The sun danced irritatingly to the surface of the sky, reaching the edges of Roselyn's bedroom window, its rays sparkling in the warmth of the morning. A glimmer here… a glimmer there; the sun threatened to wake the sleeping sixteen year old. But if it didn't, Jenny Shepard sure would.

"Roselyn! You wake up now!" Jenny pounded on the mahogany door. "Teenagers," she muttered with early-morning bitterness. She sipped the steaming cup of coffee that occupied her left hand, grateful for the caffeine jolt, and with her right, pounded on the door again. "Roselyn Shepard-Gibbs you open this door right this instant! I don't have time for this, this morning! I've got a very important meeting!"

Roselyn groaned; the sound of Jenny's fist against the door was deafening. She struggled to lift her slender arms from under her, clasping her long fingers around the edges of the pale purple pillowcase. When her grip was secure enough to withstand pressure, she yanked the feather pillow from under her head and placed it atop her ear. It droned out Jenny's voice, but only slightly.

"Roselyn! I'm not fooling around this morning!" Jenny called once again, tapping her foot impatiently. "I'm going to come in there!"

'If you were going to do that,' Roselyn thought sleepily, 'you'd have done it by now.' Satisfied with her success, Roselyn rolled over, pillow still covering her ear, and curled even further into the warmth of her comforter. This was much better than being awake.

"I'll send Gibbs in there!" Jenny threatened. Another sip of her coffee and she looked up at the door. Silence.

'No you won't,' Roselyn thought once again. One eye opened out of curiosity, but the sun was too bright, and just as soon as the eye had fluttered open, it fluttered closed.

"I mean it, Roselyn, I will call him over here, and I will send him in there!" Jenny tapped both feet impatiently now, and she glanced over her shoulder at the clock. She had wasted 10 minutes of her time already; 10 minutes that she needed desperately to get ready for this meeting. 'Motherhood!' she thought annoyingly, but never doubted deep down that her life had taken a turn for the better when she joined the league of mothers. PTA meetings, dance recitals, parent-teacher conferences; they were worth it. Adopting a child had been the best move she'd ever made. Especially this one.

'Good luck getting him out of bed,' Roselyn mused silently. She let out a yawn and stretched a bit, then released herself back into the comfort and confines of her queen sized pillow top mattress. She was surprised when the door to her room finally slid open and Jenny waltzed in.

"Do we have to go through this every morning?" The red-head resigned in exasperation. "Get up, get dressed. Breakfast is ready downstairs. I have a big meeting this morning, I can't be late, Roselyn," Jenny instructed. She was already laying outfit choices out on the bed. She reached out and tapped Roselyn's foot and then bent to kiss the young girl on the head. "And good morning to you too, Grumpy."

"I'm not grumpy. I'm a big ray of sunshine," Roselyn sat up with a defeated, cranky look on her face. She stretched and yawned, and went to swat away the outfits Jenny was laying out. "Can't I just stay home today? It's not like I'm going to miss anything in school, except Senora Hernandez getting locked out of her classroom again."

"I still can't believe you participated in that little charade," Jenny muttered, tossing Roselyn's robe at her.

"I didn't participate," Roselyn retorted.

"You didn't help her, either," Jenny pointed out, holding back a smirk.

"I stayed neutral, like Switzerland."

"That only works if you're at war," Jenny raised her eyebrows and glanced at the clock. Tick tock. More time missing out of her busy morning.

"We were learning the Spanish verbs that day. For all intents and purposes, we *were* at war."

"She's not that bad of a teacher; she just wants you guys to learn as much as you can from her class. In fact, I'd call that a damn good teacher."

"She teaches the entire class in Spanish! The only one who understands her is her!" Roselyn argued, tossing her legs over the side of the bed. She slipped on a pair of jeans and then stood up to button up and zip the faded denim pants. She ignored the neatly folded shirts on her bed where Jenny had had been, and went for a wrinkled tee off her floor, tossing it on.

"Did you ever think if you stopped to listen, you might understand her?" Jenny folded her arms across her chest, her red hair flowing messily to the side.

"Uh, no," Roselyn blinked.

"Well maybe you should try it," Jenny suggested, in a not so very suggestion like way. "On another note, don't forget your overnight bag. You're staying at Jethro's tonight."

"Is G.I. Barbie going to be there?" Roselyn asked, slinging her overnight bag over her shoulder. She always kept it packed and ready to go for the nights she stayed over at Gibbs' place.

"You mean Hollis, and yes, I'm sure she will be. And I don't want a repeat of last week. No more itching powder, Roselyn, I mean it."

"And yet the itching powder was never found. Your evidence against me is circumstantial at best, and I'm innocent until proven guilty."

"You're also grounded for three weeks. I still can't believe you put it in her underwear."

Roselyn let out a small snicker and then looked up at Jenny, "Does the term Due Process mean anything to you?"

"We have got to stop letting you hang out in the legal department," Jenny sighed. "Does the term 'dictatorship' mean anything to you?" Jenny narrowed her gaze.

"I thought we were a democracy!" Roselyn cried

"Not since you hit your teen years," Jenny smirked and then gently swatted the girl's butt with a face towel. "Here, go get dressed, we're pushing it for time right now."

Roselyn sighed but took the towel and headed out of her room to the bathroom. As she passed by the door a German Shepard dog lifted its head, cocked it to the side, yawned, and then lay back down. "Morning, Tony!" Roselyn called on the way to the bathroom; the dog, whom she'd named Tony, had been found when Roselyn was 13. She brought it up and never let it go. He'd been named Tony Shepard Gibbs, because, as she said, he reminded her of 'a young Tony'.

Jenny laughed and shook her head, throwing her trusses of red hair up in a loose pony-tail., and then she, too, went to get ready for the day.