Big thanks to everyone who continues to read. I really do hope you're enjoying this as much or more than I enjoy writing it.

About half an hour before Chris's wedding ceremony in downtown St. Paul, Lizzy and Lex were sitting in a pew near the front of the church when Michelle sat down next to her. "Hi," Michelle said.

"Hey. You look great. I mean—" Lizzy trailed off. While the woman did look great, Lizzy realized that could sound insensitive since Michelle had a just had a baby two months ago.

"I know what you meant, thank you." Michelle smiled. "It's good to see you."

Lizzy smiled back then looked at her boyfriend. "Michelle, this is my boyfriend, Alex Mason. Lex, this is my step-mom, Michelle."

"Nice to meet you," Lex said. He did look happy to see her but something seemed slightly off. She shrugged it off and looked back at her step-mom.

"You too. You go to Eden Hall as well?" Michelle asked.

"I do."

"Do you play baseball?"

"Not exactly, I'm one of the sports' trainers for the team. Mostly involves a lot of paperwork and workouts but I got to know Lizzy through it, so I enjoy it."

"Your brothers would like to see you," Michelle told Lizzy.

Lizzy froze. "Brothers? As in plural? As in all of them?" she asked slowly.

"Yes. Matt's playoff game isn't until tomorrow and Ben doesn't have a game until Monday. They're just down the hall."

"My dad?"

"He's in there too."

Lizzy swallowed and stood. "Would you mind keeping Lex company? I'll try not to take too long."

"Relax, the wedding won't start without Chris."

"That is true." Lizzy slipped out and down to the room where Chris was. Her dad was standing just outside the room. "Hey," Lizzy said.

"There's my beautiful and talented little girl," Rob answered.

"Not so little anymore, but, thank you."

"Your brothers wanted a word. Especially Matt."

"That's what Michelle said."

"Right. And before you flip out, I didn't want to do this but he insisted."

"If you tell me Star's pregnant, I'll probably freak."

"Not that." Rob didn't explain further, he only opened the door for her and she stepped inside.

"Have a seat," Ben said, motioning to the open seat. Lizzy plopped into it.

"Don't think we really have the time for the Spanish Inquisition," Lizzy answered as Matt stepped in front of her. There was very little chance this was about anything other than her new boyfriend. When they had found out about Portman, they had gone overboard and questioned him then she had gone off on them so maybe they had learned something from that.

"No, but we have time for this." He grabbed her arms and positioned them across her chest as if she was cradling a football. "Don't move." Lizzy stared at him confused until he stepped away and Chris stepped up then set a baby in her arms. "Meet Ty," Matt said. She looked down to see the baby had a sleepy look on his face as he looked up at her. Looked like this wasn't about Lex and was about her brother that she hadn't met before. Ty's face crumpled and Lizzy panicked knowing exactly what was coming next.

"Ben, Ben, take him," she demanded. Ben swooped in and scooped up the little one as he let out the most awful cry. She pressed a hand to her chest as Ben rocked the little one. Before any of them could say anything, she stood and shoved Matt. "Jerk," she spat. She stormed out of the room and her dad grabbed her arm. She swung back to face him and he looked as sad as his youngest son had.

"I'm sorry. I've been crap at raising you, you know that. I barely know you but Matt does, or well, did. He said handing you Ty would be the best way to introduce the two of you and that nothing bad would happen. Chris agreed. I've never seen you interact with a baby but I didn't think anyone would want to be surprised like that."

"Babies … to put it nicely, they hate me. Every one I've ever met. When Jim had his cousin over for a family reunion and his son was only a month or so, they handed him to me and somehow, he came down with explosive diarrhea. When Mrs. R's sister was staying with them one Christmas, her daughter puked on me twice. Both times they let me hold her." Lizzy swallowed and looked up at her dad. "You should have seen his face. Chris put him in my arms and he was so adorable. He had this sleepy look on his face, like when Squish was so sleepy and comfy but didn't want to fall asleep but was starting to give in, but then those baby blues landed on me and he looked so sad. It was only going to be seconds before he started to cry. I don't even know what I did …" Lizzy trailed off and sniffled.

