"Our babies are in high school."

"No, Austin, don't remind me."

"We do this every year but this time is different. This is the last time we'll send them off to a new school and they only have four years left before they leave. Doesn't that make you sad Linds? It makes me sad."

"I'm not sad," Lindsay chuckled, shaking her head. "I'm a little nostalgic for those baby days and I feel pretty old, but it's kind of exciting to watch them grow up isn't it?"

"Maybe for you. Totally scary for me," Austin answered, opening the door to the coffee shop.

"It's not like they're flying the coop tomorrow. We still have four years."

"Yeah. Imagine how much more I can screw her up in four years. I've done a lot of damage in fourteen."

Lindsay rolled her eyes and gestured for Austin to sit in the windowseat they usually occupied while she moved to get their drinks. Though what had happened with Isa was a touchy subject and probably not one for public, it looked like it was going to have to be discussed.

"Okay," she started, returning with two coffees and an annoyed expression. "You did not screw up your kid. That implies that she's screwed up, which she's not."

"No, but she's definitely not a good kid."

"She's not a bad kid. She's a naïve kid, she's a reckless kid, she's a kid who's completely unafraid. But she's not a bad kid."

"Linds, she has no sense of right and wrong-"

"Yes she does. She does Austin and I know because she wasn't at all surprised that we were upset with her when she snuck out. She knew she made a bad choice, but what she wanted at the time outweighed what might happen in her mind. She knows she's making bad choices and she knows she's going to get into trouble, but right now it doesn't matter. She's not trying to do the wrong things Austin. She's just wanting to do something."

"I knew it was getting bad. She was mouthy, she was lying, secretive. And I thought she was just hormonal with a dash of my stubbornness and Danny's tunnel vision. I had no idea she was sneaking out, Linds. I didn't even have an inkling that Sarah was hiding it from us. I still don't know who these kids are that she goes out with, all I know for sure is that I just sent her to school with them."

Lindsay thought for a moment, running her finger around the top of her mug.

"What would have fixed it when you were her age?"

"I don't know. I've thought about it but… I don't know Linds, this is different. I did stupid stuff as a kid, but it was because home wasn't a good place. I still went to school and got things done, I respected the adults in my life for the most part. Doing what I did was my only handhold on any type of power over my situation. This is different with Isa. She's pushing back against everything and I don't know why. I mean, if it was your kid what would you do?"

"Blame myself," Lindsay answered readily. "But other than that, I don't know. My kids respond to things differently than yours do because we're different parents. If Avery was doing this… scare tactics would work on her. I'd take her down to the morgue, show her what happens when people least expect it. But that's not going to work on Isa."

"What about you? When you were in the thick of it, what would have helped?"

"Nothing. I had to figure it out on my own. Even if someone could have pulled me out of it, it wouldn't have been my decision and I would have slid right back."

"What if she sneaks out again and something awful happens?"

"Has she been going out?"

"I don't think so. Mostly she's been in her room brooding. She's mad that we upheld your punishments; I think she really assumed we'd flake. Danny put a security thing on her window. If it opens more than six inches an alarm goes off. I never thought I would have to do that to my kid."

"You're keeping her safe, Aust."

"I didn't want to be that parent."

"No one does, but more importantly, no one wants to be the parent whose child is injured or worse and looks back and knows they could have prevented it."

"I know."

"Look, she knows that everyone's trust in her is fractured. I think that hurts her more than she lets on. Maybe for right now that's enough. Maybe everyone just needs to cool down and let it go for a bit. Give her some time to settle in to school and see what happens."

"She just has so much… fire in her. I want to teach her how to channel that properly. I wish I could show her that her intensity can be turned into passion for something good, rather than reckless behavior. I feel like I need to give her something to hold on to."

"I wish I knew what to say, but I really think it's going to take time. Patience. Lots of patience."

"This sucks. I thought the newborn stage was emotionally taxing. No, it's this."

