Wow, two updates in two weeks. I'm on a roll. Actually I not. I just realized that yesterday marks two years of posting this story. In the first year, I uploaded 50 chapters and in the second, only 17, that's like 1/3 of that. Yikes. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed these 67 chapters. Thanks to ItsJustBecca, NavyGirl05, Mercy156, Pharmergirl, Sanchezashley, Monkeybaby, ki4pak (welcome back by the way), seleneplaysgames, Taylor Noelle Hood, Lureiel (thanks for the 300th review), and the guest Alex for all your reviews. And I'm glad that you weren't turned off by the last chapter. It was part of why I was so nervous about posting it. Now-a-days most people are squeamish about corporal punishment and react badly towards it.

Anyway, here's a more fluffy chapter before I get back to the episode chapters. If you have been keeping track or just catching up then you know what is coming up in the next chapter and not this one.

Monday afternoon, Linda sat Anna down and handed her back her cell phone. "This is from your dad," Linda said.

"Why? I'm grounded for eight more months," Anna said hesitantly, expecting a trick.

"No, you're not. You're not grounded at all. I can't believe you didn't correct us. You should have said something, Anna. Anything to stop the spanking and grounding, after all you did the right thing."

"Right thing?"

"Don't play dumb, I didn't raise a blonde airhead. You were trying to get those two boys home and hadn't touched a drop of alcohol all night. I'm proud of you for that and I'm really proud you didn't apologize for something you didn't do." Linda smiled.

"I haven't touched a drop of alcohol since I was 12. I didn't like the taste of it. How'd you find out what I did?"

"Your dad's partner, Maria Baez; she made him read the entire report. To include the BrAC report."

"Met her the other night, I like her. I'm sure she'll handle Dad just fine."

Linda watched her for a moment. "Why didn't you say anything the other night?"

"Dad sent me upstairs before I could tell you what happened and when he came up, he told me not to."

"You could have tried."

"You could have asked," Anna snapped. She instantly felt bad. "Sorry."

"No, you're right. I could have and I didn't."

"I shouldn't have snapped." Anna stared at her hands.

"Your phone has been buzzing all afternoon and nearly all day yesterday," her mom said as the phone did just that. Anna shook her head at the name on the screen.

"It's Jim, I think he wanted to make sure I was okay yesterday and we kinda had a fight today before school. I snapped at him because the whole thing was basically his fault. He suggested Roadies, he watched his brother drink and did nothing, he didn't try to stop me from doing the right thing—" She dismissed the text on the screen then opened her phone to scroll through the others.

"I'm sure he's sorry for it." Linda pulled her daughter closer and Anna leaned against her mother's shoulder.

"That's what his last three texts have said. What did he tell you when he called?"

"He told me that he wouldn't be bringing you home. That the cops had pulled you over while you were taking his brother home and when he pulled around the block to see what was going on they were putting you in the back of a cruiser. He didn't know why either but he did notice the 54pcnt on the car."

"You didn't call Dad?"

"No. I was sure they'd tell him when you got there."

Anna shook her head and sighed. "I still should have set a better example for Jack and Sean. Refusing a field sobriety test and not trying to explain things to the cops wasn't a great idea."

Linda threaded a hand through her daughter's blonde hair. She smiled softly and touched her hand to make sure her daughter understood her. "You live and you learn. You also did everything else right. Your brothers understand that."

"Why isn't Dad the one giving this back to me? He's the one who's wrong."

"He had to work and wanted you to have it back as soon as possible."

"If you say so."

Those calculating, cocoa eyes. They weren't buying it, but there was something else there. An unasked question. "You want him to apologize."

"I have to when I'm wrong, why can't he?"

"You have a point."

"Thank you."

"I'm sorry I didn't get the whole story even after your dad told me what happened. We were wrong and you deserve better than our assumptions after you were so responsible."

"Thanks, that means a lot."

"Did you say you haven't touched alcohol since you were 12?" Linda asked curiously.

"Maybe?" Anna asked sheepishly. She really didn't want to get into trouble for it.

"Who?" Linda asked. Anna looked away from her mom. "I'm not mad, just tell me who."

"Uncle Joe. Christmas. I wanted to know and he said it'd be best in a controlled environment. It's not like it was Uncle Jimmy or anything."

"To tell you the truth I expected him." Linda knew it was more likely that her brother would be the one to introduce her kids to alcohol; of the family at least.

"I know. He's suggested it from time to time but I've always told him I'm not old enough."