"I don't think you did anything wrong. I think you are just uncomfortable around babies because of what happened the prior three times and he can sense that so, he felt uncomfortable too."

"Expect the worst and it shall come to pass?" Lizzy asked as Rob hugged her.

"Yes. I'm sorry, baby. I promise when you come home this summer that we can work on it. Believe it or not Matt was the same way when we handed him Seth and look at the two of them now."

"You're right. You're right. Maybe this will get better. I should go. I left Michelle with Lex and though the party won't start without Chris, I don't want to make it weird for either of them."

"Of course. Lex is the boyfriend you told Chris about?"

"He is. Though he prefers Lex, he will answer to Alex as well."

"Ok, I'll see you at the reception then."

They spent some time at the reception talking and enjoying the food though Lizzy kept her meal light. Shortly before they had to leave to get back to the school for the game, Star came over with Ty.

"Please don't ask me to hold him," Lizzy said softly.

"Matt told me what happened and I told him that he was a jerk. He may know a lot about you but he was gone for four years and things change. He should have defaulted to Seth or Ben on that."

"Thank you. Where's Michelle?"

"Dancing with your dad. Babies aren't so bad, you know, and I'm sure you and Ty could get along."

"I don't want to hate him; I just don't know why he doesn't like me."

"I'm sure he likes you just fine." Star shifted Ty in her arms a little bit and Lizzy stared at the little one. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Ty, this is your big sister. I know you didn't get off on the right foot but you can say hi, can't you? And maybe smile?" Star asked, looking down at the baby.

"Star, he's only a few months old, I don't think he'll be talking for a bit yet," Lizzy told her, watching the baby for any kind of response. Though he didn't say anything, he did giggle and smile at her. "Maybe you're not so bad after all."

"Have you decided where you're going to college?"

"Either UM or Chicago. Both have a decent art program and aside from baseball or hockey, it's really the only thing I'm interested in."

A throat cleared on her other side. She glanced at Lex. He was looking at her expectantly. "Did we not talk about this?" he asked.

"Look, Cali's great but you and I know I didn't apply out there. Oh, Star, this is my boyfriend, Lex. Lex, this is my brother Matt's wife, Star."

"U of Chicago's a great school. It's where I went and I loved it," Star said.

"Fulton got in there too and said their photography school is one of the best in the nation. He's really excited to go, plus the full ride hockey scholarship was a big draw," Lizzy told her. She didn't bother mentioning that Portman was going there too. She probably already knew and if she didn't, Lizzy knew it would only inflame Lex to hear about it.

"Lizzy," Lex said plainly.

"I know," Lizzy answered.

"Lex, sweetie, could you do me a favor? At the end of the table over there is a bottle of diet cola. Could you be a dear and get that for me? Please?" Star asked. Lex sighed but did as she asked. The minute he was out of earshot, Star looked at Lizzy. "I don't mean to overstep or butt in where I'm not wanted but I don't like that boy. Not one bit. In pretty much the same way I didn't like Lissy's ex-fiancé. I know it's not my place and you probably don't like hearing that I don't like him but I think you should know." Lizzy knew exactly who Star was talking about when she mentioned Lissy's ex-fiancé. Portman's sister had been engaged to a man who wasn't all that great to her and had even assaulted Lizzy when she had visited with Portman when Portman's oldest brother Jeff had been getting married. Lissy had finally had the courage to dump the man and had moved on to a much better man, one who was Matt's best friend. Lizzy didn't like the implication here but knew it was best to thank her and move on to a different subject. At least it wasn't her brothers bringing it up.

"Thank you for your input but it's fine. So he's not the most considerate guy on the planet and we argue sometimes but I like him and he's good for me so, kindly, butt out." Lizzy should have listened to her. She really should have but at that point in time, all she cared about was how he made her feel.

