Disclaimer: (sigh) its not mine... really, i promise

A/N: Sorry for the lateness...i had a small knot of writer's block, but i think im past it...whatever...new post...sooner or later...

Last Time:

Get in. While we're driving, we need to talk about some stuff." Charlie sounded nervous, and Sarah wasn't worried about him getting mad for leaving the house. He had almost done it several times himself.

She opened the passenger door of Charlie's car and slid in, waiting for Charlie to get into the drivers seat.

Charlie slid in and started his car. He looked a little apprehensive, and Sarah got a little worried that he was regretting his decision to let her stay with him. He began with a simple statement:

"I'm really glad that you decided to come and stay with me. Um...I know exactly what your going through, because I went through it myself. But there are a couple things we need to talk about."

Sarah tensed. This had SOOOO better not be a lecture, she thought. "Ok, shoot."

"Number one, you need to know that its ok to be a little emotional about this. It's not a bad thing to be upset, or angry. And, if you want to talk about how you feel, whenever, you can talk to me, ok?"

"Yeah, sure, I know," Sarah said. she really didn't feel anything right now.

"Ok. Next, please try to keep pranks and all other mischief to a minimum while you're here. I really don't feel like explaining to anyone that I'm not your father and that I really can't account for any of the things that happen. And try not to mess up my house too much." He sounded a little playful with his last sentence, but Sarah knew that he was dead serious.

"That's fair enough. Agreed." Sarah was figuring that it would be easy to be a little more careful up here. And maybe a little more respectful.

"Next, I have to work a lot. I have Sunday's off because the garage is open on appointment only then. Now, as the boss, I can take off a few more days, but not too many. I thought that, since you're fifteen, you could probably take care of yourself alone while I'm gone, and I doubt that you'll even be spending much time at the house, so I don't think me being at work is going to be a problem. Is it?" He looked a little concerned.

Sarah smiled. "Nope. Like you said, i don't feel the need to spend an excessive amount of time in the house; I'll probably be up at the lake or something."

Charlie relaxed a little. "Good! Um, there's one more thing..." but he hesitated.

Sarah raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Well, it's just that...I really...I'm not sure... I've never tried to take care of a kid before..." He bit the inside of his lip. "You have always been pretty cool about girl stuff, not like your sister Lorraine, but I'm not going to be very good at this..."

Sarah laughed. "Charlie, it's cool. I can mostly take care of myself. And I really do try to avoid being like Lorraine. I'll take it easy on you. And, thank you, so much... for letting me come up and stay here, and letting me barge into your house."

Charlie shook his head. "You're my sister, Sarah! You're not barging in, you're just hanging out for a while. And we can just work together as best as we can!"

"That sounds good," Sarah said.

Just then, they pulled up to Charlie's house. The house was 100 wood, 1 story, and had been a fixer-upper when he had bought the place. Sarah hadn't seen the house in a while, and he had made some nice adjustments. The porch was new, as was the siding and the windows. Though it was pretty dark, it was easy to tell he had worked hard.

"Wow! The place looks great!" Sarah exclaimed when she saw it.

Charlie looked proud. "Thanks! I've also done some stuff inside. I have a guest room for you. Just leave your bike in the yard. It should be safe enough."

They got out of the car and Sarah grabbed both her bike and backpack, leaving the former on the ground and swinging the latter over her shoulder. Climbing the porch steps, Charlie unlocked the front door and shoved it open, holding out his hand to signal her in first.

"Don't go too far in, I don't want you to trip," Charlie told her. He slid past her and felt along the wall for the light switch and illuminated Sarah's new temporary home.