DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CSI:NY OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. I DO HOWEVER OWN SAMANTHA FLACK AND ALL THE FLACK KIDS.

A/N: THIS IS A FUTURE CHAPTER. UPDATES WILL BE SLOWER ON THIS STORY AS I CONCENTRATE ON OB OG AND TWF.

THIS IS DEDICATED TO GREGROX. ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE ;)

Deal with it

"So doctor doctor, won't you please prescribe me something
A day in the life of someone else'
Cuz I'm a hazard to myself
Don't let me get me
I'm my own worst enemy
It's bad when you don't know yourself
So irritating
Don't want to be my friend no more
I wanna be somebody else."
-Don't Let Me Get Me, Pink

"Alessa's parents hate me."

Mac looked over at the young man walking alongside of him, somewhat startled by Kieran's sudden announcement. Save for a quick stop into a Baskin and Robins to order the teen a strawberry smoothie, the two had spent the majority of their half an hour walk home from the restaurant in complete silence. Mac had wondered how much of his stern lecture and brutal honesty had fully sunk into the solemn fifteen year old. And if Kieran's silence was because he was embarrassed and ashamed of himself for the way he'd been behaving lately, or if he was taking the time to let the full force of everything his 'grandfather' had said sink in.

"Alessa is the girl that you broke up with Addie to be with?" Mac asked.

He knew full well who the young woman was, and what kind of stock she came from. And he also knew the sheer emotional hell that Addison and her girlfriends -including Tiana - were inflicting on both Kieran and his new girlfriend. The name calling, the gossip, the filthy words that a still as of yet identified party had written all over Alessa's locker in a permanent marker. Tiana had been punished time and time again, yet she still took Addison's side in what was turning out to be an epic, nasty break up. Lines had been drawn between friendships, yet Kieran's popularity at school hadn't been tarnished. His true friends stuck by him a hundred percent, and were just as good as causing shit as Addie and her band of followers.

Kieran nodded and sipped his smoothie. "Don't tell me you don't know all about it, Papa Mac. The whole school knows about it. And so does everyone that Uncle Tim has under his clutches. Did you know that he came to the house and caused all kinds of crap with my mom? Started an argument with her right on the front porch all 'cause his precious baby girl is a whiny little bitch. I mean, most parents don't get that worked up over their kids getting dumped do they?"

"Not normally," Mac said. "We well bad for them and sympathize with them and call the ex every name in the book for hurting our kids, but we don't go over and raise hell at the parents' house."

"My mom was so pissed! I thought she was going to hit him! If he had have upset her even more then he did, I was going to go out and kick his ass. No one talks to my mom like that. And if my dad had have been home…" Kieran laughed dryly and shook his head. "If my dad have been home it would have been two hits. Him hitting Uncle Tim and Uncle Tim hitting the ground."

"Not everything is solved by violence," Mac reminded the young man.

"Maybe not. But no way would my dad let anyone talk to my mom like that. He loves her to much to just sit back and let someone shit all over her. He would have freaked out and handed Uncle Tim his ass twice over. No doubt."

"Your father always has had a fierce desire to protect your mother," Mac commented, taking a sip of black coffee from the take out cup he carried in his hand.

"Always?" Kieran asked.

"Always," his 'grandfather' confirmed. "From the very first day that your mother started at the lab, even before there was anything serious going on between her and your father, your dad was always watching out for her. He always wanted to keep her out of harms way, make sure that she was safe and well taken care of. We all used to joke that he had a Knight in Shining Armour complex."

Kieran grinned. The same boyishly charming, dimply grin he shared with his father. "I can see dad being all like that. He's like that now. He's always worried about her getting hurt and stuff. I think it's cause she's so tiny and he's so big. It's like he feels it's his job to take care of her, keep her safe."

"Maybe," Mac said with a nod. "And maybe it's also because he loves her to the ends of the earth and doesn't want anything bad happening to her. Especially with all of you kids. He doesn't want to ever have to lose her and have to take care of all of you without her. And your mom…well I don't think she always appreciates being treated like some fragile little thing."

Kieran laughed. "Yeah…she hates us big strong guys doing things for her or thinking that she's a weakling. And she's not. Trust me. My mom's small, but man, she's tough."

