Cheaper by the Half Dozen

by bauerfreak

As if working full time as CSI's wasn't enough to keep them busy Nick and Sara manage to balance work with four boys, two girls, and a whole lot of sibling rivalry. Presented by Bauerfreak and Lostladyknight!

3. Chapter 3

A/N: Ummm, so sorry for abandoning this story for a while! We've been mega busy! But here is the next installment of our made up Stokes family. We didn't intend it to be this long…it just turned out to be about 35 pages (hehe). Hopefully, you'll enjoy this extended chapter, and leave us a review! Thanks for sticking with us!

Nick was standing with a hand on the front door knob as his other held his two year old son tightly in his other arm. His body was turned out towards the rest of the house as he watched his wife come up the stairs from their sons' bedroom, her oldest in tow. Sara and Nick had decided, after a bout of depression and harsh feelings, that it would be good for ten year old Charlie to get out of the house for a few days and spend time with his other family. So, Sara was going to take him to stay with his biological father's sister and her two kids for a few days. Four to be exact.

Nick couldn't remember a time that he'd been away from either Sara or Charlie for that long since they'd been married and though he was glad that his stepson had the opportunity he was in a way sad to see them leave. Lowering Colin to the floor Nick prepared to say his goodbyes. Clapping a hand over his stepson's shoulder as soon as he'd stepped close enough, Nick pulled him into a hug. The boy tried to protest a little but then gave in and Nick felt him hug back.

"Did you say goodbye to your brothers?" Nick asked him as he gave him a little shake. When the boy nodded he said, "Good boy. What about your little sisters?"

"Couldn't find them," Charlie told him honestly.

"They're up in their room," Nick told the boy. "Mind running up and getting them so they can say bye to you and your mom?"

When the ten year old gave him a half hearted smile and started walking up the stairs Nick smiled a little at him. Finally he had the chance to say goodbye to his wife. Even though it was only going to be a few days Nick felt like he wasn't ready yet.

Nick turned to his wife, who raised her eyebrows with a slight grin on her face, as if to say, this is so weird for me, too. Nick grinned back at her as they fell into an easy embrace. Last night as they laid in bed, Sara had confessed how worried she was about leaving Colin and the girls, but also about how she was afraid she would miss Nick too much. Sara knew how much she loved and adored Nick, but it was funny how heartwrenching it was to leave him only for four days. As if reading her mind, Nick gave her a few more words of encouragement as Colin began pushing his toy police car around his parents on the floor.

"You're gonna have so much fun," Nick assured her, still embracing her tightly as he rubbed his hand in reassuring circles on her back. He felt Sara let out a pathetic sigh in his arms, as if she wasn't convinced. It's not like she didn't want to visit Charles' family – she had been looking forward to it – it was just that she didn't want to leave her husband and other kids.

"I know I'm being stupid," Sara confessed as she held him tight, trying to savor the feeling of his strong, warm body in her arms for just a little while longer. All she wanted was one more minute, but she knew that would turn into another minute, then another, and then they'd never get out the door. "I'm just gonna miss you guys so much."

Nick gently moved Sara's head away from his shoulder and held her face lightly between his hands. "Don't say you're bein' stupid. You're not," The seriousness, but gentility in his eyes made her both want to cry and smile at the same time. "We're a phone call away, and you know I'll keep everything under control here."

Nick secretly knew that there was something else that his wife was scared of. For every bit that she loved him he knew that her heart also belonged to another man, but he wasn't jealous. Charles' life had been taken when his son was still small and only a few short years after he'd come into Sara's life. Nick had always been grateful to him for making her so happy back then. But now Sara was going to be with his parents, sister, and her children and Nick realized that she was going to struggle through the long weekend as she was constantly reminded of her late husband.

He hugged her again and dropped a gentle kiss on her cheek. He knew that she adored him but he was the second true love in her life and he respected that. This was going to be the first time that Sara and Charlie had taken the time out to help Charlie really get to know his father, as best as he ever would.

"You're both going to be fine." He told her gently and then added something else barely above a whisper, "and it's okay to cry a little. I know this is going to be tough for both of you."

As usual in the boisterous Stokes household, their tender moment was soon interrupted. Colin rammed his police car into Nick's foot playfully and then the twins along with Charlie came bounding down the stairs. The girls were both dressed in their bathing suits, because they had a playdate in only about half an hour at the Browns' house and they were eager to be ready. However, while they were excited at the chance to go swimming, they were of course sad to see their mother and older brother go.

Jordan wordlessly stepped forward and embraced her mother's middle, resting her head against Sara's stomach, which was about as far up she could reach. "Mommy, do you hafta go?" She mewled sorrowfully for about the fourth time already that day. Jordan was most definitely a mama's girl, and would probably feel Sara's absence the most. Her twin sister was much more independent, and as long as you kept Colin entertained, he was good to go. With two more older brothers and Nick to play with, the parents were sure he would be fine.

"Yes, I do, baby," Sara reminded her gently as she stroked her now shoulder-length brown hair. Marley walked around Sara's body and hugged her from behind, effectively making a Sara sandwich. Usually, the twins yelled "Mommy sandwich!" when they both decided to hug her at the same time, but both were sullen at the prospect of her leaving.

"But I'll be back before you know it, and Daddy's gonna take real good care of you." Sara said reassuringly. Nick stood by, now with Colin back in his arms to keep him from spoiling the girls' goodbye with an illtimed car crash to a big toe.

"But Mommy, what if I want my hair braided for school one day?" Marley asked from behind. "Daddy never does it right."

"Well baby if you ask her really nicely I bet you can get Molly to come over and help you one day," Sara said speaking of Warrick and Catherine's daughter. "She's always glad to come over here and hang out with you girls."

"Think she'll do it today when we're there seeing Sammy?" Marley asked with a cheerful smile on her face. Nick was going to drive her and Jordan over to to spend time with Lindsey's little girl for the last afternoon she was going to be in town.

"I bet she will," Sara told her little girl as Nick watched her turn around to plant a kiss on Colin's head and shift closer to the door. "I love you all... be good."

Nick gently grasped Jordan's shoulder and pulled her back towards him to keep her near as Sara slung her purse over her shoulder. He squeezed his daughter's tiny shoulder in assurance as Sara gave both girls one last kiss to the head also. Sara had said goodbye to the oldest two boys earlier, and they weren't as sentimental and attached to her, of course, so it hadn't been as big of a deal. They were both downstairs in their room hopefully doing some homework.

Charlie said goodbye as they both turned and walked out of the front door. Nick allowed the girls to walk out onto the front porch so they could all wave a final goodbye as the car drove away not long after. The sound of the car cruising down the street quieted until none of them could hear it at all. That's when they all finally sighed, and the girls looked up at their father, still holding Colin, as if asking him what was going to happen now.

"Alright, girls," Nick opened the front door up again so they could go back inside. "do you have your swimming bags all packed?" He hoped the reminder about swimming would cheer them back up. Nick knew that if they were kept busy, they'd have less time to think about how much they missed Sara. In response, they both mumbled.

"Was that a yes?" Nick asked lightly, ruffling Jordan's hair a bit after he'd set Colin down again.

"Yesss." They answered with only slightly more pep in their voice. Nick gave them both a bit of an unbelievable look. Both girls were practially fish, and it was unheard of for them not to be bouncing off the walls pre-swim. Once the initial glumness wore off, Nick was sure they'd be just fine.

"Why don't you bring 'em down here so I can check, and then you need to put some sunscreen on."

Noah appeared at the top of his stairs and after giving his father a look just sat down on the top step. Nick watched as he pulled out his cell phone, something he only had because of a deal he'd coersed his parents in to for getting good grades, and slowly dialed a number. Nick also noticed that it took his son several moments before he pressed the call button. Smiling to himself, Nick decided that his tweleve year old must be calling a girl. Calling from the stairwell was much safer than calling with his older brother Brandon in the room to torment him.

His interest in his son's love life was interrupted again when Marley and Jordan appeared again in front of him with their bags in hand. He leaned forward and took the two pink and purple duffels in his hands checking through them to make sure they had everything. "Two extra sets of clothes girls?"

"You never know when you're going to need something," Marley told him. Jordan grinned at him and piped up, "you might let us stay the night if we're really good."

Nick knew that was their ulterior motive, "Sammy, her mom, and dad have a flight first thing in the morning, you can't stay over there tonight."

"Uncle Warrick, Aunt Catherine, Chandlerin, and Molly will still be there though," Marley protested. "They like us just as much as Sammy does."

"I don't think so this time girls," Nick told them as he pulled out one pair of shorts and a shirt for each girl to put on. He waited for more protesting, but neither of them argued for once. "Go ahead and put these on over top of your suits for the drive over." Nick told them, but realized his request had fallen on deaf ears. The girls were trying to eavesdrop on Noah's phone call.

Nick just watched them for a few moments as they creeped a little closer, and Marley giggled at the different sound of her older brother's voice. He only talked like that to girls he liked. Nick finally cleared his throat, catching both girls' attention as well as his son's on the stairwell.

"Marley, Jordan. It's not polite to eavesdrop," Nick reminded them, though he had to admit he kind of wanted to hear what Noah was saying also. Noah was only twelve, and already keeping more and more from Nick when it came to his personal relationships. Nick guessed he kind of expected it – it had happened with Brandon – but it still hurt to be shut out from certain aspects of Noah's life. Still, he respected his son's privacy. He knew that he wouldn't want to talk about girls with his own father when he was that age.

Noah had since stood up in annoyance and held one of his palms over the speaking part of his cell phone. He couldn't get any privacy in this house. "Daaad!" Noah complained simply, his eyes looking for help.

"Are you talkin' to your giiiiirlfriend again?" Marley teased, giving him a devilish grin.

