Hi folks! Thanks for the reviews for yesterday's - I'm suprised (but thrilled) how much people enjoyed it. 5 more chapters in this episode and they're all quite big ones as Michelle begins to lose it. Really hope my posting doesn't catch up with my writing speed as I'm dangerously close but I will do my best to keep the daily updates. Thanks to TheTBone again for this beta-ing this chapter and dreaming up the Lena/Kasey scenario. You see? Who ever said daydreaming in maths wasn't useful. Share the idea with a friend and it can inspire them to solve a major character issue. Cheers T!

Finally - just to get a feel for it - there are still a couple of episodes to go (and still a fair few chapters in the action scenes to come.) Due to the number of characters the length potential is variable - I can go into detail with the interactions or skim. Obviously detail will mean lots more chapters (which is fine by me) but I don't want to bore people. Interested to know what people prefer! Basically the action will unfold in the next episode and the variable length will be the chapters afterwards as the characters react and reflect. Do people want a longer story with more detailed exchanges or short with only a skim of the aftermath? The action will have passed but I know a lot of you are mainly here for the character development rather than the action anyway. So, any opinions let me know. It was always going to be a long one - just deciding how long!

Keep the feedback coming and hope you enjoy the rest of this episode!

"Michelle, wait!" Brandon shouted after her as she stormed off. He had told her the latest development and she had exploded at him for not defending her when really it was panic. He tried to explain that it was only temporary and it would be better for them in the long run. Michelle had no interest in the long run however. She had just about pushed all of her guilt to the side with the sole focus that the worst was over and she needed it to be done for it all to be - but now she didn't have access to the house. She knew it was a risk but she had assumed she'd figure it out as she went along. This was now as it was going along and it was all just going so wrong. She wanted to just grab the money now and go but Carl insisted she wait just in case. He didn't know she wasn't able to keep an eye on it though. The 24th. That was the day it was all meant to be done. The 24th...wait. That was next week. That would mean today was...it had been...and she hadn't...Michelle got a lurch in her stomach. Oh God, no.

Brandon collapsed into the sofa. Jesus was there staring blankly up to the ceiling.

"Bad day?" Jesus asked.

"Are any of these good days?" he responded before looking over to him.

"What are you up to anyway?"

Jesus shrugged. "Waiting for someone to switch the TV on."

Brandon breathed out a chuckle. "Still grounded, huh?"

"For like, ever."

"Well...serves you right for...what was it you even did?"

Jesus thought it best Brandon didn't know the full details. Just in case.

"Oh you know, just sneaking out and stuff. Doesn't really matter."

Brandon shrugged it off.

"So..." Jesus paused. "Michelle not like the new rule?"

"She didn't like that I didn't stick up for her."

Jesus bit his lip. He hated Michelle. She was putting Brandon through the mill when she knew exactly what she was doing to this family...whatever it was. The pot, the play. She was making Brandon feel guilty for something he wasn't even doing. She didn't deserve someone as loyal as Brandon.

"That sucks man. It should be us she's mad at." Brandon looked at him from the side.

"She's right though...I...never mind. I know you don't want to hear it."

Jesus sighed. He hated the fact that she had got between them so much in the last few months - her and Porter as well. But not just his relationship with Brandon but Kasey's. He just wished Brandon could see it in a way he wouldn't feel he had to protest against. He clearly worshipped her and Jesus didn't want to make it hard for him. He just wished he could see what she was like. Maybe it was time Jesus confronted her.

The next school day rolled around slowly and mundanely. Michelle had kept out of Brandon's way, disappearing at any opportunity. She was shifting and nervous whenever he looked at her in class and had long gone out of sight before the bell had even stopped ringing.

Lena opened what felt like the 100th case file for prospective new students. She sighed and looked dreamily out the window before a distraction came knocking. Kasey poked her head around the door.

"Hey Mom..." she smiled nervously.

"Kasey..." Lena asked equally as nervous. Maybe she didn't want this distraction after all.

"How's your afternoon going?" she asked shuffling with the door handle.

"I have a feeling it may get worse..." Lena said sternly. "You and your Mom have exactly the same guilt face. Come on, out with it. I'm assuming you're not just here to find out how my day has been."

Lena looked at Kasey expectantly as she signalled to the chair in front of her desk. "What you doing here?"

"I got sent..." Kasey said sheepishly slinking herself into the chair.

Lena furrowed her eyebrows.

"You get lost? Class ended a half hour ago."

Kasey dropped her head down a bit further.

"Yeah...uhm. I got sent from detention..." she bit her lip guiltily, bracing herself.

Lena's tone changed to staunchly unimpressed.

"You not only got detention but you were doing something bad enough in it to get sent to me during?"

"Well...I don't know if bad enough is the right term...I shot my mouth off a bit. But not anything that bad..."

Lena shook her head.

"And what put you in detention in the first place?"

"uhm...shooting my mouth off a bit..." Kasey winced an eye closed as Lena folded her arms.

"So now I have to find something for you to do for the next hour..."

Kasey shrugged her shoulders. "Well detention's only for another half hour..."

