"You know, I told Mac I wanted to get out in the field more," Adam sighed, putting a marker down near a possible partial shoeprint. "But I didn't expect him to only send me to the grisly ones."

"That's how he breaks you in," Lindsay replied with a grin. "At least he never made you sift through tiger dung. Or jump in a dumpster."

"I had to look for a murder weapon in an airplane waste container! I win."

Austin snorted and shook her head.

"This is why I'm a cop. Small chance of ever having to do something disgusting."

"Just wait, you're going to have to go undercover as a hooker," Lindsay muttered.

Flack let out a huge laugh.

"It would be like Pretty Woman except she would be more awkward and Richard Gere would never give her a second look."

"You've seen Pretty Woman?" Lindsay and Austin chorused.

"Jess likes it! Shut up!"

The girls continued to look at him and he flipped his notebook closed and stalked off.

"I know for a fact that Jess hates that movie," Austin giggled.

"Poor Flack," Adam said with a sigh. "You two pick on him more than you pick on me. And that is a lot."

"He gets riled up faster than you do," Lindsay shrugged, gathering some trace in a small bag while Austin stepped away to answer her phone. "Does this look like gold to you?"

"Um, pretty close. Maybe more like gold plating. I'll have to look at it in better light."

She nodded and labeled the bag, tucking it safely into the cargo box that already had several bits and pieces in it.

"You know, I think this is the first time we've been out in the field together," Adam noted, placing another marker down while she snapped a picture of it.

"Probably. It's weird not seeing you with microscope marks around your eyes."

He gave her a look and she smiled. Truth be told, it was kind of thrilling to be out in the field together. It was like coming full circle in some ways.

"Does this blood spatter look funny to you?"

"It looks like close range cast off, but that doesn't really make sense, does it?"

"You know what it looks like?"

"Hmm?"

"When Colton makes his sandwich for lunch and he shakes the jelly off the knife."

"I hate when he does that, there's always jelly all over the counter."

"Look at this though. Huge spot here and little splatters all around."

She took another look at it and snapped pictures from different angles before nodding her head.

"It definitely looks weird."

"You talkin' 'bout me?" Austin asked, her hands on her hips.

"Always."

"That was Danny on the phone. He said Avery just puked and then promptly stuck her hand in it."

"Oh. Gross."

"He wanted to know when someone is going to pick the kids up."

"I'm off in an hour if he can wait that long."

"I'll let him know."

"Tell him sorry too."

"He says you owe him."

Lindsay shook her head, half her mind now on her daughter instead of the case.

"We get this stuff back to the lab and you should sneak out early," Adam suggested.

"Normally I would say no but…"

"You're feeling sorry for her being sick and Danny trying to take care of her and five other kids."

"Yes. It saves on babysitters when there's always one of the four of us to take the kids but it makes things a little crazy for whoever draws the short straw."

"It takes a village."

"Maybe so, but which one of us is the idiot?"

"I am not gonna answer that one babe."

"How's she feeling?" Lindsay asked softly, looking down at her flushed daughter snuggled against Danny's shoulder.

"She hasn't puked again but she's got a little fever."

"I'm so sorry, Danny."

"Hey, it's not your fault. I'm sure she'll feel better now she's got her mama."

He handed Avery to her gently, and the baby let out a sad whimper.

"It's okay baby. We'll get you home and into a nice bath."

"Mama."

"I know."

"The boys are almost ready to go."

"Were they good?"

"When are they not, Montana?"

"Well, you never know."

"You got all the kids tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah."

"If Avery's still sick my mom can take our kids."

"I'll let you know. She might be fine."

"Okay. Hey boys, are you ready to go?"

Ben and Colton trooped out of the other room, shoes and coats on.

"Hey mama. Avery threw up."

"Yes, I heard."

"It looks just like it did when she ate it."

"That's wonderful."

"Uncle Danny almost threw up too!"

Lindsay shot him an amused look and he shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't like puke, what do you want from me?"

She smiled as he helped her get Avery bundled up to go outside.

"Thanks, Danny."

"You're welcome," he said, leaning down to kiss Avery's cheek. "Feel better little girl."

Lindsay herded the boys out the door, holding Ben's hand while Colton hooked two fingers into her jacket pocket.

"What will we do when we get home, mama?"

"Well I am going to give your sister a bath and put her to bed. You need to do your homework. And it's Ben's night to feed the pets."

"Will you help me with my math? Just checkin' my answers."

"Yeah, of course."

"Mama, I take Qwerty 'side to go potty?"

"No, it will be dark soon. I'll take him."

