.:Chapter Eleven:.

"Seriously, guys, you have to stop." Ronan placed his hands on his hips his eyes moving over his kids as they sat quietly in front of him. "Mrs. Knight and I have broken up. And while I know that you're just trying to help, forcing us back together and doing your crazy little plans to try and make it look like a coincidence isn't going to help things." He started to turn away and then turned back, eyes narrowed. "And where did you find that necklace?"

Sydney crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his seat. "In your underwear drawer back home," he replied. "You know, you really have to find better places to hide your things."

"Or I have to lock my door."

"That won't help either, we can get through those easy," Patrick piped up. At Ronan's harsh glare—which proved that he spent too much time with them—the bassist slid lower in his seat, his butt almost falling off the edge. Patrick fumbled with his glasses before pushing it up his nose. "But, you know, I'm sure there's one out there, somewhere, that we can't get through."

Ronan smiled a little. He tilted his head to the side and let out a quiet sigh. "Guys, listen, you don't have to worry about what's going on." He sat down in the leather armchair and crossed his legs. "It's not like we're not still friends and there's still a chance that we can still get back together."

Noah scratched the back of his neck before flicking his hair out of his eyes with a quick swoop of his head. "But don't you reckon there's a chance that Mama Knight and Kevin could get back together, though?" He shrugged. "They were married before, yeah?"

"And that isn't any of yours or our business either," Ronan said firmly. "What happened between them, what they choose to share anyway, is all they want us to know. And you need to stop meddling." He held up a hand. "Which I know is not your strong suit to listen when people tell you 'no'."

"Because it's fun," Riley said as if it was obvious. She bit her lip and turned away when Ronan turned his glare onto her. Like her brother, she seemed to shrink in her chair. Her adoptive father seeming to be the only one with the ability to do that. "It's not that fun."

Ronan laughed and ran his hands over his face once more. He was starting to get a headache. It was the first few days they had been on vacation and already he was starting to wonder if it was a good idea to go. Normally that didn't happen until about the last day of a trip, when he would inevitably be getting a screaming phone call from Gustavo or the hotel staff over some crazy scheme that had gone wrong or some sort of damage that had been done to the hotel. Now that it was his own problem he wasn't really sure how to deal with it. Which was really putting a damper on his normally laid-back and chill attitude.

"Why don't you guys go find your friends and find something to do," he suggested. "Julius and Brittany are still asleep and they'll probably join you later."

"What are you going to do?" Rhuben stood up from the floor, brushing off the seat of her pants. She glanced at her adoptive father in concern. She had never seen him frown so much, he was usually smiling and enjoying what life had to offer for him.

Ronan smirked at her. "Bask in my own peace and quiet for as long as I can before Kelly calls me and begs me to help her deal with Gustavo."

"Ouch," Noah said with a hint of offense in his tone.

A laugh escaped the older man as he reached out and ruffled his son's hair. "Remember when he ran rampant around the Palm Woods after he started to have fun?" The Jacksons all nodded. "Apparently it's worse when he's on a real vacation."

"Ooh." The low murmur came from the raven haired siblings. They remembered when Gustavo had basically run Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James up the wall with his antics, trying to relive a lost childhood. The best thing that came out of it was that they had met Stephanie and Big Time Rush had created a great song, the worst thing that came out of it was knowing how wild and crazy Gustavo could really get.

Who wanted to go through that again?

"So we're going to steer clear of Gustavo today," Riley declared, her siblings agreeing before the Jacksons left the suite as quietly as they could. As soon as the door closed behind them, Ronan turned in the seat of the chair and draped his legs over the arm. Letting out a long sigh he closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep.

Of course it didn't come easy to him, not for the fact that he actually wasn't completely used to complete silence, not after having met the Jacksons about ten years before, but because it seemed like the time that every significant relationship he had wanted to playback in his head.