"Noah go on up stairs and use my room before the girls drive you up the wall," Nick said waving his son towards the stairs. As much as he wanted to hear what the boy was talking about he knew that Noah deserved privacy as much as anyone else in the household. Besides, he was pretty sure he'd get the annotated version from Brandon later on.

Once Noah was out of sight Nick turned his attention back to his daughters, "I'm going to run Colin down stairs and ask Brandon to watch him. You two go get in the Honda and buckle up."

"Okay Daddy," Jordan said and grabbed up her bag and headed towards the back door that led into the garage. She turned around when she realized that her sister wasn't following. "Marley come on!" Marley, who was standing at the top of the stairs trying to hear what Noah was saying, descended them and followed her twin out the door.

Nick couldn't help but laugh at Noah as he carried Colin down the stairs. Once he was in his sons' room he cleared his throat so that Brandon would hear him over his iPod. "Hey bud, I need you to watch your little brother for a while while I run the girls over to Uncle Warrick and Aunt Catherine's."

"Okay Dad," Brandon told him taking his baby brother out of his arms. Then with a wider grin he added, "Tell Molly I said 'hi.'" And then with a cough he added, "And Chandlerin."

"Mmmhmmm." Nick agreed with a knowing tone to his voice. It was getting more obvious by the day that Molly and Brandon seemed to have a little thing for each other. Being a father himself, though, he knew how Warrick probably felt about his daughter being interested in, let alone dating, an older boy, even if there was only one year's difference. "Thanks, man."

Nick reached over and tickled Colin's tummy before he left the room to go back up the stairs. He quickly found the keys on the countertop and snatched up his wallet just in case, then headed out the garage door to the Honda. The girls had taken it upon themselves to start slopping on some sunscreen, but they were using way too much. Nick decided it was better than them getting burned, even if it was getting on the cushions.

Soon, Nick had driven over to the Browns and the girls practically leaped out before he could even park the car. He smirked a little to himself about how well the girls were doing now that their minds were occupied. Jordan and Marley rushed to the front door to be greeted by a just as excited Sammy. Nick tagged along behind, but by the time he got to the door, the girls had already been whisked away by their friend out to the pool. Nick of course came in for a while because visiting Catherine and Warrick without a bit of hanging out was just unheard of. Almost an hour later, after they'd discussed football, their kids, and Sara going away, Nick pried himself away to get back home to make sure the boys hadn't burned the house down.

When he arrived home, the only noise in the house was the sound of twelve year old Noah playing X-box in the living room by himself, talking a bit of a good-natured trash to whoever was on the other end of the headset he was speaking into. Nick smirked and shook his head at his son's competitive nature as he let the keys skid across the counter. Noah didn't even hear him come in and continued playing.

Not hearing any sounds from two year old Colin, Nick decided to head upstairs to see if Brandon had perhaps put him down for a nap while he'd been away. However, when he opened Colin's bedroom door, he was nowhere to be found. After checking down in the older boys' room and the back yard, and coming up empty-handed, Nick started getting concerned. He approached Noah and gently pulled the headset away from his ear. Noah jumped a little but relaxed when he saw it was only his father.

"Oh, hey Dad."

"Hey. Where'd your brothers go?"

"Colin kinda got a little bummed out because everyone was going out but him," Noah told his father as soon as he'd stopped to tell everyone over headset that he was going to be back in a second. "So I think Brandon took him out for ice cream or something. They asked if I wanted to go but I was still on the phone so I said no."

"Oh, well thanks for letting me know," Nick told his son. "Did he say if he had his cell phone with him?"

"He didn't say," Noah told his father, getting a little frustrated the conversation was taking so long. Nick realized that his son was just looking for a little time to zone-out before the other kids got home. "He always has it though. Why did something happen?"

"No, I just like to know where you all are," Nick admitted to his son. Then remembering the extremely private conversation his son was trying to have earlier he had another question. "So what was that call about earlier?"

Nick could see the slight frustration on his son's face. He wanted to get back to his game, and he didn't want to open up to him about his little conversation. "Daaad!" Noah complained, completely taken aback that his father thought he was going to spill all the details about his conversation with a girl of all people.

"Noaaah!" He mocked back, and ruffled his hair. "Get back to your game and we can talk later." Nick decided as he pulled his cell phone out. Noah nodded and looked relieved that he'd been let off the hook, at least for now.

Nick wandered up the stairs to start getting some laundry ready after he hit dial for Brandon's cell phone number. All the kids, even Colin, knew that they were supposed to let Nick and Sara know if they were going anywhere. Granted, he hadn't been home and Noah wasn't exactly the best messenger, but at least a note would've been nice.

After a couple rings, Brandon picked up. "Dad, I can't talk right now." He said simply. Nick could hear little Colin whimpering in the background.

"Brandon, are you okay? Where are you?" Nick asked him, stopping in his tracks. Brandon's tone of voice was making him nervous.

Nick heard the sounds of his son's voice with another man's for a few moments before his questions were finally answered. "Mr. Stokes," the other voice said into the phone. "My name is Officer Greene. I stopped your son for going ten over in a thirty-five. I wouldn't have ticketed him but since your other son was in the car, and so young, I felt like I had to."

"Right, well thank you officer," since he and Sara had started working the day shift they had surprisingly begun to know fewer and fewer of the people who worked at PD.

Nick hadn't ever heard of this officer and though he sounded young he realized there wasn't much point in trying to talk him out of giving his son the citation. "Send him straight home, okay?" Plus it would be good for the teen to have to work for the money to pay off the ticket and/or lawyer. He'd learn a bigger lesson about speeding with a two year-old in the back seat.

"Of course." Officer Greene told Nick, and then handed the teenager back the cell phone along with his ticket, Driver's License, Registration, and message from Nick. Brandon sighed and thanked the officer, though he would later wonder why. Having parents in law enforcement could be a good thing at times, but at the moment it wasn't. Brandon closed his eyes as he put the cell phone back up to his ear.

"Hi, Dad." He said a bit sullenly into the phone, more pissed with himself than anything. Brandon couldn't believe he hadn't been paying attention enough to notice the cop on the side of the road, and couldn't believe he was going that much over the limit with Colin in the car.

"Are you okay?" Nick checked, one hand on his hip as he paced the hallway.

"Yeah," Brandon knew his dad was concerned, but also hidden in his voice was a bit of anger and impatience. "I'm coming straight home, don't worry."

"Yeah, I think you better," Nick told him, his tone a bit curt. Brandon was a pretty responsible kid, which made it all that more unbelievable that he'd gotten a speeding ticket with Colin in the car. Nick heard Colin still whimpering in the background. "Maybe you need to hand the phone back to Colin so you can concentrate and drive correctly."

"Daddy," Nick heard Colin's tiny voice cheep into the phone. "The puh-wice ossifer gaved Bandon a tick. He very mad."

"He was mad. And it was a tick-et," Nick corrected his son. Then he added,"It's okay, people get tickets all the time," But he was still thinking about how proud of him he was that he'd mastered the art of talking on the phone in the last month or so. As angry as he was at his other son he couldn't help but smile about the two year old's achievement. "Was your big brother going really fast? Were you scared?"

"Not till the puh-wice yelleded at Bandon," Colin cheeped in. "We have ouse-cream. I have a'nilla."

"Mmm," Nick said. "That's my favorite kind, with chocolate sprinkles."

"Me too," Colin said into the phone again and Nick heard him slurp the ice cream. Realizing that the little boy was in the back seat trying to juggle an ice cream and the phone Nick envisioned the mess he had to be making. If Brandon didn't take the phone back soon the whole back seat would be covered in a sticky white mess with sprinkles on top.

Nick made his way down the stairs and out the front door to keep an eye out for them, since Colin had been so upset. He didn't have very long to worry, however, because just as he was thinking of telling Colin to put down the phone, he saw the family's car pulling around the corner. Brandon was now driving about as carefully as he did on his driver's test, coming to a complete stop at the stop sign, and not daring to drive over 30 miles per hour.

"I think I see you, buddy," Nick said into the phone. He heard his son gasp a little in excitement, and his eyes peeked out the side window of the car so he could see Nick as Brandon pulled into the driveway.

"Daddy!" Colin squealed into the phone. Nick winced when he dropped his vanilla cone onto the seat in all his relief. That didn't really matter much to Nick at the moment, however. He hung up the phone and immediately went to Colin's door to get him out. Nick picked him up into his arms, giving his youngest a big hug as Brandon turned off the ignition.

"Daddy, I was scared." Colin mumbled and whimpered a little. He buried his slightly sticky face in Nick's shoulder, feeling safe and sound. Brandon reluctantly got out of the car and sighed as his father gave him a disappointed look. Nick reached into the car and pulled out the cell phone, and began rubbing circles on Colin's back.

"It's okay, Colin. You're safe."

As Nick gently rubbed his son's back he looked over the tiny boy's shoulder towards his other son. For a moment, as he took in the forlorn look on his teenager's face, he remembered when he was just as small as Colin was now. Nick recalled the way he'd spent so much time in the first four years of his life clinging to his mother's side. Then when Noah had been born, it was like a switch had been turned and Brandon had instead become an appendage to Nick's own side. Still, that too came to an end.

Now even though Nick knew that his teen still adored him, and given the option, he'd choose to be with him over his mother and would choose to trust his father over anyone else in the world, he didn't show it like he used to. Every now and then, very rarely, he would hug his father or take a day off of socializing to stay home with him when he was free from work, but the displays of affection were few and far between.

At that moment, however, Nick could see that his son needed some sort of comforting. What he'd done was reckless and wrong but the punishment would come in time. Gently lowering his young son to the ground he said, "go run inside and find Noah. Brandon and I will be in in a few minutes." Then he turned back to his son prepared to give a pep talk and lecture all mixed into one.