"I've seen it first hand," Mac said. "I've seen her take down perps twice her size and sit across the interrogation table from stone cold killers and not even blink an eye. And your father…well let's just say that he never saw eye to eye with her when it came to the job."

"He was always worried about her?"

Mac nodded. "She used to go on raids or out into the field to track someone down and he'd have a conniption fit. I remember this one time, when you were just a baby. It was a particularly brutal homicide. Two young men shot to death in a luxury SUV in the Bronx. Turns out the girlfriend of one of the young men had an axe to grind, got a new boyfriend and the two of them, along with the new boyfriend's brother decided to murder the old boyfriend. His buddy, in the passenger seat, was just collateral damage. Anyhow, it turned out that these two young men were armed to the teeth. And your mom…well your mom and your Aunt Jess didn't know that and decided to go and take these two into custody themselves."

Kieran's eyes widened.

"In the meantime, your dad found about how dangerous these two young were and he and your Uncle Danny headed to the same place. And when he saw your mom there…well let's just say he wasn't impressed."

"Did he freak on her?" Kieran asked, enthralled with story, blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "I bet he freaked on her."

"They had words," Mac confirmed. "Right there on the sidewalk before we all went in for the raid. I turned around and told your mom to stay back with the uniforms on the street."

"I bet she was pissed!" Kieran exclaimed.

"She was. I was just doing it for you. In case something went wrong, I didn't want both of your parents being up there and you ending up an orphan. In the end, these young men, and the young woman, were all dead. Suicide. They knew we were closing in and decided it was better to die then get caught. So I called your mom upstairs into the apartment and her and your dad almost got into it pretty bad in front of everyone."

"What happened after that?"

"I separated them for the rest of the day, gave them both a chance to cool off. I'm not sure what happened when your dad went home, but I think it's safe to say that they kissed and made up. You do have umpteen brothers and sisters, don't you?"

"Yeah…" Kieran gave that grin again. "Way too many if you ask me. I mean, I'd miss them and all if they weren't around, but that is just way too many kids. I think mom and dad like the whole baby making thing a little too much."

Mac laughed at that.

"It's true," Kieran said with a shrug and took another sip from his smoothie. "That can be the only reason, right? No one in their right mind has half a dozen kids. So that means either mom or dad really know what they're doing if you know what I mean."

Mac nearly choked on a mouthful of coffee.

"There's no way I'm ever having that many kids," Kieran declared. "No way. I can barely handle having all of them brothers and sisters. No way could I deal with having that many kids of my own. I bet you that's why dad has so much grey hair. We drove him that way."

"Now that wouldn't surprise me," Mac told him. "Do you ever want kids?"

"Not right now. Hell no. No way. That is the last thing I want anytime soon. Do you know what my dad would do to me if I got someone pregnant? He'd kill me. Slowly and painfully. Actually, he'd torture me slowly and painfully. And then he'd kill me. No thanks. I'd rather let him buy me a lifetime supply of condoms then have to face him and tell him he's going to be a grandpa before he's fifty. And my mom…" Kieran shook his head. "She scares me more then my dad does."

Mac laughed. "Well I'm glad you're taking precautions so that it doesn't happen anytime in the near future," he said. "But what I meant is do you ever want kids when you're older."

"I guess," Kieran shrugged. "I don't know…I've never thought about it. All I care about right now is hockey and trying to straighten things around so I can go to college. I know it's a long way off, but that scout from Notre Dame is looking at me and I don't want to screw that up."

"You've decided you'd rather go to college then join the academy?"

"My dad wants me to go to college," the fifteen year old said.

"That isn't what I asked you. I don't want to know what your dad wants. I want to know what you want."

Kieran sighed. "I'm only fifteen…I'm not ready to know what I really want to do when I graduate," he said.

Mac smirked. "Before your grandfather died you were gung-ho on joining the academy when you got out of high school. It was all you've ever talked about since you were ten years old and your dad brought you to the precinct and the lab on Take Your Kids To Work Day. I remember you sitting there at his desk, with that honorary badge Chief Sinclair had given you when your dad brought you in to meet him before shift. You were sitting there, listening to your dad talk to one of your guys with that badge pinned to your chest, and your were looking up at your father with the utmost pride and awe in your eyes. I'll never forget that image. To this day I remember looking at you and thinking about how much you looked like your dad. How much you were destined to be like him. How proud you looked of him."

