Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock, Barbie or Chutes and Ladders.

Author's Note: This might be a bit disjointed. I think I tried to do too much in one shot. I know some of you wanted more Tess with the kids, but I think she would need to take things very slow. Tess is very difficult for me to write, so I am easing into it.

"Sounds great, Jason. I'll see you tonight," Caitlyn said before she hung up her phone. Adam watched her for a few minutes as she worked at her computer. Eventually he broke the silence.

"So Caitlyn," Adam asked casually, "when are you going to invite me over for dinner?"

Caitlyn looked up from her computer and gave him an incredulous look, "Why would you even ask me that?"

Immediately Caitlyn knew she had made a mistake. Adam's eyes hardened and he got up and started to leave the room. Caitlyn sighed and called out to him, "Wait a minute. That didn't come out right. I just meant why would you want to come over? Dinner at my house means little kids, Princess movies and possibly dress-up. Not really your scene." She gestured towards his tattoos and piercings.

Adam shrugged and looked uncomfortable. "I don't know. We've been working together for a couple months, and I just wanted to meet your family; see where you live."

When Caitlyn didn't say anything he continued, "And I'll behave around your kids. I can control myself, you know."

Caitlyn gave him a small smile. "I know you can," she said. She wasn't sure it was such a good idea, but it seemed important to him. Almost like a test of whether she trusted him or not. "What are you doing tonight?" she asked.

Adam grinned at her. "I'm totally free," he answered. At that moment Tess arrived to "review" the day's work. Adam looked over at her and announced, "I'm going to Caitlyn's for dinner."

Tess looked from Adam to Caitlyn. "Did he do something wrong? That seems sort of like cruel and unusual punishment to me."

Adam frowned. He was never sure how much of Caitlyn and Tess' interaction was witty banter between colleagues and how much of it was actually meant as an insult. Caitlyn raised an eyebrow at Tess before turning to Adam with a twinkle in her eye. "Don't listen to her Adam. You and I both know Tess couldn't handle dinner at my house. My kids might ruin her designer outfit or mar her manicure."

Adam winked at Caitlyn. "I guess you're right. Tess is far, far too …"

"Prissy?" Caitlyn interjected.

"I was going to go with rigid and uptight, but prissy works."

"Oh, please," Tess snapped, "I can handle anything either of you can dish out."

"Did we hit a nerve, Tess?" Caitlyn asked sweetly. "You're more than welcome to join us tonight."

She was totally bluffing. Tess was useful with Adam, but Caitlyn had no desire to spend any more time than necessary with her. So she was shocked when Tess smiled back and said in an equally cloying voice, "You know what, Caitlyn, I would love to come over tonight. I'll see you around 6." She paused for a moment before adding, "But I'm not bringing anything."

Adam looked at both women and shook his head. He knew that neither of them wanted to have dinner with each other, but he also knew they were both way too stubborn to back down. He couldn't believe that he was finally getting to meet Caitlyn's family, and Tess was going to ruin it.

Adam arrived first with flowers for Caitlyn. She gave him an amused look as she took the bouquet of tulips from him.

"What?" he asked sheepishly. "Just because I don't always do what I'm supposed to doesn't mean I don't know what's appropriate."

Caitlyn chuckled. "Good to know. Here I was thinking that your bad manners were ignorance."

Nate smiled at the young man and held out his hand. "Hi, Adam. I'm Nate, Caitlyn's husband." Adam reached out and shook his hand. "And just so you know, now that she knows you actually know how to behave, she's going to hold you to a much higher standard."

Adam winced. He was saved from further discussion of his manners by the arrival of another man and two little girls. Caitlyn gestured to the newcomers. "Adam, this is Nate's bandmate Jason and our girls, Annabelle and Melody. Girls, this is Adam Daniels. He works with Mommy."

Melody stared in wonder at Adam's arms. "You must've done really good today to get all those stamps."

Adam looked over at an equally confused Caitlyn and saw a look of realization sweep across her face. She grinned at him and explained, "When Melody goes to gymnastics, she gets ink stamps on her hands and arms when she's a good listener."