The first one had been when he first got into the music industry while interning at a record company during his first two years at university. Sophia, who was interning at the same place, had been his exact opposite, a really serious girl that took everything in her life up to ten in the point that she wanted it to be perfect. He was, and still is, a guy that liked everything to be laid back and chilled out. If something happened it happened and he enjoyed every minute out of life. It shouldn't have worked out, the two of them together, but there was some basis in opposite attract that had brought them together. They had only broken up because they didn't have a lot of time to spend together due to their work, but it was a relationship he could never forget.

Then in his last two years of university it had been Krista, who was a girl any guy could want. She enjoyed living life to the fullest and had taken him on many adventures as the ones he had taken her on. But living life was her passion and he couldn't keep up with her as she constantly wanted to travel and immerse herself in whatever opportunity came her way. Their breakup had been amicable and he was sure they could've possibly gotten married if they ever reconnected, but she was always hard to get in touch with. Even when they bumped into each other here or there it was in the middle of a break before taking another trip to some exotic country.

Then there had been Ellie, he had absolutely fallen in love with her and their relationship had been a whirlwind from start to finish. He had started to hit the big time by becoming the youngest music producer to produce a series of songs that continued to top the charts at number one and she had been by his side throughout the change in his life and continuing career. Then after having met the Jacksons and starting to work with them, having become their friend, she had started to change a little. He refused to note it, but his friends and the Jacksons easily had, stating that she was only using him for his money. Blinded by his love he didn't see it for a while, but then after having had the tabloids dig even further into his relationship, which was something he always hated, it started to come to light. Then, after having established a great friendship with the Jacksons he had asked them point blank about it, and they all unanimously stated she was a gold digger. Seeing it then, after a few more dates to be sure, he kicked her to the curb, not long after having proposed to her.

That had delivered him a tough blow and for a while he hadn't dated or thought about it. But when he started again, that was when the Jacksons started to drive off each and every one they didn't think was good enough for him. Then he had met and started working with Kacy Knight and things had fallen into place. Their differing lifestyles had made conversation interesting yet they still had some similarities that kept things interesting. Plus having her be new in the music industry, working as a manager to a newly formed band allowed himself to talk to someone about his passion and he think he brought out some of that in her, if not made it a bit easier to understand. He knew he was dealing with the potentiality of a relationship pretty quickly and had been hesitant only because of her children, knowing there was a father somewhere. She had been open about her relationship with Kevin that had even surprised him, and now here he was on a great vacation that was being funded by her ex-husband.

It was so surreal that he wanted to laugh about it sometimes. And as much as he believed in the fact that everything happened for a reason and if good things were meant to happen they would, it was starting to make him wonder if he should give up or still hope that things would work out for him in the end.

Ronan was startled awake by the sound of someone knocking on the door. Considering it wasn't a constant banging sound and that he couldn't hear voices on the other end, he knew it wasn't Gustavo, Kelly, or any of the kids. For a fleeting moment he was afraid that it would be Kacy. As much as he enjoyed spending time with her, things had gotten awkward between the two of them and that was the last thing he wanted to deal with again. Brunch was strange; no one really talked much because it felt like everyone was trying their hardest to keep a secret, to not let anything slip. Julius and Brittany were the only ones that had a lot to say that and was only due to them talking about what they had been through since anyone had seen them last, which was for their wedding the year before.

And while Kacy had engaged the two of them with their current life, she didn't say much to Kevin or to Ronan or even to Gustavo or Kelly, while the adults would usually be talking and laughing just as much as the teenagers around them.

Reaching the door, Ronan first checked through the peephole to be sure it wasn't a fan that had somehow found his hotel room—as they were known to do—before opening the door. Kevin turned away from the framed painting that was hanging on the wall beside the door and nodded at Ronan.

The music producer nodded back. "Kevin," he said in greeting. "What's up? Please don't tell me that Kendall, Logan, Carlos, or James is being held by hotel security."

Surprise flashed over Kevin's face. "That's happened before?"

"More than anyone would ever like to imagine," Ronan replied. "And that's not including the story they keep telling about being recruited for MI6. They have such an imagination though, I'll give them that." He shuffled his feet. "What are you doing here?" He asked again.

"I wanted to talk to you, actually," Kevin replied. Ronan made a snorting sound, slightly turning his head away. "Though I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to. I just feel that I need to explain myself a little bit."

