A/N: Hi, it's me again! I don't know why that absence happened or what it was about or if it will happen again. I wish I knew. Maybe it's writer's block mixed with plot ruts and way too much time on youtube. Whatever it it's I hope it's gone now and we can move on.

"Coley!" Avery shouted as she busted out the door of her classroom. "Hello!"

"Hey Aves. Ready to go?"

"Yeah, but we have to get Ben too."

"He's staying after to work on a project with Daniel and Charlotte. Austin will bring him home later."

"You're so organized," Avery giggled as Colton took her backpack and slung it over his shoulder.

"I try. I figured we should do something fun since it's just the two of us for a few hours."

"Ooh, like what?"

"Well I found out about this cheese shop…"

"You mean… a store of cheese?"

"Yeah. Cheese and chocolate-"

"What the heck are we waiting for? Let's go!"

She pulled him roughly out of the doors of the school and down the steps before she stopped semi-still. Her feet were almost dancing with anticipation.

"Which way do we go?"

"It's just a few subway stops."

"Yippee!"

Colton laughed at her enthusiasm and took her hand, swinging it in between them.

"Stick by me on the subway and don't touch anything."

"I know."

"Alright, well then let's get to gettin', The Baby Aves."

"I'm not a baby."

"No, but you'll always be The Baby Aves to me."

She rolled her eyes but squeezed his hand.

"Well Coley, how is high school? Have you kissed many girls yet?"

"When do you think I have time for hullaballoo like that?"

"During study hall. That's when they do it in the movies. I'm pretty sure that's when Isa's been kissin' boys."

"Isa's been kissin' boys huh?"

"Well of course! She's a woman now. She has to. But I know she still loves you best. You're her best friend and that's worth more than kissin' any day."

"I'm relieved to hear you say that."

"Yeah so anyway, what is high school like?"

"It's hard work. But there's a lot of opportunity to try different things. Year after next, I could take half my classes at one of the colleges and when I graduate from high school, I would also graduate with a two year degree from college."

"Wow! I don't know what that means but it sounds special."

"It just means that when I go to college and then med school, my resume looks a little better."

"Coley, how will I ever get into college?"

"By not worrying about it now."

"Really? Okay! Did you remember to let Thomas out when you went home after school?"

"Yeah. She was successful in her endeavors and she received a treat."

"I am so proud of her," Avery laughed. "She's such a good dog."

"She is. You've raised her well."

"Do you think mama and daddy would let me get another pet? I am dying for a chinchilla or a ferret. Or a hedgehog. I can't decide. But I am dying for it."

"I don't know but it doesn't hurt to ask when they get home tomorrow."

"Yes, I should probably broach the subject soon. You don't think Thomas would get jealous though, right?"

"Nah. I didn't get jealous when mama and dad brought Ben home."

"Oh good. Having two animals would be hard but I think I'm up for it."

"I think you are too."

"And I'll need practice with animals if I'm going to be a veterinarian."

"That's very true."

"So technically mama and daddy should get me all the animals I want. You know, to support my dreams and future career."

Colton snorted a laugh.

"You make a good argument, Aves."

"Of course I do. I'm right."

After perusing the cheese shop and partaking in a few samples, Colton and Avery each ordered a half sandwich at the counter, and found a small table by the window. They sat across from each other and watched people out the window for several minutes before Avery turned to her big brother and took a deep breath.

"Coley? Do you think I am pretty?"

"Huh? Of course I do."

"Do you think that because you're my brother, or because I really am pretty?"

"Because you really are pretty. But you know that being pretty inside is more important, right?"

"Oh I know that. And I know I am beautiful on the inside. I like that best about myself. But is it wrong to want to be pretty on the outside too?"

"It's not wrong at all. As long as that pretty means healthy too."

"Okay."

"Why are you asking?"

Avery shrugged and picked up the rest of her sandwich, taking a large bite before she spoke.

"There is a girl in my class who doesn't like me. I don't know why. Mostly we just stay away from each other. But she's been telling me I'm gross and ugly a lot. I don't really believe it because she's rude. But I also kind of think that she wouldn't say it if I wasn't at least a little ugly."

Colton tried to keep his rage inside, tried to curb his tongue so the words he wanted to say wouldn't pop out.

"Averylin Grace, you don't have any ugliness to you at all. Inside or outside. That will never change. Do you understand that?"

"I think so."

He reached across the table and took her hand in his.

