Summary: Family is one of the most complex things in the world. With an over-emotional mom, tough-as-nails-dad, and three older sisters Calvin Peterson is well aware of the complexities family can bring. When he first started lying to his parents about going to Stanford while really working at the CIA he didn't think anything of it. It kept them happy and out of his top-secret life. But when his family life, fake life, and professional life all crash into each other, he knows that he is in major trouble.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Technically.

Stanford's Fake

Macey McHenry/Calvin Peterson

Friendship/Family

Three-shot

Covert Operations are dangerous, adventurous, and anything but steady, easy, and predictable. Just like me. My parents are the complete opposite. They love steady and predictable. They believe in hard work I suppose, but not in the laborious, life threatening way that I like. They wanted me to be a doctor because they wanted better for me than what they had. Instead of a small house in a small town they wanted me to have all the money I could ever want. I think they thought it would make me happy. Sending me to Stanford was a part of their grand plan. It was supposed to straighten me out. When I was a kid I was always a bit crazy, doing things just for the thrill of it. My mom never minded it much; she'd usually laugh and say I was just being a kid. My dad thought she was babying me and that I needed to grow up and take responsibility. And I did. Just not in the way he imagined it. My mom might accept it. Probably cry and make me promise not to die. My dad would be pissed though. He knew my Granddad was a spy and he despised the idea. He didn't think of it as serving your country but as betraying another one. I saw it as what I was born to do. And if I died like my Granddad did then at least I would be happy. I know they want what's best for me but my dad's view of me has always been obscured by his anger with Granddad for dying when he was 15, leaving him with a mother who went into depression and five younger siblings who he was responsible for. I just wish he'd recognize that I wasn't him. I believe in what I'm doing and if I have to lie to him to be able to continue having a relationship with my family and having a job that I love…it doesn't seem like I have much of a choice.

On Wednesday morning, the second day of McHenry and my trip to Cali, I made a discovery. The reason why McHenry works in the Department of Concealment and Disguise: She can't shut up! Seriously, she should just announce to the whole world that we're here to recruit an asset for the CIA. Why doesn't she just go on National TV and tell the Russian's to back off because we already called him?

Anyways…McHenry got up before me and I still wound up waiting for her. She's lucky I have three older sisters and am semi-used to this because were I not I would have been really annoyed. Well, I was annoyed but I hid it well behind the foot-tapping, loud sighs, and banging on the door. Okay, so maybe I wasn't particularly discreet but to be fair she takes a longgg time to get ready. Though I do have to admit the end result did make her look like a hot college chick.

She walked out with an annoyed expression but I was to preoccupied by her long legs sticking out of her jean mini-skirt to really notice. She walked up to me to grab her bag that was sitting beside me and finally noticed that I wasn't listening to her talk and smacked me on the back of my head.

"Eyes up here bucko," she said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied. With most girls I'd pull out a quick pick-up line and ask them out. With McHenry I knew that probably wasn't the best idea. And so I didn't say anything to elevate the situation and she let it drop. Surprisingly.

"Well, I guess we should go and meet our new asset…"I blanched. And it takes a lot for me to visibly blanch. She hadn't even finished the word before I reached up and yanked her down on the bed, covering her mouth. "Friend?" she said weakly when I removed my hand.

"Let's not yell it out to the world, okay?" I said, torn between feeling a little bad for her and being really annoyed. It was then that I realized our slightly awkward position: me positioned half over her, my hands resting on either side.

"Sorry," I apologized, rolling off her so that we were laying side-by-side on the bed. "I just don't want this to turn into a blood-bath."

"You do realize you've probably apologized more in the last twenty-four hours than you have in the two year I've known you, right? Anyways," she went on before I had time to say anything, "We should probably meet our friend as soon as possible because we've only got so much time and we still need to make sure everything's in order for your graduation. It shouldn't be too hard to find a graduation robe, they always have extra's so we'll just have to figure out where they keep them and then your name still needs to be added but that'll take all of five minutes."

"We should head towards the sorority houses," I told her. "He has a girlfriend that's in one and he spends most of his time hanging out there."