Linda held her daughter close for a moment then kissed her forehead. "Okay, go get your homework done."

Anna went into the dining room and got started. Jack and Sean joined her, until dinner which Danny missed. He got home just before just before bed time. Anna was lying on her bed watching a movie on her computer when her dad came in. "Kid! Kid!" Danny called from the doorway. Anna hit the pause button and pulled off her headphones. She looked up at her dad. "Hey, what you watching?"

"A movie. How's the case?"

"It's fine," Danny said. "I see you got your electronics back."

"Yeah." Anna looked back at her computer then back at her dad.

"Well, don't stay up too late, you have class in the morning." Anna watched her dad until he turned to leave. She sat up and stared.

"That's it?" Anna asked in disbelief. Danny stopped and turned back to her. "That's all you've got to say?"

"What do you want me to say?" Danny asked confused.

"That you're sorry?" Anna suggested.

Danny's look hardened. "I'm sorry? For what?" He looked confused. That made Anna angry.

"For what?" she growled. "You busted my butt and grounded me for doing the right thing and you didn't even give me the chance to explain what actually happened. Uncle Jack, Nicky, my brothers, even Mom have all said how you're so understanding and listen to both sides before you make a decision but I guess, like Uncle Jamie and Uncle Joe, I don't get that benefit. Maybe you should take a cue from your childhood and remember what it's like to be nearly 17 and the oldest kid. I'm sorry I'm not perfect, but at the very least I thought you would have been proud of me for not letting a drunken boy behind the wheel so he could cause an accident. You can't even manage that." Anna looked away. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my movie."

Danny stared at her then crossed the room in a few long strides. He sat down beside her on the bed and took her chin in his hand, directing her to look up at him. "What are you talking about, Joe and Jamie?"

"You were always hard on Uncle Joe and now you're doing it to Uncle Jamie too. Any time there's two sides to a story about them you always take the other side. Look at Uncle Jamie and what happened in Chinatown or ... or ... whatever. You're always so hard on your brothers and that's not how family is supposed to be."

"I'm not mad at you, Anna, and I certainly don't expect you to be perfect. In fact, I am really proud of how you handled that situation. I am disappointed though, that you didn't try to get me to see your side; not in the car, not in front of your mom, and most importantly not before I pulled you over my lap."

"You were so angry and then you sent me upstairs and then you told me not to say a word. You've always taught me that growing up means taking responsibility for what you did and accepting the consequences of that action. I got arrested, I refused a sobriety test and I called a lawyer in to handle things. That's not taking responsibility for my actions and not respecting the cops or setting a good example for my brothers."

"Your brothers learn from you no matter what you do and when you make a mistake, they learn what to do to handle it if they make the same one and what not to do to avoid that. You are human, Anna, and being human means making some mistakes. I talked to Officer Thomas and read his DD5. You were very respectful and apologetic and you even tried to keep them from learning who you were related to and you didn't ask for special treatment. You did everything right, and everything your mom and I taught you to do. As far as calling a lawyer, it never hurts to make sure there's someone there to protect your rights and interests. The officer who pulled you over and administered the field sobriety test could fail you for any reason which is why it is always best to have the test done at the station. A failed sobriety test is always hard to dispute even with the BAC at the station comes back clear and as I'm sure Jack told you they really should be performed by a doctor."

"Yeah, but what about getting arrested?"

"Sometimes there are things that are unavoidable. It's the law. He has every right to arrest all of you when he sees an open container even if someone fesses up to it. The only thing wrong here, Anna, is that you didn't push me to hear you out. I'm sorry I didn't give you a chance, but you should have pushed no matter how angry I was. I'll try to do better when it comes to asking you but you promised to open up and you didn't this time. I'm not blaming you, it's just a fact."

"Okay."

It was a few days later, when Anna was heading to her car to go to work from baseball practice when she realized Danny hadn't apologized. He had said he was sorry that he didn't give her the chance to tell him her side but he never actually apologized for being wrong. She was jerked from her thoughts as her name was called. She stopped and looked around then saw Jake Miller waving at her, leaning against his car. She rolled her eyes and kept walking. She stuck the key in the door of her car and unlocked it but couldn't pull it open because of the hand on the frame. She looked up and saw Jake blocking her way. "What do you want?" Anna snapped.

"To apologize," he said. His downcast eyes and slumped stature made him look more than genuine but she knew he could be faking it.

"For what?" she prompted.