Brandon was a good kid for the most part, and Nick knew him well enough to realize that he was already beating himself up about getting a ticket, and having Colin in the car with him. So, Nick put his hand on his son's shoulder and gave him a quick pat. "Let's go sit on the porch."

Brandon nodded, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets as he walked with his father to the porch swing. They both sat down on the chair, and it creaked and swung slightly at their combined weight. Brandon sighed and leaned forward, cradling his head in his hands. Nick wasn't sure exactly where to begin. Brandon already knew what he'd done wrong, so he cut right to the chase.

"Are you a little shaken up?" Nick asked him, studying his oldest son.

Brandon nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly.

"I can understand that," Nick acknowledged. "Being pulled over is a pretty unpleasant thing, especially your first time. Why were you goin' so fast?"

Brandon scrubbed his hands over his face, hating the inevitable questions. "I took Colin out for ice cream and ran into some friends, and they wanted to hang out. So, I was trying to get Colin home fast so I could go back out with them."

Nick nodded, letting the words set in. "Having a license and a car isn't a right, Brandon. It's a privilege, and a lot of responsibility comes with it. What do you think's going on in my head right now?"

"Probably something pretty much like what I'm thinking," Brandon said. Then looking up at his father he continued. "You're disappointed in me. I'm disappointed in myself. Not because I got caught. I mean, I wish I hadn't and all... but I can't believe I was that stupid. Colin's just a little kid and it was my job to protect him."

Nick frowned at his son realizing that Brandon was right when he said he was thinking a lot of the same things. However, he didn't like knowing his son was feeling so badly about himself. "Well you're right. I am disappointed in you, but really being pulled over is a part of life. I've been pulled over too. But I meant what I said. It's a privilege. One that you have to earn and you have to work hard to keep. You abused that privilege when you took such a risk with your little brother in the car. Wanting to hang out with your friends is not more important than your little brother's safety. What if you'd hurt someone or yourself?"

"I don't know what I would have done Dad," Brandon interrupted. "But it's not like it was that big of a thing. It was stupid to do it with a two year old in the car. I know that... but I wasn't going that much over."

"People get hurt all the time because of speeding," Nick told his son. "And even if you're a good driver, which you are, you can't count on everyone else on the road being good drivers too. If someone else were to make a mistake you could have been going too fast to avoid it. Things happen Brandon."

"I know. And I'm sorry." Brandon mumbled, running his hand over the top of his head. He was calming down a little more now that he was home, but he couldn't quite tell if his dad was angry at him, or consoling him. Brandon guessed it was kind of a combination of both when his father continued, giving his back a pat.

"I can tell you know why what you did is wrong, but I can't let this go without some consequences." Nick told his son. While Brandon was remorseful, he had still done something irresponsible and he couldn't just let it go unpunished. "The money to pay your ticket will be coming out of your pocket."

"Okay," Brandon agreed, knowing that was perfectly fair. It really sucked, but it was fair. "Am I grounded from driving?"

Nick sighed. He relied on his oldest a lot to give the younger kids rides various places, but one of the reasons for getting his ticket was because Colin had been in the car. Nick kind of wished Sara was here to discuss it with her. However, Brandon had proven that right now, he wasn't being a responsible driver. "I think it's best if you have a little break from it, yes. No car for two weeks, and then we'll see how trustworthy you are behind the wheel."

Brandon just nodded and stood up, wanting to retreat to his bedroom, but his father's voice stopped him. "Brandon," Nick called. The teenager stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. Brandon was just as tall, if not a little taller, than his father now, but his face reminded him of how he always pouted a little as a child after getting in trouble.

"I'm glad you're okay."

Nick sighed as he watched his son wave off his comment and go into the house. Sighing and feeling badly that he'd had to revoke his son's driving for the next two weeks, he shrugged. With Sara gone from the house it was going to be tough being the only driver but he'd make do.

He walked into the house and saw his middle son, Noah, pacing in the living room in the oddest way. Colin was playing quietly with his car set again on the floor with "toon toons" playing on the TV. Walking in to the living room Nick took a seat on the couch and watched as Noah stopped moving and plopped himself down on the overstuffed recliner near him. "You got something on your mind bud?"

"Uh, kinda," Noah answered him. Then running a hand through his hair the twelve year-old looked as though he decided he had to come out with it. "Uh... Dad... uh... earlier I was on the phone with a girl. Uh, one I kinda like. Well... I kinda asked her out. Uh... and she can only go out tonight... so can I? Uh... and can I have some money?"

Nick bit back a smirk at his son's obvious embarrasment. He remembered how scary girls were at his age, and how his older sisters and brother had given him such a hard time about it all. And Brandon was relentless in his teasing of Noah. No wonder he was being so secretive.

"Uhh…sure, Noah," Nick told him as he sat down on the other couch. "may I ask who this girl is?"

Noah looked at his father, wishing he didn't have to explain, but knew his parents liked to know who he was hanging out with. "Allison Jacobs. She's in a few of my classes at school."

Nick nodded, rubbing his fingers along his jawline in thought. He didn't want to pry, but he was really curious to know more about this girl that had his son so smitten. Nick did happen to know Allison's parents from some school functions, and knew she was a good kid. "Okay. Alright. And where are you gonna take her?"

"Umm…" Noah scratched the side of his face a little. "I don't know. All I know is she said yes."

Nick laughed out loud at Noah's answer. What a typical guy. "Well, I'll help you think of something. Does she like ice skating? Or bowling?"

"Maybe." Noah answered, completely clueless.

Nick cleared his throat in amusement. "I see. Well, if it's just gonna be you two, maybe ice skating would be a good choice. I could drop you off at the pizza place right next to the rink, and you could have dinner, then walk over."

"Uh, that sounds okay I guess," Noah said. He played hockey so he knew his way around ice skates and he wouldn't have to worry about being embarrassed if he fell. "But what if she doesn't know how to skate?"

"Teach her," Nick said winking at his son. "You'll get to hold her and and stuff that way. Plus there's video games and stuff. I'll give you enough money so you guys can hang out in the arcade too, in case you don't want to skate the whole time."

"You're good at this aren't you dad?" Noah said with a slight smile. He looked like he was relaxing a bit more already. "I've never been on a date before, ya know? And Allison, she's great. We're lab partners in science. I mean she and I have been friends for a while now. Since like fourth grade, but we've never done anything out of school before."

"You nervous?" Nick asked his son. And then suddenly felt like he wished Sara was there. She would have a better insight for what the boy should wear and stuff like that.

"A little," Noah admitted. "But not like I guess I would be if she wasn't my friend, too."

"You'll do fine." Nick assured him. "Just remember that you are friends. Just relax and have a good time, and treat her like a lady."

Nick could tell there was something else his son wanted to ask, but was uncomfortable about it. "You wanna ask me anything else?" He prompted him gently.

"Umm…" Noah stumbled. "How do you know if you should kiss a girl? I mean…am I supposed to because it's a date?"

Nick again bit back a smile at how nervous Noah was. It was kind of cute. "Well, son. Just because it's an official date, doesn't mean you have to kiss her. You'll just have to see how the night's going. Pay attention to how she's acting – if she's holding your hand, smiling at you. But don't worry about it so much on the first date. You'll have plenty more chances."

Noah wasn't sure if his dad's advice had helped him or not. How were you supposed to know if a girl wanted you to kiss her? Why was the guy supposed to make the first move? Noah sighed nervously. "Okay. Thanks, Dad."

"No problem. Did you finish cleaning your room?" He asked.

"No, not yet," Noah admitted. That reminded Nick of the ice cream mess in the back of the car that Colin had made. He definitely wasn't cleaning it, because it was Brandon's idea to get it in the first place, and he was on punishment now.

"Why don't you go start, and tell Brandon he needs to come upstairs."

"Yeah okay Dad," Noah said as Nick watched him walk the down the stairs. He couldn't help but laugh a little at the boy thinking about how nervous he was. He hoped that he didn't feel like he had to kiss the little girl. Sometimes girls at twelve weren't ready for stuff like that, yet.

A few moments later Nick saw Brandon standing at the top of the stairs, "yeah Dad?"

"Oh, I need you to go clean out the back of the car okay?" Nick told his son as he moved into the kitchen and started removing the proper cleaning implements from beneath the sink. "Use these, and don't forget to leave the windows down and the garage door open so the car airs out a bit. I don't want any of us to have to sit with those chemicals in the air next time we get in."

Having been called in to help graveyard shift with a surplus of cases, he hadn't really had the opportunity to lay down. He still had about an hour and a half before he had to drop Noah and Allison off at the pizza place and pick the twins up, and he was exhausted. "And Brand, I'm going to head up and take a quick nap. Don't let me sleep too long."

As he walked back through the living room he saw little Colin sound asleep on the carpet in front of the television. His toy truck was still clutched in one hand as he sucked on the thumb of the other. Nick walked over to the sleeping toddler and picked him up gently. Leaning forward to turn off the TV, he kissed the boy's head gently and cradled him in his arms.

As he made eye contact with Brandon, who was on his way past, Nick thanked his son for helping out so much and decided to take Colin up to his room. He was going to put his son in his own bed when he changed his mind. It had been a long time since Colin had fallen asleep in his arms - since before he'd learned to walk. He wanted to take the chance to be with him a little.

So, Nick instead took his youngest into the master bedroom with him and laid him down on Sara's side of the bed. He carefully took his little shoes off, depositing them on the floor, and tucked him in. Nick then toed his own shoes off and climbed in on the other side. Usually, if Colin conked out, he'd be asleep for a couple hours, and it was just nice to have some alone time with him even if he was asleep.