"Anyone who ever makes you question who you are, or how wonderful you are, is not a person whose words need to carry any weight. If they are tearing you down instead of building you up, you need to stop hearing them."

"I will try. It's hard though."

"It is. But I'll be there for you. You can come and talk to me whenever it hurts, okay?"

"I know."

"C'mon, let's head home. I want to show you something on the way."

Avery nodded and they cleaned up their table quickly before leaving the store. They bypassed the closest subway stop and walked to a small park instead, where Colton looked around for a few seconds before spotting what he was searching for.

"Here Aves," he said as he plucked a yellow dandelion from the ground. "What's this?"

"What do you mean what is it? It's a flower."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure."

"You're wrong. It's a weed."

"It is?"

"Yeah. But you see a flower. So to you it's something beautiful. To a landscaper it's something to be gotten rid of. But Avery, because of who you are, you're able to value this for the beauty it brings, not for the parts of it that could be bad. That's what you do with people too. And I think that you're going to have to start trying to see the good things about this girl at school too."

"Because doing that will keep me beautiful inside."

"It will. And it might help her to be beautiful inside too."

Avery contemplated the words as she rolled the dandelion stem between her fingers. She knew it was going to be hard to stop hearing the mean words. But maybe the nicer she was to this bully, the less often the words would happen. Maybe this idea actually had some merit.

"Thanks Coley," she whispered before throwing her arms around his neck. "I love you."

"I love you too Aves. So most."

"So very most," she giggled.

"Ben! We brought you something awesome!" Avery greeted from the porch. "Hurry up and come in here!"

"Sweet! C'mon Daniel, let's go see what it is!"

They boys raced into the house and Austin followed behind, unsure of what giftable shenanigan Colton and Avery had procured.

"Whoa! Spicy pickles! That's awesome. Where did you find them sissy?"

"Coley took me to a special cheese store. They also have chocolate and pickles. We got sandwiches and I got to pick a cheese too so we got you this jar of pickles to make it even Steven."

"A cheese store?" Daniel laughed. "Was it the best day of your life?"

"So far!" Avery retorted, arms crossed over her chest. Daniel grinned and dropped his arm around her shoulders before kissing the crown of her head.

"I'm not really teasing, Aves."

"Okay. Are you going to try a spicy pickle?"

He contemplated the jar that his best friend had opened, then nodded.

"Sure, if Ben is going to suffer I'll suffer too. Ma?"

Austin leaned over and took one whiff of the pickles, then shook her head and backed away.

"No thanks boys. You have at it."

Both boys grabbed a pickle spear from the jar and took giant bites.

"Oh boy! They're turning red!" Avery shouted in delight.

"I think they're going to puke!" Colton added with a laugh. "Keep it in guys, you can do it!"

"Hot!" Ben managed to wail. "Too hot!"

Daniel held on for a brief moment more before he ran to the sink and spit, then turned on the tap and stuck his face underneath.

"Ben," he spluttered. "How are you surviving this?"

Ben shook his head and finally managed to swallow the bite, then ran to the sink for some water too.

"Determination," he coughed after a moment. "And I wanted to beat you at something."

"You're an idiot."

Somewhat recovered, they stood up from the sink and wiped their faces with their shirts.

"Aw, Austin why would you record that?"

"To show your mama," Austin replied. "Ready to go, Daniel?"

"Yeah are you going to buy me ice-cream on the way home?"

"If I buy you some that means I can have some too so yes of course. I'll see you three later, don't burn the house down and call me if you need anything."

"We'll be fine Austin, but thanks."

The door closed behind them and Avery hopped up on the counter and opened a cabinet, reaching into the very back.

"Well boys, you sure are glad you got me," she announced. "Because I know where mama keeps the good candy."
"It's a freaking cornucopia!" Ben shouted when Avery produced the bag of candy.

"Averylin Ross, you've been holding out on us."

"I've been waiting for a moment like this."

"Sing it, girl."

She laughed and climbed down, clutching the candy in her arms.

"I will share but we must watch the movie that I pick."

The boys exchanged looks.

"Okay, I think it's a deal."

Much later in the evening, the living room was littered with food wrappers and pizza boxes, with blankets and pillows scattered around the floor. The fifth movie of the night was halfway through and Avery was snoring gently against Colton's shoulder.

"We should probably clean this up," Ben noted before guzzling the last of his soda.

"Yeah. Mama would probably be livid if she came home to find this."

Ben was quiet, playing with the tab on his pop can before he spoke.

