A/N: Muchos gracias for the reviews. Happy Monday! Yayyyy…

A dull throbbing pain slowly coaxed Madeline out of sleep the next day long before her alarm clock started beeping. Her first thought was that she'd slept on it wrong. She'd woken up before with a crick in her neck, but as she began to slip more and more into consciousness, Maddie realized it wasn't that. It was from the accident.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." She muttered as she sat up in bed and rubbed her hand over the back of her neck. Yesterday, it had just hurt a little bit, but now it really ached. This was not good. Maddie slung her feet over the side of the bed and stood up, hoping getting up and moving around would help it out. Missing one day of gymnastics was bad enough. If she missed another, flipping around was really going to kick her ass. It wasn't long before her next competition.

The sound of the shower going in the master bathroom reminded Madeline that if Sara or her father suspected her neck wasn't feeling right, they definitely wouldn't let her train that afternoon. They'd probably make her go get an x-ray also. It was probably just a little morning time pain, and her neck had flared up overnight. If she was extra careful during the day and didn't push it, hopefully she'd be alright after school.

Fifteen minutes later, Madeline was out of the shower, her hair swept up underneath a giant white towel. She had very carefully maneuvered it on top of her head, wincing slightly when it slipped to the right a little bit. As she opened the door to walk towards the stairs, she almost bumped into her younger brother. Instead of yelling at him, all she could muster was an apathetic yawn. Cody rolled his eyes and watched her for a moment as she made her way to the stairs.

"What, are you worn out from last night?" Cody bit back a knowing smirk. He had lately embraced his role as annoying little brother, and didn't deny that he snooped around and spied on her a little. Truth be told, he completely idolized Nick and wanted to be just like him. Investigating was part of that. Now was as good a time as ever to start honing his investigative skills. Plus, getting Maddie in trouble could be somewhat entertaining and it really wasn't all that difficult. Thanks to his sleuthing skills, Cody had quite the dirt on his older sister – everything from texting while she drove, to sneaking out, to bad grades.

Madeline narrowed her eyes at the younger boy, unsure of what the kid knew. Cody could be quite the creep sometimes. "What are you talking about, anal dweller?"

Cody wasn't fazed. "I saw you go out the window, and I saw you kissing Gavin!" He made kissy sounds, closing his eyes for effect, but was slightly startled when he felt a hand grab his pajama top and push him into the bathroom. Moments later, the door slammed and he was sitting on the toilet seat with a stern faced Madeline towering over him. Sure, she was a girl, but thanks to years of gymnastics, she sure had some muscles.

"Let go of me, Hulk!" He struggled against her, but Maddie didn't relent.

"If you don't mind your own business and keep your mouth shut, I'll show Dad your little collection of Victoria's Secret magazines you think are hidden under your bed."

Cody's mouth gaped for a moment, and he couldn't think of anything to say. He could feel his face turning red. He was always so careful with his magazines. At the age of ten, he was starting to get very curious about the opposite sex, and had managed to get his hands on a few racy magazines. A knock on the door saved Cody from further embarrassment.

"Cody, are you in there?" Nick's voice asked from outside the closed door, fresh from his shower in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"Y-yeah, Dad. I'll be right out." He stammered as he stood up, eying his older sister suspiciously. Madeline let him go and quickly turned to leave the bathroom. When Nick saw his daughter come out first, he was a little puzzled.

"What are you doin'?" He asked as she moved past him.

"Nothing, Dad." She replied dismissively as she took her first step down the stairs.

"Hey." He called out to her, causing her to stop reluctantly, anticipating a lecture. "Did you get all your homework done last night?"

Madeline winced at the question, and that was pretty much all Nick needed to see. It was quite frequent that Maddie spent breakfast time doing unfinished homework, or had to secretly do homework for one class in another class. Her gymnastics schedule was insane, and a lot of girls in her level actually home schooled or had private tutors. Plus, her involvement with Gavin didn't exactly free up her time. Last night, she probably could've finished her homework if she hadn't snuck outside to make out with him.

"Not exactly." She told him. "I've only got a little, though. I promise."

Nick nodded, and sighed a little to himself as he walked over to the banister. He worried about the intensity of Madeline's schedule. The last thing he wanted was for her to have no free time for herself and get stressed out. However, he also wanted her to have as normal a life as possible. He'd always been against pulling her out of school because of gymnastics, but in the elite level, it was next to impossible to stay in public school and compete regularly. Maddie had come to terms with the possibility, but Nick wasn't sure she realized all she'd be giving up.