"I've always been proud of my dad," Kieran said. "And I am in awe of him and I do want to be just like him…"

"But…" Mac pressed.

"But he wants me to be something completely different. He wants me to be like my mom. Go to college and get a degree. Go into something other then police work. And I keep telling him that I want to be a cop. Like him and grandpa. But he argues with me and says that I'm worth more then that. That I deserve better. And I don't know why he says that 'cause he's an amazing cop and all I want is to be like him. To be the next Flack in the department. That's all I want."

"And why do you think he feels that way?" Mac asked.

Kieran shrugged. "I don't know…he says that I don't get what being a cop is like. All the bad stuff a cop sees for crappy pay. Protecting people that don't appreciate it. He says I don't get all of that. But I do, Papa Mac. I do get that it's not an easy job. That I'd see some really awful, horrific things. That terrible things happen to good people and there's never answers for a lot of things. And I know that a lot of the murderers and people that molest kids and who do all sorts of evil shit don't ever get caught. I get all of that. And he doesn't realize that I'm not some stupid kid."

"Your father does not think you're stupid, Kieran. Far from it. He knows how smart you are. What kind of brain you possess. He's always bragging about how intelligent you are. But what worries him is that you have all those smarts, but very little common sense."

"What's that suppose to mean?" the teenager asked, clearly offended.

"It means that you don't think before you act. You react quickly and let your heart rule your head. The decisions you make, the things you do, you're not acting with your brain. And that's what worries him. Because in his job, reacting blindly or foolishly is the difference between life and death. And that's what he wants you to realize. Am I making sense?"

Kieran nodded.

"In a lot of ways you're just like your father. Physically and personality wise. Looking at you is like looking at a younger version of him. But in other ways, you're just like your mother. When she first started working for me, she jumped blindly into things. She always let her heart overrule her head. In both her personal life and her professional one."

"But personally it worked out for her, right? I mean, my mom and dad didn't know each other that long before she got pregnant with me. But she knew that dad was the one. Something was telling her that even though she didn't know him that long, that he was the one she wanted to be with forever. So if her heart hadn't of won out, who knows what would have happened. She might not be with my dad. And then none of my brothers and sisters would be here. And who knows? If she didn't feel that way about him, she might have gotten rid of me."

"I don't think that thought ever crossed her mind. She was having you regardless. Whether your dad stuck around or not. We're getting way off topic here. What I was trying to get through to you is that if you really want to be a cop and follow in your dad's footsteps, you'll have to learn to not act with this…" Mac laid a hand over his heart. "…and act with this," he placed a fingertip at his temple. "Your dad speaks from experience Kieran. Lots of experience. And so do I. You're young. You have lots of time ahead of you to learn things like that."

Kieran sighed heavily. "I just want him to be proud of me," he said. "I just want my dad to love me and be proud of me."

"Your father loves you to the end of time," Mac assured him. "And he is proud of you. He's loved you and been proud of you since you were still in your mother's womb. When you were struggling for a chance just to make it into the world. When you were just a tiny thing and fighting every step of the way. Everything that you and your mother overcame just to get you into this world. You're his first born. And there's nothing you could ever do or say to make him love you less."

"I don't know about that. Like I said, that knocking someone up thing might do it…"

"Which brings us back to how this talk originally started. You and Alessa. You made a comment that her parents hated you."

Kieran nodded. "They do," he said. "It's no secret. You should see the way they look at me when I go over to her place. She's invited me over to dinner a couple of times and they always look at me like I'm some poor kid she dragged in off the street. Like I should be in the kitchen eating off the floor or in the bathroom drinking out of the toilet instead of sitting at their expensive table touching their expensive silverware and even more expensive glasses and plates. Like they better lock up all they're shit so I don't try and steal it."

"I doubt they're that bad," Mac commented.

"Oh they are," Kieran said. "They treat me like shit. 'Cause I'm just some cop's son. They ask about my dad and you should see the looks on their faces. Like my dad is some piece of crap on the bottom of their shoes. I don't like it. I don't like anyone treating my dad like that. And Declan…I won't even tell you what they think about him."