"Got it, but I will always be here if you need anything. Even if it's to rant about Matt. Always. It's never too late, ok?"

"Thanks."

"And one final thing?"

Lizzy did her best not to roll her eyes. "Yeah?"

"If he does something you find unacceptable from Fulton or Charlie, don't accept it from him. You deserve to be loved. Full stop. No strings attached."

"I get it. Thanks." Lizzy reached out and gently touched Tyler's hand. She watched the baby until Lex returned. "Will you dance with me?" she asked her boyfriend. Lex set the bottle of cola on the table by Star then took Lizzy's hand and led her to the dance floor.

As the wedding wound down, Danni approached her new husband. "My parents and family are heading out and so are most of the guests. Instead of heading to our hotel room, I was thinking maybe, if it's not too late, we could go watch the rest of your sister's game? I know Matt already left for that," she said.

"That sounds like a perfect idea," Chris answered. He checked in with Matt who said the game was in the bottom of the third then they headed for the field. They arrived in time to see Lizzy hit yet another home run, her third of the game; ninth of the season. The crowd was on their feet cheering for her. Over the next three innings, she also pitched 24 strikes and only two balls, but it was enough to lead her team to a five to two win over their opponents.

Lizzy's family stood at the edge of the parking lot waiting for her at the end of the game. They watched her walk out of the locker room with Alex who grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. None of them could tell what he was saying but none of them liked it. Lizzy pulled away from him and headed for them.

"Don't say it," Ben warned

"Say what?" Chris asked.

"You know what. Don't say it. You know what happened when we expressed concern about Dean. Don't do the same here." He glanced from Chris to Matt to see neither of his brothers looked happy but they both reluctantly agreed. Lizzy was 18 years old and Ben knew she needed time to make her own mistakes or she never would.

"Fine." Chris looked at his baby sister as she came to a stop in front of them. He grinned broadly. "Baby sister, you were on fire today," Chris said.

"That's why you call me Firearm," Lizzy said skeptically. She wasn't sure what her brother was up to but it was weird that he was looking at her like he wanted something. Maybe it was just because he was newly married and he was in a better mood than she had seen from him lately.

"Yes, it is. I can't believe you scored three runs in a game. Pitchers don't usually have the power hitting."

"You expected less from me? You're the one who told me if I was going to play that I should be able to hit too. Also, even though it involves a different motion than hockey, it still uses some of the same muscles and I've been training all year."

"What Chris means is we're proud of you," Matt said.

"Thank you. Listen, thanks for coming, everyone, but I'm starving so I'm going to hit the cafeteria and then the books. I'll see y'all later." She hugged her family and after saying goodbye she headed back inside and dropped her stuff off before heading to the cafeteria where she got some dinner. She was playing with the last bit of her applesauce when a heavy thump sounded from next to her. She glanced to her left and saw Ashley next to her.

"Hey," Ashley said.

"Hey," Lizzy answered.

"How was the game?"

"We won."

"That's great but you don't look happy about it."

"No, the game was great, really. I guess it's just been a long day."

"Didn't your brother get married today?"

"He did. Second oldest. It was lovely."

"Did you get in a fight?"

"No, not really. My family was great and they even caught the last couple innings of the game. I'm not sure what's got me in a funk."

"Dwayne said you have a new baby brother."

"I do. He's two months old and it's not so bad. He was at the wedding and other than him crying when I held him, he seems ok."

"You know I'm the oldest of four, right?" Ashley asked.

"Yes. Of course." If she remembered correctly from the photo sitting on Ashley's desk, the girl had a brother in middle school and then twin brother and sister in maybe the second or third grade.

"As such, I know what it's like when your parents keep having kids you think you don't want. Or rather, you think life is perfect the way it is and suddenly there's a wrench in the plans. Now everything has to change for a new baby. It sucks but eventually you come to like the new kid and you find some things you have in common."

