Bart and Nelson sat in front of the desk of the malls head security officer. His name was Dale and he was a big buff guy who looked as if he could tear both Bart and Nelson with his bare hands if he wanted to. Both Bart and Nelson looked back at him worriedly, hoping that they would not get into too much trouble. Dale said nothing for a long time, only stared back at them with an icy glare making both the kids feel very uncomfortable. Finally after what seemed like hours, Dale spoke.

"So you two like causing trouble for old men?" he asked in a big gruff voice.

"N-No sir, just to him," said Nelson trying to sound as brave as possible.

"Any reason why?" asked Dale as he got up and peeked through the blinds of his front door to see if the lady security guard had returned with Smithers and Mr. Burns once they had retrieved Marge and with any luck Nelson's mother.

The boys did not respond, they would rather say it in front of Mr. Burns than this man just to show Dale how Burns would not even look concerned.

"Well?" asked Dale after a long pause.

"Because he deserved it," said Bart.

"Not a good answer kid, you look like you have some sort of motive, I can sense it, I have a sixth sense of that you know," said Dale who looked Bart in the eyes making him nervous again.

Bart gave a heavy and scared swallow before he spoke as honest and as brave as he could. "Well remember when the nuclear power plant exploded?"

"Of course I do, how can you not forget such a tragedy like that," said Dale.

"Well…" began Bart but quickly stopped when the lady security guard opened the door and motioned for Mr. Burns, Smithers and Marge to come in. Apparently Nelson's mother could not be found, there was really no surprise there though. Mr. Burns was now sporting a limp and looking quite frazzled from the incident, Smithers instantly gave them the cold, icy stare as soon as he saw the boys, and Marge well let's just say she was more embarrassed than angry at the moment.

"Oh Mr. Burns, sorry this had to happen, so far what I've gotten out of them is that you deserved what happened to you, they haven't explained why yet," said Dale his gruff voice never changing.

"It better be a good explanation, I have plans that need to be rescheduled now," said Burns, while at the same time Smithers rolled his eyes. Bart sensed that Smithers was involved in most of it.

"My dad worked for you, and he lost his life because of you," said Bart not taking his eyes off Mr. Burns; unlike Dale, he was not going to be shy talking to this man.

"Oh all because of that eh, who was your father?" asked Mr. Burns who was obviously showing no sympathy, he had lost a lot of money because of the incident and whenever he could, he tried to forget about it. This boy was not helping.

"Homer Simpson," said Bart.

"Simpson eh, name doesn't ring a bell, how long had he been working for us?" asked Burns to Smithers.

"Quite a while actually sir, a lot of the things that happened to you revolved around him in some way, his youngest daughter shot you, you actually tried to make this boy here your heir, we actually went with Mr. Simpson to Cuba after you stole that trillion dollar bill, and he was the reason for the dome over the town that one time," said Smithers.

"Oh yes I remember those incidents now, I guess he got what was coming to him then," said Mr. Burns without missing a beat.

Bart could not believe what he had just said, even Nelson looked appalled. Bart was about to interrogate him further when Marge stepped in front of him.

"Mr. Burns I am really sorry about all this, I will talk to him about what he did and I will make sure he learns that revenge is not a good thing," said Marge who seemed just as mad but was keeping it in really well.

"You better because if he does another stunt like that I will find a way to make you pay me back for everything I gave you. Hospital bills and the check after he died," said Mr. Burns in the most hate filled tone possible. Bart could tell that he wanted his money back even if he had to go to court for it if the situation called for it.

"I will speak to him," said Marge her voice now rising and she herself about ready to murder the man, thank goodness for security in front of her.

"And Bart, I know you did it out of revenge but you do need to apologize to Mr. Burns, that's the only reason why he is in here," said Dale in a voice that was in a much nicer tone and not as intimidating. He now seemed to show pity for Bart and his mother.

Bart stared back at Dale; he could not believe the buff and tough looking officer wanted him to apologize even after what Burns had just said about his own father and about the money. He knew though that if he did not, then Burns would probably sue them and Marge would be worse off than she was now. He looked over at Nelson who gave his friend a concerned smile, Nelson knew that fighting back would not help and he knew to keep his mouth shut. Finally Bart got it over with.