"How's your neck?"

"Fine." She answered right away. If it bothered her right before practice, she wouldn't train – Madeline wasn't stupid and knew not to push it if she was truly injured. Her dad was too much of a worry-wart, and would call off practice now if she admitted to any pain. The way her father was looking at her – like he was scrutinizing her honesty – caused her to continue. "Seriously, Dad. I won't practice if it bothers me."

Nick nodded, raising his eyebrows a bit. "Make sure you don't. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I know, Dad. I'll be careful." She promised him, taking another step down, hoping he'd let her go without any more probing questions. It was easy to get caught in a lie if she wasn't careful.

Nick gave his daughter an encouraging wink. "Good. Will you start the coffee for me?"

"Sure." Madeline turned and gladly made her way downstairs to start the coffee for him and Sara. They'd both switched to decaf since Sara found out she was expecting. Madeline wasn't quite sure what to think of the pregnancy. First off, it was proof that her parents were having sex – EWW. She tried not to think about that. Maddie enjoyed having Callie as a younger sister, but she also got stuck with babysitting duty a little more often than she'd like. With another new brother or sister, would her dad and Sara expect her to help out a lot with it too? Plus, by the time the baby was born, she'd be seventeen years old. Would it be hard to bond with a brother or sister that was so much younger than her?

Upstairs, Nick walked back over to the bathroom where Cody was now brushing his teeth a bit harshly, like he had something on his mind. Their relationship had evolved quite a bit over the last four years, but still stayed much the same. Cody had always looked up to Nick, even before he and Sara started dating. When Nick and Sara got married, it was like Cody's dreams came true. He had a father, finally, after a lifetime of just having his mom. In the totally clichéd way, Nick had taught Cody how to play catch, he helped with homework, and they played chess together. They'd fit into a father/son relationship quite easily – much better than Maddie had been accepting Sara into her life. Not that they constantly argued, but Madeline still hadn't gotten close to her stepmother.

"Bud, are you doin' alright?" Nick asked from the doorway. Cody was caught up in his own world and turned bug-eyed as he turned to look at Nick. He hoped Nick couldn't guess what he'd been thinking about.

"Uhhh…yea, Dad." He said, his toothbrush still perched in his mouth. Nick smirked a little at his obvious embarrassment over something.

"Maddie wasn't pickin' on you, was she?" The older girl was known to be a bit of a bully to her brother at times if he ticked her off.

Cody quickly shook his head no, his eyes still wide. A moment later, they both heard the sound of upchucking coming from the master bathroom. Nick winced and then nodded his head slowly in understanding. "Alright then. You better get a move-on."

Cody breathed a little sigh of relief as Nick left to go back into the master bedroom. His mother was apparently experiencing quite bad morning sickness, much like she had experienced with him. Since she'd gotten pregnant, Cody had become more and more curious and where he'd come from. Like any fifth grade boy, he was getting curious about kissing and sex. He wanted to ask his mother questions about his real father, but he didn't want to upset her. All she'd ever told him was that she didn't know where his father was. Apparently, she didn't know him very well at all. It wasn't fair that Maddie had her father, this new baby would have its father, all his friends at least knew their fathers, and he had no clue about his. He loved Nick, but he wanted to know about his biological father too. But whenever he brought it up, his mom began to look uncomfortable and sad, and Cody didn't want to upset his mother.

After rinsing out his mouth, Cody put his toothbrush back into the holder and began to make his way back to his bedroom to get dressed. On his way there, he looked towards his parents' bedroom and stopped by the doorframe. Nick was leading his mom to lay back down on the bed. Cody watched curiously as Nick tucked her under the sheets and then sat on the edge. He tenderly kissed her forehead and rubbed her slightly protruding belly as he said something softly. His mother closed her eyes and Nick stood up and happened to make eye contact with Cody. Embarrassed yet again, Cody quickly disappeared into his bedroom. Damn his curiosity.

CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI

Across town, the morning routine for the Phillips family was similar, but somehow highly different. At a little after eight o'clock, Callie decided she'd stayed in bed long enough, so she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, rubbing at her eyes. Her hair was done up in matching braided pigtails, so that in the morning, her mom could brush her hair out and it would be all wavy and pretty. As she stood up and went to her dresser to get fresh panties and an outfit for the day, she rubbed her neck a little because it ached a little bit.