"Have you told your parents about all of this?" Mac asked, pausing at the end of the Flacks' driveway.

"Naw…it'll just upset my mom. And if mom gets upset, dad gets upset. And then we all pay. It's just better I don't say anything."

"You shouldn't keep all of that inside Kieran. That's not healthy."

"I know…." he sighed. "It's just…Declan's still a sensitive subject sometimes. Mom gets really sad and angry when he gets picked on. And I don't want to see her like that, you know?"

Mac smiled and nodded and laid a hand on the young man's shoulder. "I know…because you're just like your dad and you want to protect her."

"Yeah…I do. She's my mom. We've been through a lot together. When my dad wasn't around, I was always trying to cheer her up and all of that. I hate seeing her cry. It really bothers me. And when her and dad fight…I swear sometimes, I could kill him for the things he says to her. I get so angry with him. Have you ever been that angry at someone Papa Mac?"

"My father was very strict," Mac admitted. "With both his kids and with my mother. And there were times…there were times he got out of hand with her and I vowed if he ever did it again, I'd kill him. I wanted to protect her. She was my mother and I hated seeing her get hurt. So yes…I have been that angry at someone. But your dad…your dad is a good man, Kieran. Who'd never hurt your mother or your brothers and sisters."

"I know…" the teenager said. "I know he'd never do anything. And if he did…well if he ever hit my mom, I'd have to kick his ass."

Mac didn't doubt that Kieran Flack would do it. Or at least give it a hell of an effort.

"I guess you want to come in and talk to my dad," Kieran sighed, finishing off his smoothie before lifting the lid on one of three garbage cans at the curb and tossing the empty cup inside. "Tell him everything that went down today."

"What we talked about today was just between the two of us," Mac told him. "Your dad doesn't need to know anything that was said. Except…"

Kieran sighed.

"I have to tell your parents about your problems with anger, Kieran. I won't tell them about Aiden or any of his problems. But you need learning to control your anger. You can't be going into this wild rages. You can't be blacking out and doing things to people like you did. You need help with that. And I can't sit back and let you self destruct like that. I have to, out of respect for your parents, tell them about that. Okay?"

"You promise you won't tell him about Aiden? Like you won't tell him that Aiden's drinking or that he's gay? 'Cause my dad will just snap."

"Aiden's problems are Aiden's business. But, as his best friend and knowing that he's in some kind of trouble, you should tell either your parents or your Uncle Danny and Aunt Lindsay. Before he seriously hurts himself."

"I don't want anything happening to him," Kieran said. "He's my best friend."

"Which is why he needs your help," Mac told him. "Tell your dad that I'll call him later, okay? I've got to get home to Aunt Stel and the girls. Before they think I ran away from home."

"I bet sometimes you want to," Kieran remarked. shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking back and forth on his heels as he stood at the end of the driveway and watched his 'grandfather' headed for his vehicle. "I mean, that's a lot of estrogen in one house. At least here it's kinda even."

"Watch it, kid, or you'll be having all girls when you're ready to have a family," Mac teased.

"Oh I hope not," Kieran declared, his head cocked to the side. "I'd rather die a slow painful death or gouge my eyes out with a dull spoon."

Mac chuckled and paused before climbing into his car and looked at the young man standing there. Hands in his pockets, head turned to the side. A pose Mac had seen the boy's father used countless times in the past.

"You be good," Mac told him.

"Now what kind of fun would that be?" Kieran asked, and giving a laugh -his father's laugh at that- turned on his heel and headed up the driveway towards the house.

Mac smiled as he watched the teenager go. Recognizing that confident, almost arrogant swagger from a mile away.

Like father, like son, he thought, and slipped in behind the wheel of his SUV.

And if Kieran Flack was indeed, exactly like his father, Mac knew one thing for sure.

That the kid was going to be alright.

Flack was thankful for the whiteboard mounted on the side of the refrigerator. His wife went to great pains every night before she went to bed, to erase the thing and then jot down the next day's date, all of their children's names, their after school activities and what time they were expected home at, along with the cell phone numbers of whatever friends they were supposed to be with. That afternoon, Reghan was at an after school drama club, Alannah had field hockey practice, Declan was going to watch a basketball game with some of his Circle of Friend's buddies, and both Mikayla and Liam were being picked up by their Aunt Linds for their once a week trip for ice cream.