"Yes, but I'm not leaving for another hour so you're stuck with it."

"You could just send me home now. I think I've learned my lesson...it was a really scary walk here."

Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe you're right - I'll get your Mom to come pick you up. How about that?"

Kasey's mouth dropped slightly as her eyes widened in slight fear. "I can wait an hour..."

"Mmhmm." Lena nodded "Well I suppose I need to clear out Porter's classroom for the new appointment. You can come suffer in there." Lena stood up off her chair and tapped Kasey off hers guiding her out the door.

Kasey shuddered slightly as she walked into her old classroom. She'd hated every minute of science with Porter - there was some relief that they were about to remove all trace of him.

"OK. I need to sort through these files. Go clap erasers." Lena ordered as Kasey raised her eyebrow.

"What? But they're not gonna be used any more...that doesn't make any sense."

"It's a punishment, it doesn't have to make sense..."

"What psychological purpose is that going to have? I thought you were all about correction..."

"It's got the psychological purpose that you will do it, be quiet and not like it."

Kasey sighed and went to retrieve Porter's erasers from the now blank chalk board.

Lena began to flick through some files in Porter's cabinet but looked over at Kasey. She had her eyes fixed on the floor in a similar pose she had held since the break up. There was a fully psychological purpose behind Lena's method.

"So...you gonna claim this was a one off?"

"Mom, I really don't want to talk about."

"Well, tough. You've gotta do what I say for the next hour anyway, we may as well reduce the chances of it happening again in the process." Kasey sighed.

"I'm gonna disappoint you then as I have nothing to talk about."

"OK, fair enough." Lena added. "I guess it makes sense seeing as Michelle did nothing wrong and Evan is out of your life."

Kasey beat the erasers more furiously. "Right she did nothing wrong. She only waited till they were alone together then mysteriously ends up attached to his face."

"Come on now Kasey," Lena added coolly. "Isn't it the case that Evan just gets a little frisky when he's drunk?" deliberately goading.

"Yes! Yes it is. Because he's an idiot. He's an idiot who can't control himself...but never. Never did I ever see that coming!" she responded almost breaking the two blocks in her hand. It was the response Lena was wanting.

"So he did let you down then?"

"For God's sake Mom, are you blind? Of course he did. He broke my heart! I never in a million years thought he could..."

She threw the erasers down on the desk as her voice broke and Lena wandered over to her.

"You need to process this Kasey. You don't need to keep pushing it down. You need to think about it so you can think past it."

Tears began to prick Kasey's eyes.

"I don't want to. I miss him and I don't want to."

Lena held her tightly and Kasey didn't protest.

"When Gretchen cheated on me, before your Mom and I were together...it was horrible."

Kasey continued to cry quietly as Lena rubbed her back.

"I've never felt so betrayed, so worthless - and with my best friend. It was absolutely world destroying. It felt like the last year and a half had been a complete lie."

Kasey rubbed away a tear and moved lightly out of Lena's grasp.

"How did you get over it?"

"I don't know. I guess I learned from it. I just slowly came round to the truth that it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with her. I used the time to understand more about myself. What it was I was looking for and figuring out if it was mean to be after all."

"But I'm not ready to let go of him yet." Kasey squeaked out.

"Well maybe you don't have to. Maybe it's just time to take a step back and understand more about yourself. You're 18 baby, you've got many years to come. Both of you are going to grow, as sure as you're both going to make mistakes. The key is to find out why you make them and decide if they are things which will stop you from being together in the long run or if the good things outweigh them."

"He's just been making so many." Kasey sniffed.

"Well maybe he needs a little time to grow as well before you can make a decision."

Kasey wiped her eyes and nodded as Lena cupped her cheeks.

"But don't push your feelings away. It's OK to not be strong all of the time. Just deal with it heathily instead of lashing out or pushing people away. You may be surprised how much people do understand what you're going through."

Kasey nodded again.

"And find safer ways to channel that don't involve ending up ruining both out afternoons!" Lena teased.

"Can I take the erasers home" Kasey sobbed through a laugh.

"Only if you don't throw them at Brandon or Michelle." Lena replied pulling her into another hug.

"And no giving them to Jesus for a Porter Exorcism sacrifice or anything..."

"But throwing them at Mom is fair game?" Kasey quipped through a sniff as Lena rolled her eyes.

"Sure - then we can use them to wipe away your chalk body outline after she beats you to death with them."

Kasey laughed quietly wiping another tear.

"No more of this, OK? If you feel yourself about to go over the edge count to 3, make a note of why it is you felt angry or sad and look back at it later. If it's something important, deal with it with a cooler head and if it's something not important just throw the note away." Lena kissed her on the forehead.

"Now, come on. Let's get this room de-Portered." Lena patted her on the back.

"I'm sorry Mom." Kasey responded as Lena flicked a hair from her daughter's cheek.

"OK, show me how sorry by clearing those drawers."