"Alright," she agreed, picking up her purse and heading out the door, me right behind. My Intel was good and it didn't take long to find him, sitting on the sorority house steps surrounded by his friends.

"How do we approach him?" McHenry whispered as we casually lurked next to a nearby bench. I shrugged, thinking over the folder I had read on him. As it turned out it didn't really matter because his friend gave us our opening as he and David (our soon-to-be-asset) went over to the coffee cart. McHenry and I followed them over and I 'accidentally' spilled coffee all over David's friend.

"What the Hell!" he demanded.

"Sorry," I lied. He looked pissed and was opening his mouth with some angry retort just as McHenry came up beside me.

"Oh my God!" she said, sounding concerned. "Are you okay? God Calvin, you are such a klutz," well thanks, I thought, "Please excuse my cousin. He's ruined more of my shirts than I can count," she said, rolling her eyes. The guy immediately smiled.

"It's no problem," not anymore, loser. "What're washing machines for, right?" Uh, a washing machine won't necessarily get that out.

"Right!" McHenry exclaimed, sounding chipper. "I'll walk you to the laundry room if you want. I don't go here, so you'll have to show me where it is," she added.

"Sure thing," he replied, smiling. David shook his head at his friend before looking back over at me.

"Hey, since your cousin bailed you could hang out with us until they get back," he offered. "We're celebrating graduation. Well, Melissa and I are, the rest of them have another semester." Bulls-eye.

"Sure," I agreed and walked back over to the steps with him. I had to hand it to McHenry; it was a pretty good plan. She meets his friend which gives her an in with their whole group, I talk up David and meet people who will know me when I graduate, and we gain his trust without his knowledge.

"So Calvin," Bryan, one of David's friends, said after we had all been introduced. "How much longer do you have before you graduate?"

"I'm graduating day after tomorrow," I told them. "That's why my cousin's here. Well, that and she wanted to see Cali. I don't think it sunk in that Palo Alto isn't the same as LA until she got here and realized she wouldn't have a chance to get a tan or meet celebrities."

Half an hour later McHenry returned with David's friend who's name turned out to be Jake. Two hours after that we split from them to get our side job done. We split the plan up into three main parts.

Adding my name in the Data Base

Switching the old list with our list

Getting a cap and gown

The first one required us hacking the schools computer which wouldn't be hard as long as we could distract people long enough, or be discreet enough, that no one would notice or question what we were doing. The second we decided to do that night because picking a lock and disarming the alarm is a lot easier than getting into an office full of people doing last minute preparation. The last one would have to be done in two parts. First we had to figure out where the gowns were kept, the ones that were being used and the extras, and then we would just have to add one.

"You know," McHenry said as we walked back to our temporary dorm. "It might be easier for us to just find out where they keep them and have you appear already dressed rather than having to add another robe to the racks. I think it'll make it easier." As it turned out she was right but our first order of business was to hack the school's computer.

There are three main ways to hack a computer. The first is to send something like a virus to the computer. You disguise it as some security program or website and if they accept it or go on the fake website you're in. It's less risky if you're worried about getting caught but there's no guarantee that they'll accept it. The second requires their information to be online, available to all the computers in the building or with the right username and/or password, like what the CIA has. You can get caught but it's what most people like to do best. The third approach is much more hands on, allows you to get information only on that computer, and increases your risk of getting caught. McHenry and I went with a mixture between the second and third.

"You ready?" she asked, putting her earpiece in place.

"Yep," I said, securing my watch. Now, before you go getting any ideas, we weren't dressed in black even though the sun had gone down. Instead we were both in jeans and jackets because without the sun it had dropped about ten degrees, and headed over to the library where we could connect laptop to the school's server. It took all of five minutes before we were in and then it was just getting past the little bit of encryption they had so that we could access what we needed.

"Ugh," McHenry exclaimed five minutes in. "I can't break this."

"Let me see," I said, pulling it off her lap. I started typing while she peered over my shoulder. "Got it," I said with a grin, less than three minutes in. She glared at me.

"I could have managed it," she said through gritted teeth. I couldn't help it. I rolled my eyes, which pissed her off even more. "I could have. You just felt the need to—"

"Oh would you shut up?" I demanded, exasperated. "A simple 'thank you' would work fine."