Too many damn kids, he thought with a heavy sigh and snagged a red washable marker from a jar on top of the fridge. He crossed out Alannah, Reghan and Declan's names. The three had arrived home together half an hour ago and were currently holed up in their rooms doing homework. Kieran, in a better frame of mind then when he'd left the house earlier, had showed up at his father's office door after his afternoon out with Mac and cheerfully offered to do the laundry that was piled up downstairs in front of the washers. Flack had looked at his oldest child as if he'd gone completely insane, then simply nodded and gone back to his paper work. Kieran hadn't moved from the doorway and Flack hadn't looked up or even uttered a word. It was a test of wills. An epic battle to see who would crack first.

"I'm sorry about what I said dad," Kieran had been the one to break the silence. "I say stupid things when I get angry. I don't even know what I'm saying or even that I said them until it's too late. I didn't mean what I said about Dean Truby. I was just pissed and it came out."

"You've got to watch what you say, K," Flack had said in return. "Because one day, you're going to say something to someone and not get the chance to apologize. And then you'll regret saying what you did for the rest of your life."

"I know…which is why I wanted to tell you that I was sorry. 'Cause I never should have said what I did. And I wanted you to know that I'm really proud of you. I've always been proud of you. Not just 'cause you're a great cop but 'cause you're a great dad, too. And I wanted to say thanks for doing what you did to get me away from that Dean Lessing guy and taking me back to mommy."

Flack had nodded slowly, taking in his son's words.

"I just wanted you to know that I love you," Kieran had said, and disappeared from the doorway before his father had had the chance to react.

Those words brought a smile to Flack's face as he stood in the kitchen, staring at the whiteboard and wondering how in the hell he'd ever go from his days of declaring himself a life long bachelor, to being a domesticated husband and father to half a dozen kids.

And one on the way, he reminded himself. Can't forget about number seven.

It sounded completely and utterly insane. Seven kids. In one house. Seven kids and only five pregnancies. In his single days, Flack had adamantly sworn off all thoughts of having a wife and children. When well meaning co-workers asked when he was going to find a nice girl to settle down and have a family with, he'd just laughed and looked at them as if they'd grown another head.

And yet here he was. Contemplating what to make his growing brood for supper and worrying if his wife was taking care of herself and the baby she had on board.

The sound of the screen door banging open echoed throughout the house and was soon followed by Liam and Mikayla's laughter and excessive chatter. Liam's excessive chatter, to be more precise. The kid was incapable of being quiet for more then five minutes at a time and ha inherited the Ross trait of rambling about both humorous and insignificant things.

"Hi, daddy!" Liam cried, as the soon to be seven year old rushed, full steam ahead, into the kitchen. Just as his father was exiting the room to greet his children in the foyer. Liam collided face first with his dad's legs and toppled backwards, landing flat on his ass.

"You are such a tool," Mikayla informed her little brother as she stepped over him to get into the kitchen.

"I'm not a tool!" Liam yelled. "You're a tool! And a poo-head!"

"Both of you stop calling each other's names. Don't start as soon as you get into the house," Flack scolded them lightly, then leaned over to kiss the top of his daughter's head. "How was school?" he asked, running a hand over her unruly hair.

"Okay…" she replied with a heavy sigh. "But Britney is still being a total witch! Just 'cause Kyle likes her and not me. She thinks she's so cool and so pretty and she's not."

"She's ugly," Liam declared from his spot on the kitchen floor. "And I think she smells bad. Like farts."

"Well if she's acting like that, then she's just as much of a tool as that moron Kyle is," Flack told his daughter. "They deserve each other. And what did I tell you about worrying about boys at your age?"

"That boys are stupid," she grumbled.

"No..that's what your mom told you. What did I tell you?"

"That I'm too young to be worried about boys," Mikayla sighed.

"Exactly. You've got tons of time to worry about guys liking you and having a boyfriend. You're eleven. Way too young to be thinking about that stuff. You need to be thinking about soccer and baseball and everything else that you love to do. Not about boys. Understand?"

She nodded and headed for the fridge.