Ben nodded and wiggled his hand around in hers. He'd recently started doing a lot of "softing" as he called it. He'd always loved to hold hands and snuggle but recently he'd started touching everyone's skin a lot. He would stroke Avery's cheeks while she slept or trace over the lines on Lindsay's palms. He often patted the face of whoever he was talking to, studying them intently. It seemed to be a calming ritual for him so no one really minded.

The house was cold when they entered and Lindsay turned the heat on, knowing it would be a while before they would feel the warmth. They had a boiler system that worked fairly well most of the time, it just took longer to kick on than an electric system. It was much cheaper though, just boiling water running through pipes and radiators all over the house, rather than an electric bill that climbed every time the temperature dropped.

"Mama, do I have to do my homework right this minute?"

"Depends on how much you have."

"A math worksheet and some reading and I think just one other thing."

"Why don't you do one thing now and then you can play for a bit and we'll work on the rest in an hour or so."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

He grinned and dumped his backpack on the kitchen floor where their coats and shoes already were.

"What's wrong with this picture?"

"What picture?" Ben asked, looking at her curiously.

"It's an expression. It means something is not right here. What is it?"

They both looked around the room confused.

"Oh, I know! The lights are not all on!"

"No, I meant… are you going to pick up your coats?"

"Oh!"

They grabbed their coats off the floor and Colton put his backpack on the counter.

"You two are just like your dad," she sighed, shaking her head. "I'm going to go take care of sister, and I want you to do some homework, Colton."

"And Ben to feed the pets right?"

"Yes, Ben please feed the pets."

"Okay mama."

She took Avery upstairs, shivering at how chilly it still was.

"I don't even want to take you out of your coat, little one," she said, leaning down to turn the water on in the tub.

"Mama," Avery whispered, rubbing her nose.

"I think maybe I should take your temperature real fast."

Avery whined and squirmed for the three seconds it took to take her temperature, and she let out a huge sigh when it was over.

"Looks like you're fine boo-boo. Did you just eat something that didn't agree with you?"

She reached over and shut the water off, making sure it wasn't too hot or too cold.

"I'm going to get you from the clothes to the water as fast as I can, I promise," she said, taking a deep breath before stripping the clothes off and getting her into the tub before Avery even had a chance to protest. "There, that's better isn't it? Nice and warm in there, huh?"

Avery slapped at the water, smiling when it splashed her in the face. She loved bath time, it was the one time of day where she got to play with all the toys and not get them taken away by screaming brothers. She got to just be quiet with mama or daddy and be the center of attention.

"Mama?" she asked suddenly, holding up one of the toys.

"That's a frog. A frog croaks and ribbits."

Avery tipped her head to the side quizzically and Lindsay smiled.

"Ribbit! Ribbit!"

"Mama?" she asked again, holding up a duck.

"Ducky. Quack quack! And that is a sheep. Baa!"

Avery smiled and dropped the animals into the water, staring down at them for a moment before dunking the frog. It popped back up and she clapped her hands happily, then did it once more.

"Mama!"

"Yeah, I see. Daddy would try to explain buoyancy to you but I think I am just going to smile and think it's the most awesome thing in the world."

"No Ben what have you done?" Colton screeched from downstairs.

"What happened down there?"

She heard two sets of feet running up the stairs and the half closed door swung all the way open.

"Mama, Ben let Qwerty get out! He ran away!"

"What?"

"I take him 'side to go potty. He seen somethin'. He runned 'way!"

"He'll come back."

"What if he gets hurt? What if he falls in a ditch? What if he forgets his home? What if he goes to the Statue of Liberty and we never see him again?" Colton wailed, huge tears rolling down his cheeks.

Then Ben started to cry.

Then Avery started to cry.

And despite three crying children, all Lindsay could do was laugh. She knew the dog would be back, he'd gotten out several times and he always came right home. But the sight of all three kids with their faces tipped to the sky, sobbing as if their world had ended only amused her.

"Okay, that's enough. Your dog will come home and he will be just fine."

"You promise?"

"No, I don't promise because sometimes bad things happen, but I really think he'll come home soon."

The boys sniffled and nodded, unconvinced, while Avery went back to playing with the bath toys.

"Can we go look for him, mama?"

"No, sweetie. Qwerty has run off a lot, he always comes back by morning."

"But what if someone decides to make him their doggy?"

"Then he will escape from them and come home to us."

"Okay."

They left the room sadly and Lindsay sighed, shaking her head.

"Those brothers of yours, Averylin, I don't know what we're going to do with them."