"Thank you? You're the one who wanted to do this whole fake-graduation thing. I just came along for the ride. If anyone should be saying thank you it should be you. And I could have broken that encryption myself if you hadn't yanked the laptop away from me."

"BS," I protested. "You were stuck. Just admit it."

"Excuse me," a girl cut in. "Would the two of you mind quieting down. Some of us are trying to work here."

"What're you working on?" I asked. "It's the end of the semester."

"For people who actually take their work seriously, breaks are a time to get ahead. If you're not working why don't you just leave?" She looked like a bitch with her pin straight back, brown hair in a blunt bob, and know-it-all attitude.

"Ignore him," McHenry cut in. "He's a dick who hasn't matured since fifth grade. But you really should take a break on the holidays," she added. "If you work all the time you'll get pre-mature wrinkles which could really affect you for the rest of your life. You should make sure to moisturize for now. There's this great new cream—" I cut her off and pulled her away from the girl who was now touching her forehead.

"Hey," she protested. "I was trying to help that girl!"

"She's beyond helping," I said. "Now let's just find this list…"

It was ten thirty by the time we found it and printed it from one of the available printers. We had to use a student ID but Fred Argentine left his card in plain sight so it wasn't a problem.

"Okay, they usually leave at nine so his office should be open," McHenry said quietly as she took the new and improved list out of the printer.

We slipped through the building without anyone questioning our motives. The dean of admissions office was way at the back, which benefited us since we had to pick the lock. I tried first while McHenry kept guard but I couldn't get it.

"Would you hurry up? My Grandmother could pick a lock faster than you." Well that's a bit harsh, I thought.

"Was your grandmother a locksmith," I asked anyways.

"No, she was a model. And my other one was a lawyer. My step grandmother was psychologist but she grew up in the ghetto. She actually taught me how to pick locks when I was seven. It's really come in handy." She talked like we were just having a casual dinner at Ruby Tuesday's instead of trying to break into the dean's office.

"Well then I'll assume you were comparing me to your step-grandmother," I said. Though being compared to a model wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing…

"You can't," McHenry said, bursting my bubble. "I said 'my grandmother'. Not my 'step grandmother'."

"Same thing," I said, waving it away.

"It's not the same thing."

"So what, you call two of them grandmother and the other one step-grandmother?"

"No. I call the model one 'the-one-I-never-met' because she died before I was born, I call the lawyer 'worse-than-her-son-which-is-saying-something', and I call my step-grandmother Eileen because that's her name. And she's the only person in my family I ever see because she's the only one without a superiority complex."

"So does that include you?" I couldn't resist asking.

"Yep. I have major ego issues," she said unabashedly. It sounded like she was just stating a fact and it caused me to look her way, surprised; only to see that she was smiling, making a joke out of it.

"Okay," she snapped right after. "I've given you over ten minutes. Now move out of the way and let me do it." I handed the kit to her without arguing. I would never admit it out loud but picking locks is not, in any way, my strong point. It nearly killed me at the farm.

"How did you make it to…where you are now without being able to pick locks?" she asked as she easily picked it and opened the door.

"I totally made that easier for you," I told her as we stepped in and I disabled the alarm.

"Sure you did," she said seriously though I knew it was only to humor me. "But seriously. How did you get your job if you couldn't pick an ordinary lock?"

"Well, my charming personality, daring spirit, and unbelievably good looks always help me," I said, winking at her.

"BS," she mumbled as she opened the desk drawers. The list was sitting right on top but we were in trouble. They had already put the names on a scroll like paper.

"Shit," I hissed.

"Don't swear," she reprimanded, though why she chose to do so now I wasn't sure. "But yeah. What you said."

"You don't swear?" I asked, amused. She sighed.

"I prefer not to though it's a hard habit to break, I'll admit. It just doesn't sound good."

"The point is for it not to sound good."

"But it sounds trashy. Like you're not smart enough to find any other word that would appropriately fit under the circumstances."

"So it's about sounding smart."

"No, it's about not sounding dumb."

