Matty was alone with his mother in his bedroom. His mom seemed worried.

Matty spoke, "Dad will get him, Mom. You don't have to worry. If anyone can, it's Dad."

His mother smiled gently at him, "I'm more worried about the repercussions of whatever your Daddy does."

Matty looked at his mother and started rambling, "Dad is tired of working at the agency anyway. If he kills Addi Birol. Uncle Joe will get him off. He can just go back to teaching history. He could teach at Arlington High. Jamie is going to call Colleen Dennis. Maybe he can go back with her. She just got divorced. Although Jamie likes Sven's daughter Hannah."

His mother looked at Matty, "Hannah moved to New York City. She didn't call Jamie? She has his number. I gave it to Sven to give to her when he told me she was moving to NYC for work."

Matty looked at her, "No, she never called him. Jamie is going to ask for her number. He'll probably ask Lee though. He doesn't want to ask you because you dated some guy that looked like a turtle and another guy that collected potato chips that looked like famous people."

His mother laughed, "Oh wow. They are still holding that against me. That was so long ago. I'll make sure that Jamie gets Hannah's number. Although I'm not sure Hannah and Jamie would work out long term. She is not really his type. Jamie usually goes for women that are a little more intellectual. Do not tell Jamie or Sven I said that though."

Matty looked at her, "I won't, Mom. Do you think you can have Dad be the one that gives the number to Jamie? I don't think I was supposed to say anything. I just don't feel good and well I can't hold up under interrogation right now. I'm ready to spill everyone's secrets and you aren't even asking me for them."

His mother laughed, "Oh sweet boy. Those pills are making you ramble. I kind of like it. It's just me though. You can trust me. You know that. I'll help with Jamie and Joey. I'll talk to your Uncle Joe about Joey."

Matty looked at her, "No. Don't tell Uncle Joe. Joey should be the one that talks to him. You should only talk to Uncle Joe if it blows up on Joey."

His mother smiled, "I was married to your Uncle Joe for ten years. It really is better if I talk to him now. Give him a warning. That way he won't overreact if Joey ever does come to him with it. Joey will make out better."

Matty looked at her, "Mom, Joey is going to hate me though. Please don't say anything."

His mother smiled, "Believe me. I can handle your Uncle Joe when it's just him. I know exactly what to say to him. I just have to make sure I talk to him when Carrie is at work or something."

Matty spoke, "Maybe you should wait though, Mom. Joey said that they are fighting more than ever. Joey thinks they may separate. He wants to live with Uncle Joe if they do. Oh god, I just did it again. I need to go to sleep before I tell you that Leann kissed Levi too. Dad gave me an extra pain pill. Didn't he?"

His mother started laughing, "Oh my gosh. Leann kissed Levi? She's only eleven. Well, she does have a lot of your grandmother in her. It kind of makes sense she is an early bloomer. We aren't going to tell your daddy about that. I don't think he's going to be ready for her to date for real until she's at least thirty. I thought I had another year or two with her."

Matty looked at her, "Oh god. I did it again. Please don't tell Leann you know. She'll kill me. I know I have five black belts but if anyone can take me down. It would be Leann. She's the toughest of the four of us."

His mother laughed, "You can trust me. Ok? I won't tell Leann where I got my information."

Matty yawned, "You can tell her I'm your source. She is going to think it was Jamie and I don't want her to be mad at Jamie. Jamie really can keep secrets unlike me. I'm not going to be a very good future agent, am I?"

His mother touched his face gently, "You are going to be a wonderful agent one day, sweet boy. It scares me to death. Especially for you. You have been through so much. I don't want you to ever get hurt again or worse lose you again."

Matty looked at her, "You'll never lose me. You are stuck with me forever, Mom. I don't even want to go back to London anymore like I used to. I love it here. I'll probably live at home until I'm at least forty."

His mother laughed, "Well that's good because I'm not sure if your daddy would be able to handle it if you ever move out. I'm not looking forward to him when you go to college in a couple of years."

Matty looked at her, "I think I just want to go to Georgetown. I don't want an apartment. I can just live at home and commute. I don't ever want to leave you and Dad."

His mother smiled at him, "Where your Dad goes you go. I remember."

Matty looked at his mom, "No it's not like that anymore. Now it's where both you and dad go, I go."