Soon, Nick had nodded off, and was awoken a little over an hour later by Brandon poking him. "Dad!" He called his father for the third time. Brandon was used to his parents having to take naps during the day, with their usually helter-skelter work schedules.

Nick startled awake and rubbed his face as he turned over to see Brandon waving the cordless phone in his hand. "It's Warrick on the phone."

Nick looked over at the other side of the bed and saw that Colin was still sound asleep, in the exact same position he'd laid him down. He cleared his throat so he wouldn't let on to Warrick he'd been napping and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"Thanks, man," he told Brandon as he took the phone. Brandon rolled his eyes a little in amusement and left the room. Nick followed after him so he wouldn't disturb Colin. "Hey, Rick. What's up?"

"Up from your nap, sweetie pie?" Warrick teased him, having heard from Brandon what his father had been up to. Nick laughed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he headed downstairs.

"Hey, man. I got called in on my day off. How are things going?"

"Well, I've got a little girl sitting here with me who misses you for some reason." Warrick informed him as a sleepy, slightly cranky Jordan curled up next to him. The girls had only emerged from the swimming pool about half an hour earlier, and they were still in their suits, wrapped up in their robes.

"Do you?" Nick asked. "are they ready to come home?"

"I think so," Warrick agreed as he gave Jordan a half-hug from the side. "They've been in and out of the pool all day, so they're getting pretty worn out. I think Jordan wants to talk to you though."

Nick waited for his friend to pass his daughter the phone and then he heard her small voice say hi to him. "Hey sweetie. Are you having fun playing with Sammy?"

"Yeah but can you come get me now?" the little girl asked. "Marley's being kinda mean and I wanna come home and stay away from her a while."

"Well are you two getting kinda tired?" Nick asked his daughter gently. He knew full well that when the two of them got tired they fought just like the sisters that they were. "Why don't you go ask Aunt Catherine to brush out your hair and put it up and I'll be over as soon as I can."

"Okay Daddy," Jordan said into the phone gently. "I love you."

"I love you too sweet pea," Nick smiled and turned off the phone. He had since made his way downstairs and into the kitchen area. Since the girls were cranky and tired, a good dinner would probably serve in everyone's best interest. As he glanced at his watch, he saw that it was also about time for Noah's date. Nick quickly pulled out some spaghetti and the Prego sauce.

"Brandon!" He called for his oldest again. Brandon soon appeared a little reluctantly as Nick was getting out a pot for the spaghetti. It seemed he just been doing nothing but favors for his father all day long. "Hey. I need to go pick the girls up and drop Noah off. Can you just get this started for me? If you could make some meatballs, and then if I'm not back put the spaghetti on?"

Nick could tell Brandon wasn't exactly thrilled at being given yet another task to do, but with Sara gone, Nick needed all the help he could get. "Sure," Brandon agreed, his slight annoyance obvious.

"Thanks, bud. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Nick called down to Noah that it was time to go. He'd picked out a pretty good-looking number in his opinion – a pair of faded demin jeans, paired with a gray short-sleeved Polo top, along with his fleece jacket. He looked a bit nervous, but he grinned at his father, excited for his date.

"You ready?" Nick smiled a little at his son. He could smell that he'd probably borrowed some of Brandon's aftershave. "Let's go."

Nick glared at Brandon before the teen had a chance to make some sort of comment about Noah being all dressed up for the date. "Colin's asleep in my room. Keep an ear out for when he gets up. And thanks for helping me out so much Brandon. I owe you one."

Nick put a hand on Noah's shoulder and pushed him towards the door that led into the garage. "So we're going to pick her up right? I'll do that before I go get your sisters. That way they won't embarrass you."

"Thanks Dad," Noah said. Then taking out his pre-printed mapquest directions, he passed them to his father. "I'm not sure if you know how to get to Levette Terrace but I thought I'd get you directions anyway."

"Thanks, but I had a case up that way a couple of years ago. I think I can figure it out." Nick opened the door to his car and climbed in. As Noah scrambled in to the seat next to him Nick watched as he pushed the wrinkles out of his clothes and chuckled. "Relax man, you're gonna do fine."

"Girls make me nervous," Noah admitted, letting out a deep breath.

Nick just smiled as he pulled out of the driveway. He didn't want to break it to the little guy that girls always made guys nervous, no matter what age you got to. Nick tried to put his son at ease as they drove to Allison's house. He found it without much problem, and walked to the door with Noah to introduce himself. Allison seemed just as nervous as Noah did, but her parents were as nice as could be. Nick and Allison's parents smiled knowingly at each other, obviously finding it amusing their kids were so nervous. After promising to have Allison back by nine, Nick led the two lovebirds to the car.

On the way to the pizza place, Nick tried to make small talk with Allison. She seemed like a really nice girl, and Nick could see why Noah liked her so much. Allison answered Nick's questions politely, but he could tell the whole situation made her nervous.

About ten minutes later, Nick pulled up to Peppi's Pizza Palace and put the car in park as he fished for his wallet. "Alright, you two. Have fun. Noah, give me a call when you're ready to call it a night."

"Thanks Dad," Noah said as he hopped out of the car and led Allison to the front door of the pizza place. Once they were safely inside and out of sight, Nick turned the car on and pulled away.

It took him about seven minutes to get to Warrick and Catherine's house. He sighed a moment as he sat in the car. He loved his life and his family. Each one of his children was just as special to him to the others but sometimes he longed for the old days when he wasn't constantly doing things for his children. He had just spent the entire day driving, cooking, cleaning, disciplining them. Still, he wouldn't trade them in for anything in the world. All six of them made his life worth living.

Climbing out of the car Nick walked up to the house and opened the front door without even knocking. He was welcome to come and go in the Brown home as he pleased. Sitting in the living room that was just a few feet away from the front entrance, Nick waved to Chandler. "Hey Chandler, you know where the girls are?"

Chandler pointed to the couch next to him where Nick saw Marley sound asleep. Being the more outgoing of the twins she also played a lot harder than Jordan and had a habit of wearing herself out. "How long ago did she crash?"

"Uh, about a half hour or so," Chandler told him. The fourteen year old was a nice enough boy and played well with the twins. "Jordan's in the other room with mom and Lindsey I think."

"Thanks Chandler," Nick said as he started to walk out of the room. "You wanna wake her up or do you want me to just come get her on my way out?"

"Uh, I'll just let her sleep," Chandler said, knowing his baby cousin well enough not to want to disturb her. He tugged the blanket up over her a bit more and said, "She's pretty worn out. Sammy ran 'em both down."

"That doesn't surprise me." Nick called over his shoulder. He heard the sound of Catherine, Lindsey, and his little daughter down the hallway chatting quietly. Before knocking, Nick stood in the doorway for a few moments and just watched. Jordan was probably having the time of her life now, getting her hair braided by Catherine, and her toenails painted by Lindsey. Marley sure would be jealous later. Sammy was conked out on the bed also.

"Are you still tired, Jordan?" Lindsey asked her cousin. Nick smirked at the question. Neither girls would ever admit to being tired. With two of the three little girls fast asleep, and the phone call he'd gotten earlier, Nick was sure Jordan would soon follow.

"No, I'm not tired," Jordan said confidently. "You know, one time I stayed up all night long, and I wasn't tired at ALL." she bragged a little. Nick laughed to himself at the complete lie. She'd never made it past eleven. Finally, he knocked, causing all three heads to turn towards him.

"Daddy!" Jordan exclaimed happily. She was about to get up to hug him, but Catherine stopped her.

"Let me finish your braid, sweetheart, and then you can hug your daddy." She reasoned. Jordan seemed to accept it, as Nick walked in towards them and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"You look beautiful, darlin'." he complimented her, and she beamed. "Did you have fun today?"

"Uh-huh." Jordan nodded, forgetting it would make it harder for Catherine to braid. "We swam aaaaall day long, and we had cheese and crackers and we played on the swingset, and Barbies too."

"That sounds fun. Did you both behave yourselves?" Nick asked as he watched Catherine wind a rubber band around Jordan's hair to finish the braid off.

"I did, but Marley was being mean." Jordan informed him. Nick knew with the twins that there were always two different sides to the story, and often they were very different. If it had been major, he was sure he would've gotten a call.

Nick thanked Catherine and Lindsey for everything and took his daughter by the hand to help her down from where she was perched after Catherine finished the braid. Then leaning forward, he gave Lindsey a hug and kiss on the cheek and said "have a safe trip back home. It was good to see you again kid."

"You too Uncle Nick," Lindsey told him returning the hug. "I've missed you guys."

"Well I think Jordan and I better get Marley and get out of here," Nick said. Then with a smile, he took his daughter's hand and started leading her back towards the room Marley was sleeping in. "Tell Sammy we all said bye and we'll miss her. Have her call the girls sometime." Turning back to Catherine he added, "thanks again for taking them all day."

"It was great having them," Catherine said honestly. The girls all played so well together, apart from a few disagreements that happened when any set of kids played together.

"Tell Rick I say bye too," Nick said as he very carefully scooped Marley up into his arms. "Jordan, can you tell Aunt Catherine thanks for having you?"

"Thanks, Aunt Catherine," Jordan chimed obediently.

"You're welcome," Catherine winked at her as she opened the door for Nick. He carried Marley out to the car and carefully loaded her into the back seat along with the girls' bags. Nick buckled the sleeping girl in and made sure Jordan was also before getting in himself.

"Daddy, can we stop at McDonald's on the way back? I'm REALLY hungry," Jordan requested, patting her stomach.

"No, sweetie. Brandon's starting dinner. We're having spaghetti and meatballs," Nick backed the car out of the driveway and then put the car in drive. As he looked in the rearview mirror, he could see Jordan proudly fingering her braid. She always loved the feel of it on her head, and it was a battle to take it out when her hair needed to be washed.