"And what about you?" Flack asked his youngest, as Liam finally managed to pick himself up off of the floor. "How was school?"

"Awesome!" the little boy enthused. "It was the bestest day ever! You know why, daddy? You know why it was the bestest day ever?"

"Because it's Friday and every Friday is hot dog day at school?" Flack asked.

"That too! It's 'cause we played dodge ball in gym today. And you know what happened, daddy? Michael West? That stupid head that always picks on me 'cause of how small I am? Well he got hit right in the face with the ball and it broke his nose! There was blood everywhere! It was so cool!"

"You're mental," Mikayla told him, before snagging a cherry flavoured Kool-Aid Jammer drinking pouch from the fridge.

"He's either going to go into forensics like his mother or be a pathologist like Uncle Sid and Uncle Shelly," Lindsay said, as she appeared in the doorway, a Spiderman knapsack in one hand, and a Hello Kitty one slung over her right shoulder.

"Or a mass murderer," Flack concluded. "Could go either way I figure. He could go the law abiding and normal route, or the sick and twisted serial killer direction. The jury is still out on him."

"Is K home?" Liam asked excitedly. "Is he in his room? I need to show him something! It's top secret and I can't show anyone else until he sees it! Is he home, daddy? Is he in his room?"

"He's in his room," Flack confirmed. "But why can't you show me what it is?"

"'Cause I gotta show K first!" Liam informed him. "But this is for you daddy…" reaching into the pocket of his navy blue school uniform pants, he pulled out a folded and extremely wrinkled and tattered piece of paper. "You have to sign that!" Liam instructed. "So I can go to the zoo next Tuesday. Can you sign that daddy?"

"Why's it in such bad shape?" his dad asked as he surveyed the paper in his hand. Along with the many wrinkles and tears, it was also stained with what appeared to be mustard and ketchup.

"It's not my fault that it got smooshed in my pocket," Liam replied. "My pockets are too small."

"So why didn't you put it in your backpack?" Flack asked.

"Hmmm…" Liam cocked his head to the side as he thought of a suitable answer. "I don't know…sometimes my brain doesn't work properly. Will you sign it, daddy?"

He nodded and dropped the piece of paper onto the kitchen counter.

"Freaking A!" Liam cried ecstatically. "Thanks, daddy! I'm gonna go and see K. Bye Auntie Montanie!" he yelled his farewell to Lindsay as he hurried past her, snatching his backpack from her hands. "Thanks for taking me to Laughing Larry's!"

Flack stared pointedly at the woman standing in his kitchen doorway.

"I just couldn't resist," Lindsay defended herself, her cheeks flushing. "I know that Adam's been taking K since he was just a little guy and I know Danny took Liam and Declan there a couple of times before. And when Liam asked…what can I say? I've got a huge soft spot when it comes to that kid."

Flack held up his left hand and folded down all his fingers save for his pinkie. "Wrapped around it," he told Lindsay. "Completely."

"I can't help it," she sighed. "He's just so tiny and sweet and he has the face of an angel."

"He's a terrorist," Flack said. "We all know it except for you. And I can't believe that place is still in business. Laughing Larry died like ten years ago."

"Nine, actually," Lindsay corrected. "But apparently, this nephew of his that inherited it in his will is making a killing. He was telling me while we were there that profits have never been better. And it's not like he sells anything other then your basic practical joke crap. I guess in this day and age and all the trouble in strife in the world, people are looking for cheap laughs and will get them wherever they can. How did it go with Kieran today?"

Flack shrugged. "It started out pretty rough. We got into it a few times today. About his apparent selective hearing and his problem with any one in the position of authority. He's been told a hundred times. No Internet, no Xbox, no telephone. And what does he do? He gets caught talking on the phone to his girlfriend. Not to mention he's smoking out in the backyard. I can't stop him from doing it, but he's going to goddamn well listen when I tell him not to do it around the house. And his mouth?" he shook his head. "I think it's safe to say he never had it rinsed out with soap enough when he was younger."

"Actually," Lindsay said, as she dropped Mikayla's backpack on one of the empty kitchen chairs. "I think it's safe to say that he takes after both of his parents in the mouthy department."

Flack smirked. "Way to throw your support behind me, Monroe."