"Bobuhs."

"Yes, brothers."

"Dada."

"Daddy will be home in a few hours. I'm sure he'll have some time to snuggle with you."

Avery nodded and raised her arms, ready to get out of the tub. Lindsay leaned down with a big fluffy towel and scooped her up, wrapping her tightly so she would stay warm. They made their way into the bedroom and Lindsay dressed her in the warmest pajamas she had, then went back into the bathroom and used the blow dryer on the lowest setting to dry her curly hair.

"There you go, all warm. Are you feeling better now?"

She pointed out the door and Lindsay smiled, kissing her cheek.

"Shall we go join Colton and Ben?"

"Co. Beb."

"Colton and Ben, you're right."

"Bobuhs."

"Yes, they are your brothers. You're so smart, baby."

"Bebe!"

"Do you really know these words or are you just repeating mama?"

"Mama."

"Oh I see. Let's go downstairs and start dinner. Want some chicken soup?"

Avery babbled in response and they went downstairs, joining the boys in the kitchen. They were both sitting on stools at the counter, concentrating hard on a piece of paper.

"What are you doing?"

"We're makin' a poster for our lost dog, like the movies. We are even givin' a reward."

"Oh really?" she asked, putting Avery in the high chair and then bringing it over closer to the counter. "What's the reward?"

"All my Pokemon cards, everything in my piggy bank and my new watch."

"And White Teefy da Bear," Ben added with a nod.

"Boys, those are some of your favorite things."

"No mama. They are just stuffs. Qwerty is our doggie."

Lindsay came around to their side of the counter and hugged them both tightly.

"He'll come home guys. I don't want you to worry about him."

"Can we leave the outside light on so he can see our house in the nighttime?"

"I'll leave the back porch light on for him."

"Can we call daddy and tell him? And maybe Flack can make a BOLO."

Lindsay snorted at the child logic and the fact that her six-year-old knew about issuing a Be On the Look Out and what it was called in vernacular.

"We can call daddy, but we can't really issue a BOLO on our dog."

"Okay."

She handed him the phone and he dialed carefully, taking a deep breath before speaking.

"Hi daddy. Qwerty ran away. Can you look for him on the way home? … Well Ben took him out to go to the bathroom… mama says he will come home… Okay, in a while. Bye daddy I love you."

He hung up and slung his arm around Ben's shoulder.

"Daddy said mama's right and we should not worry. But I am gonna finish our poster just in case."

Ben nodded and handed him a crayon.

"I sorry I make a mistake."

"It's okay Benny. It could happen to anyone."

"Not mad Cole?"

"Nah. Qwerty decided to run away by his ownself. You did not tell him to leave us."

"I should let mama do it like she say."

"Maybe, but it's okay Ben. It will be over soon."

Between Ben's nightmares, Avery's fussing through a slight fever, and the dog returning home at the wee hours and barking at the door, Lindsay had gotten about two hours of sleep all night. Adam would wake up with her but she insisted that he go back to sleep because he had to work in the morning. He hadn't argued with her, and she'd gone about the motherly duties, wishing for just a minute that the kids were older and didn't need her so much. Then of course she would feel the heavy weight of one of them in her arms and realize just how big they were and how fast they were growing and that she had better not jinx it by wishing something in a moment of exhaustion.

She'd sat down this morning with a cup of tea, knowing that Colton would soon be off to school and it wouldn't take much to convince Ben to have a quiet day. But then she remembered that it was Saturday. And she was about to be invaded by Messers. Not that she didn't want to see the kids, she just wasn't sure how easy this was going to be on so little sleep.

At the moment Avery had just gone down for a nap and the kids were all outside, hopefully running off a bunch of energy so her suggestion for an afternoon of board games would be received well. She stretched out on the couch, taking a deep breath and figuring she could close her eyes for just a minute. Exhaustion had other ideas, however and rather than sleep, tears sprang to her eyes. She didn't want to cry and didn't have time to do it properly, but it happened anyway. She was tired and worried about Ben and missing Adam because of his almost seventy hour work week. The holidays were coming up and she hadn't even started planning anything yet, not to mention Avery's first birthday, the car needed to go in for a few maintenance things and there were hundreds of other little to-do's rattling around in her head. She was overwhelmed to say the least and couldn't stop the tears from coming.

The back door slammed open and closed and she heard a pair of feet run quickly by her and up to the bathroom. She took a few deep breaths and tried to compose herself, wiping her eyes and hoping they weren't too red. She didn't want to be found out.