"Can I call Mommy when we get back?" She scratched at her stomach a little bit, and her chest also.

"We need to wait for her to call us when she gets in," Nick told her. "But you'll get to talk to her, I promise."

When Nick pulled the car back into his own driveway he had to resist the urge to express his anger out loud. Marley and Jordan didn't need to hear it. There was an extra car in the drive, and judging by the style of it it, belonged to a teenage girl. Deciding to get Marley up and then escort her and her sister into the house, Nick resolved that once the girls were taken care of he'd deal with Brandon.

"Marley, sweetheart get up," Nick said as he leaned around the back and jiggled her knee with his hand. "Come on baby girl you gotta go inside. You can take a nap in your room until dinner if you want."

Marley shrugged herself awake and managed to fumble herself out of the seatbelt and finally out of the car. Nick and Jordan both followed her towards the house, but when they stepped inside the distinct smell of burning meat flashed into their noses.

"Brandon!" Nick bellowed down the stairs as he rushed into the kitchen to see how badly messed up dinner was.

"Daddy, it smells bad in here." Jordan complained, pulling her shirt up over her nose. Nick rushed to the stove to turn the heat off. He pushed the pan off the burner and turned the fan on and opened the windows just as Brandon high-tailed it up the stairs. That's when Nick noticed Colin, watching cartoons in the living room. At least he was fine, but he was so unbelievably angry that Brandon had left him unsupervised, and with the burner on in the next room, apparently while entertaining a girl downstairs.

Nick locked eyes with Brandon as he emerged from the basement, and the teenager could tell how beyond pissed his father was at him now. It looked like Nick was capable of burning a hole through his skull with his eyes at that moment. "Girls, get up the stairs," he told the twins a little shorter than he would have liked. "Take Colin with you."

Jordan could tell Brandon must have done something awful, so she didn't question her father or complain at all. She took her little brother's hand and they all began walking up the stairs to their bedrooms.

"Do you have company?" Nick asked his son, hands on his hips.

"Y-yeah. But, Dad, we could see Colin the whole time. I left the door open, and we weren't-"

"You better tell her to leave. Now," Nick ordered him, and then turned his back to go fix the mess in the kitchen. He put the pan of meatballs in the sink, which had now cooled off, and started running water over it.

"Can I at least walk her out?" Brandon asked in a demanding tone. Nick knew that he probably wouldn't see the girl again. His son was going through a bit of a player stage. But he'd raised his son to have manners and treat women with respect so all he did was nod, allowing his son to walk her out.

"Ten minutes to say goodbye," Nick said, giving the boy more than enough time to explain himself to her. Brandon called down the stairs and she soon appeared. Turning to the girl Nick said, "It was nice to meet you... uh... I'm sorry I don't know your name."

"Melissa," the girl told him shyly. "Melissa Walsh, I'm the new detective's daughter, we met a few weeks ago. I didn't realize Brandon was your kid. Uh... thanks for having me over and I hope next time it's on better terms."

"I'm sorry that I have to ask you to go so soon Melissa," Nick told her with a frown. He remembered meeting the girl with her two sisters and brother now that she brought it up. They had been there at some police picnic thing that a few select members of PD had been obligated to go to a few Sundays before. Detective Walsh hadn't started working yet. "Brandon's kinda in hot water right now. Come back for dinner sometime though."

Melissa nodded and offered Nick a bit of a solemn smile, feeling like she had somehow gotten Brandon in trouble with his dad. Brandon put his hand on her back and steered her towards the front door so they could say goodbye.

As the door closed, Nick scrubbed his hands over his face. Of course, Brandon was picking now to give him problems, when there was only one parent at home. He was normally so reliable, and he was just as highly confused as he was angry that all this had occurred. Nick worked in the kitchen to clean up the mess, scrubbing hard at the pan as he thought about how he was going to handle this. The ten minutes to wait for Brandon to say goodbye probably served his temper well, but as soon as Brandon walked back in the front door, he felt himself getting ticked off again. How could Brandon be so irresponsible?

"Let's go to your room," Nick told him first off, not wanting to upset the other kids in case he had to resort to raising his voice. Plus, Marley was a known eavesdropper in the house. Brandon sighed and reluctantly followed his father down the stairs to the room he shared with Noah. He knew it wasn't wise to start making excuses, but he couldn't help himself.

"Dad, before you start yelling at me, she was only here for, like, ten minutes. And I kept checking on Colin." He tried to defend his actions as they reached his bedroom door. Nick torqued his jaw as he held the door open for his son, then let it close a little louder than usual.

Nick closed his eyes and forced himself to count to three before he began talking to his son. Nick had always tried to be the type of father to talk things out with his kids instead of yelling. Sara yelled sometimes. So did he, but it was rare. It was just a difference in their parenting style. Neither of them liked doing it though, and Nick knew deep down that the best tactic with kids, even teens, was to try to make them understand why you were so angry. If they saw your side, which was sometimes impossible with a sixteen year old, it made getting them to cease the behavior a whole lot easier.

"Just tell me why," Nick said through gritted teeth. "I just want to know why you've given me so much trouble today. Why you wanted to have someone over when you KNEW I wouldn't be okay with it. Why you broke house rules by having someone over without asking. Broke more house rules by leaving your brother alone, by having a girl in your room without permission. Why you couldn't pay enough attention to dinner to keep it from burning? What's going on Brandon... you're NOT like this usually. Is it because Sara's gone?"

"No Dad, God." Brandon said in disgust. "I mean I love Sara but I don't have some sort of 'I miss my mommy' syndrome thing going on. I guess I'm just pissed because every time one of you goes somewhere I have to play Mr. Mom. I mean, I didn't ask to be the oldest of six kids and it's not fair I have to do all this shit for all of the tykes.

There's a REASON I don't have sex all the time like the other guys at school. I don't want to be a dad... it's not fair. And then the other kids get away with so much more. I mean I wasn't allowed to date until I was thirteen... Noah got to go out with a girl and he's only twelve. Does that mean Colin's allowed to get married when he's six? Maybe I want to be a fucking normal teenager and MESS up once in a while."

"Brandon you know you--" Nick was cut off.

"Can't because I have responsibilities. Because my little brothers and sisters need me to be responsible to: A. be a good role model, B. keep them safe, C. because you and Sara need me and couldn't make it without me, D. a bunch of other shit," Brandon said, his tone brooding with anger. "I've heard the speech a thousand times Dad. I get it. I have to be perfect because you and Sara can't keep your hands off of each other and you don't know how to bag your swimmers."

"Hey!!" Nick's voice boomed loudly throughout the room, and possibly the entire house. Brandon was just about pushing him to his limit. It was a rare event in the Stokes household for Nick to become so angry. But Brandon figured he was in deep enough trouble already, he might as well get everything off his chest. He couldn't believe the kind of trash that had just come out of his mouth.

Nick continued, his voice still raised. "Watch your language, and watch your tone! I've always been willing to listen to you, Brandon, but I'm not standing for the way you're talking to me, and the way you're talking about my wife!"

Both men were seething with anger, and Nick wished he had Sara here this moment to cool them both down. Brandon kicked at a pile of clothes on the floor, turning in his place. He muttered something inaudible and just glared at his father. Nick's brain couldn't function where to even begin with his son. He'd just spilled so many feelings and secrets about what he thought of his life, Nick was still trying to digest. All he knew right then was that Brandon was pissing him off and offending him on so many levels. But also, that while all these years Brandon had been a big helper, there was a lot of resentment.

"I'm way too angry right now to even deal with you, Brandon," Nick gritted through his teeth. "So here's what's gonna happen," He tried to think things through calmly, though he was anything but calm at the moment. Nick didn't want to say something he'd regret later, and with all the anger boiling up, it was highly possible. "You're gonna sit your ass down on your bed and chill out until you can speak to me respectfully."

"Or until you can come up with some lame-ass speech about respect and responsib-"

Brandon was cut off when his father grabbed his upper arm and physically sat him on his bed. The teenager was a little taken aback, but held his glare against his father. "Don't MOVE from this room until I decide you're ready to come out! You're grounded from everything you can think of until further notice – phone, internet, friends, everything."

Nick let go of his son and shifted backwards. He tried to stammer out an apology, immediately feeling regret over what he'd done. It was one of the worst things he could have imagined. The attempt at an apology fell on deaf ears though. Brandon looked wounded and pulled away from him, keeping his arms up to guard him where he sat. Nick couldn't take the sight of seeing his child afraid of him. He walked out of the room and towards the stairs feeling like half of a human being.

As Nick walked up the stairs slowly he couldn't believe what he'd done. He had never, not once, taken a hand to any of his children in anger. He'd never even spanked one of them. It wasn't the way he was raised and especially since he'd been married to Sara, given her past, they'd never even been okay with it. This was different than a spanking though. Nick had let himself get so angry with his son that he put a hand on him and forced him to move. He knew that the way he'd grabbed his son's arm was strong enough that he might have even left a bruise.

Remembering, for the second time that afternoon, back when Brandon had been a tiny child, he almost couldn't resist the urge to go down stairs and hug him and tell him he was so sorry for what he had done. In truth, he was ashamed of himself and he'd have to sit down and have a long talk with Brandon, sometime in the not too near or far future, about how wrong he was for what he'd done. But now wasn't the time. The teen needed to sit and quietly reflect on what he'd been doing all day. They both needed a time out and an opportunity to calm down.

Nick thought about everything his son had said, trying to translate the important parts from the ranting rage of a teenager to what he was really saying. Brandon felt like he'd been cheated out of getting to be a normal teenager because he was given so much responsibility with the younger kids. He was right, in a way. It wasn't fair to him. He deserved to be a kid for as long as he could. Nick and Sara had forced him to grow up a lot faster than they should have.