"I'm sorry," said Bart in his fake sincere voice that he sometimes used on Marge. He had gotten so good at it, Marge never knew the difference.

"Good and now you," said Dale as he nodded to Nelson.

"Sorry sir," said Nelson before rolling his eyes. No one actually noticed though.

Mr. Burns only nodded before being escorted out of the room by the lady security officer. They all watched him go before Marge turned back to Bart and gave him a very annoyed an angry look. Bart gave her a sheepish grin and was about to say something when Dale interrupted them.

"I've had to deal with some bastards in my time but that was ridiculous."

Bart followed Marge back the Leftorium, Nelson beside him not saying a word and looking very guilty about the whole situation. He would have stayed with the security guards until his own mother arrived to pick him up but Marge knew that he would have been stuck there forever, it was better to claim him and become a guardian for a little while.

Bart stared down at the floor looking very guilty, he knew Marge would give him a lecture about what had gone on, he just had no idea when, either way he was not in the mood for it. They soon arrived at the Leftorium where Ned was waiting for Marge to return while Lisa, Rod and Todd played a little ball game with Maggie. Ned looked up from what he was doing and gave Marge a concerned look before turning to Bart, Bart only sneered at him.

"I've never been so embarrassed in all my life," said Marge as she made her way over to the cash register ready to return to her duty.

"Anything I can do for you?" asked Ned who moved out of the way, too afraid to get in front of her angry side.

"Just take them home, once I've calmed down I can give Bart a softer lecture," said Marge who stared back at Bart in a way only a mother would when her child was not being in the best behavior.

"Come on kids, I bet you are all hungry for some dinner, I planned a really good meal tonight my own tick tock teri-diddly-aki chicken," said Ned hoping to lift everyone's spirits.

"We still need to stop at the ice cream store though," said Bart as he made his way out of the store with his arm around Nelson as a way to show they were buddies, Marge of course heard this.

"Ned don't you dare let him get any ice cream, he has been punished since we left the security office and he is not getting away with a lecture tonight," said Marge in a very angry voice.

Ned looked down at Bart who looked up at him nervously. "We have to listen to your mom," he said as he started walking away.

Bart grumbled under his breath while Lisa walked beside him looking concerned and wondering what went on with Mr. Burns.

"I deserve an ice cream after what went on in there, in fact we all do," said Bart with anger in his voice.

"What did he do?" asked Lisa.

"It's not what he did, it's more of what he said, and…….ooooooh I hope he dies a horrible death," said Bart as he made his way toward the ice cream store, not caring what anyone said.

"Bart, Mom said no," said Lisa, she tried to keep it down but Ned still heard her.

"Bart, your mother said no ice cream," said Ned.

"Yeah but she's not here," said Bart with a sly smile as he made his way closer.

"Bart get back here this minute," said Ned as he pointed to the ground and stamped his foot.

"Hell no, you're not my father," said Bart while at the same time Nelson was joining him in his bad behavior escapades.

"I may not be your father, but I am personally responsible for you for as long as your mother lets me, now get your keister back here or I will drag you back to the car myself," said Ned.

I'd like to see you try," said Bart with a sly smile as he made his way closer.

In all his years of being a father, Ned never had to put up with any of this. Rod and Todd were good kids who respected their elders and never back talked. Bart here was a different story, yet both Lisa and Maggie were well behaved, it made him wonder what had happened to have such a rascal of a kid. As calmly as he could, Ned made his way over to Bart who was now ordering for his favorite ice cream with sprinkles.

"Don't give him any thing, its almost time for his dinner," said Ned who then grabbed Bart by the arm and pulled him aside away from as many people as possible.

"Let go of me!" said Bart as he tried to get out of Ned's grasp.

"Bart listen to me, I know I am not your father but you still need to learn to behave and listen to your elders. I'm here to help your mom out, I know its rough and I can sense you want to be the leader of everything but a twelve year old can't run everything," said Ned.

