"Well, this stinks."

"Yeah, it kind of does."

"How did you get stuck with being responsible for yearly cleanings? You're not an underling."

Lindsay shrugged and scrubbed at the filter, making sure it was spotless before replacing it in the machine.

"I think I made Mac mad once and the punishment just stuck."

"And how did I get stuck helping you?"

"Because you love me."

"You look funny with goggles babe."

"C'mere and kiss me."

He chuckled and leaned over to kiss her, only stopping when he heard a throat clearing behind him.

"You two really need an intervention," Danny commented, his arms crossed over his chest. "C'mon Cupcake."

"C'mon where?"

"Got a scene."

"Hey wait a minute! You two have a scene and I have to stay here and clean the lab?" Lindsay screeched, obviously annoyed.

"That seems to be the case, Montana."

She narrowed her eyes at both of them as they left the lab.

"So that's going to backfire later."

"Probably. And you don't have to live with her."

"Watch your step buddy."

They laughed and made their way out of the lab, grabbing their kits on the way. Adam had been out in the field pretty often, almost enough to be field rated, and while everyone else was encouraging him to go for it, he was pretty happy with his Emperor of the Lab status. It wasn't settling really, it was just what he preferred.

"So how was that camping vacation?" Danny asked as he started the SUV and started to drive out of the parking garage.

"It wasn't bad. Lindsay taught the boys how to fish and how to shoot a bow and arrow and how to ride horses and Avery and I gathered sticks."

"That's quite the role reversal."

"I know. Then they went into town to get more tackle and she brought me back an apron because I was making dinner that night. We didn't speak for a few hours."

"Well you sure showed her."

"She also got the smallest piece of chicken and then the apron went in the garbage."

"At least you two have a system that works."

"Yeah. And I couldn't stay mad at her the next morning when she went out and stood in the middle of the lake with waders on."

"What was she doing?"

"Letting the fish acclimate to her before she tried to catch them. Mostly she was doing it to make me laugh."

"She's weird."

"She knows. But you know, your wife is pretty weird too."

"I sometimes forget because nothing she does surprises me anymore."

"The kids take after both of them too. It's really dangerous being us."

"I know. Bein' away sucked really bad no matter how crazy it is here though right?"

"Yeah it did. So where are we headed?"

"Pretty far north. I don't know what we're getting into, it sounds like someone found a body, but I don't know how decomposed it is or anything like that. Hawkes left a few minutes ago, he should beat us there."

"I'm getting the feeling it's going to be a long day."

"You ain't gonna be squeamish are you?"

"I've seen bodies before."

"I know, I know. I'm just asking if you're used to it enough that you can do your job."

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Believe me, seeing a body is not usually as bad for me as all the trace I have to sift through sometimes."

"But if you didn't do it, who would?"

"Maybe one of those new interns."

"Yeah right. I wouldn't trust them with my coffee much less important evidence. Is it just me or are they gettin' worse every year?"

"I don't know, we've got a few good ones. But there are definitely some in there that desperately need to go back to school. I wonder if anyone thought that about us."

"I still think that about you man."

"Thanks a lot, Danny."

"Body hasn't been here very long," Hawkes reported, circling the body for what felt like the tenth time in the last minute. Adam was getting dizzy just watching him. "She's badly decomposed from the weather, but I don't see any signs of animal disturbance."

"Any guesses on age?" Danny asked, adjusting the settings on his camera and taking preliminary shots.

"I'd say early twenties but I'll know more once we get her back to the morgue."

"C.O.D.?"

"Not sure yet."

They continued to converse back and forth about the body while Adam opened his kit and took a quick inventory of everything he had, then started a sheet to keep track of numbered pieces of evidence. It was tedious and precise work, as was everything in relation to this job, but it did help him to keep his mind focused on one thing.

"Hey yo Cupcake, you payin' attention?"

"Eventually whatever you two said will catch up with me."

"Right, right. You wanna bag her hands and feet? I don't wanna lose anything."