"Do you ever get over being angry at your parents?"

"You realize it's not anger, it's fear, mostly of being forgotten while they're concerned about the new baby but they get better at balancing and things work out."

"I don't know why I didn't ask you in the first place."

"Friendships with girls don't come easy to you, so you often forget how great we can be." Ashley grinned, causing Lizzy to do the same before she changed it to a safer subject. Well, she thought it was safer.

"True. Are you going to prom next month?"

"I am. Dwayne's already asked and my mom bought me a new dress when I went home a few weeks ago. What about you and Lex?" For a moment, Lizzy had forgotten her roommate was dating the Texan.

"He hasn't actually officially asked but he mentioned that it was coming up and he thought it was a good idea to go."

"You do realize you're nominated, right?"

"For?" Lizzy asked, confused.

"Prom Queen? I thought you knew?" Ashley answered.

"There's a lot of things I apparently don't know about."

"Yeah. Final vote is Friday."

"That is definitely very good to know but I'm not a preppy so there is no way I'm going to win."

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Maybe not what?" Lex asked, sitting down next to her.

"Girl stuff," Lizzy answered. She froze, unsure of why she hadn't just told him they were talking about prom but figured it didn't really matter.

Lex looked around Lizzy at Ashley. The other girl stared down at her hands. "Would you leave us alone?" Lex asked. Before Ashley could stand up, Dwayne sat down next to her and several Ducks joined them. Lizzy hadn't realized it was that late. The seniors had been on a spring break trip to Florida and most of them weren't scheduled to be back until after six. She and Lex had gotten back early with the baseball team due to their game that day.

"Everything ok?" Dwayne asked, gently touching his girlfriend's hand, though his eyes were on the brunette and not the redhead.

"Just fine," Lizzy said softly. Ashley nodded.

Kenny reached across the table and touched Lizzy's hand. "You sure?" he asked.

Lizzy glanced at Lex to see he looked angry for some reason then looked back at Kenny. "Yeah, I'm sure. Fulton come back with you guys?" She smiled curiously.

"Yeah. He said something about walking Aly to her room before unpacking," Luis said.

"Thanks, Luis," Lizzy said. She smiled at her teammates and stood to make her way back to the dorms. She really hoped Lex wasn't following her. She just wanted a moment with her best friend even though she had just spent almost a week hanging out with him. She glanced over her shoulder before she entered the dorms. She wasn't sure why she was relieved that he wasn't following her but she shook it off and went to find Fulton. She wasn't much surprised to find he was in his room, but she was to find that he was alone. "There's my favorite Bash Brother," Lizzy said, leaning against the doorway.

"Kenny's here? I thought he went to the cafeteria?" Fulton looked around.

"Real funny," she deadpanned.

Fulton smirked and continued throwing his clothes into the laundry hamper between the desks. "So, what brings you here?" he asked.

"I feel like we haven't hung out in forever."

"And here my girlfriend thinks we spend too much time together." Lizzy bit down on her lower lip and looked around the room. Anywhere but at Fulton. He stopped tossing his clothes and looked at her expectantly. Lizzy glanced at him then at the wall just past him. "What?" he asked.

"I—never mind. You're right. I'm sorry." She turned on her heel and walked away.

"Hey, Mav, everything alright?" Portman said as he walked past her. He grinned at the shorter brunette.

"Just fine," she answered shortly.

Portman stopped short. Even if had had done something wrong in the past week, he couldn't remember anything, she wasn't usually the type to keep it bottled up. She was too much like Charlie in that way. "What's wrong?" Portman asked.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

Portman caught her arm. "Hey, you've got that broken Maverick look. Talk to me, I can help." Lizzy swallowed and looked up at him. "I got ya," he said. He wrapped her in a hug. She had really missed his hugs. She took several deep breaths and slowly let them out. "You want to talk now?"

"No, I'm good. I appreciate the offer though." She smiled. He nodded and let her go.

Questions? Comments? You know where to leave them.