Running a hand over his head he started pressing his fingers over his temples and rubbing them in big circles. Nick was starting to feel like he'd messed up as badly as Brandon had that day. It was a lack of communication and a messed up sense of child/adult roles that had caused the whole problem. Of course Brandon should be responsible for watching the younger kids some of the time. It was part of being a family. But Noah was old enough to take on more responsibility now too, and it wouldn't hurt for Nick to ask Brandon a bit more often rather than telling him what needed to be done.

Still, Brandon's language and behavior was unforgivable. He had to be punished for it. As Nick was pondering all that had been said and done, he heard the familiar sound of the house phone ringing. It was Sara calling finally to tell him she'd arrived safely. Sighing, he calmed himself down the rest of the way and pulled the phone to his ear, "hey sexy," he purred into the phone as he sifted through the freezer to find something to make for dinner.

Sara smiled on the other end. "Hey," she began as she unpacked her suitcase in the bedroom she'd be staying in. "We just got in about half an hour ago."

"Oh yeah?" Nick asked, feeling himself calming even more as he listened to his wife's voice. He desperately wished she was with him after the day he'd had, but it was amazing what the sound of her voice did to him. "How was your flight?"

Sara furrowed her eyebrows a little at the sound of her husband's voice. It was croaky, and he sounded very tired. She didn't doubt that the kids had run him down, handling them all alone, but could never had guessed the events that had transpired with Brandon.

"It was fine. Are you okay? You sound really tired." Sara asked in concern as she laid out a pile of clothes on her bed.

Nick chuckled humorlessly as he rubbed at his forehead. He was so disgusted with himself, and still so angry with Brandon, that he didn't know where to start. Nick found a frozen pizza in the freezer and took it out, then turned the oven to preheat. "Well, we've had a pretty eventful day around here," he said vaguely. Nick didn't want to ruin Sara's trip by making her worry about what was going on at home, but at the same time, she had a right to know. Especially given the seriousness of the situation.

"What did Marley do?" Sara asked automatically, half in jest, and half seriously. She was usually the ringleader of bad behavior in the household.

"Marley was pretty good, actually. It's been Brandon that's acting up."

"Brandon? But he's usually such a good kid."

"Yeah, he is, but he snapped on me today," Nick then went on to explain how Brandon had gotten a speeding ticket with Colin in the car, and then how he'd invited a girl over without permission and had her in his room, while his little brother sat unattended upstairs. And he told her the awful incident that had happened downstairs – how Brandon had confessed his frustrations quite rudely, and how he'd grabbed his arm.

"Oh, Nick," Sara gasped at the end of Nick's horrible tale. She'd since sat down on the bed to digest it all, and felt horrible that Nick was there all alone dealing with everything. "Baby, I can tell you feel really bad about grabbing Brandon. And maybe you overreacted, but you know he can push buttons when he wants to. Don't beat yourself up about it. I'm more concerned with what's going on with Brandon."

Nick was leaning up against the kitchen counter – his face buried in his hand as he listened to his wife trying to convince him things were alright. "But, Sara. I grabbed him. Really, pretty hard. I mean, I've never laid a hand on him. He must be so confused."

Nick shrugged even though she couldn't see it and then ran a hand through his hair. Even though it was already done and in the past he really couldn't forgive himself for what he'd done to his son. It was as bad as hitting him. "I just feel like a really bad father. I mean... I can't believe I did that to my son."

"Nick honey," Sara said with a gentle understanding tone. "I know we've talked about it. I know we agreed that we'd never hit the kids, not even a spanking but what you did wasn't so bad. I mean, yeah it was in the heat of the moment but the way he was talking to you... something had to be done. You're not a bad father. We have six kids, six. Any one of them would tell you you're the best father in the world, me too. Hell I bet Kathleen would even agree, if you really asked her."

"But I pushed my son Sara," Nick said, still unable to get over what he'd done. He knew that what his wife was telling him was true but he just couldn't forgive himself. What he'd done, in his own opinion, was one of the worst things he ever had. "I grabbed him forcefully and shoved him down."

"IF you'd done something that was actually bad I would drive home right now and kick your sexy little Texan ass cowboy. But you didn't... which is good because Charlie and I are having a good time."

"That soon already?" Nick said pretending to be hurt. "I mean you just got there. You have that much more fun with your ex husband's family than me?"

Nick was already feeling so much better after talking to his wife, though he still felt guilty. He knew he needed to apologize to Brandon, but they both still needed some time.

"You know I'm teasing." Sara smiled through the phone, amazed that she could miss him so much after only being separated a few hours. "But they're great. I wish Charlie could spend more time around Charles' family."

"I know, babe." Nick said softly, and heard a door open and close up the stairs. "And I think we need to plan trips like this for Charlie more often. He needs to be with the other part of his family too."

Nick heard some sorrowful crying at the top of the stairs, which he identified as belonging to Jordan. As he and Sara talked about possible plans of more regular visits, Jordan made her way down the stairs with her favorite stuffed bunny tucked under her arm. As she neared the bottom, Nick looked over to see his daughter red-eyed and her clothes skewed. She was definitely not a graceful sleeper. Jordan gave her father a sorrowful look and crossed the room silently, then wrapped her arms around his middle for a hug.

Nick reached his free arm down to gently rub Jordan's back as he told Sara about Noah's date, and how nervous he'd been. Sara wanted to know all the details when Noah got in, which he was sure his son would be mortified to share.

"Well, I've got someone here who'd like to say hello to you." Nick told his wife as he gently tousled Jordan's braid. She looked up at him and smiled gently. At the age of five, she was very much attached to her mother, and thought the world of her. Nick gave her a wink before he handed the phone over to her.

Once Nick had made sure that Jordan had a good grasp on the phone he told her to make sure that she offered it to all the other kids to make sure they had their chance to talk to their mom if they wanted he went back into the kitchen to make dinner. Realizing that the frozen pizza wouldn't be enough for such a big family he figured he might as well throw together some leftovers and make a pot luck of everyone's favorite foods. Putting on a small pot of boiling water to make some fresh macaroni and cheese, Marley's favorite, when he realized that the tub of it that was in the fridge smelled old.

Taking out another Tupperware container he checked to make sure Brandon's favorite, garlic mashed potatoes. Nick was honestly surprised that they were still in there, but decided to warm them up anyway. Jordan's favorite was her mother's home made pancakes which they always kept some of in the freezer so he put some on a plate and into the microwave.

Thinking that Noah would have been well provided for being on a date at a pizza place and that Colin was still so young he hadn't become vocal about his favorite foods, aside from Oreo cookies, he didn't make anything overly special for them. He just figured that with only one frozen Pizza left in the house the array of oddly matched side dishes would make up for the limited food supply. Nick decided, also, that if the kids could all be good for the whole day he'd like to take them out to dinner the following night. He didn't get much alone time with them and it seemed like a welcome distraction, IF they could all be good.

Jordan preferred a lot of privacy when she spoke on the phone, and had travelled into the living room to sit on the couch. Still, she spoke to her mother quite softly as Sara no doubt asked about her day at the Browns', and offered her comforting words when Jordan expressed how much she missed her already. As Nick busied himself with food preparations, he heard Jordan climb back up the stairs with the telephone so everyone could talk to Sara.

About twenty minutes later, the phone seemed to have made its rounds to all the kids in the house besides Brandon and Noah, ending with little Colin, who sat and talked at the bottom of the stairs.

"Colin, I wanna talk to Mommy again." Marley said from where she sat on the living room floor coloring as Colin wrapped up his conversation. Her hair, which she had come to realize was not braided like her sister's, was rather tangly, and her scalp itched a bit from the combination of swimming and the sun.

Colin said goodbye to his mother, and then just to spite his older sister, he hit the off button on the phone and then set it down, giggling.

"Colin!" She screeched quite dramatically, and her eyes welled up with tears. "You stupid little meanie head!" Marley accused him, and then threw one of her crayons at the little boy. Since leaving from the Browns, Marley had been in a decidedly cranky mood, even after her nap. She couldn't believe that Jordan had gotten her hair braided AND her toenails painted. Someone should have woken her up! And now Colin was being mean to her.

Nick stepped into the living room when he heard Colin yelp out loudly and then begin to cry. He didn't even speak to Marley. All he did was give her the 'you're in big trouble missy' look and point at her and then to the kitchen table.

"But Daddy, Colin KNEW I wanted to talk to Mommy again and he just hung up the phone right in front of my face."

"Marley Nicole you're in time out," Nick said sternly. "We don't throw things at people in this house, you understand me? You could have put one of your little brother's eyes out with those crayons. I don't know what's gotten into you since we got home but don't think I haven't noticed the way you're acting."

"It's not fair Daddy," the child continued to protest. "Noah gets to go skating, Jordan gets to have her hair braided and her nails painted, and I don't get anything. All I wanted to do was talk to Mommy and now I don't even get to do that."

"Sweetheart did you get to talk to her earlier?" Nick asked his little daughter. If she didn't get to talk to her mother Nick would pick up his cell phone and dial her right back. It wasn't fair for her to miss out on that, she was right.

"Well I did but I wanted to talk to her again because I wanted to tell her that Sammy told me that she was going to get a new puppy when she got home and then she was going to get to name it and I really really really want one too but I also want a kitten and I wanted to ask mama if we could have a puppy or a kitten or a pet because I really want one and..."

As soon as the child took a breath Nick chimed in, "Marley that's enough. If you already talked to her you can wait until tomorrow. Mommy and Charlie are busy right now."