Adam nodded and started the process of preserving evidence at the same time as he was collecting it. Yawning, he shook his head and tried to wake up a little. There had been a few peaceful hours of sleep until a noise downstairs had woken both him and Lindsay up. In a sleepy panic they'd both rushed downstairs to find Ben sitting on the couch in his underwear, eating chips and watching an infomercial about timeshares. He'd greeted them happily and informed them that he was thinking about getting himself one of those time shares and if they could start giving him an allowance he might be able to afford it. It took almost a half an hour to convince him that he couldn't afford one, nor should he be awake at two in the morning, and then another half hour to pull themselves away from the next infomercial on some kitchen gadget that they had never thought about needing but suddenly couldn't live without. Once Ben was back in bed, there had been a little argument about money and who was a penny pincher and who spent too much and the conclusion drawn was that they just needed to stop watching TV late at night. It was almost four in the morning before they made it back to sleep.

It was a long and tedious process to gather and inventory all the evidence and there was even more to be done once the body was moved, and it was well after lunchtime when they headed back to the lab. Danny was grumpy from the heat of the day and Adam was still tired so they stayed quiet the whole way, neither one really feeling like starting a conversation. The air conditioning in the lab was a welcome feeling and they both perked up quite a bit when they stepped off the elevator with the boxes of evidence.

"Whoa. Montana, what happened to you?"

"That machine over there? It's evil. It spits fire."

"Oh does it?"

"No. I just forgot to close the valve before I put new chemical in and it took me forever to clean it up and Mac just stood there and laughed at me because he's a jerk."

"Sweetie I love you but-"

"I know, I stink. I'm going to change right now and don't you two dare laugh at me."

"You have goggles marks on your face!"

"Adam you're sleeping on the couch tonight."

"I'll watch infomercials then."

She rolled her eyes and headed off for the locker rooms while Danny and Adam took over a light table in the layout room. They started to organize all the tagged evidence in numeric order, just to keep things easier, checking it off on their list as they went.

"I think we got everything. Divide it down the middle?"

"Yeah sure."

They split up the evidence and started to work in silence, sharing only pertinent information as they came across it. By the time they thought they were done, the clothes were coming up from the morgue, so they had even more to catalogue, making them both cranky and further away from a meal.

"Hey boys, we got an ID," Austin announced, poking her head in the door. "Victoria Jessen, she's 28. No missing persons report on her, had to get dental records. You find anything?"

"Nope," they answered together.

"Ooh, you two sound like Daniel and Ben when they can't get their video games to work. Bad day?"

They both gave non-committal grunts and Austin rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I'll just leave this here and hope you two have gotten over your moodiness by dinnertime. Remember you promised we'd all go out?"

They both groaned and she chuckled, shaking her head.

"I'll see you later boys."

"Mama and daddy are home!" Ben shouted, running down the stairs and crashing into their legs with a squeal. "I'm so excited! Did you think about my allowance? Can I buy that timeshare in the place what's called Santorini?"

"No you may not," Lindsay chuckled, lifting him up and kissing his cheek. "But you can buy a timeshare right in this house."

"I just need a place to escape all the hustle and bustle. A place to be alone with my thoughts."

"Have you tried the coat closet?" Adam asked.

"Yes but there is shoes in there what aren't comfy to sit on. Is there a timeshare in this house for real mama?"

"I'll find you one okay? You can pay me in hugs and kisses."

"I think I could do that, least until I can make my own way in the world. Maybe until next year when I am a little older and wiser. Hey Cole! Mama's gonna sell me a timeshare right here in this very house! I only gots to pay her in lovin'!"

"No Avery!" came a holler from upstairs. "You don't have a diaper on!"

Despite Freddie's protests, Avery came bolting down the stairs anyway, obviously in the middle of a diaper change.

"Ah mama!" she screamed happily, holding onto the handrail and trying to shuffle down the stairs. "Mama! Avery go potty!"

"Where did you go potty?"

"My diaper!"

"Well honey I would be proud of you but you're supposed to go in the potty."

"Oh."

A diaper came whizzing down the stairs and Avery laughed hysterically, clapping her hands as Adam put it on her.

"Super diaper!"

"Freddie, we're going out to dinner. Want to come?"

"No thanks, Peaches. I got a date."

"What? Shut the front door."

Avery slammed the door and clapped for herself, not understanding that the expression was one of surprise, not a command.

"What, you think I'm too old and senile to get a date?"

"Yes, actually I do."

He came down the stairs and flicked her on the forehead.