"See," Melody thrust her hand in front of Adam to show off the bunny stamps on her hand and forearm. "They're nice," he said. Then she reached out and touched the ink on his arm. "Yours are so pretty," she murmurered.

'Honey, those aren't really stamps," Caitlyn said. "They're called tattoos."

Adam jumped in, "They're sort of like stamps, but they just don't come off."

Annabelle looked closely at Adam before asking him, "Where do you get one? Can you get a tattoo of anything, like a unicorn or purple flower?"

"Or how about 'Uncle Jason Rocks', Annabelle?" Jason added, earning him a glare from Caitlyn.

"Don't even think about it, Annabelle," Caitlyn warned.

Annabelle glanced over at her mom before smiling sweetly up at Adam. He put up his hands like he was being held up before saying, "Sorry, Annabelle, but there's no way I'm going to say another word about tattoos." He looked over at Caitlyn before whispering, "Your mom looks kinda scary right now."

Annabelle's eyes narrowed, "That's disappointing."

"Sorry, kiddo," Adam said. "Is there any way I could make it up to you?"

Annabelle thought quickly. All the adults in her life (even Uncle Jason) had begged to be spared any more games of Chutes and Ladders. "Well," she said slowly, "you could play Chutes and Ladders with me."

Adam ignored the groans from the rest of the room's occupants and agreed. As Annabelle pulled him into the family room, Adam heard Jason mutter, "Be careful. She cheats."

Annabelle laughed at her uncle, "Just because you never win, doesn't mean I cheat, Uncle Jason."

Tess arrived twenty minutes late, and as promised, she didn't bring anything – except a bit of an attitude. After saying hello and smiling coldly at Nate and Caitlyn, she followed them into the family room. Melody and Annabelle bounced over to meet the new guest. Tess looked down at both of them and introduced herself. "I'm Ms. Tyler. You must be Melody and Annabelle."

Melody looked up at Tess with awe. "You look like a Barbie doll," she whispered. "I love Barbie."

Tess looked flattered until Annabelle piped in, "Mommy hates Barbies, but Daddy said it would be okay and that she needed to let it go."

Caitlyn gave her oldest daughter a stern look, while Nate put his hand over his mouth to stifle his laugh. Annabelle gave Tess an appraising look before turning away and heading back to her game. Annabelle was pretty good at sizing up adults, and Ms. Tyler didn't look promising. Adam, on the other hand, was a pushover. He had already lost two games and hadn't given up yet, which was rare in a grown up other than Uncle Jason. Uncle Shane was a sore loser, so sometimes Annabelle had to lose if she wanted to keep playing.

Adam and Annabelle had moved their game into the kitchen to avoid the awkward conversation. Adam couldn't figure out how he kept losing. He was watching Annabelle carefully, but she didn't seem to be cheating. And it wasn't like this was a game of skill. When he landed on his third chute in a row, he blurted out, "Damn!"

Immediately he covered his mouth with his hand. Annabelle grinned at him. "I didn't mean that," he stammered.

"It's okay. I won't tell. All grownups do it eventually, even Mommy." Annabelle reached across the board and grabbed the spinner for her turn. "And you really have had some bad luck."

Tess stood off to the side of the room awkwardly. She watched everyone else play with the kids, but she just couldn't bring herself to participate. Honestly she never really played with kids even when she was one; how on earth was she supposed to play with them now. Her mom had never been big on play dates or trips to the park, and Tess had spent most of her childhood around adults, usually bored nannies. It was pathetic that even the spoiled popstar was better with kids than she was. She knew that everyone else assumed that she thought she was too good to join in, but the whole happy family thing made her uncomfortable. The feeling of Jason putting his arm around her shoulder pulled her out of her thoughts.

"You know what? Sometimes watching the girls play makes me feel sad," he told her.

This startled Tess because even in the short time she had been in the house, she could tell he adored the two little girls. Jason continued, "Because every child should be as safe and happy and loved as they are. It makes me sad when I think of all the kids who don't get to be like this."

