A/N: We still love and adore Isa. But she's a teenager right now and boy does she take that excuse and run with it sometimes.

"Ma, we're old enough to stay alone," Isa complained, hiking her backpack higher on her shoulder. "We won't burn the place down."

"Yeah," Daniel agreed with a nod. "I know where the fire extinguisher is."

"That's comforting Daniel, and this isn't about us not trusting you or anything. But we're going to be gone a week and we just want to make sure you're fed."

"Yeah Isa," Sarah piped up, tucking her hair behind her ear. "We'd run out of pizza money in two days on our own."

Though she didn't want to, Isa had to agree, but still pounded up the porch steps and into the house.

"Morning Hurricane Isabeth."

"I prefer Armageddon Isabeth, thank you very much," Isa retorted, smile in her eyes though not in her face. "Am I sleeping on Avery's floor again?"

"No, you and Sarah can share her bed, she's sleeping on a blow up mattress. She's most excited."

"I'll bet," Isa chuckled, leading her siblings up the stairs to find their counterparts.

"She's been sassy," Austin mentioned one the kids were out of earshot and Lindsay had shoved a mug of coffee into her hands.

"How is that different than normal?"

"It's not really, but it is. I don't know, it's like she hit fourteen and became… me."

"I think you're overly sensitive."

"I am not, you take that back!"

Lindsay chuckled and shook her head. She'd noticed Isa's attitude as well, and had even had a stern talk with the teenager about what was and wasn't allowed in their home. But it wasn't as if Isa was a horrible girl, she just let her mouth run away with her at times. The disrespect wasn't who she was in her heart.

"We'll be fine. You and Danny need to get out of town for a while, I need my kids occupied for the last few weeks of summer lest they drive me insane. It all works out. And if Isa has a little more lip than normal, then she'll be doing a lot more dishes, that's all. Now drink that and get out of here."

"Yes mom. And thanks for this. I know they're getting to be too old to need a lot of supervision and it's not always fun to have three extra kids around, but I didn't want to inflict them on Mac and Jo."

"Mac would send Isa to military school."

"Exactly. Just… don't be afraid to be her parent, okay?"

"Oh Austin. Your parenting and mine are a lot different."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I don't have the first idea what to do with a teenager girl."

"Then thank me for giving you a crash course so you'll be prepared for the big time."

"Thanks Austin, you're the best ever."

"I know. Call me if you need anything. And don't be afraid to-"

"Show her who's boss. I know. It'll be fine, I'm her favorite person in the world after all."

"We'll see if that still stands next weekend."

"Get outta my house Austin."

They shared a smile and Austin left, screen door clattering behind her.

"Hey aunt Lin," Daniel started, coming down the stairs. "I know it's not lunch time or nothing, but do you got anything to eat?"

"I need to go shopping but I'm sure you can find something."

"Great, I'm starved."

"Aren't you always?"

"Well yeah," he answered, head in the fridge. "Hey, you have cake back here!"

"Listen if you promise you'll clean the plates and forks, you can cut a slice for everyone to have."

"You're the best!"

"Sarah! Come and clean up dinner with me and daddy! It is a lot of fun!" Avery hollered into the other room. "Sometimes we share extra dessert!"

Sarah giggled and followed her friend into the kitchen, hopping up to sit on a bar stool so she could section out the leftover dinner into plastic containers.

"Daddy today mama let just me and Sarah run to the candy store! I had some dollars burning a hole in my pocket so we went! And we got some chocolate that is very good. I am keeping it hidden because if Thomas finds it, it will make her sick. Also because the boys will eat it right out from under me."

Adam chuckled and nodded in understanding.

"I think we all stash our favorite things in secret places."

"Yes. Also I did not have enough money, because I did not calculate it right. So Sarah shared her own money with me. Wasn't that nice of her?"

"Yes it was."

"But then you let me share your candy so it all evens out right?" Sarah added with a smile.

"Yep! I'm so glad that you get to stay with us for a little while Sarah. I was missing you a lot when you have been doing all your dancing stuff. Mama says you are having a lot of fun in all your classes and such, so I cannot be too sad."