She grinned and held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers. Drawing his attention to the diamond engagement ring and thick yellow gold band gracing her third finger. "Been there for thirteen years now, Flack."

"I know that smart ass. And for thirteen years I've been callin' you Monroe still. So if you think I'm suddenly just going to start callin' you Messer, you've got another thing coming. But Kieran…I don't know what's going to happen with him. He went out with Mac today and I think Mac went all Marine on him or something 'cause K walked back into the house a completely different kid. Let's see how long that will last for."

"He's fifteen," Lindsay sighed. "He's not that little boy I used to babysit all the time. With his flashing Diego shoes and his Caillou doll tucked under his arm and his broken speech. He's not that toddler that used to get a kick out of flushing things down the toilet and chasing his shadow and spinning around and around until he fell over because he was so dizzy. He's a young man. He's tall, dark and handsome and he knows it. All the girls love him and he knows that too. But behind that whole cocky attitude of his, he's dealing with some pretty heavy teenage angst, Don. Issues with jerks at school, problems with his girlfriend and his ex girlfriend. He's smoking, he's drinking…"

"Whoa…whoa…" Flack held up a hand to halt her. "Kieran is not drinking. I mean, he's admitted that he's gone to parties where he's had a few beers and there's been a couple Sundays where he's come downstairs and I was pretty sure he was hung over, but he's not tipping back on a regular basis."

"He was caught with alcohol at school," Lindsay pointed out. "It was in his locker and…"

"And he says it wasn't his," Flack cut her off. "He says that he was holding onto it for a buddy."

"And you believe him?"

"I admit, K's got a smart mouth and he's got a hell of a temper that needs to be straightened around," Flack said. "And he doesn't concentrate enough at school and he has a bit of an attitude problem, but one thing that he doesn't do is lie. He's never been a liar. He lied once in grade one and he caught hell for it. Learned his lesson. He's always been up front with me and Sam about everything. So if he says that that booze wasn't his, then it wasn't his. End of story."

"So whose was it?" Lindsay asked.

"A buddy's. He won't tell me or his mother whose it was. But he's not lying about it. I'd know if he was lying. And chances are, his conscience would eat away at him and he'd crack and come clean. Kieran is not handing us a bunch of bullshit about this."

"I hope you're right, Don," Lindsay sighed. "Because I hate to think that you're turning a blind eye to all of this. The only person that's going to get hurt if you're ignoring this is Kieran. And I know you don't want that to happen."

"Thank you for your devine, all knowing parenting wisdom," Flack remarked dryly. "I keep forgetting that you're the perfect parents raising the perfect children."

She held her hands up in self defence. "I'm only saying that I'm worried about Kieran. He's my nephew and I.."

"And he's my son," Flack reminded her. "And I know how to handle my own son. So thanks for the lecture but until your kids turn into the poster children for perfection, I'd appreciate it if you kept your opinions and your criticisms to yourself. How do you know that K wasn't holding that booze for Aiden?"

Lindsay gave a laugh. "Are you insane? Aiden doesn't drink."

"Really? 'Cause I seem to remember a party that my wife had to pick both of our sons up at. And I also remember her telling me that Aiden was tanked and lost his breakfast, lunch and dinner in the backseat of her car."

"That was one time," Lindsay said. "One time does not mean he has a drinking problem."

"Aiden's the only one that Kieran would be willing to take the fall for," Flack told her. "He'd fight to the death to protect Aiden. And he'd never rat on him. Ever."

"Aiden does not have a drinking problem," she remained adamant. "That booze did not belong to him. And what does it really matter who it belongs to?"

Flack laughed and shook his head. "Not easy hearing shit about your own kid, is it? You can accuse my kid all you want but the second the tables are turned…"

"We can stand here and argue about this until we're blue in the face," Lindsay snapped. "The fact is, it was your son that nearly beat a kid into a coma and it was your son that got caught with the booze in his locker. Not mine. So obviously, something is being done correctly in my house more so than it is yours."

"Are you kidding me?" Flack laughed even harder at that. "Please tell me you're kidding me. Who died and made you God? Who decided to anoint you the Patron Saint of Parenting?"

"Daddy…" Mikayla sighed heavily as she got up from the table. "Don't be so hostile," she said as she grabbed her school bag and walked by him on her way out of the kitchen. "It's not very becoming of you."