His mother looked like she was going to tear up, "You really are the sweetest boy. I love you so much. I think I am going to be ok with you living in the nursing home with your dad and I when we get old. Now go to sleep."

Matty smiled, "Don't think I won't move into the nursing home with the two of you. Stay with me until I fall asleep."

His mother nodded, "I will stay with you. Close your eyes now. Go to sleep."

Matty closed his eyes and fell asleep instantly.

When he opened his eyes again. It was still dark outside. Someone was in the room with him. But it wasn't his mother anymore. It was his father. His father looked upset.

Matty spoke, "Are you ok, Dad?"

His dad sighed and looked really sad, "I'm supposed to ask you that. I'm sorry if I woke you up."

Matty was worried something must have happened, "What's wrong, Dad?"

His dad ran his hand through Matty's hair, "Addi Birol got away. I'm so sorry kid I failed you again. "

Matty looked at him, "You could never fail me, Dad. You need Mom. Take her to the Agency to help. You should work together like you used to. Maybe the problem is that Mom really isn't an agent anymore. Bring her back. The two of you can do anything when you work together"

His father looked at Matty, "Your mom has been helping me whether I want her to or not since I handed her a package at a train station twenty-two years ago. You know your mom is still a field agent. She keeps up with her qualifications. Her heart just is not in the Agency like it used to be. Neither is mine to be honest. That probably is the real problem. But right now,you are sick, Matty. One of us needs to stay with you in case you get worse."

Matty sighed, "I'm going to be fine, Dad. Mom was right. I just overdid it. I wish I could help too."

His dad smiled at him, "Right now you can help by resting and getting well again. I'll ask your mom if she'll work with me on this. She was already but from home. Maybe if I ask her to come back full time she will."

Matty then heard his mom's voice as she walked into her bedroom, "Of course I'll come back full time temporarily if you need me, Lee. You woke him up. Its 3:30 in the morning. He needs to sleep."

His dad hung his head and looked sad, "I'm sorry Amanda. I just needed to see him for a minute. I didn't mean to wake him up."

His mother went over and hugged his father, "I'm taking it by your sad face that it didn't go well tonight?"

His dad sighed, "Someone must have tipped Birol off. We raided the motel he had been hiding in,but he was gone. There is surveillance footage that he was there an hour before the raid. We should have moved faster. They waited for me. If they hadn't waited, he would at least be back in custody. I should not have said no to going into the agency tonight earlier. Maybe if Phillip and I had just gone in. We could have caught him. I just never want our kids to ever feel like my job is more important to me than they are."

His mother turned to Matty, "Matty, has your father ever made you feel that way?"

Matty laughed, "No sometimes I think maybe you think I'm a little too important. Dad I totally would have understood if you went to work today. I will always understand. Jamie's here all this week. Grandma is here too. If you and Mom need to go to work to keep us all safe. I don't mind. I really am going to be fine. I promise."

His mother spoke, "I will go to work with your dad tomorrow. Ok? But we all need to sleep now. Close your eyes again. Your dad and I will stay until you fall asleep again."

Matty nodded and closed his eyes again. When he opened them again sunlight was streaming through the window. And he felt angry hazel eyes staring at him.
"Morning sis." Matty said

Leann was giving him a dirty look, "It was until I found out you were a rat. You told Mom I kissed Levi?"

Matty looked at her, "I didn't mean to. Dad gave me an extra pill. I ratted poor Joey out to her too. I am so sorry."

Leann groaned, "Oh man. Your usually good at keeping secrets too."

Matty felt bad, "Mom didn't tell Dad. Did she?"

Leann nodded no. "No, Mom likes Levi. She doesn't want dad to kill him I actually thought it was Jamie at first. I was starting to get mad at him. But mom told me it was you. You are lucky you are sick."

Matty looked at her, "I really didn't mean to. I'll make it up to you. I promise. Just don't tell me any more secrets until I'm normal again."

Leean smiled, "So never?"

Matty laughed, "Very funny. I swear the pain meds I'm on. They are like truth serum. I told Mom so much. I couldn't stop myself."

Leann nodded, "Alright, I will forgive you this time only. But you owe me. I had to have a really awkward conversation with mom this morning before Dad woke up. Honestly, I'm not actually all that mad at you. Mom was nice about it, but it was a very uncomfortable conversation. Anyway, Mom and Dad left for the agency. Dad looked terrible. He didn't even shave this morning."