Bart only stared back, he had heard enough from Mr. Burns today to get extremely angry and he was not fond of seeing Ned around so much. He had been spying as much as he could lately and he never liked what he saw, usually he saw Ned hugging Marge or sneaking up behind her and tickling her, boy did that burst his bubble. Marge too seemed to show affection around Ned especially when he would make an appearance. She would give him that smile she used to give Homer when she was proud of him for something. What was worse too was that she was always so happy after she left Ned; to Bart it seemed as if they had been up to something and that Ned was trying to make Marge forget about the wonderful life she had with Homer. It made him angry, he tried not to show it in front of Marge but sometimes she would notice. Bart of course found ways to act like nothing was bothering him.

"Whatever," said Bart as he rolled his eyes.

Ned let out a sigh one that showed frustration and it made him sound tired.

"Bart I am just trying to help," he said again making sure that Bart understood.

"You love my mom don't you," Bart suddenly blurted out, he was angry and his mouth was faster than his thoughts.

"Of course I do, for the Lord even says to love thy neighbor," said Ned.

"No Flanders, leave God out of this, do you love her?" asked Bart knowing he should have kept his mouth shut but also wanted a straight answer out of this situation that had been bugging him for two months.

Ned stared back at Bart; he was surprised Bart was asking such an unusual question. There must have been a lot going through his mind at the moment.

"But that's the only way I can tell you Bart, I love her because that is what a neighbor should do," he finally said.

Bart only let out a sigh and looked down at the ground. Arguing was not going to solve this at the moment especially when the guy you were arguing with had more experience. Finally, after a long moment of silence and his head held low, Bart walked away from Ned to join his sisters. "Let's just go home and have that sucky teriyaki chicken," he said

Ned watched him walk toward Lisa and the others for a moment. Bart was really holding his emotions in and he knew that someday soon the dam would burst, he knew he did not want to be in the middle of it, but how would Marge handle it, would they both cry together or would Bart hide in his room and not ask for any help? Seeking someone for comfort was the most important thing, it helped Marge so much, but would she be able to help Bart in his hour of need? He hoped that she could, and like always, he was there if she needed his help. Ned sighed and then turned to Nelson who was standing nearby wondering what was going on now.

"You want to come with us and have a nice warm dinner?" asked Ned.

"Nah, I got some spaghetti in a can at home," said Nelson as he started to walk away. Ned only shrugged and joined the kids on the way to the car.


"What are you thinking about Barty?" asked Maggie while Bart was sitting in Ned's living room watching her solve a puzzle while Lisa, Rod and Todd did homework in the kitchen. Apparently he was not watching very closely because Maggie noticed. Bart stared at her as he came back to reality and then let out a sigh.

"Oh nothing really," Bart finally said.

"Is it about Daddy?" asked Maggie knowing how Lisa was known to sit by herself in the living room and fiddle with her saxophone.

"Yeah I guess so," said Bart as he moved a puzzle piece over to Maggie to put in the correct spot.

"You want to see him?" asked Maggie not taking her eyes off the puzzle as she connected them together.

"I would like to," said Bart.

"Don't worry Barty, Lisa said that we will see him again, heaven just had to fix him," said Maggie.

Bart only gave a sad smile to his sister; it made him wish he was that hopeful about things, if only it were true that his father would come home soon and embrace them in the biggest hug they could muster. He missed hearing his father's loud comments and his ability to play silly games with him even though they were annoying or just plain disgusting in Marge and Lisa's eyes. He just wanted to turn back time and see Homer healthy again, doing what he did to Mr. Burns today did not help his emotions, they seemed to have made them worse.

"You know what Mommy told me today?" asked Maggie after a long silence.

"What did she tell you?" asked Bart hoping it was something happier.

"She told me that those bunnies across from us at the pet store get really big, that's why we can't buy them," said Maggie in a whispering tone as if it should be a secret.

"Really?! How big?" asked Bart deciding that it would be fun to humor her for a while and make him feel a bit better.

"Mommy said they could get even bigger than Santy, and Santy is big," said Maggie as she raised her arms as high as she could to explain Santa's Little Helper's height.

"Oh yes that is true," said Bart.

"But how come I never see any big bunnies?" asked Maggie.

Bart had to think about this one for a moment; Maggie sure knew how to find loopholes. "Well uh……it's because when they get too big, the families send them to Siberia," said Bart.

"Oh…….is it just like heaven but only this time the doctors make them smaller?" asked Maggie.

"Sure, why not," said Bart with a smile. He liked this conversation, it was more fun and happy plus it was making him feel better.