Seeing that she wasn't going to get her way, Marley burst into tears and let her little body collapse on the floor, hoping her tears would sway her father. Nick, however, wouldn't give in to her dramatics, and followed through with her punishment. He plucked her limp body up from the floor while Marley wailed and kept her body like jello, and carried her to the kitchen table. After he managed to sit her down, he left her there to finish out her crying fit unnoticed.

"Everyone in this house is MEAN!" She announced after a minute or so of bawling from her chair. From where she sat, she could stare down her little brother and offer him a poked out tongue as revenge.

"I fink YOU'RE mean!" Colin yelled back from the couch, where he was sitting with Jordan now.

Nick shook his head from the kitchen. "Colin, we don't talk to people when they're in time out." he reminded his youngest. Everyone knew that Marley thrived on attention, and giving it to her when she was in time out defeated the purpose. Colin looked at his father and pretended to zip his lips and throw away the key. "Good boy."

In the kitchen, Nick finished up putting all the food on their respective plates just as the oven buzzed, signaling that the pizza was done. He began to dish that out also as Marley's bawling died down to a whimpering a few minutes later. Nick looked over the bar to where she sat. Her face was perched on the top of the chair, her tiny fists clutched to the backs, like she was in prison. She was almost too cute to stay mad at.

"Marley, come here." He told her. Marley got up straight away, glad to be able to stand up, and walked over to her father in the kitchen. As he finished wiping his hands on a towel, he turned to face his frowning child. "Do you think you'll be able to sit at the table with us and speak nicely?"

Marley nodded wordlessly, still with a frown on her face. "Wonderful. I think you need to say something to Colin first." He prompted her. Nick watched her reluctantly walk over to her little brother and mumble that she was sorry.

Nick didn't feel like he was ready to face Brandon yet, and didn't think his son was ready either, so he called Jordan over to take a plate down to him.

Even though the child didn't look like she was in much of a better mood Marley said, "I'll take it to him Daddy." And reached up to take the plate full of food. Nick was almost suspicious at how kind she was being, but he didn't question it. He watched as she stepped into the living room and kissed little brother on the head saying "I'm sorry Colin."

As soon as Marley reached the bottom step she shrugged off the good girl facade. "Brandon here's dinner. Daddy's mad at me so you better tell him I'm being a little angel, alright?"

"He's pissed at me too," Brandon snarled at her and rubbed his arm still in disbelief that his father had done what he did. "So I don't give a damn what he thinks about you or anyone else at the moment."

"I'm gonna tell him that you said those bad words Brandon," she teased back at him. "You're not supposed to say them."

"No you won't," Brandon told her. Then taking the plate from her he shifted on his bed so that she could sit next to him. "You're just as mad at him as I am. You want some of my macaroni?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded and was already feeling better, sitting there with her older brother, who was in trouble just like she was. It was kind of nice to have someone in the same boat as her, or so she perceived, and wasn't the only one on their father's bad side. Brandon handed her the fork and allowed her to eat a few bites as he ate his slice of pizza. He'd been too angry to do much, so he'd just been listening to music on his iPod to calm himself down. Brandon wasn't sure what to think about his father sending down his favorite, garlic mashed potatoes. Did that mean he felt guilty about what he'd done and was offering up some kind of truce? If he was, Brandon hoped he realized it wasn't going to come that easy.

"Daddy was really mad at you. What did you do?" Marley asked her older brother curiously.

Brandon didn't think Marley was quite ready to hear about what had come out of his mouth earlier. Hell, he wasn't even prepared, and Brandon doubted their dad would appreciate it being repeated. "I said some bad words," Brandon told her simply, and then ruffled her hair a little. "You better get back upstairs so you can have dinner."

Marley nodded and handed her brother the fork. "Okay. I'll try to sneak you down dessert if we get any," she promised. Brandon thanked her and gave her a wink before she left the room and headed back upstairs. The rest of the family was already seated and digging into their makeshift dinners. Marley took her normal spot right next to her twin sister, and Nick had set Colin next to him to help cut up his pizza into smaller pieces. It felt strange, having only four people at the table.

Just as the family was thinking about how odd it was to have so few people at the dinner table they hard the unmistakable sound of a car door slam. Nick stood to walk to the front door and see who it was, looking down at his watch. He couldn't believe that they were having dinner so late. It was five minutes before 9 o'clock Noah stepped through the front door a moment later. "Hey kid, how was it?"

"Fine," he said with a smile on his face and a shrug as he dropped his jacket off of his shoulders and threw it over the back of the chair in the living room.

"Just fine?" Nick asked as he picked the jacket back up and passed it back to his son. "Go hang it up in your closet, we don't leave things out."

Noah took the jacket back in his hands. He'd only even worn it because it was an ice rink and his father had insisted that he'd get cold, "Yeah Dad it was just fine. I don't want to go into the details with you okay?" The twelve year old, still grinning a bit, walked towards the stairs that led down to his room.

Hearing a shriek Nick walked back into the kitchen where he found Marley and Jordan wrestling in the corner behind the kitchen table. Marley had succeeded in pulling the braid out of her twin's hair and threw the hair tie at her. Jordan stopped fighting off her sister and slumped onto the floor sobbing.

With the day Nick had had so far, it was a wonder that he didn't completely snap at the sight before him. If there was one thing Marley was good at, it was tormenting her siblings, especially her twin. Nick again wished that Sara were here. She was better at dealing with female drama than he was. When the twins had an off day like they'd had at least this evening, it could get pretty horrible. Nick didn't doubt who was the culprit, however, as he saw Jordan cowering in the corner.

Nick paused to let out a calming breath for only a second before he rushed towards them and clapped his hands together once to get Marley's attention. "Marley Nicole Stokes!" His voice bellowed over the sound of Jordan's sobbing and Marley's shrieking. Marley continued to pull at her sister's hair until Nick finally reached her and grasped her arm, then managed to gently untangle Jordan's hair from her sister's fingers. Part of him wanted to march Marley straight up the stairs to deal with her antics, but as he saw Jordan sobbing on the floor, he knew she needed to come first.

After he'd successfully untangled the girls from each other, he firmly steered Marley in the direction of the stairs. "Dinner's over for you," he told her sternly. "March up those stairs NOW and get your little behind in bed. I'll be up to deal with you in a minute."

Poor Colin sat at his booster chair with his hands over his ears from all the screeching. Marley began stomping up the stairs to her bedroom. Nick sighed and then walked back over to a still sobbing Jordan and picked her up into his arms. "Oh, Jordan," he tried to soothe her the best he could. Nick sometimes couldn't perceive how cruel Marley could be. He sat down in the seat closest to him and set her in his lap as he hugged her.

"Daddy, it hurts!" she complained of her pulled hair. "And she ruined my braid!"

Just as Marley stomped out of sight Nick saw Noah bridge the top of the stairs. As he scooped up Jordan in his arms to try to comfort her he said, "Hey Noah would you do me a favor?"

"Yeah Dad, what do you need?" Noah said, still in a good mood from his date. Nick realized it must have gone well but he didn't have a hope of getting the details out of his son. Being the middle, most well adjusted child, he managed to keep his privacy better than the others in the house.

"Can you take Colin up and start a bath for him, and try to get him into bed if I'm not up there in time?" Nick asked. "And then if you're not afraid to enter the war zone do you think you could get Jordan's sleeping bag out of her room and set her up to camp out in Colin's room for the night? Just in case I can't get Marley to drop this before she falls asleep."

"Yeah, okay Dad," his son didn't protest. Nick felt badly giving such a huge task to his son. He realized that he and Sara put a lot of weight on to his shoulders, Brandon's as well. They were the oldest two of the kids though. It was just luck of the draw. Sara was much less inclined to leave as much responsibility on Charlie's shoulders, for whatever reason. Perhaps because he was still in elementary school.

When Noah was out of sight Nick carried his youngest daughter, by two minutes and fourteen seconds, into the living room and sat down on the couch settling her on his lap. He gently ran his fingers through her long brown hair as he tried to work out the knots that her sister had so skillfully put in there.

She whimpered slightly, but buried her face in Nick's shirt, glad to have the touch of comfort after such a heinous attack on Marley's part. Nick just held her silently for several long minutes as he continued the action with his fingers. Even though she was hurting, Marley was quite liking having some alone time with her dad, just being held. With six children in the house, none of the Stokes children got as much one on one time as their parents would like to give them.

After a while, Jordan finally croaked something out. "Daddy, can I divorce Marley?"

Nick sighed a little and pressed a kiss to his daughter's head, then looked into her eyes. "Baby, I think you know the answer to that," he told her gently. Jordan closed her eyes and settled her head again on her father's chest. "You may not always get along with Marley, but she is your sister. Sometimes it's hard to be her sister, I know. But you'll always love her deep down."

Jordan sighed a little at Nick's words. It was what she wanted to hear, and what she didn't want to hear all rolled into one. Marley could be one headache of a twin, but her dad was right. She was her sister, and there wasn't anything that could change that.

"Let's get you to bed. You've had a long day." Nick decided, and carefully stood up with Jordan in his arms. She didn't protest, as she was exhausted and emotionally worn out. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his middle, and her arms around his neck, as he carried her upstairs.

Nick could hear the sound of Noah giving his little brother a bath in the upstairs restroom as he passed. He hoped to be able to talk to him about his date before the night ended, if he could get through dealing with the rest of the evening's problems without wanting to pound his head against the wall. Nick took her into Colin's room, where Noah had already set out her sleeping bag and pillow, and set Jordan down on top of it.

"I'll get your jammies and I'll be right back," he assured her. "Go ahead and brush your teeth in me and Mommy's bathroom."

Nick wandered into Marley and Jordan's bedroom to gather the pajamas that he'd promised he'd get when he realized that Marley was sitting on her bed crying. Deciding that now was as good a time as any to lecture his little girl, Nick sat down beside her and started rubbing her back. He took a deep breath, hoping this lecture went better than the last.