Callie wandered across the hall to her mother's room and pushed the door open, finding both her and what had been announced as her future stepfather still in bed. She dropped her clothes onto the floor and walked over to her mother's side of the bed.

"Mommaaaa…" She called, giving her a bit of a shake. "Time to unbraid my hair."

Beneath the sheets, Lauren groaned and scrubbed her hand over her face. Her eyes fluttered open to find her beautiful four year old daughter staring back at her wide-eyed. She was adorable, she had to admit.

"Morning, baby." She croaked out as Howard stirred next to her. "Give me a few more minutes. Why don't you go brush your teeth."

Callie sighed, a little disappointed, but obeyed. Already at the age of four, she was quite an independent little girl. She brushed her teeth really well (and she even always brushed her tongue), got dressed all by herself, and of course woke up without her mother most of the time. Callie just didn't realize how independent she really was – she figured all little girls did this every day.

Five minutes later, Callie wandered back into her mother's room to get her clothes and put them on, and also remind her mom to do her hair. Only, she was a little busy now kissing Howard. Callie thought it was disgusting. She picked up her clothes and walked back to her room. Her neck still ached, but she knew better than to bother her mom when she was kissing Howard.

CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI

About ten minutes later, Nick, Cody, and Madeline were all downstairs at the breakfast table. They usually barely had time to sit down, but since Nick didn't have to drag his two kids out of bed that morning, they had a little time to enjoy breakfast. Well, Cody and Nick did anyway. Madeline was busy reading a chapter of Wuthering Heights as she slowly shoveled some Cheerios into her mouth. Nick always got concerned when she was doing homework in the morning.

"Honey, is that all you have left to do?" He asked as he poured her some more orange juice.

Maddie kept her eyes focused on the page. "And some math problems. Heathcliff is a real douche."

Nick just had to nod in agreement as he set her glass back down. It had been probably twenty years since he'd read the book, but if memory served him right, a douche was a pretty accurate description for Heathcliff. "That he is."

"What's a douche?" Cody asked.

Madeline looked up, smiling a bit at her dad because he probably didn't want her to explain. "It's not important." Nick told him.

Maddie couldn't stop herself from cracking up a little bit, but she stopped when Nick shot her a warning look. "So, uh, where's Sara?"

"She went back to bed for a little while." Nick told her, thinking about his wife upstairs. It had been over sixteen years since he'd been around a pregnant woman 24/7, and he'd forgotten how tough it could be. Sara was getting morning sickness way worse than Lauren ever had, and she was also exhausted. Despite all this, Sara still wanted to continue to work full time up until the baby was born. While Nick didn't think this was all that good of an idea, and he wanted her to take it easy, he also knew it wasn't wise to try to tell Sara what to do. Once she'd made up her mind, it was rare that she would be swayed from it. Nick didn't see how she did it – how she could carry another little person around and still work full time.

"Baby trouble?" Madeline guessed easily as she shoveled more cereal into her mouth and managed to balance her book in the other. She was quite the multi-tasker. Nick nodded. "That thing's a little jerk."

"It's not the baby's fault." Cody answered before Nick even had the chance. "It's because of the hormones."

Nick couldn't help but chuckle at how knowledgeable his stepson was about morning sickness. Cody had sure been doing his research.

"It stops around the third month anyway." He added.

"And where did you learn all this, Code-man?" Nick reached over and ruffled his hair a little, a bit impressed that Cody knew all this mumbo jumbo.

"In health class. And on the Internet." He ate a spoonful of his cereal and felt his face getting red again. Cody liked impressing Nick with his knowledge, but he couldn't believe how stupid he was sometimes about what he shared. He just hoped Nick didn't ask what he knew about sex.

"Dad, you should see what else he finds on the Internet." Maddie retorted. Since her brother always caused her so much embarrassment, he was going to have to learn to take what he dished out. And how dorky was it that he knew all about pregnancy hormones and he was ten years old?

"Shut UP!" Cody yelled at his older sister.

"Both of you cool it." Nick told them. He'd taken for granted how much easier it was to raise just one kid, and not have to deal with sibling rivalry.

