Parental Obligations: Of Hair Pulling and Destruction

Elizabeth woke up to the feeling of being watched. It was a feeling she had woken up to for the past month since she'd been in New York with her mom. "Don't even think about it." She cracked her eyes open just in time to see Grace's wide eyes before she slipped off the back of the couch.

Elizabeth quickly sat up and leaned to look over the back of the couch. Grace had jumped up. "I'm okay," she said loudly. Her lip was trembling and she tried really hard not to cry, but it didn't work out too well.

"Aww, sweetie." Elizabeth reached over the back of the couch and pulled Grace into her arms.

Poor Grace started crying and rubbing her right leg.

Elizabeth looked over at the clock on the VCR and sighed. It was 10 a.m. Why couldn't Grace sleep until noon? Stella and Mac had dropped her off sometime in the night. Lindsay woke Hannah, the girls' babysitter, from her apartment two floors up and had her come downstairs to their apartment before she left. It was something that had occurred quite often when they were needed on a case in the middle of the night.

Stepping over Hannah who was lightly snoring on the floor in front of the television, Elizabeth carried Grace into the kitchen. "Hungry?"

"Yeah," Grace said tearfully.

Putting Grace into a chair at the table, Elizabeth opened the refrigerator and looked inside. "How about eggs, biscuits, and…"

"Bacon!" Grace filled in, over her small injury.

"And bacon," Elizabeth agreed, turning back to Grace, who had crawled onto the table. "You know the rules, Gracie. You are not allowed to sit on the table. You have to sit in a chair like a big girl."

Grace pouted when Elizabeth lifted her off the table and onto the chair.

"Is Sam awake?" Elizabeth asked, already knowing the answer.

"Nope," Grace said cheerfully, standing up and staring at Elizabeth's back defiantly as she carefully lifted her knee onto the table.

"You should know by now that I have eyes in the back of my head," Elizabeth said, turning around and giving Grace a mock-glare. "Why don't you go and wake Hannah up?"

Grace slid back down so that she was seated in the chair. "Nuh uh," Grace said, shaking her head emphatically.

Elizabeth hid a grin. Hannah was a typical teen, sleeping as late as possible, and she got really crabby when woken up.

Of course, Sam, who never woke earlier than eight and no later than eleven, always managed to wake Hannah up without angering her in any way.

It helped that the Sam didn't pull her hair like Grace had a habit of doing. "Fine. Wake Sammy up. She'll play with you."

"No, she won't," Grace said. She rolled her eyes and tugged on her Blue's Clues pajamas. She didn't understand why Elizabeth was trying to get her in trouble with her very best friend in the whole wide world.

Elizabeth gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. We'll make toast instead of biscuits and you can help."

"Yes!" Grace pumped her arms and leaped off the chair.

Elizabeth barely caught her before she landed on the floor. "You need to be careful or you'll make with the leaping and falling and hurting," she warned the little girl.

Grace shrugged and Elizabeth put her on the counter beside the toaster. "I 'member how to do it," she said irritably when Elizabeth tried to explain things to her.

"Right. I forget that you're our little chef," Elizabeth commented, pulling out a bowl to scramble eggs in, along with a whisk.

Grace sang softly to herself and pretty soon, Elizabeth joined in, waking Hannah in the living room. She stumbled into the room, her long brown hair hanging in her face.

"Hannah Banana!" Grace exclaimed cheerfully. "I'm making bre'fast all by myself!" She pouted slightly when Hannah raised her eyebrows. "Fine. Lizard's helpin' me."

"Don't call me Lizard," Elizabeth said, giving her a disgruntled look as Hannah stared at the empty coffee maker with a frown. She had never been allowed to drink coffee, but sometimes she really wished she could.

"Yeah," Hannah echoed, "and don't call me Hannah Banana." Her long brown hair was tangled and Grace's hand itched to pull it. She wasn't sure why, but that always made her feel better. It may have been how soft Hannah's hair was, but it also may have had something to do with the high pitched squeal that never failed to come after a particularly hard tug.

"Grace, the toast popped up," Elizabeth said, standing in front of her with a suspicious look. She always knew when Grace was getting ready to make Hannah's life hell.

Grace pouted and reached for the toast. Elizabeth leaned in and whispered in her ear, causing Grace to giggle and nod.

Elizabeth turned away with a smirk as she continued with the breakfast making activities. For the past five weeks, since she had been in town, Sam and Grace had become the best of friends, Grace being Sam's voice when the little girl's shyness was too much to overcome. Sam was Grace's silent, always innocent, partner in crime.

New York had very easily become home, and Danny had been a huge factor in that. It was obvious he cared a great deal for Lindsay, but she kept him at a distance. That didn't stop him and Elizabeth from bonding over everything from action packed movies to sugar filled, cavity giving cereals.

The three females sat in relative silence until a small crash, followed by a cry, sounded from the bedroom. "Watch the eggs and makes sure Grace doesn't test your trust too soon," Elizabeth said, running to the bedroom.