Ronan took a step back and allowed Kevin to enter the hotel room. He closed the door behind the former hockey player and walked him over to the living room. Presenting him with the living room, Ronan sat down in the leather chair once more and crossed his legs, leaned back, and crossed his arms as well.

"First and foremost, as a father, I want to commend you for what you've done with your life," Kevin said, causing Ronan's eyebrows to rise in interest. "Not many people would be willing to adopt six children at once and you've obviously been doing a great job raising each of them. Having gone form a bachelor to a father isn't easy and it shows that you really do care about them."

"Thank you," Ronan said. He gave a half smile. "Of course there are times where all I want is to have time to myself, but having them around has definitely made my life that more interesting."

"I felt the same way when Kendall and Katie were born," Kevin admitted. He was silent for a long moment, looking down at his hands as they were clasped together, resting against his legs. Leaning forward, he unclasped his hands and ran a hand through his hair. "I was so excited to know I was going to be a father, especially knowing that I was going to be having a son and a daughter. It's what motivated me to continue to play as hard as I could when on the ice. So I knew I would be able to provide for them any way I could."

"What about when you were on the road?" Ronan asked. "There are as many away games as home games."

"Kacy would come with me in the earlier months of her pregnancy with Kendall," Kevin explained. He chuckled. "In fact, she did everything she could to make sure that she wouldn't stay on bed rest because she can never sit still as it is." His smile faded and a haunted look came to his eyes. "Then she did the same when pregnant with Katie. Having had her three years after Kendall, it was easier to bring him around to watch me play. It was after she was born that things started to become difficult."

"Having to take care of a toddler and an infant isn't ever easy," Ronan pointed out. A hard edge came to his tone. "Not being that much younger that my older brother, my mother had the same problem. But there were still sacrifices that had to be made."

"And it was when I found that it would be even more difficult for me to continue to play that I started to become selfish," Kevin continued. "In fact I was a little angry because I was only a few games away from being scouted into the NHL. I had scouts coming to all of my games and they were looking at me more so than any other player. Once I knew it would be next to impossible to continue to train, play, and travel as much as I had, because of Katie having been born so close to Kendall, I had become even angrier. My dreams were close to being realized, it would bring nothing but a comfortable life for all of us.

"Kacy and I fought about that a lot. Especially considering we had only really talked about having children a few times before in our relationship. We both knew we wanted to have children but with the plans both of us had for our future, they didn't always fit." Kevin licked his lips. "I think that Kace really resents me because she wasn't able to do what she really wanted."

"To act." At Ronan's statement, Kevin nodded.

Ronan had known that's what Mrs. Knight had really wanted to do. Every now and then she would wonder if she would have time to go into acting since Big Time Rush was ending, but figured it was something that still had to wait, especially if Katie was still trying to decide what she really wanted to do; go into acting for herself or become a talent manager. As the case was, until she was steady on her feet, Mrs. Knight didn't feel comfortable doing whatever it was that made her happy. Ronan felt for her, she had always put her own dreams on hold for other people and never complained.

"So why did you want to come talk to me about this?" Ronan questioned. "I mean, as much as I love this whole thing that's going on." He waved his hands. "I have more pressing things to worry about, such as my own career, the upcoming tour, and the music I'm working on with other artists before getting started on the next album of my own band."

"I know what our kids are up to," Kevin replied, which caused Ronan to smile and laugh. "And frankly, I'm not surprised about it. Once Kendall and Katie get their minds set on something, it's all they think about." Kevin crossed his own arms. "I wanted to apologize to you for having them mess everything up for everyone and make things so awkward. I know I'm not their favorite person in the world, but I think they may have gotten the wrong idea about what I've said to them before."

"About you two getting back together?"

"My only thought at the moment is that I want to have a relationship with my family again and I think they're taking things a bit too far. I'm really not as bad as they're making me out to be."

"You have to admit that you really did shake up their lives," Ronan said, his own anger slightly starting to come out. "You made some mistakes and instead of owning up to them, you left. And then you defended a child abuser when you were one."