"Anna, I know that Saturday night was entirely my fault. Basketball games cause me to drink and once I get a couple drinks in me, I get stubborn and don't want to stop and then I get even more stubborn and stupid. You can blame me if you want but don't take it out on Jim. Sure, he could have insisted on going somewhere else or got the bartend to cut me off but he spent most of that night talking to and watching you so I'm not sure he knew how much I had to drink. My brother is head over heels in love with you; please don't let this stubborn idiot ruin what could be between you."

"There's nothing between us, Jake. Your brother is just my best friend and never wants anything more. If he did, why wouldn't he say something?" She had to change the subject before he made her think about things she didn't want to overanalyze. "That night, how'd the ADA get you to take the fall?"

"Pete called his cousin who is a lawyer when he heard the endangering charge. His cousin came down and told the ADA I'd take the open container and two moving violations if he dropped the endangering charge on all three. He worked it down to three tickets and a fine. Sal got off with public intox and a warning and they released Pete but they also impounded my car so I had to pay for that. That night cost me over $1500. On top of all that, I caught hell from my dad, granddad, and Jim. What I regret most of all is messing things up between you and Jim. He said you haven't talked to him since that night. Even if you don't forgive me for what happened, at least forgive him, he wasn't trying to hurt you or get you in trouble."

"I'll think about it, now excuse me, I have to get to work." Jake removed his hand from the doorframe, letting her get in and drive off. He had really hoped that his talk had gotten through to the girl and she'd stop punishing his brother and in turn, his brother would stop giving him hell for screwing things up.

Normally Anna didn't work after baseball practice but with summer coming up and it being about a year until she went to college, she knew she needed the extra tips and another waitress had called off so Anna stepped up. Anna was halfway through her shift when Nicky came in and sat down at the counter. Anna filled the last of her refills then plopped down on a stool next to Nicky. "How'd you get all the way out here?" she asked her cousin.

"I have my ways," Nicky answered cryptically. "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about convincing Uncle Danny you didn't do anything wrong. You shouldn't be punished for what you did besides being arrested and ... quit smirking at me. It's hard to be serious when you're not."

"Look out the window, Nicky, and tell me what you see on the edge of the parking lot," Anna answered.

Nicky turned and looked. Upon spotting the bright red Camaro, her face fell. "Oh, okay then."

"Ms. Anna," a lady called from the nearby booth. Anna glanced over her shoulder to see a coffee mug on the edge of the table and knew the woman wanted more. Her phone was also buzzing in her back pocket, like it had been off and on for the past 45 minutes.

"Here, see what they want, I have to get that," Anna said, shoving her phone into Nicky's hands then went to refill the coffee. She also dropped off more napkins to another table before sitting back down with her cousin.

"Who is this cutie with the little girl and why are they begging you?" Nicky asked, showing her the photo.

"I told you to see who it was, not scroll through my texts."

"No, what you said was "here, see what they want." I opened one text and they just kept rolling in." Nicky showed Anna the series of photos, each of Jim, sometimes with his nieces, all wearing pouty faces. Sometimes between the photos there were text messages, all reading 'Please' in various languages. The most recent photo had Jim and his youngest niece, all of five years old, with the saddest puppy dog pouts.

"That's Jim and his sister's kids. You've met Jim. He must be watching them today."

"You still blame him for what happened?"

"Shouldn't I?"

"Maybe a little, but didn't you say it was mostly his brother's fault?" Anna nodded. "Then mostly you should blame his brother but to be honest nothing that bad happened Saturday night so maybe you should just put it behind you."

"Maybe you're right."

"At the very least you've been friends for four years. Can you really let this destroy that friendship?"

"Could it?"

"It's been almost a week since you talked to him, right?" Anna sighed as she looked through the texts he had sent and her heart melted. When the final text came through she had no choice. "What's it say?" Nicky asked. She had seen Anna's face soften and a small smile cross her lips.

"My deepest, heartfelt apologies for everything I put you through and the trouble I got you in. That was never my intention. You don't have to forgive me but please don't be mad," Anna read.

"How can you stay mad at a guy like that?"

Anna sighed and texted 'Forgiven.' "Okay, okay, I forgave him," she told her cousin. "You know what? It does feel good," she finished after a moment.

"And you're a better person for it," Nicky told her. Anna rolled her eyes and got back to work.

So once again I want to say thank you for continuing to stick with this. I want to apologize before hand about what's coming up in the next two or so chapters. Sometimes what you see on screen has to happen for the plot to move forward. Also this has the most reviews and reads of any story I've ever written so thank you.