Tess didn't know what to say to that. It was almost like he knew what she had been thinking. It must be a coincidence, though, because Jason had never been all that bright. She remembered him rambling about birdhouses a lot at Camp Rock, which had been really odd.

His next statement seemed to reinforce his oddness, "Did you know that my dad was super strict? He was always so afraid of making a mistake and looking foolish that he never tried anything. And he wanted me to be like him."

Tess raised an eyebrow. Jason chuckled, "I know. Didn't work so well. Trying to be like him made me miserable, so I decided to just be myself. I love being goofy; it makes me happy."

"Why exactly are you telling me this, Jason?" Tess asked stiffly.

Jason smiled gently at her, "Because you're not your mom."

Tess gasped. "You should go play. I promise they don't bite," Jason continued. "I bet Melody would love to show you her Barbies."

"You know what Jason? I think I need a refill," Tess said gesturing to her nearly empty wine glass, pointedly ignoring his comment. Jason shrugged and watched her head towards the bar. Tess uncorked a bottle of wine and poured herself some. As she stood at the bar in the living room trying not to let Jason get to her, she felt a small tug on her shirt. She looked down to find Melody standing next to her.

"Ms. Tyler? Would you like to see my dolls?" Melody asked shyly.

Damn interfering Jason. There is no way Melody just wandered in and mentioned dolls all on her own. Tess couldn't believe him. She really wanted to go into the family room and give him one of her famous Tess Tyler speeches, but Melody was standing there looking so hopeful. And even Tess couldn't be that cruel. Instead she smiled down at the little girl and said, "Sure, sweetie." She swept her hair over one shoulder.

A few minutes later Nate approached his wife as she finished setting the table, "Caity, where did Melody go?"

Caitlyn looked surprised. "I don't know. Isn't she in the family room with everyone else?"

Nate shook his head. "I'll go look in her room," Caitlyn replied. "Why don't you go tell everyone else dinner is ready. The faster we eat, the faster we get Tess out of our house."

"Be nice," her husband admonished.

As Caitlyn approached Melody's room, she heard her daughter talking. "Wow, Ms. Tyler, you made her look pretty."

"How about you just call me Tess," Tess said softly.

"Really?" Melody said, obviously pleased.

"I think what she needs is the right accessory, Ms. Melody. The correct accessory can really make an outfit. Do you have any hats?" Tess asked.

Caitlyn stepped forward and looked into the bedroom. She was surprised to see Tess sitting on Melody's bed surrounded by every Barbie item that her daughters owned. Caitlyn almost hated to interrupt, but dinner was ready and waiting.

"Hello ladies. Dinner is ready," Caitlyn announced.

"Mom, do we have to come?" Melody whined. "Tess is the bestest Barbie player."

Tess looked up at Caitlyn with an aggressive look, expecting Caitlyn to make a joke at her expense. Instead Caitlyn patted her daughter's head. "I know you're disappointed, sweetheart. How about you tell Tess 'thank you' for playing. We have to eat now."

Tess was confused when Caitlyn gave her a genuine smile before turning and heading downstairs.

Later, Caitlyn and Tess stood in the entryway, both feeling a little awkward. Tess spoke first, "So, thank you for having me. It was…interesting."

Caitlyn nodded. "And thank you for being nice to my children."

"Of course. I'm not a total bitch, you know," Tess said with a smirk. Then she added, 'Plus, they are sort of cute."

Caitlyn smiled. "We don't have to hug now or anything, right?"

Tess shuttered. "God, no! I don't hug."

Caitlyn sighed in relief. "Then you better leave quickly because I'm not sure anyone has ever left the house when Jason was here without a hug."

"Thanks for the warning." Tess looked at Caitlyn suspiciously, "Aren't you going to call him in here to watch me squirm?"

"I think we tortured you enough for one night." Caitlyn opened the door for Tess. "Good-night, Tess."

"Good-night Caitlyn. This didn't totally suck," the blonde said as she headed towards her car.

Caitlyn laughed as she closed the door behind Tess.