it then. Slamming the door shut, he made his way for the driveway.

"Come on Jess, let's go" He called out and glanced over his shoulder but she didn't budge.

Jessica was too busy playing with the water that she wasn't paying any attention to him. That was one reason she loved the ocean so much was because water always calmed her down. Sighing, he now walked over to her. "Are you ready to go?" Baz questioned.

Removing her feet, she reached for her shoes before climbing to her feet. "You didn't have to do that in there"

"Yeah I did because no one else would have"