Unfortunately for her, all five children had keen little eyes and none of them would just ignore what they saw. She tried to look busy cleaning up the coffee table when Isa came back down the stairs, but the little girl wasn't fooled, no matter how rocky their relationship had been lately.

"Are you cryin'?" she asked softly, tilting her head to the side, her long dark hair spilling over her shoulder.

"I'm okay, Isa. Just tired."

Isa nodded, her brow furrowed because she was unconvinced. Hesitantly, she sat down on the couch, breathing deeply for a few minutes.

"Isa, I'm fine. You can go out and play."

A long moment passed where they just looked at each other. Lindsay had long ago resigned herself to the fact that her bond with Isa had run its course, she was getting older and didn't need her like that anymore. She didn't like it, but she knew that things happened and people grew apart and Isa was more than capable of choosing who she wanted in those special places in her heart.

"I'm sorry for bein' so mean to you," she whispered, obviously struggling with it. "My feelings got hurt."

"I know."

"I don't want to be mad at you anymore. It just scared me when you yelled at me."

"Well it scared me when you walked in front of a car."

Isa nodded and Lindsay wanted to wrap the girl in her arms and let her know it was okay, but they might not be ready for that.

"I wanted to say sorry long ago. But you didn't want me anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

"You stopped tryna hug me. You stopped tryna talk to me. I thought you didn't want me."

"Sweetheart, I will always want you. Always, always. There is nothing you could ever do that would make me not want you. You're my girl, remember? Sweetie, I just stopped doing those things because I thought you wanted me to. I thought I should give you a little space."

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

"Because… I was afraid that talking to you would make you even more mad at me than you already were."

"But I wasn't really mad! I was just being a jerk! I know I am your girl but I thinked that I was just too bad now and you didn't want me anymore. And that means that you lied about forever. And then I was mad and my tummy hurt a lot and every time I saw you it hurt more."

Lindsay looked down at Isa, the dark green eyes full of unshed tears and her heart broke all over again.

"I'm sorry, Isa. I should have tried harder. I really should have."

"Me too. I know you were just scared of what could happen because you love me so much. But the loud yelling was scary and then you called me my whole name and I knew you were mad. You've never, ever been mad at me before."

"I know, sweetheart. I didn't want to yell at you. I really didn't. But you have to understand something. If you are ever doing anything where you could get hurt, I am going to yell. Not always at you, but I am going to probably scream my head off until you stop."

She was exaggerating, but Isa got the point, a faint smile creeping up her face.

"Because you love me so much and you don't want me to get hurt huh?"

"Yes."

"I will remember that. Maybe next time you could tell me why you're not huggin' me and then I won't feel so sad."

"I promise."

Isa was quiet for a moment, doing her best to keep her emotions in check but eventually losing the battle and bursting into tears.

"I'm so sorry! I won't be mean to you ever again. I love you, Indy. I love you."

It had been three months since she'd heard those words and she couldn't just sit there anymore. In one motion she leaned over and grabbed Isa, pulling the little girl into her arms and rocking her slowly back and forth.

"I love you too, Isa. So much, you have no idea. I'm sorry you felt like I didn't want you. I never ever wanted to hurt you like that. Do you know how precious you are to me?"

Isa nodded and rubbed at her eyes.

"I know. You tell me a lot."

"I think we both need to be a little better about talking about things. What do you think?"

"Okay. My ma said that you and her used to be really bad at that kind of stuff."

"She's right. We were terrible at it for a while."

Isa nodded and sniffled, wiping her eyes.

"Would it be okay if we had a cuddle for a really long time? Nobody else cuddles me the same as you do."

Lindsay smiled and stretched out along the couch again, smiling at the way Isa curled into her. It had been so long since they'd had a moment together, and she hadn't really realized how much she missed it. She twirled Isa's hair around her finger, humming softly while Isa yawned.

"Indy?"

"Yes?"

"You know how I am wild?"

"Yes, I know exactly how you are wild."

"I don't feel wild when you hug me. I don't feel like runnin' around or hollerin' or nothin'. I just feel like regular Isa. And I don't have to be exciting for you to love me."

"You don't have to be anything but Isa."

"You make me calm. Sometimes when I am bein' crazy it gets too loud and then I get in your lap and it's quiet and okay again."

"I'm glad."

"I will always need you Indy, because I will always be crazy and I will always need to be calm again."

"And I will always need you, Isa because my heart would not be the same without you."

"I am happy we had this talk."

"Me too, sweetie. Everything feels much better now."

"I love you with my whole entire heart Indy."

"I love you with my whole entire heart too, Isa. Always and forever."