"Cole? Do you think mama's going to be okay? I know she's been having a hard time since papa died. We're all sad, you know? But she doesn't seem to be herself anymore."

"I know. But she'll be fine, Ben. She always is. Dad took her out of town for the night so she could have some breathing room. That's all she needs."

"What if it's not?"

"Then we'll be there for her and we'll help her until it's better."

Ben frowned. That wasn't good enough. He needed to know that his mama would be fine. He needed to see her smiling and laughing again, the way she used to, with her whole heart in it. When they returned from Montana, she'd gone back to work for a week, but had been so overwhelmed with everything that Ben had found her laying in bed crying one afternoon. He'd been worried ever since, and even the reassurances from Austin hadn't helped. He needed his mama.

"Can I use your phone and call her to say goodnight?"

"Sure. Do you think I should wake Aves up or carry her to bed?"

"If you wake her up she's going to try to bite you."

Colton glanced down at his slumbering little sister.

"I'll carry her up."

Ben took the offered phone and rolled over on the couch before placing the call. He wasn't checking in really. He was just saying goodnight. He wasn't too old to say goodnight.

"Hello?"

"Hey mama. What's up?"

"Not a whole lot, buddy. What's up with you?"

"Well sissy shared your candy stash with us."

"Dang it!" Lindsay chuckled. "Wait, which candy stash?"

"Guess!"

"No way, not falling for that one, mister."

Ben laughed.

"You sound happier, mama."

"I am. My heart aches, buddy. I won't ever lie about that."

"It dulls your smile."

"It does. Some of that will never go away, but I promise you buddy, I'll be me again. I think I just threw myself back into work too soon."

"Okay."

"I know you're worried about me Benjamin, but I'm okay. I needed more time than I thought I did."

"I just want you to be good. But you feel better now?"

"I do. I promise. So how was your day? Did you get a lot done on your project?"

"Almost done. Did you see the video that Austin sent?"

"Oh yeah. I was proud of your staying power with that pickle."

"I thought you might be."

"Where are Colton and Avery?"

"Oh, sissy fell asleep so Cole carried her upstairs. We were watching a movie but I think we're going to clean up after ourselves a little."

"I would appreciate that. Are you sure you guys are okay with staying alone all night?"

"We're fine, mama. I promise. Don't worry about us and convince daddy that you need to come home or anything okay?"

"I won't."

"Cole's back so I think we're going to clean up now. Thanks for lettin' me check on you mama. I love you."

"I love you too Benjamin."

Avery held her breath and listened hard. She was certain she had heard something downstairs. Or even worse, someone. But maybe she had still been half asleep, or maybe it was just the house settling. Who would want to come in and rob them anyway? It was ridiculous. She slowly let her breath out, but heard the doorknob rattling again. She was certain that's what it was.

Throwing her blankets off she ran out of the room and across the hall.

"Coley!" she whispered, reaching over to shake his foot. "I heard something!"

"Huh?"

"Something downstairs. I think someone came into the house."

She hiccupped and took a deep breath to fight the tears, while Colton quietly climbed out of bed and shook Ben awake.

"What's the matter?"

"You got my back?"

"Yeah, of course."

"C'mon."

Ben got up, eyes going wide when Colton grabbed the metal bat from where they had left it in the corner of the room. It wasn't much, but it might help. Ben grabbed the foam bat (even less, and would not help at all) and followed his brother slowly out of the room.

Avery climbed up into Colton's bed and pulled her knees to her chest, crying softly at the fright that ran through her body. So many things could go wrong, and there were so many bad people in the world. She had never thought that monsters lived under the bed, she knew they were people and they could live anywhere.

Suddenly she heard a loud thunk, three different shouts, and then silence. The hallway light flicked on and Avery dashed from the bedroom to peek out the door and see what was happening.

Ben and Colton were standing on the stairs with their bats raised in the air, while Austin stood further down, hand clutching at her chest. Adrenaline coursed through Avery's veins and, as was her norm for high emotions of any kind, she burst into tears.

"I'm sorry," Austin spluttered. "Your mama needed me to check on you."

"You coulda warned a guy!" Ben shouted back with obvious embarrassment. He took a glance at the bat he held, then lowered it while Avery continued to wail, and Colton bit back a laugh.

"I didn't think I would wake you guys up but the door got stuck."

"I almost peed my nightgown!" Avery wept, scrubbing her fist over her eyes. "I thought I was brave but apparently I'm not."