"But you do swear."

"Yeah, but I don't like swearing. It just comes out."

"Huh, who would've thought Macey McHenry was concerned about sounding smart."

"I just said it's not about being smart, it's about not being dumb."

"But you are smart."

"But not everyone knows that."

"So you have to make sure that other people think you're smart, it's not enough that you know," I stated. She shrugged.

"I told you I have ego issues," she said.

"But caring what other people isn't having a superiority complex."

"Isn't it?" she asked.

"No, it's caring what other people think because you want approval and your own approval isn't enough."

"So you don't think I'm full of it?"

"No, you're definitely full of it, you're just not as full of it as you think you are."

"But if I'm not as full of it as I think I am than wouldn't my ego be bigger because I think I think I'm better than I really think I am."

"No because you'd be fooling yourself into thinking that you think your better than you really think you are. So it all comes down to being a good actress and lying to yourself so that you can think that your as full of it as you think even though your not as full of it as you think you think you are," I finished, proud of myself for coming up with a response that made her pause before she shot out an answer.

"So if I'm a good actress and good at lying to myself then I'd be as good as I think I think I am and so lying to myself doesn't really matter because I should be as full of it as I think I am."

"But you're not as full of it as you think you are even if you should be so I'd still win this argument."

"I don't even know what I'm arguing for," she said. I shrugged.

"I don't either. I used up all my insightfulness in my first sentence." She snorted.

"What insightfulness?" Without my realization she had pulled the old typewriter out from the corner of the room and was copying the names on the list as we argued.

"The insightfulness that you'll never have because it comes from spending time in college," I said. She rolled her eyes. So it was a lame comeback. Who cares?

She stuck her tongue out at me, which made me feel better. She was too burned out form the day to come up with a good comeback as well.

I set the alarm for eight on our second day. We had gotten back to the dorm at midnight after finishing the list and I was exhausted when the alarm started to beep. McHenry apparently shared my feelings as I heard her groan, throw something, and turned over to see her shoving her pillow over her ears. With a sigh I got up because today was going to be torture. Today, my parents would arrive to see their only son, and youngest kid, graduate from Stanford. And I was supposed to pick them up from the airport at 10.

"Turn it off Cal," McHenry mumbled into her sheets.

"Can't do that McHenry," I told her, making myself sound cheerful even though I wanted nothing more than to throw the alarm at the wall and go back to sleep. "You have to get up. My parents are coming in two hours and we have to pick them up from the airport."

"No," she mumbled. "You have to pick them up from the airport. I can sleep."

"No you can't. You have to go and become even better friends with David so that he'll be all for helping us out," I said. Now I just had to think of an excuse to tell my parents when I showed up at the airport without my fake girlfriend. Though I guess it's better that McHenry won't be there, they probably wouldn't like her much…

I was waiting for them when they got in and my mother immediately started fussing over me. Apparently I looked healthier than I had the last time I had seen them (though to be fair I was a mess with illegal substances then) and I looked so much older. I was 'practically a grown man'.

It took twenty minutes of nodding, smiling, and letting my mom hug me before we left to go to the baggage claim. The belt was already moving for once and ten minutes later we had their two bags and were leaving.

"Uh, mom?" I asked as we left. "How long are you planning on staying? I thought you guys were flying out day after graduation…"

"We are sweetheart," she said. "But I wasn't sure what to expect. I've never been to California before and so I had to bring options. Plus, we weren't sure how fancy graduation was here. And we have a few things for you, and for your girlfriend. We can't wait to meet her."

"Meet her?" I asked. This was not part of my plan. I only made up a girlfriend to get my dad off my back about growing up and accepting responsibility and to come up with a reason for cleaning up my life without them knowing I had joined the CIA despite my dad's prejudices.

"Of course," my mom said, sounding excited. "She's the longest relationship you've had. We've wanted to meet her for a while but you haven't visited us in over three years." I guess my dad could see me panicking because he cut in then.

"Honestly Pam, can't you see he's already screwed this one up? He came alone, or has my eyesight gotten so bad that I'm not seeing a fourth member to our party?" I could definitely argue that his eyesight was that bad with his unusually thick lenses in his round glasses. "I knew he couldn't hold onto her."