"I have fun but I miss you too Averylin. And tomorrow I have to go to dance but I was thinking that you could come and watch."

"REALLY?! Oh Sarah that would be wonderful! Daddy could I?"

"I'm sure that's fine, but you'll have to ask your mama; she's the one dealing with everyone's activities tomorrow."

"I will ask now! Mama!"

She dashed off into the other room while Sarah chuckled and put the casserole dish into the sink to be washed.

"Everything alright with you, Sarah?" Adam asked, noting the serious look on her face.

"I guess."

"You guess? Hmm, that doesn't sound very convincing."

She smirked and shrugged, sitting back on the stool and propping her chin in her hands.

"Uncle Adam, I've been thinking a lot lately about dance."

"What about it?"

"It takes a lot of time. I have so many classes every week and that's nice for the summer. But when school starts I don't know how I'll have time for everything. I can't give up ballet, that's my favorite. And ma and daddy paid for the extra lessons, so I can't quit those. They run through Christmastime. So I have ballet, hip-hop, tap, and modern, and then in September I start jazz."

"That is a lot. One class after school each day?"

She shook her head and ran her finger gently over the counter, ticking off the days and classes.

"Ballet is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings. Hip-hop is Tuesdays and Friday nights. Tap is Thursday nights and modern is Monday nights. Then I help with the first year ballet class on Wednesdays too. Sometimes we have ballet on Sunday mornings and that can go all the way into the afternoon if we're rehearsing for something. I like to be busy but what happens when school starts? I'm in advanced classes this year. I can't just stop doing any of this stuff, I have to keep on. And I don't want to quit either. If I couldn't dance…"

She trailed off with a sigh, looking up at him as if he would hold all the answers.

"What do I do?"

He moved to sit down next to her, dropping his arm over her shoulder and pulling her close to kiss the top of her head.

"Be determined. Decide what is the most important thing and be determined to do it. It might mean letting some other things go, but you'll be happier."

"I guess school is the most important thing," she decided. "Not that I like it the most, but the government kind of says I have to go. And then ballet. I can do those two just fine. But which other class do I pick?"

"I don't know kiddo. Do they all make you happy?"

She wrinkled her nose at that, thinking hard.

"You know what really makes me happy? And you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Promise."

"I really like to paint. I like it almost as much as ballet and more than all the rest of my classes. I want to get better at it. I want to do it all the time. But ma and daddy already spent so much money on dance. And my art teacher last year, she said I had a lot of talent and I should see about getting into some other art classes outside of school, but all my dance teachers say I have talent too. I don't want to disappoint anyone."

"First of all Sarah, you could never disappoint any of us. Not for wanting to become a more well-rounded person, not for pursuing what you love, and definitely not for challenging yourself. We all want you to be happy and fulfilled and if stepping back on dance is what makes that happen, then that's what you should do."

"But how do I tell ma and daddy?"

"You say "hey, I'm exhausted from all this dancing and I want to discuss the possibility of me not doing so much. Also, I'd like to take an art class instead." They're not going to tell you no, Sarah."

"I know. I really do. But the money…"

"You don't worry about that. They invested in dance classes because they believed in you, but they also knew that there might be a time when it wasn't for you anymore. They knew that the whole time."

She didn't look convinced and he chuckled, giving her shoulders a squeeze.

"Tell you what. Take another day to think about this and tomorrow night when I get home, we'll make a list together of all the pros and cons. We'll look into art classes around here, maybe if we can find some free ones, that will help. Deal?"

"You would do that for me?"

"I'd do anything for you, Sarah. You know that."

"Yeah, I do. Thanks Uncle Adam."

"Anytime kiddo."

It was well after midnight by the time the kids settled down and went to sleep, so when Lindsay's phone buzzed a couple hours later, she was half tempted to roll over and ignore it. There was no reason for anyone to need her at such an ungodly hour, but then again there was no reason for anyone to need her at such an ungodly hour. Wrinkling her nose, she grabbed the phone and tried to get her eyes to focus on the screen.

It was a text from Hannah, who was right downstairs in her room, and shouldn't have needed to send a text for any reason. As Lindsay rubbed the sleep from her eyes, it became clear that maybe this was an exception.