Flack smirked. "You spend way too much time with your mother!" he called after her.

"Look Don," Lindsay waited until the little girl left the room before speaking. "No one is passing judgement on you. You and Sam have done amazing jobs with all of your kids. But Kieran…I love Kieran but he needs some help. He's got some issues and I worry that you're overlooking them."

"Duly noted," Flack said.

"There's no reason for you to get so defensive," Lindsay told him. "There's nothing wrong with the fact that your son is a little screwed up. Look what happened to him when he was really little. Look at how badly he took it when you and Sam separated. Maybe he just needs to talk to someone about all the anger he has inside of him."

"I've got it under control, okay? I've got names and numbers from Hawkes of some psychologists that deal with kids and teenagers. I've already made calls. I've already made plans to spend some time with him. One on one. There's nothing I wouldn't do for my son. And the fact that you question how I handle him…"

"I wasn't questioning you. I was just worried that…"

"Worried that I had my head up my ass. I know Kieran has problems. And I'm going to help him get to the bottom of them. He's my son. My boy. And I promised him when he was seconds old that I was going to carry him for the rest of his life. And there's no goddamn way I'm ever breaking that promise to him."

She smiled. "You're a good father, Don. A little strict and misguided at times…"

"I just want to do right by him," Flack told her. "I just want to get him whatever help he needs to be…" he sighed. "To be Kieran again. And I worry that maybe he's too screwed up and too far gone to be helped. I worry that some doctor is going to tell me that this is just the way he is and that he's only going to get worse."

"You know that's not going to happen," Lindsay said. "He just needs to get control of himself and his life. That's all. And with you and Sam behind him, he's going to be just fine. He'll get past whatever is bothering him and he'll be okay. You know he will be."

"I just don't want him ending up completely lost. I worry that we won't be able to get to him before it's too late. I never signed up for this. Parenting a teenager. Especially a teenage boy. I never signed up for this. Fifteen years ago I was sitting on my living room floor holding my newborn son in my arms and now…now I feel like he's a stranger to me. And I hate that."

"Maybe it would be good for both of you to talk to someone about how you feel," she suggested. "Because I know that you've got a lot of anger and regret inside of you. And it's not doing you any good keeping it all inside, Don. What happened to him with Doyle and Lessing, I know it was a long time ago. But I don't think you ever really dealt with that. That you ever talked about how you feel about what happened to Kieran."

"It's just something I don't like to talk about," Flack reasoned. "I don't like to sit back and think that he was…" he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I don't like to think about what Doyle did to him. I can't think about it 'cause it makes me sick to my stomach. And it makes me feel so guilty. That I wasn't able to stop it from happening."

"No one could have stopped it," Lindsay told him. "It happened. And it's a horrible, disgusting thing. But Kieran isn't defined by what happened to him when he was fourteen months old. He's an amazing, incredible young man who just needs a gentle shove in the right direction. That's all."

Flack nodded as he considered her words.

"And maybe you need a shove in that direction to," she added, rubbing his back softly.

He gave a small laugh. "Sam would agree with you. Although I think she'd say something more along the liens of a foot up my ass."

Lindsay laughed as well. "She loves you and adores you, you know that."

"I do," he said confidently. "And I love her. Wholly and completely. Sometimes it's really hard to believe that we've come this far. That it's been been almost sixteen years since I first met her on that bench outside of the crime lab. Since Danny tried to bust out his best game and failed miserably. Who would have thought that that smart mouth little Brooklyn girl would have made such an impression on my life, huh? That she'd be my wife, mother of my seven kids."

"Six," Lindsay corrected him. "There's only six. I know it's easy to miscount from time to time."

Flack just nodded and grinned broadly.

If you only knew, he thought.

Thanks to everyone that is reading and reviewing not only this, but my other stories as well. I'm having a great time with them, and I only hope that you're enjoying reading them as much as I am enjoying writing them! Thanks to all of my readers, reviewers and lurkers alike. Please R and R folks!

Special thanks to:

Hope4sall

Laurzz

Laplandgurl

muchmadness

Aphina

Soul of the Evenstar

Wolfeylady

Uscrocks

Axellia

Delko's Girl 88

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Forest Angel