Disclaimer: Don't own "MIOBI", blah blah blah nobody reads these things anyway!

A/N: So, I haven't updated anything in a RIDICULOUSLY long time, and I apologize! I've been really caught up with extra-curricular activities and schoolwork and the like (because there's only so much time left in the day between homework, pit orchestra for the spring musical, and mock trial…), so writing really hasn't been something I could do a lot of recently. But hopefully I'm back now! Or for a few weeks, until the aforementioned spring musical consumes my life… I did update my other multi-chapter "Heart of a Champion" a few days ago, so that's a good sign! So, here's the long-awaited (and hopefully much-anticipated) chapter 3 of "Intervention"!

The three girls walked dejectedly up the front steps of the Cruz mansion. With their heads hung low, Kaylie, Lauren, and Emily entered the foyer and proceeded to set up shop in Kaylie's room. After their confrontation with Payson at the party, the girls had agreed that they needed to think of a way to get Payson away from that situation, the faster the better. With this in mind, Lauren and Emily had called their parents and received permission to sleep over at Kaylie's house. After stopping by the Tanner and Kmetko residences to grab essentials such as clothing and toiletries, they had pulled up to the Cruzes' home.

After dumping their stuff in Kaylie's room, the girls headed into the family room and spread out on the couches. Not noticing that the lights had been left on (a sure sign that someone intended to occupy the room), the three sighed and silently pondered the situation they had gotten themselves into. They hadn't counted on Payson reacting to their arrival like she had, nor had they expected her to be intoxicated. Now, silently sitting in the family room, they realized they hadn't counted on anyone else to be at Kaylie's, either. That realization was brought on by the buttery scent of popcorn wafting toward them.

Although slightly fearful of the possibility that there could be a popcorn-eating burglar in the house, the girls managed to remain calm. Kaylie motioned to Emily and Lauren, telling them to keep their heads down until she signaled. Then, Kaylie held up three fingers and slowly put one down after the other. After all were down, the girls acted quickly and used the element of surprise to their advantage, vaulting over the couches toward their unknown adversary. They surrounded the surprised man, only to realize that their "burglar" was a rather startled Leo Cruz.

"Woah! When did you girls get here?" Kaylie's older brother asked as he attempted to return his heart rate to its normal level. Missing the level of effort the girls were using to keep their laughter contained, he continued, "You almost made me spill my popcorn!" Holding up the bowl of popcorn in his hand, he looked even more confused when his sister and her friends burst into hysterics at this comment.

When the giggles had subsided, Leo said, "Hey Emily, hey Lauren. Umm, not that I'm unhappy to see you or anything, but don't you elite gymnasts have curfews? You know Sasha would freak if he found out that you broke curfew, especially now with the Open House over and the focus back on actual training."

Lauren replied, "No curfew on a Friday night!" When Leo looked skeptical and opened his mouth to say something along the lines of wouldn't Friday be one of the main days to have it?, Lauren continued, "Sasha decided to give us tomorrow off, as long as we promised him that we wouldn't go crazy with this 'newfound freedom.' We all thought he would have had us earlier than usual in the gym tomorrow, but I guess his whole 'FUN!' crusade applies to this entire week. Point is, we have tomorrow off, but we can't get used to it because next week is back to normal."

"And besides, big brother," Kaylie added with a smirk, "we're having a sleepover! Those are allowed under Rock rules."

Leo gasped and interjected, "No! Not a sleepover! Girls with nail polish and makeup giggling all night while I try to sleep? Oh, this is going to be a long night…"

Kaylie punched him lightheartedly on the arm and said, "Haha, Leo, very funny. You should drop out of college and become a comedian. We won't be running around with eyeliner and lipstick giving you a makeover while you're asleep. We actually have a lot to talk about, and Emily and Lauren sleeping over means that we'll be able to talk as long as we want to without having to worry about them getting home."

"Alright, that actually makes sense," Leo stated. He surveyed the room once more and asked, "Aren't you missing someone? Where's Payson?" The girls looked nervously at each other, causing Leo to ask cautiously, "You did invite her, didn't you? I mean, regardless of whether or not she can do gymnastics anymore, she's still your friend."

Emily spoke up and said, "Trust me, Leo, we invited her." She bit her lip and averted her eyes toward the ground in an attempt to escape the uncomfortable silence building in the room.

Leo's brow was furrowed in concentration, trying to solve the conundrum of why the fourth best friend was mysteriously absent. He questioned, "Does this have anything to do with you, Kay? Is she still upset because you won Nationals when she fell?"

Kaylie nodded and added, "And a whole lot more." Tired of attempting to watch her boy-genius brother figure out the complexities of human relationships, she explained what had happened at the Rock that morning, at the Open House, and at the party. She was aided in her explanation by Lauren and Emily, who unwittingly filled in details that Kaylie had intentionally attempted to leave out.

After the events of the day had been related, Leo opened his mouth to say something, causing the girls to shift toward the edge of their seats. They were expecting something revolutionary, some magical piece of advice that would help them to solve their Payson problem, one word that could return everything to the way it was.

Unfortunately, the one word they did receive wasn't exactly what they were hoping for. In fact, it was completely unhelpful. "Wow," was all Leo Cruz could manage to say.

"'Wow?' Really, Leo? That's all you have to say?" Lauren asked desperately.

"What else do you want me to say?" Leo snapped back. Seeing the hurt and sadness in the eyes of the three girls, he took a deep breath to compose himself and said, "Look, I don't know how to fix things for you. I don't know how you girls will make things better with Payson, especially you, Kay. All I know is that we need to get Payson away from that party. Her getting drunk and wasting time with those losers won't do anything to help her, and she needs to get away from that."

Emily said, "That's a good first step, but one small problem: we already tried to get Payson to leave the party, and she flat out refused. How are we supposed to get her to come with us?"

Leo took another deep breath and said, "Leave that to me." Leaving three very confused gymnasts behind him, Leo Cruz grabbed his jacket and keys, walked out the front door, climbed into his car, and drove away.

A/N: Yay Leo! I felt bad for him in "Are We Family?" because he was just trying to do the right thing and help Emily stay focused. All of the Damily shippers are up in arms now on the ABC Family boards, and I've had to defend him since he's my second-favorite guy character (Nicky Russo being the first). Speaking of "Are We Family?", how did everyone like it? I personally loved most of it, but there were some shortcomings in the areas of gymnastics. I'm not a gymnast, but the reality of some of the scenarios that played out was less than believable. Let me know what you thought of the finale or this chapter by reviewing! You can also PM me if you want an in-depth discussion of the finale and thought on next season.