"I wonder what happens to people when a bunny steps on them," said Maggie with a thoughtful look in her eyes.

Bart was about to respond when Ned called them to the table for dinner, Maggie ran over as fast as she could while Bart trailed behind. The bunny conversation was fun but he still felt empty inside, he hoped it was just one of those days and that he would feel better in the morning. He didn't want to cry, he wanted to remain strong for his mother and sisters. He believed that crying was what girls did and that others would see him as a sissy if he showed his emotions in front of them. He didn't even show it in front of Homer when they had a man to man talk. He wanted to show his father that he was brave and that he was rooting for him and hoping he would bounce back to his old self. Bart sighed at that thought, if only that happened.

Dinner was mostly spent in silence that evening until the very end when the doorbell rang. Maggie of course jumped right out of her seat because she knew that it was Marge coming home to pick them up. Maggie ran to the door with Ned right behind her just to make sure it wasn't anyone else once she had opened it.

"Do you have resavations?" asked Maggie still having trouble with big words.

Marge gave Maggie a warm smile before looking up at Ned, she did seem happier after the incident that afternoon and Ned noticed.

"You seem happier tonight," said Ned as Lisa and Bart made their way over.

"Oh yes I am and I have a reason for that," said Marge happily.

"What is it?" asked Ned hoping it was some good news about the Leftorium getting good business or even Marge getting another big check from the power plant even after today's fiasco.

Marge looked at the kids, both were listening intently on what Marge had to say, she could probably say it in front of them, but then again she would rather not be pestered by them for the next week.

"Kids, go on home and get ready for bed, I just want to ask Mr. Flanders a question and I will be over in a few minutes," she said.

Lisa took Maggie by the hand and led her out the door with Bart following, for a moment he sensed that Marge was not going to give him a lecture but that quickly changed.

"And Bart, we still need to have a talk about what happened today so don't think you are getting away easily," said Marge.

"D'oh!" exclaimed Bart before he disappeared behind the fence and into the house.

"So what's on that meddlin' mind tonight Marge?" asked Ned once the kids were out of view.

"This really nice man came in tonight and gave me two free coupons for this really nice restaurant on the pier called the Italian Bistro," said Marge as she showed them to Ned.

"Oh what a nice man he was, too bad he didn't give you four, then you and the kids would eat for free," said Ned.

Marge let out a nervous sigh and then began to play with her hair, something she had been doing a lot lately now that her hair was down and especially when she wanted to ask something that she normally would not ask.

"Actually Ned I was wondering if you wanted to go with me, sort of a thank you dinner for helping me these past months, get our mind off our troubles," she said with a nervous grin.

Ned thought for a moment, going out to dinner did sound nice, he hadn't done that in a while and the last time he did so was with Rod and Todd. Going out with someone around his age did sound like a nice change of pace.

"You know that sounds like a great humdinger, when do you want to go?" asked Ned.

"How about next Friday at six right after you get home from work," said Marge.

"Perfectarooney," said Ned with a grin while Marge smiled back before making her way back home to the kids.

As Marge walked toward the house, a new feeling came over her, excitement. She had not done anything fun in forever and Friday night would be a wonderful change of pace from all the stress she had gone through. Little did she know though that that night would end in the most surprising way possible.


A/N: Alrighty guys, I hope you all enjoyed that, it was a little boring I know but don't worry I am now just getting to the good parts. The next three chapters are the ones that I cannot wait to share with you especially chapter eleven. You are all probably wondering how Lisa is fairing through all this and that's where chapter eleven comes in, oh yeah!

Oh and an update on my friend, about a week ago he went into the hospital after having problems keeping food down. The doctors at the local hospital decided to do a cat scan to find out what the problem was because it was either some intestinal blockage from the stints or it was just air causing problems. He went up to Denver to visit the actual bladder doctor and it was his stints which were causing bacteria to form inside him. So they did some quick surgery to fix it. He is feeling much better and hopefully he won't have to go visit the doctors again any time soon unless it's a checkup. I think he is so brave through all of this; I just want to give him a big bear hug, though he would probably be the one giving me a big bear hug. Let's just say he looks like Jamie on Mythbusters, walrus mustache and all, a little more hair on the head though.

Now I will shut up and let you all review and have a nice week.