A/N: Wow. It's been two years since I've updated this. I feel pretty guilty for letting y'all and myself down. I'm now determined to finish what I started, and maybe write some new Penderwicks fics. I don't know about everyone else, but I shed tears after reading the fourth book. So amazing. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this. Reviews are appreciated. Thanks for reading.

The toddler began to move towards the love seats, stumbling a bit. Thankfully, his attention was focused on his mother. He cooed and waddled over to Ruth. Beaming, she picked him up and sat him on her lap.

"Zach is our little adventurer. If he could, the little tyke would've gone on that camping trip too. Wouldn't you? Say hi to Skye, sweetie." She turned the young one in Skye's direction and his hazy grey eyes focused on her. He giggled and stuck out his hand, palm facing her. Skye wondered if this was some family in joke. She mimicked his action and hoped that would be the end of it.

Fortunately for her, it was. Churchie seemed only too happy to deal with the toddler's gurgles and other attempts at speech. She took a sip from her coke and glanced down at her watch. A weekend wasn't very long, and she and Jeffrey would have a lot to pack in. Soccer, talking about soccer, telling him all about the play and Bugman and everything else. She was also looking forward to seeing what his boarding school was like. Jane had speculated that it would be like Hogwarts, just without the magic, but Skye wasn't so sure about that. All she knew was that she was excited.

At that moment, the front door opened, and in came Jeffrey. His face lifted when he saw her and Churchie, and he hurried towards them, his messenger bag flying out behind him. His grin was as wide as ever. Skye had missed that smile more than she could say. No one else made her want to smile so much.

"Hey, Skye. How are you? How's the family? Did you miss me? Do they miss me?" Skye rolled her eyes.

"Yes of course, everyone misses you, you idiot. What did you expect? None of us have seen you in months." To emphasize her point she punched him in the arm. He laughed and darted away in case of future attacks.

"I should've seen that one coming," he replied, rubbing his arm with a rueful smile. Jeffrey then turned to Churchie and, leaning down, gave her a hug. They smiled at each other, and it was as if no words were needed. Churchie was more like his mother than Mrs. Tifton ever was. He nodded at Ruthie, who seemed used to him barging in unannounced like this. Since she was already raising six rowdy boys, one more didn't make a difference.

"I hope you're ready for the best weekend of your life," Jeffrey's smile grew wider as he spoke. At his words, Churchie stood up, and Skye did the same. She drained the rest of her coke and set it down on the little end table on her right.

"Please. I was born ready."

^:^

The subways in the city made the train she had taken into Boston look amateurish. The station was packed with people, all of them looking forward to a fun night on the town after a long week. Jazz music played somewhere off in the distance, and Jeffrey was craning his head above the crowd, eager to catch a glimpse of a fellow musician. Even Skye, who was musically inept and had no sense of rhythm, tapped her foot and hummed along. People jostled each other for better positioning on the platform, and the whole place smelled like cigarette smoke. She loved it.

When the train finally came screeching to a halt, the three of them had to hold hands as they boarded, so as not to get separated. Bostonians didn't seem to have much patience when it came to waiting. Somehow, amidst the frantic scrabble of people boarding, they managed to find two seats. Although Churchie's peppy attitude made her seem younger than she was, her hips gave her trouble, and the two kids made her have a seat. Which left them both standing up and looking at each other, daring the other to take the last seat.

"You have it Skye."

"No, you."

"You're the girl. It wouldn't be chivalrous of me to take it." Skye's eyes filled with venom. This sort of thing was what she hated the most. If it wasn't for the quirk at the corner of his mouth that told her he was joking, Skye would've considered ending the friendship right there on the spot, trip to Boston be darned. But before she could make a scathing retort, the train started and they both jolted forward. Skye's arms flailed out, desperately trying to find something, anything, to grab onto. Her hands caught the pole, and before she could steady herself, Jeffrey's forehead bumped into her shoulder. She turned to find his face inches away from her own. She scowled at him. His eyes were shining with excitement and that weirded her out. They were too close. She moved her head back

"Stop being stubborn and sit down."

"Too late. Somebody else is there. You should've taken it while you had the chance, Skye. Don't say I never do anything for you." She rolled her eyes at him, and then looked over and saw Churchie chatting with an older lady. She seemed to make friends wherever she went, Churchie did. The woman couldn't help being so sweet and goodnatured.

"Or you should've taken it when I first told you too."

"Touche."

Eventually the train emptied enough that they were able to get seats of their own. Jeffrey was busy telling Skye about the ridiculous new rules his school had about having sports equipment in the building when they reached their stop. Churchie said farewell to her new friend, whom she had bonded with over cute baby pictures of grandchildren. Skye didn't think she would ever understand why people were so obsessed with babies. She turned to Jeffrey.

"Where are we going, anyways?" He winked at her.

"It's a surprise. You'll see soon enough." Skye groaned, but followed him out onto the platform all the same. She hoped this trip would be as fun as she had imagined.