"I know, I know." Kevin held up a hand. "I feel terrible about everything I've done."

"And part of me doesn't think you do," Ronan continued. "In fact, I don't understand how anyone can get so angry that they would lay a hand on their child and then end up abandoning them. You can't come back and expect them to welcome you with open arms. It's not going to be that easy."

"I didn't say it would," Kevin replied shortly. "And I'd figured, out of anyone, you would at least understand me a little. I mean, growing up you faced a little bit of neglect yourself, from your mother, am I correct?"

Ronan was about to ask how he knew that, but then rationalized that Kacy had probably told him. It was still a bit of a weak subject for him. Aaron had always been the 'golden child' when it came to his family and as Ely was 'the baby', Ronan found himself stuck in the well known middle child spot. His father was typically the only one that paid a lot of attention to him and he was the only one in his family he was close to.

The neglect that he felt from his mother, who paid more attention to her eldest and youngest sons, had exhibited in different ways in his life as he was growing up and still affected him now. He barely went home to visit his family, never spoke of them unless the situation called for it or he was directly asked, and found himself working harder and harder as the years went by to try and prove something to them, though he never shared his achievements with them. His mother still wasn't particularly aware of the way he felt, he never wanted to talk about it, though she seemed to be doing a better job of trying to be more involved with his life.

Damn it, Ronan thought. Kevin was making a lot of sense. His situation was similar to that of Kevin trying to get back in his kid's and ex-wife's good graces who weren't making it easy for him. Ronan could still hear the hurt in her voice when she had called him to ask why he hadn't mentioned having received another award for his work and he responded saying he didn't think she would care. Why does he have to be right?

"And all I really want is for Kacy to be happy, no matter who she ends up with," Kevin continued.

"And you want it to be you?" Ronan pressed.

Kevin evaded the question by repeating, "I just want her to be happy. And Kendall and Katie too. I don't really believe they don't want me around. Things were going great these past couple of months; I believe they'll get better again."

"So what does this have to do with me?"

"I'm hoping that you can help me show them that I'm trying,"

Ronan crossed his legs in the opposite direction before he uncrossed them. Leaning forward, he gazed right into Kevin's green eyes with his own green ones. "You can start by not throwing money around so much. Not only does it make you seem like a showoff, but it'll just drive them even further away, making it seem like all you care about is the gifts you can give them."

Kevin bristled for a moment, his eyes flashing. But then he turned his head away and let out a long breath. The two sat in silence for a long moment, watching each other carefully. It was a strange situation to be in generally, and agreeing to help Kevin was sure to have been a way for Ronan to have signed his soul to the devil.

And yet, if he was in Kevin's shoes he would probably do the same thing. In fact, he wondered what he would do if Robert had wanted to come back, after having had finished his anger management classes and his probation. Ronan immediately scowled. That's probably best not to think about, he thought. Instead, he wondered what it was that Kacy really wanted. She had willingly gone out to dinner with Kevin and had said she had a nice time, and he could see the confusion in her eyes.

On one hand, the kids would have their father again and no matter how much they had denied it before, it was obvious they had wanted him back. But on the other hand, was it wise to put them through that potential hurt once more?

Ronan made up his mind.

Kacy had always put her desires aside to let other people be happy, maybe it was time that he did the same. She was old enough to decide by herself who or what it was that made her happy and, ultimately, it was none of his business.

A/N: I'm sorry this chapter is kind of short and that it took a while to get up, I had a bit of writer's block I was working through. I promise the next one will be longer.

I really wanted to do a chapter with Ronan and Kevin interacting and I think it was interesting to write because it gave them something in common as well as gave a bit more of Ronan's back-story. Also, while I enjoy writing the antics that BTR and DE are going through to get Mrs. Knight and Ronan back together (Which I'm going to continue to write as the story goes on) I think I'm going to shift the tone of the story a bit.

Fun Fact, because I reminded myself of it while writing the quick blurb about Ellie; Tate and Ellie were the Jacksons' parents' names that we first came up with before changing them to Reed and Renee.

Cheers,

-Riles