"Maddie snuck out last night and she was making out with Gavin in the yard!" Cody blurted, feeling brave. He was sick and tired of Madeline thinking she could just embarrass him and think it was funny. It was completely silent in the room for a few seconds, as both Madeline and Nick gaped at his comment.

"Cody, you liar!" Maddie slammed her book down on the table and quickly tried to cover things up, but knew she'd been busted wide open. Nick had already crossed his arms and was now looking at his daughter with quite a displeased look on his face. All morning, he'd been worrying about her hectic school and gymnastics schedule, when all along she was apparently wasting it fooling around with a boy.

"Madeline, is this true?" Nick asked her straight up, and torqued his jaw. Maddie stared into her cereal bowl as she chased her Cheerios around with her spoon, wishing she could jump in and hide. She knew good and well if she got caught in a lie, it was best to tell the truth.

"Yes." She mumbled, not bothering to make any excuses. She shot a glare at her younger brother, who at least looked a little sorry that he'd just gotten his sister in hot water.

Nick stood up with his near-empty cereal bowl in hand as he cleared his throat. Instead of starting a lecture like Madeline figured he would, he just looked at her and shook his head a bit, then walked to the kitchen. Madeline sighed and looked back down at her cereal and shot Cody another hateful glare. He furrowed his eyes back at her and shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, it's your own fault.

Though she of course hated being lectured, the fact that her father hadn't said anything worried Madeline. She was a bit of a free spirit, but she still wanted her parents to trust her and think she was a good kid. The silent treatment was sheer torture. Madeline rose to her feet and picked up her bowl to take it into the kitchen, where her dad was rinsing out his own bowl. She stood right next to him as he rinsed a few of the dirty dishes.

"Dad…" She started, wishing he would say something. Anything. Nick kept his jaw squared as he loaded a few of the dishes into the dishwasher. He wanted so badly to be able to trust his daughter during her teen years. Everyone knew the teen years were a turbulent time, but Nick hoped their relationship was strong enough that she wouldn't be tempted to be dishonest with him. And his daughter…making out with someone? He didn't want to believe it.

Madeline was getting frustrated by the lack of response. "Dad!" She grabbed his arm, trying to get his attention. "Would you talk to me?"

Nick turned to face Madeline, sticking his tongue in his cheek. "You wanna talk?" He began, "Hmmm? I'd love to hear your explanation, Madeline. Why you think it's okay for me to worry about how much sleep you're gettin', and if you have enough time to do your homework, and whether or not I should pull you out of public school. And the whole time, you're sneaking out to be with this Gavin punk?"

"Dad, he's not a punk –"

"Don't change the subject, Madeline. Don't you dare." He stopped her. "This is about me and Sara being able to trust you. I can't believe you." Nick let the dishwasher door shut loudly.

"I'm sixteen, Dad! You really think I haven't kissed a boy before? Please!"

Nick turned in his place with his hands on his hips. That part bothered him too, but not as much as knowing Madeline had been deceiving them all along. "That's not what I have a problem with. I get it. You're growing up and you're interested in boys. I've let you go on dates. What I don't like is your deception, Madeline."

Madeline sighed, her eyebrows furrowed in frustration as her dad started moving to get out of the kitchen. Sure, it was wrong to sneak out of the house and lie, but how else was she going to have the time to see Gavin outside of practice? She trained almost every day of the week, and the rest of the time she spent doing homework and pretending to sleep. Her parents would never let her go on a date if her homework wasn't done.

"Dad…" Maddie felt tears welling up in her eyes. It was all so confusing and frustrating, how her priorities didn't seem to meet up with his. She got that school was important to him, and being responsible…but she hated school most of the time now, and she just wanted to be around Gavin. "You don't understand."

Nick turned around as he reached the end of the kitchen. "No, I probably don't." He admitted. "But I don't want you seeing that boy anymore. Not until I think I can trust you again. Is that understood?"

Madeline gaped and crossed her arms. "No! Dad, that's not fair."

Nick held his hands out. "Either that, or maybe you need to think about giving up gymnastics." Nick threw out, because he knew that wasn't even an option for Madeline. She loved it too much. "Maddie, I trusted you to be responsible with your time. You assured me you were doing your best with homework, and balancing training with school. It looks like I've been giving you too much freedom."

Nick left the room before Madeline had a chance to say anything else.