Jesus hung back by the school gates waiting by the entrance he knew Michelle would use. He checked his watch several times, nervous that she hadn't yet emerged. He wasn't sure what he was going to say which made him desperate to get it done and out if the way. He hated seeing what Michelle had done to his family and he was desperate to find out as much as he could on the only thing he knew - that she had more to do with the pot than she was letting on. She must have - he had figured it all out. He hoped.

Finally she emerged and his heart thudded against his chest. She looked agitated and twitchy. He eyes were focussed firmly on the floor. He knew she had been avoiding Brandon as he had spoken to him earlier.

"Hey." he shouted after her snagging her attention. She huffed into the air.

"Jesus, I'm really busy."

"You gotta walk home don't you?" he responded. She looked around nervously and at her watch. She clasped her bag slightly nervously but nodded thinking it may be the best way to get him off her back.

"Fine. Don't you have to go home though? Brandon said you were grounded or something."

Jesus shrugged it off. "Moms'll cope."

They walked in silence for a few moments.

"So what is this about? Here to protect Brandon, Kasey or Evan in an act of sickening loyalty?" she suggested, laced with frustration. The closeness of the whole family was grating her down. It was another screaming reminder of what she didn't have but now she had replaced her regret with anger. Anger was an easier emotion for her to handle.

"I just wanted to ask you something.." he replied nervously but trying to hide it with confidence.

She stopped and looked at him. Fear flashed through her. What did he know?

"Well go on then..." she replied, unable to hide a twinge of her nervousness.

Jesus stuttered a bit before clearng his throat.

"Did you plant that pot for Mom to find?"

Michelle's eyes flashed wide briefly as her stomach lurched. It wasn't as bad as it could be but she would have to be careful. Had he worked out she got it to him?

"What exactly are you accusing me of here? Just so I can add it to my list of Foster family vendettas." she spat.

"You saw Evan and me talking, the weed mysteriously ends up out of his pocket and under a mat by the door where you left. Seeing as you were the only person to disappear during dinner I'm just curious to know. Did you plan it?" he spoke clearly and plainly and hid a shaking fist in his pocket.

Michelle squinted and licked her bottom lip. If he didn't know more than that she was fine.

"So what if I did?" she asked plainly. "What exactly are you threatening to do?" her voice dropped to a whisper.

Jesus was slightly taken aback. He hadn't quite thought that far ahead.

"Well I...I'm gonna tell Brandon. Tell Moms you knew about it all along." Michelle let out a small laugh.

"That's your master plan? To achieve what exactly? Clear Evan? Like it will somehow change their opinion...?"

"It'll prove you have it out for him..."

"It'll prove that you brought drugs into the house, that Evan helped you cover it up and that you let him lie to cover your ass."

Jesus' mouth glapped as she reeled it off.

"And then it'll show that although I knew, I wanted to make sure your Moms could find out so they could help but didn't feel comfortable enough to nark."

"But..."

"But nothing!" She snapped "if that's your master plan, tell them. Go ahead. I'm sure they'll quite happily take the spin of their son who's already grounded for the foreseeable future and the ex-boyfriend who was kicked out their house. In the meantime, stop wasting my time." she swung around and stormed off, shaking, as Jesus scurried behind.

"You seem to know a hell of a lot about it though...I don't care if I get in more trouble. I just want everyone to know..."

"To know what? What do you know?"

She swung back to him as he stepped back slightly.

"That you're up to something. All these mind games, all these secret chats with Evan. He's onto you! I know he is!"

Michelle began to breathe heavily. She was losing her grasp. He was cutting right through and she should be stronger. She usually would be, she had planned for this situation.

"I know you kissed him! I know you told him you were Kasey. You tricked him! I just know it."

"And so what if I did? Good luck getting anyone to believe a word you say after your Moms find out you and Evan have been stocking drugs."

Jesus' brow furrowed.

"What? You don't think I couldn't plant them as easily a second time?" Michelle said it in a panic but it had at least seemed to have had a desired effect.

Jesus gawped in shock. It was practically a confession, but he had nothing he could do with it.

"If you want my advice, keep your accusations to yourself - or they may just come back and put you on the other side of the dock."

She strode off angrily, shaking even more. She was almost crying. This was a huge slip up. She pleaded silently that Jesus wouldn't call her bluff with that threat. She had let her emotions get the better of her. She took a deep breath. She couldn't bear to ignore the other thing on her mind any longer. It was affecting her composure and was making her risk everything. She would have to take a test.

Chapter 43 Preview: Kasey, opens up, Callie whips Jesus and Brandon into shape but Brandon's reaction leads to showdown with Michelle.

"Brandon please don't fly off the handle at me, just hear me out." Callie began as he turned to look at her. "Look -I know that you think the whole family are against this relationship - and I probably can't argue with that. But you need to get a grip. If you like this girl then go for it - but don't let her treat you like crap just because you feel guilty about the family not accepting her. That's not a relationship. You've done nothing wrong - you've defended her from the beginning and if she can't accept that then -"

"I know." He conceded calmly, slightly to Callie's surprise. "I guess that's why I'm being an ass about it. I'm mad at her as much as anyone else."