Matty looked at her, "The mission they went on last night. It didn't go well. Dad blames himself for staying home instead of going to work. He doesn't want us to think he cares more about his job than us."

Leann laughed, "Dad cares about us too much. He's the opposite of Uncle Joe."

Matty smiled, "That's what I said to him. I told him to bring Mom with him to work. That maybe they could get it done faster."

Leann smiled, "I hope so. I just want it all to be over already. Rachel is coming today for lunch, right?"

Matty nodded, "Yeah, mom said she's coming around 11AM. What time is it?"

Leann smiled, "10:30am. You totally need to take a shower before she gets here. You stink."

Matty smelled himself and laughed, "I love you too."

Leann looked at him, "Hey if I didn't love you. I would've kept my mouth shut and let your girlfriend have to get a whiff of you."

Matty laughed, "Good point. Thanks for looking out, sis."

"I'll be in my room. So, you two lovebirds can have some alone time until Grandma comes home to embarrass you."

Matty smiled at her, "You are the best."

Leann hugged him, "Don't you forget it. Ugh, maybe I should have waited to hug you until after you showered."

Matty got out of bed and jumped in the shower. After his shower he went back into his bedroom and saw his pills on his nightstand with a note from his mom for him to take them or else.
Matty looked at his pills and made a face. He grabbed them and went back into the bathroom and flushed them down the toilet. He was worried about what he would say to Rachel if he took them.

Matty finished getting dressed and went downstairs. There was nobody in the kitchen but there was a fresh pot of coffee and a note from his grandmother that said she was running an errand and would be back shortly.

Matty poured himself a cup of coffee. He looked at the clock. It was exactly eleven in the morning. He heard a knock at the door. He took a gulp of his coffee and went to the door and answered it.

Rachel came in and smiled at him, "Hi Matty. It is so good to see you. You were sleeping every time I called. Are you ok? I was so worried about you."

Matty smiled at her and spoke, "I'm sorry, Rachel. I was going to call you. I've just been so tired since my surgery."

Rachel nodded, "Oh wow. You can speak."

Matty smiled, "Yeah, I can. I can hear a little bit too. I mean it's not perfect. But once I get my hearing aid. I'll be able to hear almost normally in my good ear. I like your voice. It's pretty."

Rachel smiled, "Your voice is pretty too. You have a nice voice. It's awesome to finally hear it."

Then Rachel kissed him. It felt wonderful kissing Rachel, but it was too much. Matty was starting to feel a little woozy. He needed to sit down.
They broke apart. Matty offered her a cup of coffee. He poured her a cup and topped off his own cup. Then they went and sat on the couch. All of the sudden Rachel just grabbed him and started kissing him again. More passionately this time. It felt amazing at first, but Matty felt nauseous all of the sudden. Oh god, he didn't want to throw up on her. He pushed Rachel off him and ran to the bathroom and threw up.

He heard Rachel start to cry. Matty felt like a jerk. He didn't mean to get sick on her like that. God, he was so embarrassed. He hated being sick. Matty flushed the toilet. He rinsed his mouth out. He needed to go out there and apologize.
Rachel was gone when he came out. Matty felt humiliated. He just sank down on the couch. Not even five minutes later, the door opened, and Jamie came into the house.
Matty had his head in his hands. Jamie came and sat next to him on the couch. "Hey Matty, are you alight? What's wrong? Where is everybody?"

Matty looked at Jamie, "Mom and my dad are at the Agency. Leann is in her room. Grandma is running an errand."

Jamie looked at him, "Mom left you?"

Matty felt humiliated. "I told Mom to leave me. Mom and my dad are closing in on the main guy who is behind everything. They almost got him last night."

Then Matty felt a wave of nausea hit him again. He ran back into the bathroom and started throwing up again. When he came out. Jamie touched his forehead, "You are warm. I think you have a fever. Go back to bed, little dude. I just called the agency and talked to Mom. She's coming home."

Matty didn't want his mom to come home. "No, she needs to help Dad. They'll never catch Addi Birol if they don't work together."

Jamie spoke, "Mom can just use the computer downstairs like she was doing last night. She doesn't need to be there physically. Go back to bed, little dude."

They walked to his room and Matty felt his eyes fill with tears. "I screwed everything up, Jamie."