"You're a brat Lindsay."

"I love you too. Thanks for watching the kids."

"I would say that it keeps me young, but I don't want you to have the last word in this conversation."

"I will respect your decision. Kids, say bye to Freddie and make sure you're super sweet about it or he won't come and watch you tomorrow and then I will have to miss work and Mac will ground all three of you."

They knew she was teasing but they obeyed anyway, giving Freddie lots of hugs and telling him how much they loved him before he finally made his way out the door.

"Alright munchkins, this mama needs to go shower very badly before we leave, so you need to clean up your messes and find your shoes, pronto."

"But mama!" Colton started with a whine.

"Yes?"

"I didn't have an argument I was just hopin' that if I said that you would change your mind."

"Doubtful. Get moving."

He groaned but went off to clean up the arts and crafts mess he'd made all over the coffee table while Ben and Avery set to work cleaning up their farm set.

"Adam?"

"Hmm?"

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just… I need a shower too."

"Well I'll be done in five minutes."

"Did you not understand my eyebrow waggle or are you ignoring it?"

"Ignoring, and taking ten minutes."

He chuckled and watched her go up the stairs, then walked into the other room to help the kids. For some reason the case this morning had put a bad taste in his mouth and it was really weighing on his mind. There were very few answers and they had an interview scheduled with the victim's estranged husband in the morning, but there wasn't very much more to look forward to than that.

"Hey daddy, me and Uncle Freddie started making this thing today," Colton started, showing him the shoebox diorama. "It's a battle from the Civil War. I found the picture in a book."

"That looks awesome bud. What do you have left to do to it?"

"We're going to make some cannons and some more people I think. And then I am going to write something about the Civil War and type it on the computer then glue it to the back."

"Sounds like homework."

"No, it's not homework, I made myself do this."

Adam chuckled and looked the project over, impressed with Colton's enthusiasm for something resembling schoolwork in the summer.

"Daddy, Cole wouldn't let me touch his project so me and sissy had to play farm. But then we needed a bigger barn so Freddie helped us make one from the Legos. It has two stories and it gots a place for barnyard dancin'! That's when the cows and horses dance together I think."

"Sounds like you guys had a lot more fun today than I did."

"Yep we did! Now what are we going to do?"

"We're going out for dinner so that means you need to be on your best behavior."

"I don't got no other behavior but my bestest," Ben assured with a smile.

"Does that include the time you flinged butter across the table and hit mama in the face?" Colton asked with a wrinkled nose.

"No, that wouldn't be includin' that time," Ben said, hanging his head. "And we don't talk 'bout stuff like that, Cole."

Adam laughed and helped them clean up the rest of their toys, then turned on the radio while they found their shoes.

"We dance it out!" Avery exclaimed with a grin, shaking herself in a way that was supposed to resemble dance. "We spin 'round like this!"

"I'm not gonna spin 'round like that sissy. I don't wanna fall on my tushie like how you did."

"Okay Ben. Hold my hands. We dance. Come here now."

Ben sighed and took Avery's hands and they hopped and spun around the room, laughing as they crashed into the couch.

"You two look like Danny Zuko and Cha-Cha at Riddel High," Lindsay laughed as she came downstairs.

"Nah, I don't think they're that bad," Adam argued. "At least Avery's wearing appropriate clothing."

"She has no pants on!"

"I'll let you deal with that while I go get ready."

"I expect nothing less from you."

"And then after that daddy smushed his thumb with the hammer and he said a swear and mama got mad at him and then he said something to her what I didn't understand and they runned into the house laughin'. So then it was just us kids outside and sissy tasted all the nails what we had and me and Cole practiced poundin' them into a piece of wood what was leftover. And then after that, daddy came back and got after us for usin' all the nails what were supposed to be for our fort. And Cole said that we wouldn'ta done it but we didn't know how long him and mama were gonna be inside flirtin'. And then-"

"Oh my word!" Isa cut in dramatically. "Ben Ross, the kid who never shuts his face!"

"Isabeth," Danny and Austin warned together.

"He hasn't stopped talking since we got here! He even talked too much to the waiter!"

"I'm a friendly kid!" Ben defended, crossing his arms. "I just want people to feel happy 'round me!"

"Well I don't feel happy around you because you talk too much!"