"Sure you are," Colton argued. "You did the right thing coming to get me and Ben. That took some courage."

"It did?"

"Of course. It was scary to walk across the hallway, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, really a lot."

"See, you're not a 'fraidy-cat," Ben assured.

"I really am sorry you guys. I swear, I didn't think you would ever notice I was here."

"Was mama worried about us?"

"Yeah, but that's because she's your mama and this is the first time you'll be home alone all night. She thought Hannah would be back from her trip by now, but she's not. Moms worry about a lot of things, it's not because she doesn't trust you. And I'll let her know that intruders are going to have a hard time getting past that baseball bat."

"I should let Danny teach me to swing better."

"You should," Austin agreed as she pushed her hair out of her face. "Avery, honey are you going to be okay?"

"I don't know if I can sleep without daddy just upstairs."

"You're perfectly safe here, I promise. Would it help if I tucked you in again?"

"Probably," Avery sniffled. "Could you tuck me in really, really tight?"

Austin nodded and made her way up the stairs while the boys shuffled into their room and replaced the bats, then climbed into bed.

"Austin, did you ever get scared when you stayed home all by yourself?"

The question made Austin pause in her tucking in of the sheets, and the answer rumbled around loudly in her head before she was able to shake it away. Avery didn't need to know that a young Austin had always been more scared when she wasn't home alone.

"Not when I was little, but when I first moved out and had my own place, I would get scared sometimes when Danny wasn't there."

"It's good that he makes you feel safe."

"Yeah."

"Do you think you could cuddle with me for a bit? I know you don't love cuddling like mama does but I'm too jazzed up to fall asleep."

"Anything for you, Averylin Grace."

"Do you like that I share your Grace name with you?"

"I love it. It's special that we can share that. It makes me feel like I'll always get to be a part of your life."

"Oh of course you will. You are my second mama, kind of. And when I get to be older and I marry a dashing man, I don't want just my mama helpin' me get ready. I want you to help me too."

"Really?"

"You're very silly if you don't think so."

"You're cute."

"I know."

"Close your eyes and go to sleep honey. It's late."

"Goodnight Austin."

"Goodnight Avery. I love you."

"I love you too. Even if you did scare us half to death."

"Hey, is anyone home?" Adam hollered as he opened the front door late the next evening.

"Daddy!" Avery shrieked, sliding from her chair at the dinner table and running towards the door. "You're back!"

"Yes we are," he chuckled as he scooped her up. "We missed you."

"I missed you too. Mama!"

Lindsay laughed and took Avery in her arms, even though her little girl was getting much too heavy.

"Hey baby. Are you wearing makeup?"

"A little. Hannah gave it to me. Do you like it?"

"I do. I like the colors you picked."

"Me too. C'mon and have dinner with us. There's enough. The boys made it."

"I love when someone else cooks for me," Lindsay said with a smile as they made their way into the dining room. Ben jumped up from his seat to hold a chair out for Lindsay, then leaned in and kissed her cheek once she was settled.

"Feelin' good mama?"

"Much better, Ben."

"Good. I'll bring you some dinner. I hope it's good. We didn't know what we were really doing."

"I trust you."

Ben moved to the kitchen while Colton scooted over to hug his mama. He'd been worried too, maybe even more than Ben was. He was old enough to know that mourning wasn't depression, and to understand that sometimes a break from life was a breath of fresh air. But knowing that was different than trusting that fate would ease up on his mama.

"Thanks for holding down the fort, buddy."

"I know you worried about us."

"Only a little. I knew you wouldn't get into trouble."

"We almost killed Austin."

Lindsay snorted.

"I'm sorry. Maybe I'm not as cool as I thought."

Colton laughed and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"I love you anyway."

"I love you too."

"See I told you they wouldn't forget us," Adam teased.

"I could never forget y'all," Avery sighed. "Unless I totally lost my mind. Anyway, would you like to try the fancy cheese Coley bought for me? It's delicious!"

"Sure, Tink."

"Also, you guys could leave more often if you wanted. It was pretty fun. I mean, you should not think that we want you to go. Just that it's okay when you do."

"Babe, I think that means we can finally take that around the world trip we've always talked about."

"Yeah, we'll just leave them a couple bucks for pizza and make sure to call occasionally."

"And send pictures when we go zip-lining."

"Hey wait, this joke is getting out of hand!" Avery protested. "You can't have your best adventures without us!"

"Let me let you in on a little secret," Lindsay whispered, leaning over. "You guys are our best adventure."