A/N: Next chapter's coming up. Took me long enough, eh?

Disclaimer: I don't own The 39 Clues.

Chapter 2: The Cousins Come to Town

Sinead, Amy, and Dan occupied three chairs at the large mahogany table, the silence broken by the occasional clink of silverware against china. The aroma of spaghetti and meatballs that previously filled multiple rooms in the house had since dissipated, and the three cousins ate quietly. It was the first dinner in a long time they could recall spending together where the calm atmosphere wasn't interrupted by shrieks of fury or flying food, and they were determined to enjoy it.

Though, it felt a bit empty without conversation.

"So, your parents leased the property for experiments?" Amy asked, attempting to summarize and understand Sinead's explanation for her move-in.

Sinead nodded. "Experiments, lab tests...but they mostly needed the space." She took a bite of her food. "200 acres of pure experimental ground. We've got this place for at least another three months, and longer if they need it."

Dan piped up, not quite having swallowed his food before he spoke. "You guys've just been staying here the past few months, wasting away from boredom?" He shook his head solemnly. "That's unfortunate..." Then he shrugged and shoveled another forkful into his mouth.

Sinead sighed. "I only stayed here because of my brothers, really. They wanted to spend as much time as possible with our parents, but I didn't see much point."

"I think it's good that you get to stay with your family," Amy said. "You haven't seen them all in a while. I'm sure they missed you."

Sinead raised her eyebrows. "We all missed each other, but now that we're here, under the same roof...it still doesn't feel like much of a family." She stood up, starting for the kitchen with her empty plate. "If that makes sense," she added.

Amy turned back to her food, and the silence resumed itself.

...Until loud barking and a high-pitched shriek jolted them out of their chairs.

The Cahill siblings jumped up, and Sinead ran back into the dining room. "What the-"

"GET THIS SLOBBERING BEAST AWAY FROM ME!"

Dan's eyes locked with Amy's, and their thoughts connected into similar expressions of slight anxiety and hidden laughter.

The Kabras had arrived.

Sinead jogged to the front door, the other two trailing behind. She unlocked the dead-bolt, turned the knob and pulled the door open. The sight of Ian attempting to keep the bulldog away from Natalie and their mountain of luggage at stick-point aroused bubbling laughter from the three in the doorway.

Sinead called the canine inside, and Toby gave the Kabras one last menacing 'ROOF!' before turning around and waddling back through the doorway.

Dan let out a sudden burst of laughter as Natalie released her nervous grip on Ian's shirt sleeve, and Amy also found it hard to control her giggles. Ian wrinkled his nose, throwing the large stick over the porch railing. "Stupid mutt."

Sinead reigned in her laughter and crossed her arms. "Toby's a total sweetheart. I guess he just knows how to sniff out the rich snobs."

Natalie turned up her nose. "Hello to you too, cousin."

Ian picked up two suitcases. "Would you be so thoughtful as to show us our rooms? It is dreadfully hot, and I'd like to get settled before I collapse from heat exhaustion."

Sinead rolled her eyes, a small smile appearing on her face. She turned, directing them with a finger, and led them to the rooms they'd be staying in.

Amy looked over at the luggage that still needed to be carried inside. Without looking at her brother, she stepped forward and grabbed a couple of suitcases. "Dan, could you-"

She stopped after hearing rushed footsteps in the foyer, running away from her, and she sighed in frustration, lifting the bags and taking them inside alone.

The Holts arrived at the home a few hours later, settling in at around half-past eight o'clock. Their trek up the drive and to the porch was less eventful, as the two sisters had a much more pleasant experience with the dog than the Kabras. Madison had, in fact, deemed the bulldog her new 'best friend' after Toby had located her missing cell phone, earning herself a nice punch from her twin sister.

Jonah Wizard had shown up earlier than originally expected, going on and on about his courageous efforts in escaping the hordes of frenzied fangirls, just so he could see his 'homies' before breakfast the next morning.

And with all of the cousins gathered and everyone unpacked, they sat boredly in the living room, at a loss as to what they could do so late at night. Perhaps they would have retired to their rooms for a good night's sleep, but the Kabras complained about jet lag, and the Holts, along with Dan, claimed they weren't yet tired. So they had all opted to stay up.

Amy snapped her head up, fighting the urge to let herself relax into the grip of drowsiness. She rubbed her eyes.

Sinead sighed. "I told you there's not much to do here - it's part of the reason you were all invited. I thought maybe you could liven the place up a bit."

"Looks like we're off to a great start," Jonah remarked, adding a sarcastic, "I'm so energized." He sleepily sank into his leather armchair, struggling to keep his eyelids from permanently closing.

Ned scratched Toby's ears, the dog giving a large-mouthed yawn in his lap. "Honestly, though, there's not much to do at one in the morning."

"We could...ah..." Dan failed at another attempt at brainstorming and looked back down at the twisted wires in his hands, contemplating the different shapes he could bend them into.

"...We could watch a movie," Natalie suggested, covering her slight yawn with a manicured hand. "Is that not what peasant families do in their spare time?"

Her brother gave a subtle eye-roll and crossed his legs at the ankles in front of him.

Dan, however, hopped up out of his seat and moved toward the flat-screened television on the opposite wall. He opened a cabinet door next to the screen, his gaze roaming swiftly over the numerous titles that populated the inside. "What do you guys feel like watching? Action, Mystery, Fantasy-"

"How about a classic?" Sinead crossed the room to meet him in front of the large selection. Her index finger lightly moved across the line of DVDs until they met the title she'd been looking for, and she pulled the case out of the alphabetically-ordered movie line-up. "Jane Austen, anyone?" she asked, the 2005 rendition of Pride & Prejudice held up in her hand.

The Holts avoided the urge to groan while Jonah and Amy perked up at the choice. Ian raised his eyebrows in indifference, and Natalie simply shrugged.

Dan dejectedly flopped back into his seat. "Why do the nerds always ruin the fun with their classic crap?"

Sinead slipped the disk into the player and pushed the 'play' button. "This 'classic crap' happens to be adapted from one of the most influential novels of its time. And hey - if you don't like it, you can let it put you to sleep."

One hour and thirty minutes later, the obnoxious snoring from the Holts could have been heard by their closest neighbors - living two miles away.

All feedback is appreciated, as always. Let's hope I don't develop another unfortunate case of Writer's Block before I can post the next chapter.

~Callie