"Maybe you don't talk enough Isa!"

"Maybe that's 'cuz I can't get no words in edgewise because you're carryin' on so much!"

"Well I just gots more to say than you do and that's nothin' for you to be jealous about."

"I ain't jealous Ben Ross! You take that back! I would never be jealous of a preschooler!"

"I'm almost in kindergarten!"

"Kids-"

"Well maybe in kindergarten they will teach you to shut up!"

"Isabeth!"

"You're mean Isa! Real mean and nobody likes you!"

"Benjamin!"

The rest of the kids sat there silently, unsure of what side to take in the matter. Isa and Ben were both crying tears of anger now and Isa looked like she was ready to hit someone.

"People do like me Ben!"

"Nu-uh! Cole is the only friend you got because you're too mean to everyone else! Mean and bossy!"

Lindsay stood up from the table and walked over to Ben, pulling him out of his chair despite his protests, and taking him away from the table.

"Benjamin, that is no way to talk to your friend."

"She's not my friend mama! She's not! She is mean and rude."

"Ben-"

"You didn't hear what she said to me!"

"Yes I did, but no matter what she said to you, that was no reason to talk to her the way that you did."

"But she was being mean!"

"I know she was. But you know better than that. You need to apologize."

"It's not fair! You and Austin fighted and you didn't have to say sorry or talk to each other!"

"Ben, I'm your mother."
"Well I hope to be a mother someday so I can always be right!"

He sobbed and hugged her tightly, burying his face in her stomach.

"Mama do I talk too much?"

"Sweetie, you don't talk too much unless you think you're talking too much okay?"

"Am I annoying?"

"No, you're not. I want you to apologize to Isa for what you said."

"But I felt it was true in my heart!"

"There are much nicer ways to say things like that, Ben."

"Like how?"

"Well… um… uh… what do you think?"

"Maybe I coulda said that it would be easier to be nice if she was nice too?"

"Yes, that's a very good way to say it. Now, are you sorry for what you said?"

"Yeah. I didn't really want to hurt her feelings, mama. Because then that makes me mean huh? And I am not a mean person."

"No, you're not."

"Okay, I am ready to apologize."

She took his hand and they went back to the table where Ben climbed into his chair and cleared his throat.

"Attention peoples! I would like to say something 'portant to Isa. Isa, I am very sorry for what I said to you. It was very mean of me and it wasn't the whole truth either. I don't think you're always mean, just sometimes. And you do got more friends than just Cole. You got me too. I will be your friend even if you think I talk too much. Can you forgive me for what I said to you?"

"Fine."

He nodded and sat back in his chair, then tipped his head to the side in question.

"Mama, she didn't say sorry to me."

"You don't worry about Isa, you just worry about you."

"But mama! It's only polite."

"Ben what did I just say?"

He sighed then looked over at Austin.

"Um, so is Isa not sorry?"

"She decided that she would rather take a punishment when we get home than say sorry to you."

"Oh. Well then that's that."

He went back to coloring on his menu as if nothing had happened while the other kids stayed quiet, treading lightly for fear of starting another fight.

"So it seems that our kids pick up on our faults pretty well," Lindsay said, running her finger around the top of her glass.

"Ben used the excuse that you and I never say sorry?"

"Yes he did. He's too smart for me sometimes."

"As long as you never let him know that."

"I'm still pretty good at covering it up. So what punishment did Isa take?"

"No music and no TV for a week."

"Man, she must really be morally against saying sorry."

"She's going to learn very fast that saying sorry would have been a lot easier. And at the end of the week she's still going to have to say it. Is Ben upset that she didn't?"

"No, he'd be crying if he was. I think he's just happy his part is over."

"This little slapped together family of ours ain't doing so good lately," Austin mused, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"We're all just cranky. I think it's time for school to start so the kids can get out of the house more," Adam noted.

"I think we all need a change. And another beer might be nice."

"Danny I thought you said it tasted like skunk water."

"It did but now I'm slightly buzzed enough to not care."

"I wish there was a way to keep a buzz like that without having to choke down a bad beer."

"And if you ever wanted to sell that idea, all you would have to do is make the investors spend five minutes with these kids."

"It either makes us better people or it is going to make us die younger."

"I figure it's worth it either way."