I think I just heard Isa sneak out.

Groaning inwardly, Lindsay stood up and headed downstairs to Avery's room, where she found Avery and Sarah still awake and whispering.

"Where's Isa?"

"Uh…" Sarah started, eyes darting around the room. "Well she… uh, I think she maybe went downstairs?"

"She is not gone!" Avery added, bottom lip quivering. "You could go back to bed mama. Isa is fine!"

"So she's in the house then?"

"Uh…" Sarah stuttered.

"Maybe she might be in the yard…" Avery trailed off, starting to cry. "But maybe I don't know. Maybe you should not ask me."

"Averylin, is there something you need to tell me?"

The girl shook her head, eyes wide before dashing into the bathroom and getting sick. Confused, Lindsay followed her, holding her hair back and wiping her mouth.

"Are you alright honey?"

"Oh mama! Isa is not here! She left! She would not say where she is going, but she said something with her friends! And she told me and Sarah not to tell. She said we must cover for her, for she would do it for us. And my tummy hurts because I lied to you mama, even though I know it would break trust! I am so sorry, please do not stop trusting me mama!"

Lindsay caught her distraught daughter in her arms, shushing her tears lest she wake the boys.

"It's alright baby," she assured, leading her back to the bedroom. "Now I want the two of you to tell me what happened."

Sarah swallowed hard, biting at her lip. Tonight wasn't the first time Isa had snuck out, though that was a secret Sarah kept to herself. She'd been begging for two months to switch rooms with Isa, under the pretense that Isa's current room was the smaller one, when really all she wanted was to get her sister into the bedroom that didn't have a fire escape that was so handy for late night adventures.

"Isa has some friends," she started finally. "They like to stay out late and sometimes she goes with them. They don't do anything bad I don't think. And I think they are safe too. But Lindsay you can't tell ma or daddy. They'll be so mad."

"Sarah, they should be mad. Has this been going on a long time?"

"Just during the summer."

"Where did she meet these friends?"

"I don't know for sure. I think maybe they're older than her though."

Lindsay sighed, brushing the tears off of Avery's cheeks.

"And what did she say tonight when she left?"

"She said she would be back soon and to cover for her if you or Adam woke up. She said she had to go help one of her friends but I think she's lying. And she… she never lies to me."

"Did she take anything with her?"

Sarah nodded.

"She took her money and her phone. But Lindsay if you call her she'll know you know and she won't come back!"

"I'm not going to call her, I'm going to track her phone."

"You can do that?"

"I never thought I would have to, but I can."

"Are you mad at us for lying?" Avery asked, rubbing at her tired eyes.

"I'm upset that you were put in that position. And I know it's hard to go against what a friend or sibling wants you to do. I'm proud of you for coming clean though, okay? We're just fine."

"Thank you mama. I am so sorry. I know that lying is wrong. I remember the lesson you taught me about that. And I really am so sorry. I will not do it again, at least I will try my hardest."

"Thank you Averylin. It's time to go back to bed. You two don't worry about Isabeth, alright? She'll be fine."

"Maybe… Lindsay maybe she shouldn't be fine. Maybe it's time that ma and daddy know what she's been doing. She needs to know it's wrong and I don't think I can keep the secret much longer."

"I think you're right honey. You two get some rest. Everything is going to be fine."

She tucked them both back in, hugging and kissing as if nothing had happened, then left the room and quietly headed downstairs, her fingers drifting over the phone to find the app she needed. When Colton and Isa had been given phones for Christmas, it was under the condition that they take them everywhere they went and that they leave the GPS on, for safety reasons. It didn't take long for her to find the general area where Isa was and she sighed shakily, wondering how the girl had gotten so far in such a short time. It wasn't the normal neighborhood park that they usually frequented, and she had half a mind to drive over there, grab the girl by her arm and drag her back home, but she knew how she would have reacted to such a thing in her own mixed up teenage years; there was no reason to make things worse.

Instead she sat in the dark and kept track of Isa's movements for the next hour and a half until the little dot started to make its way back towards home.

By the time the back door creaked open she was more than ready to address the problem.

"Hello Isabeth. Have a seat."