Jamie looked at him, "How could you have possibly screwed up?"

Matty felt his eyes fill with tears, "I wanted this surgery. I wanted to be normal. My life was fine before. I didn't need to hear or speak. I was being selfish. Dad would have been at work yesterday. He would have caught Addi Birol. There wouldn't have been a delay to wait for dad. I just screwed up my relationship with Rachel too. Being able to hear and speak was supposed to make things better not worse."

Jamie gave him a hug, "How could you possibly have screwed up your relationship with Rachel?"

Matty could feel the tears coming down his face, "She started kissing me. It was nice at first but then I got nauseous, and I started throwing up. I think I hurt her feelings. I have to apologize. It wasn't her fault. I like kissing her. I just am sick. I made her cry. What if I hurt her when I pushed her off me? I have to call and apologize."

Jamie ran his hand through his hair, "Whoa, she knows you just had surgery. You got sick and she started crying and ran away. Did she even ask you if you were alright?"

Matty looked at Jamie, "No, but I don't look sick anymore. She was barely here. I didn't even get a chance to really talk to her. She just wanted to make out with me."

Jamie looked pissed, "Yeah well you don't owe her an apology. She owes you one."

Matty looked at Jamie, "No, you don't understand. She is the only girl that will ever be interested in me. She lets me bring my parents on dates with us and doesn't judge me. She doesn't think I'm a freak. No other girl would be like that."

Jamie looked at him, "Oh my gosh, that is not true. You are hot, little dude. You had your glow up over the summer. I had to wait until college to have mine."

Leann came in Matty's bedroom, "What's going on? Where's Rachel? I was hanging out in my room to give you two alone time. I just wanted to grab something to drink but you are back in bed and Jamie's here. Did Rachel not come? I was listening to my iPod."

Jamie spoke, "Rachel and Matty started making out. He got nauseous and started throwing up. Rachel took it personally and left. Didn't even ask Matty if he was alright or at least get you and leave."

Leann looked angry, "Are you serious right now? She just left you."

Matty looked at Leann, "I pushed her off me kind of hard. I might have hurt her. I don't know. She ran out so fast. Don't be mad at her. It's my fault."

Leann spoke, "I wasn't going to say anything, but Matty I think she only liked you because you got hot, bro. Plus I know Edna Gilstrap knows about you having your own estate and having a fancy British title."

Matty looked at his siblings, "I'm not sure how I feel about all three of my siblings calling me hot. It is kind of weird. Rachel's not like that. We never even talked about my money."

Jamie looked at him worriedly, "All of us? Do you think Phillip is here? Are you hallucinating?"

Matty looked at them, "No, I know Phillip is at the agency right now. He told me I got hot a while ago. Except Phillip made it way weirder."

Jamie smiled, "Yeah, he's good for that. Mom is on her way. Grandma will be back soon, hopefully."

Just then his grandmother walked into his bedroom, "I'm here now. Is something wrong? I shouldn't have left. I'm sorry. I just thought you two would be ok for an hour on your own. What happened?"

Jamie gave her a summary of what happened. His grandmother looked mad.

His grandmother felt Matty's forehead, "Oh my poor angel. You can do so much better than Rachel Gilstrap. That girl doesn't deserve you. You better not apologize to her. I'm going to call Edna Gilstrap and give her a piece of my mind about the way her granddaughter just left you like that."

Matty looked at his grandmother, "No Grandma. I pushed Rachel off of me. It could have been too hard or something. Please don't give Mrs. Gilstrap a piece of your mind."

Leann piped in, "I'll call Jessie. I'll find out Rachel's side. But after that our family is done with the Gilstrap family. Rachel could have at least knocked on my bedroom door. Told me Matty got sick. They are all a bunch of self-centered witches. Dad was right about the Gilstrap family."

Matty started crying. "I'm so sorry. I messed everything up. It's not their fault. It's mine."

His grandmother put her arms around and held Matty. "Hey, it's going to be ok, sweet angel. None of this is your fault. We are here. We won't start war with the Gilstrap family just yet. Ok? It's all going to be ok. Jamie you should call your mother. Have her come home."

Jamie nodded, "Already done. She is on her way. She will be home any minute."

Just then his mother came through the bedroom door, "I'm home. I'll take care of him. I need you all to give me a few minutes alone with Matty, ok?"