A/N: Modern AU

"Race! Jojo! If you two aren't in the van in five minutes we're leaving without ya!"

"I can't find my swimsuit, Dave!"

"We'll stop at Wally World, Jojo, just c'mon!"

"There's not a Walmart near us, Finch," Jojo said in confusion as he trudged out to the van. "We'll have to ask Kath if there's one near where we're staying," Davey said. "Where's Race?" Specs asked.

"He's coming, he said he had to grab one last thing," Jojo said, sliding into a seat next to Romeo and Buttons.

As if on cue, Race came running out, goggles on his head and towel over his shoulder. "Couldn't find my towel," he explained, hopping into a seat next to Crutchie and Swift.

Davey's phone began ringing as Specs started the van. "Mush, everyone here?" Specs asked. Mush did a quick head count before giving Specs a thumbs up.

"Hey, Jack," Davey said into the phone.

"Where're you guys at?" Jack asked. Davey could hear a children's song playing in the background which told him the small family was already packed and in their car.

"We're on our way, Jojo couldn't find his swimsuit," Davey explained. "Oh, ok. Well when you get here tell whoever's driving to just follow us," Jack said.

"Will do. See you soon," Davey said. The friends hung up and Specs got onto the road.

The group was currently on their way to Pennsylvania. Katherine's family had a vacation house there and the friends were using this as one last vacation before school started next week. There was a lake to swim in next to the house and they were planning on staying there for the weekend. Swift had come with them as well, not wanting to miss out on the fun.

It was an early Friday morning and they were trying to get on the road as soon as possible, but it was quite difficult trying to get that many kids out the door and into the van.

"Who wants to play Punch Buggy?" Albert asked, grinning.

A few hands shot up. Rearrangements were made for those that wanted to play and those that didn't.

Within ten minutes Specs had reached Jack and Katherine's apartment building. Race also had a growing bruise on his arm and Henry had a bump on his head.

"There ya are. What happened to Henry?" Jack asked, poking his head into the van.

"Punch Buggy," Davey sighed.

"Ah. Well Ace and I have two extra seats in our car if anyone wants some space," Jack offered.

"I call it!" Buttons and Finch shouted and were out of the car before anyone could argue. They'd been caught in the middle of the Punch Buggy game, not having anyone willing to switch with them, and were anxious to get out.

"Well that was easy. Anyway, Ace says it's about a four hour drive. We'll stop for lunch and have dinner at the house. That sound ok?" Jack asked.

"Yep. We'll text you if they start getting hungry," Specs said.

Jack nodded and said, "Sounds good. See ya soon. Drive safe."

"You too!" the boys and Swift chorused as Jack left for the car. "We can switch off driving when we stop for gas, if you're ok with that," Davey said as Specs followed Jack's small car. "Sounds good," Specs replied.

For the first thirty minutes of the drive, everything was going smoothly. No one was fighting, no one was hurt, and they were being somewhat quiet. "Hey, Dave, Race wants you to plug this into the aux," Crutchie said, handing him Race's phone.

"Race, the young ones are in here, there's nothing inappropriate on here, right?" Davey called to the boy.

"C'mon, Dave, have a little faith in me!" Race called back.

"YELLOW PUNCH BUGGY!"

"Ow! Romeo, we're not playing that anymore!"

Davey plugged Race's phone into the aux and it took a minute before music that Davey wasn't familiar with began blasting over the speakers. The loudness of the music was enough to make everyone jump and be quiet for a solid thirty seconds. Then they realized what was playing.

"THE TEN DOLLAR, FOUNDING FATHER WITHOUT A FATHER GOT A LOT FARTHER BY WORKING A LOT HARDER," they 'sung' in unison.

That continued until they reached the first rest stop, about halfway to their destination. "How's it going in there?" Jack asked Davey and Specs as they stretched their legs.

"Race started playing Hamilton on his phone and that started a full out show in the van," Specs sighed.

Jack laughed, making Davey and Specs glare at him. "We can switch Buttons and Finch out with you two if you want," Jack offered between chuckles. "Nah, we'll survive. Besides, who'd drive the van? Race barely has his license," Specs said, waving it off with a grin.

"I heard that!" Race called from inside the van, making the three boys chuckle. After Sniper fell out of a tree and sprained his ankle, they left the rest stop.