Hannah looked at the eggs sitting on the counter. "Are they going to do a trick?" she asked under her breath. Apparently, Elizabeth had forgotten that she hadn't even started cooking yet. Her eyes slid to Grace, who was watching Hannah, the look on her face obviously wondering whether or not she could get away with jumping. "Don't even think about it."

Grace sighed when Hannah moved to stand in front of her. She wouldn't be able to go check on Sammy unless she asked Hannah nicely if she could please help her down. You always had to say please with Hannah. "Can I touch your hair?" Grace asked, batting her eyelashes innocently, "Pretty please?"

((((((((((CSI:NY))))))))))

Sam had fallen off the bed…again. It wasn't really a daily occurrence, but it happened pretty often. She was used to the wall that had been on the left side of her bed back in Montana.

"It's okay, sweetie," Elizabeth said, pulling Sam into her arms. Having been on the receiving end of such a wakeup call, she knew it wasn't a pleasant way to wake up.

Sam cried softly, and Elizabeth made soothing sounds as she bounced her slightly. It was something of a routine for them. Before leaving Montana, Sam had had a lot of nightmares and Elizabeth was always there to soothe away her tears. Thankfully, though, this wasn't due to any nightmares.

"You okay?" Elizabeth asked, looking down into Sam's little face.

Sam nodded into her shirt, sniffing.

"Let's go see if Grace managed to convince Hannah to let her play with her hair again," Elizabeth suggested, nudging the little girl.

Sam nodded decisively and Elizabeth wiped her face.

When they got into the kitchen, Sam was actually a little disappointed to see that Hannah was calmly cooking eggs at the stove while Grace sloppily buttered toast.

Elizabeth hid a grin at the disappointed look on Sam's face. For some inexplicable reason, the girls really like to pick on Hannah.

"When is Stella coming?" Hannah asked, glancing at Elizabeth as the younger girl poured Sam some orange juice before starting the bacon.

Elizabeth shrugged. "Two, I think." Stella had become Elizabeth's favorite person, like, ever. Her sense of humor rivaled any Elizabeth had seen before and she still managed to be a stern mother when called for. Of course, it helped that Stella was so easy to talk to.

Plus, Mac was kinda hot and he was usually always with her.

Grace cleared her throat. "Umm, excuse me," she said politely, "but I don't wanna do this anymore."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes good-naturedly and held Grace's hands as the little girl pushed herself off the counter. Elizabeth refused to completely lower her to the floor until Grace begged through her giggles.

Once both on the floor, the girls ran into the living room, Grace talking excitedly about building a fort while Sam stayed silent and nodded along.

Elizabeth looked at the unopened package of bacon. "How about we just have egg sandwiches? I have a feeling they're going to destroy the living room if we leave them alone for any amount of time."

Hannah shrugged agreeably. She really didn't see why they even needed a babysitter. Elizabeth was perfectly able to do it all herself.

By the time breakfast was over and the girls were finished playing, the room was a complete mess. The pillows and blankets used for the fort were scattered all over the room.

"I'll help," Sam said sweetly when Hannah started picking up the pillows.

Hannah, knowing from experience how sulky Sam tended to get when told that it was "okay," allowed her to help.

"Wanna go pick out your clothes for today?" Elizabeth asked Grace.

Grace nodded with a wide grin. She loved to pick out her own clothes and sometimes, Sam even let her pick out her clothes.

Elizabeth led Grace into the only bedroom and to the closet, which had been, thankfully, organized so the girls' clothes could fit.

Elizabeth paused when the doorbell rang and heard muffled voices. When Sam screamed at the top of her little lungs, Elizabeth, acting on impulse, pushed Grace into the closet. "Don't come out until your mom comes home," she said urgently, before closing the door and moving toward the door that led to the living room.

Grace crouched in the closet, her heart beating violently in her chest. Elizabeth hadn't closed the closet door all the way and Grace could see a man through the crack.

"Uncle Kenny," Elizabeth said, trying to keep her voice level.

Kenneth Manchetti was holding Sam in his arms, a gun held casually in his hand. It wasn't pointed at either of them, but it didn't stop the fear from gripping Elizabeth's heart. "Hey, darlin.' Long time, no see."

"Yeah, well, that happens when you ruin a family," Elizabeth said, her voice breaking despite herself. She was trying not to look at Sam's face, which was streaming with tears.

"I didn't ruin any family," Kenneth reminded her. "You were a brat, but I never stopped loving you. We need to show your mom that we're still a family."

"Are you kidding me? We are not a family, Kenny," Elizabeth said.

Kenneth's eyes turned cold. "We are a family, Elizabeth, and you need to come with me so we can brainstorm exactly how we can convince your mom of that."

Elizabeth looked between Kenneth and Sam, careful not to look anywhere near the closet. There was no way out of it. She had to go with him.

TBC…I think that was suspenceful enough. Tell me what you think!