"Frank!' My mother said, sounding angry.

"I'm still with her," I blurted, knowing I was screwing myself even as I said it. "She went out with friends today so that I could visit with you guys and catch up. She didn't want to intrude on our family time."

"You see," my mother said. "Leave the poor boy alone," thank you. "But really dear. You can't blame him for judging you when we haven't seen you for three years," she added quietly as we waited for my dad to close the trunk and get in the car. I take my 'thank you' back.

The entire ride to their hotel, half an hour from the school, was spent with them trying to guilt trip me for not coming home in so long. I'll admit I felt a little guilty when my mom talked about it.

"You're our youngest and we don't even get to see you enjoying your college experience. If money was an issue we were always willing to pay for your plane ticket. We just wanted to see you for ourselves. You were going through such a rough time last we saw you."

Truth is I'm pretty close to my family. All three of my sisters know that I'm working for the CIA and I go visit them when I can. Anytime they're around DC they stop in to see me as well. My oldest sister already has three kids and I know each of them well enough. My middle sister has a baby and she even made me godfather. I went to Philadelphia for the baptism but my parents wouldn't even make that trip. Claire is closest in age to me at 28. She's single and happy in New York and she's probably the one I see most. She's an artist and has a flat in the Upper East Side. She was briefly married to some movie director two years ago but they eloped and got divorced ten months later, leaving her with a good bit of money. Add it to the money she makes from her gallery and she's been doing pretty well for herself.

But my parents are tougher to get along with. My mom means well but has a tendency to hover and give my dad all the power, which really pisses me off. She's let my dad do what he wants for as long as I can remember though the one time he hit me she got madder than I've ever seen her. She's usually very calm and looks fragile but when she's mad no one messes with her. My dad means well too, I suppose, but he's always been hard on me. Thinks I could do more than I am if I were to put the effort in. He just shows it by criticizing everything I do. Going to Stanford is the one decision I made that he's never said a bad word about which is why I wanted to stage the fake graduation. Even if we don't see eye-to-eye on…well, anything, he's always wanted me to graduate college and I can't bring myself to tell him that I dropped out.

We walked around and I played tour guide, repeating what I'd hear people saying about the school's history and pointing out a few places I still remembered from when I had actually gone to school here. When they asked to see my dorm I suddenly remembered the one loophole in my perfectly crafted plan. McHenry's stuff was still in there. My dad's eyesight was bad but I'm pretty sure they would both notice a pink make-up bag. I tried to call McHenry to tell her to hide her stuff but she didn't pick up.

I was already thinking up excuses when my mom gasped as she entered the room.

"Uh," was my brilliant reply. I could say my girlfriend was staying with me but I don't think they'd be too crazy about that either.

"You've really made this your own," my mom said. Okay, I was expecting more of a 'why do you have a suitcase with skirts and bras hanging out?' But when I walked in I was surprised too. McHenry's bed was made neatly and none of her stuff was in view.

My mom gushed over my photos, saying that she wished they were staying to meet all my friends (who I had said went home for Christmas because they weren't graduating mid-year), and that she hadn't realized how much I had been able to see my sisters. Adding in that I could have added an extra two days to my trips to see them. If only.

We ate dinner in the town and then I dropped them off at their hotel. When I got back to the dorm McHenry was still gone but I had gotten a text from her saying everything was fine just before dinner. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I had to remember to thank McHenry for cleaning up the room and convince her to play my girlfriend for ten minutes tomorrow.

She tiptoed in half an hour later but I was already dead to the world and didn't even stir. My parents are two of the most exhausting people in the world and you need sleep before and after dealing with them to survive it.

A/N: Thank you so much to last chapter's REVIEWers (topxsecret, kokylinda, Jazz-shoes, Lemonn-Limee, ShmemilyShmoring). You guys are awesome, thank you.

What do you think of Cal? Did I do his POV alright? Next chapter will be Macey's again and Cal's graduation will hold a bit of a surprise. If I made any mistakes please let me know so that I can correct them, I only proof-read this once and some of the changes didn't stick.

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