"Marley sweetie, I know you're upset but you really can't just act like that. I think we ought to try something new because neither of us like it when I have to punish you. When you're feeling grumpy I want you to come up stairs and just try playing by yourself for a while, watch TV in my room, get on one of the computers, something. Do something special that you like, alone, and try to get over the bad mood. Can you try that for me next time kiddo?"

"I-I-I guess," Marley sniffed to him through her tears. Then shifting so that she wasn't sitting up anymore she lay back and then sobbed again. "Daddy it hurts... it hurts so bad."

"Marley," Nick said with panic in his voice. Of all of the things she'd done over the years to get out of a lecture, feigning pain wasn't one of them. The lecture completely forgotten and replaced by terror that his daughter was in serous trouble he asked, "what hurts sweetheart? Where?"

"I left my suit on after swimming at Sammy's," Marley whined. "I know Mommy tells me not to but I didn't feel like changing... now it hurts."

Nick furrowed his eyebrows at what she was saying, trying to understand. "You still have your suit on, Marley?" he asked her. Marley looked at him with teary eyes and nodded. "Baby, no wonder. We need to get you out of that right now."

Marley began crying again, perhaps at the comfort of knowing she was being taken care of, and also because of the pain that was mounting on her skin. Nick guided her to stand up, and though he momentarily thought about being uncomfortable with what he had to do because his girls were getting older, he knew he was her father and she needed his help.

"Arms up, sweet pea." He instructed her gently, and she obeyed as she whimpered in discomfort. Nick tugged her t-shirt over her head and guided her to take off her shorts. He grabbed her little fluffy bathrobe off her closet door to wrap her up in after she finally got that bathing suit off. "Good girl. I'm gonna get something to put on your skin, baby girl, and I'll be right back."

Earlier that evening, Nick had felt like the worst father in the world after grabbing Brandon's arm and losing it with him, but now as he helped his little crying daughter, he felt needed, and actually felt like the father he wanted to be. His daughter needed him, and he was able to come through and help her.

After helping her rub in some vaseline on some of her rashy parts, Nick helped her into her jammies for the night. Now that the hurt in her skin was subsiding, Nick could see Marley's face ease up a lot, and her demeanor changed. She'd had a long, hard day, and a good night's rest would definitely do her well.

Nick pulled the covers up to his daughter's chin and kissed her forehead gently. "I love you, baby girl," he told his oldest girl, giving her a warm smile. Despite the trouble she'd given him earlier, he still of course loved her unconditionally, and as she hugged him and mirrored his words, he was reminded it was mutual. As Nick stood up to turn off the light, with Jordan's pajamas now in hand, he couldn't help but wonder how Brandon was feeling about him right now. Both Marley and Brandon had been in trouble today, and Nick knew his oldest son was more willing to hold a grudge if he felt he'd been wronged. He wouldn't be able to just hug Brandon and tuck him in like he'd just done with Marley.

Nick turned off the light to the twins' bedroom and walked out, closing the door behind him. He heard that Colin was still in the bath down the hall and decided to go quickly make sure Jordan was getting settled in her little brother's room. Nick was pretty sure the girls would be okay together for the night, but thought it was best to play it safe. He pushed Colin's bedroom door open to find Jordan sitting on top of her sleeping bag with her knees up to her chest as she examined her freshly painted toenails. Nick closed the door behind him and handed her Spongebob pajamas to his daughter.

"Here you go, sweetheart," Nick told her gently, preparing to leave the room so she could change with privacy.

"Daddy?" Jordan's voice called him softly, causing him to stop on his way to the door. He turned around to see a concerned look on his daughter's face. Nick raised his eyebrows and waited for her to continue. "Is Marley okay?"

"She's just tired and grumpy," Nick told his little girl. "And she didn't take off her bathing suit when she got home so she's got a little rash. You're not getting one too are you baby girl?"

"No," Jordan told him as she shifted where she sat. "Goodnight Daddy," she was standing and had run forward to give him a big hug. "I love you."

Nick had started to walk down the hall towards the bathroom to check on the boys when he heard the unmistakable and not surprising sound of Jordan wandering down the hall and back into her bedroom to be with her twin. He heard them speak for a moment and then before long their voices came to an agreement. Jordan was going to sleep in Marley's bed with her to keep her company since she wasn't feeling well.

He was smiling at the gesture and adoration between his two daughters as he walked into the bathroom. "Noah how are you and Colin doing?"

"Alright Dad," Noah answered. "I just have to finish washing his hair and we're going to be done. I've got it Dad."

Sometimes Nick wasn't sure what he'd do without his two oldest boys to help out around the house, especially with Sara not here. And while it was nice to rely on them sometimes, Nick also knew he had to remember Brandon and Noah were kids too. Brandon had reminded him of that earlier. "Thanks a lot, Noah. But I can finish up in here if you wanna go chill out in the living room."

Noah accepted his father's offer. He didn't mind helping out around the house, but it was also nice to have his own personal time. Noah headed downstairs to watch a little television before bed while Nick took over Colin's bathtime. It wasn't long before Nick had his youngest's hair washed and rinsed, and the little tyke all tucked up in his pajamas and in his little toddler bed. Jordan's sleeping bag remained empty on the floor, and by the sound of things, they were both fast asleep in Marley's bed.

Nick walked down the stairs to finish up cleaning in the kitchen, and so he could collect his thoughts before talking to Brandon. He knew he needed to apologize, but obviously Brandon was having some serious problems with how family life was going. While Nick knew he needed to address how seriously Brandon had messed up, he also knew he needed to have a bit of a heart to heart with his son.

Finally feeling like there wasn't anything else he could do to avoid the conversation he had to have with his oldest son Nick started to walk down the stairs. Taking special consideration to knock on the door he was surprised when his son said, "I know it's you dad... come in if you want."

"I think we need to talk Brandon," Nick said. He walked into the room and took a seat on Charlie's bunk bed, the bottom of the two bunks. "Look, first thing. I know you're sixteen and you and I have both kinda felt like you were too old to hear it for a while but I do love you son. I think I should probably tell you a bit more often."

"Whatever, Dad." Brandon said. Then he shifted on the edge of his bed and said, "it's not like I'm going to develop a complex or something. And... you've got a damn weird way of showing it anyway... what the hell was that earlier dad?"

Nick ran one of his hands over his short hair and cleared his throat a little. "I shouldn't have grabbed you, Brandon," Nick told him, looking his son straight in the eye. Sometimes it was hard for a parent to admit he was wrong to his children, but Nick knew it was necessary. "I'm sorry. I really am. What you were telling me got me pretty worked up, and I took things a little too far."

Brandon just looked at his father, as if assessing his honesty. If there was one thing Brandon knew about his father, it was that he kept his word, and meant what he said. "I needed to get some stuff off my chest," Brandon told him honestly. "Sorry if I was a little…blunt about it."

"Bud, I know Sara and I probably put a lot more resonsibility on you than other kids your age get," he began. "And you're right. Sara and I do need your help a lot. It's part of being in a big family, though it's not always fair. There were seven kids in my house growing up, so believe me, I remember how tough it can be."

Nick could tell he was losing Brandon a little bit. It sounded like another one of his responsibility lectures, and that's not what he wanted to convey, not entirely. "But you're sixteen years old. You have a right to have fun and be a regular teenager. It's expected that you'll make some mistakes, because that's life."

"I get it Dad," Brandon said with a heavy sigh. He really did, and Nick knew it. "It just really sucks. I mean, I'm sixteen. I love the kids, I do... I just don't want to be responsible for them all of the time."

"Well Brand I promise to do a bit more asking from now on," Nick said with a square jaw and honest expression on his face. "And a whole lot less telling. There's no reason why your help around here can't be voluntary. But even if you're not responsible for them you have to learn to be responsible around and with them. All of those kids look up to you and when you're responsible for their safety you can't flake out."

"I know..." Brandon paused for a minute and then he started to speak again. "The whole way home after I got pulled over I kept thinking about what I'd do if I'd been in an accident and Colin got hurt. I felt like such an idiot. Going out with my friends isn't worth my brother's life."

Nick knew he must be doing something right after hearing straight from Brandon's mouth that he'd already been thinking about what he'd done wrong. Brandon knew how he was supposed to act, and while he didn't always choose the correct way, he knew right from wrong, and he was taking responsibility. That's about all Nick could ask for.

"You make me so proud, Brandon," Nick said, making eye contact again with his oldest. "I don't think there's anything more I can say about all that happened, because it sounds to me like you've already worked it out."

Brandon just nodded a little and kept eye contact with his father. "I'm sure I can trust you now to be responsible around the little kids," Nick stated. "And to not invite girls over without Sara or me home, right?"

Brandon cleared his throat and nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, Dad. You can trust me."

"Okay," Nick said softly as he stood up. "And I want you to tell me in the future if you think you're getting too much responsibility, alright? Sometimes I can lose sight of things."

"Sure." Brandon agreed as his father approached him. Nick opened one of his arms to give his son a bit of a half-embrace, and was pleasantly surprised when Brandon hugged him back fully.

It had been a long, trying day, and only the first in a series of four days without Sara. There had been so many ups and downs that Nick could've mistaken his own life for a rollercoaster ride. But now Nick sensed Brandon would be helping him more than hindering, and the next few days would be a lot smoother than the first. "I love you, Brandon," Nick told him again, knowing now he'd be more diligent than ever at letting the teenager know his feelings. He felt Brandon hug him a little bit tigther for a second, and even though he couldn't be sure, he could have sworn he heard him say that he loved him too.

A/N 2: If you happened to make it through the entire chapter, please kindly leave a review! We will send you much cyber-love!