After almost getting kicked out of Burger King at lunch, a few more hours of Hamilton, violent Punch Buggy games, and arguments over is a tomato is a fruit or not, they finally made it to the vacation home.

Josie was on the verge of tears when Katherine took her out of the car seat and Finch was scolding Buttons.

"What happened?" Specs asked, frowning as he walked over to the group. "I didn't know it was gonna make her cry! I thought she was gonna laugh or something!" Buttons defended. "Buttons tried to show Josie his spot on impression of Joker from The Dark Knight," Finch said with a roll of his eyes.

The one year old had not appreciated the impression and was giving Buttons cautious looks.

After the luggage was brought inside and room assignments were given, some of the kids set out to explore the property. "Don't go too far!" Specs called. "We know!" they chorused.

Albert, Henry, Buttons, Finch, Les, Romeo, Swift, and Race looked around. The house was surrounded by trees and except for the one that they drove up, there weren't any paths.

"Which way?" Albert asked.

The group looked to their left, then to their right. No one said it, but they basically looked the same.

"Race, ya got your phone right?" Finch asked. Race nodded. Even though the sun hadn't begun setting yet, there was hardly any sunlight in the forest. The trees reminded the boys and girl of the skyscrapers in New York, except this time they were so thick the sun couldn't seep through.

"Let's go left," Les decided. He set off with Romeo and Buttons while the older kids looked at one another before following the younger boys.

"Remember guys, Kath said to be careful. The lake appears out of nowhere, so watch your step," Swift said.

"How can a lake appear out of nowhere? Ain't they supposed to be big?" Romeo asked. "Yeah, just watch your step, just in case. We don't need to drag ya outta the lake, kid," Race said, ruffling his brother's hair.

"Did Kath say which way the lake was? Are we even heading towards it?" Henry asked. "Not sure. If she did say, I didn't hear it," Albert replied. "You didn't hear it or you weren't listenin'? If i recall right, you and Buttons were sliding down the stairs railing when Kath was giving her instructions," Swift teased with a smile.

Albert rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

After some time, the forest seemed to be getting darker if that was even possible. "Anyone got any idea where we're going? It feels like we've been walking for hours," Buttons asked. Race checked his phone and muttered something under his breath. Out loud he said, "Crap, it's getting late. Fellas, we should head back, Jack's gonna start getting worried."

"One problem with that."

The group turned to Les, who was looking around. "Which way is back?"

The group looked around. Everything looked the same, especially in the dark. Race turned on his phone's flashlight and they started heading back the way they came, hoping it was the right way.

"I don't think we're getting closer to the house," Finch said after a while. "What makes you say that?" Race asked, irritated. He was tired of being in these woods, getting very hungry, and it was starting to get cold.

"Well, when we started heading back I marked one of the trees with my pocket knife. I'm pretty sure we've passed that tree at least three times now," Finch explained. Everyone groaned.

After what felt like several hours, they finally caught sight of a light. "It's the house!" Les, Romeo, and Buttons shouted. The three boys took off running, but the older kids stopped.

"That doesn't look like the house," Finch said slowly. Before they could do anything, the three boys disappeared with a splash and fearful shout. "Oh no," Race groaned before the older ones took off running. They stopped at the edge of the drop. It was about a two feet drop and by the time the older kids made it to the edge, the younger boys heads had surfaced the water.

Race, Finch, and Albert pulled Les, Romeo, and Buttons out. After making sure they weren't injured, they started back the opposite direction.

"Where have you been? You guys have had us worried sick!" Katherine shouted when they walked in. Les, Romeo, and Buttons were dripping wet and shivering, Finch had leaves in his dark hair from when he ran into a branch, and the rest were just tired and hungry.

"We got lost," Race grumbled. Jack opened his mouth, then closed it and waved it off. "Is anyone hurt?" he asked instead. They shook their head. Jack sighed and said, "You're all back and no one's hurt, that's all that matters." "Food's in the kitchen," Katherine added.

The disheveled group headed towards the kitchen grumbling about not going to the woods at night again.

This was going to be a long weekend.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this! After some very long thinking, I've decided that I'm going to finish this story up at chapter 40. I've got some ideas for other stories and I want to put that more into my focus, and I feel like this is just getting dragged out for too long. I hope you all enjoy the last few chapters of We're a Family!