"Daniel and I are both running for ASB president," Ben announced later that evening during dinner.

"Ben won't that hurt your friendship?" Avery asked, sliding a green bean through the gravy.

"Nope. We already agreed that we aren't going to fight about anything, and we have to vote for each other, just to make it fair. Whoever wins is just the best guy for the job, doesn't mean he's better than the other dude."

"My teacher told us about that BSA thing."

"ASB," Ben corrected gently. "Go on."

"Anyway, she told us about that, and she said that whoever is the president gets to do the announcements in the morning! She also said that there is a lot of responsibility. And she said that there will be speeches and we will get to vote! I will vote for you, Ben. Though I do love Daniel too. If he becomes the president, he will make the whole school do sports all the time!"

Ben chuckled and reached over to pat her hand.

"I don't think the president has that kind of power sissy, but if he wins, I will be sure to mention your concerns to him."

"You know, I was thinking about joining the leadership club," Colton mentioned. "But I'm not sure yet. I think I'll go to the meeting on Thursday and see if I like it."

"Wow, my brothers both want to do big things," Avery sighed. "I would just like to do well on my work. Besides, I don't know what kind of club I could join."

"You might have to wait until you're older honey," Adam reminded, reaching over to scoot her water away from the edge of the table.

"I always must wait until I am older! And when I get older, the thing I was looking forward to does not seem so exciting anymore! This is the worst part about having big brothers!"

"Aw Aves! There's good stuff about being the youngest. For one, you get to learn from the mistakes me and Ben make."

"Yeah sissy. You never taped your legs to someone else like Cole and Isa did that time. And you never cut your own hair like I did."

"Well that would be silly!"

"We might get to do fun stuff before you do, but that means we mess up and you learn how to do it right."

"I guess so. And I am the cutest after all. I suppose being the youngest is okay. Right mama?"

"Right," Lindsay chuckled, impressed with how sensitive the boys were to their little sisters feelings. They'd always been pretty tuned in, but she loved that they knew just what to say when emotions became dicey.

"I think this is going to be a great year," Ben decided, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers together on his head. "I want to challenge myself to do better in math. Then I could get into a harder class next year."

"And why do you want to do that?"

"Because I am not very good at math. And it would be a big accomplishment for me to get better. Cole, what's your goal for the year?"

"I want to get into the National Honor Society. Me and Isa are both going to try for it. I also think I want to try out for a sport this spring. Probably track. Aves?"

"You know what? I think I would like to try out for the school play! It is The Wizard of Oz this year. Maybe I could be Dorothy and Thomas could be Toto. That would be hysterical."

A loud conversation broke out in which the kids began to discuss Thomas in various stage roles, while Adam and Lindsay glanced at each other and tried not to get too sappy about the joys of raising their children. Years ago, watching them all grow up had been hard, filled with hesitations and fears and a desire to keep them little. Now, while there was a slight ache at the thought of the trio flying the coop, more than anything it was exciting to see them develop into themselves, to set goals, have passions, to change a little corner of their world.

"Could us kids run to the store to get dessert?" Avery asked after a while. "We all have our own money."

"Sure, that would be fine," Adam answered. "But hurry back, you all have chores before bed."

"Okay!"

They left the table quickly and were out the door in a flurry of chatter.

"You know, it's really too bad that the three of them don't like each other," Lindsay teased, standing up to clear the dishes.

"I know, I wish they would just get along."

"I don't know if we're really good parents or we lucked out with good kids, but I'm not complaining, that's for sure."

"Maybe it's a little of both," Adam conceded with a shrug, joining her at the sink where they rinsed the dishes, but left them for Ben to put in to the washer.

Lindsay was quiet for a while, nodding at his words, but obviously mentally caught on something.

"What?"

"I was just thinking. I wonder what our grandkids are going to be like."

He burst into laughter and pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head.

"Oh babe, I can't wait to find that out with you."