 
# Becca: Lost and Found

# by Noo Writer

# Copyright 2015 Noo Writer

# Smashwords Edition

1. Beginnings

"Hey Honey, my meeting's over and I'm walking to the car. It's 4:30, later than I had hoped, so I'm going to catch some traffic. Shooting to be home by 6:00 but I will keep you posted from the road. Love you like crazy, can't wait to see you."

He couldn't help but smile as he hung up after leaving the message, although looking around him at the neighborhood in which he had had to park evaporated the happy thoughts of his wife rapidly. He looked around him more closely, trying to identify areas that looked particularly high risk despite the hours of daylight remaining.

As he passed a particularly seedy looking alley, his thoughts of home were interrupted by the unmistakable sounds of struggle coming from deep within the alley. While every survival instinct screamed in his head to keep walking, some other part of him, even deeper and more powerful, stopped him at the mouth of the alley. The long shadows made it difficult to see, but he could definitely hear voices. He couldn't make out any specific words, but the threat of violence was impossible to miss.

Against his conscious will he walked toward the end of the alley. As the words became clearer he was able to decipher snippets of conversation, the gist of which centered around threats being made against someone who was in big trouble.

As he stepped around a particularly disgusting dumpster he was finally able to see the events unfolding at the back of the alley.

A large, unkempt and very young man, barely past his teens if at all, was pacing in front of two other equally unkempt men who were holding a young girl. One glance was enough to set the stage; the younger man was obviously the leader of some ragtag group of thugs, and they were trying to get something from the girl. It was obvious that she either didn't have what they wanted or was willing to suffer to defend it, and it was equally obvious that the men, drunk or high on something, were not going to take no for an answer nor worry about being gentle in the pursuit of their prize.

The girl was the first to see him, and rather than start jumping around begging for help, she just stared at him with tired eyes, which he at first assumed meant simply that she was resigned to some horrible fate. But he couldn't look away, and as he looked deeper, he saw a faint glow of hope there, and a determination to survive whatever this turned out to be. Even here at the mercy of a band of thugs in a dark alley, she had hope, no matter how bad tomorrow might be.

Noticing her gaze, the young leader turned and saw him, able to immediately take his measure in a glance. Middle age, businessman of some kind, probably got a couple hundred on him. Definitely worth more than the girl.

"What are you looking at?" he asked arrogantly, knowing any help for this suburban Dad was far away and honestly curious what he was doing alone, in this alley.

"I don't want any trouble son, just let the girl go and we all walk away" the newcomer said, hoping he sounded more convincing than he felt.

"Come on old man, you and I both know there's no way you have any choices here. What the hell possessed you to come down here? Do you know this kid or something?"

The older man looked at the young girl, still calm despite her situation. She was too beaten down to allow herself to actually believe that he could get her out of this, but she was still young enough to have that stubborn shred of hope, despite it all. In that instant he realized that he and he alone represented that hope. And he could not walk away.

Instead he turned his attention to the leader and spoke with an authority he had not felt moments before.

"I am a father."

"I may not be HER father, but right now she needs one and it looks like I am going to have to do."

"So with the grace that is given to fathers, right here, for right now, I claim this child as my own, and declare that she is under my protection."

"If you wish to do her harm, you will have to go through me."

The leader had been staring at the Dad with rapt attention during his monolog, and upon hearing this last statement, he could not help but laugh, a harsh hollow laugh with no mirth.

"Now I understand that might not sound like much" the Dad continued, "but for her sake it will have to be enough because that is all I have to give."

"I would ask that you give me safe passage to take this child home to a decent meal, a warm bed and a mother's love, which all children deserve."

"Dude....look around you.... you are the craziest son of a bitch I have ever seen." the leader said, his cruel words tinged with true wonder.

"But I gotta say, if you got the balls to come in here and ask, I got a weird respect for that." he added.

"Ain't too many people would do that for a street kid; nobody even thought about doin' it for me, I can promise you that."

The Dad remained quiet, having said his piece. He understood that the Leader needed to come to whatever decision he was going to make on his own.

"I'll make you a deal" the Leader said, resuming his pacing and eyeing the Dad like an unknown species.

"You take the kid and get outta here and we'll let you go, as long as you never come back and I don't see no cops. If I catch any kinda shit for this I will make you regret it. Understand?"

The Dad breathed a tentative sigh of relief, believing the improbable offer in his gut but not wanting to risk letting his guard down.

"Got it" he replied "Deal. And thank you."

He wasted no time crossing the last few feet to the girl and helping her up as the goons holding her let her go, surprise clouding their features and anger permeating their body language at the lost payday.

The girl stood tentatively, not quite believing what was happening and unwilling to let the hope buried deep flare to the surface.

The Dad didn't want to risk the leader having a change of heart, so he just held out his hand and said simply "Come on, let's go home."

A lifetime of living in and out of institutions, foster homes, orphanages and the back rooms of police stations and welfare offices had given her a finely tuned intuition about danger, and she did not sense any from this man. She was far too cautious to think any farther ahead than getting to the mouth of the alley in one piece. But she was sure he could get her at least that far, and so she took the hand he offered. She didn't let herself even think of the word home...though she knew the meaning, it was not in her vocabulary.

As they turned to make the long walk to the safety of daylight, the Dad turned one last time toward the Leader and spoke the words he knew for some reason he must.

"I know you think you are bad through and through...and you probably don't want to hear this, but I see something else in you, something more and something better. I hope you see it someday before it's too late, because no matter what you have done and no matter what else you may do, for this, you have earned something good."

The Leader stared at the Dad with conflicted speculation, but something told him that the pair was now off limits, and he too had learned to trust his intuition for survival. So he simply let them pass and stared thoughtfully after them until they were lost in the shadows heading toward the light.

Once in the car, the Dad made sure the girl was buckled in, having to show her how to work the seatbelt.

"Do you have somewhere to go?" he asked as a courtesy, knowing the answer no matter what she said. But she didn't waste the energy to pretend, shaking her head slowly, staring quietly out the window.

"Well, if it's all the same to you, I'd like to head home. I'm hungry and tired and I miss my family. And unless I'm mistaken, you could probably use some dinner and a good night's sleep."

She looked over at him, holding his gaze with more courage than he thought there was in the world. She nodded, and said a very quiet "Thank you" before looking straight ahead again.

"And I know your Mom and your brother and your sister are going to be very excited to see you" he added, not sure why. But it felt right, somehow, and so he didn't question it.

He waited until he was on the freeway to call home again. For some reason he was nervous, even though he knew this was probably the rightest thing he had ever done. Before he dialed, he pictured his wife and children, imagining their reaction when he pulled into the driveway this night. Tears leaked slowly when all he could see in his mind's eye was their support and acceptance.

"Hey Sweetie, how ya doin'?" he said when his wife answered the phone. "Fine, fine, meeting went fine, I'm on the freeway and traffic does look nasty. My 6:00 estimate may be a little optimistic. Spaghetti sounds great, I'm starved."

After a moment of silence while he tried to figure out what to say, he simply told the truth.

"Hey Sweetie, it's kind of a long story, but I'm bringing someone home for dinner, ok? No, it's no one you know; I just met them myself. Like I said, it's a long story but could you set another place for dinner? No, no, it's not a new business contact or anything fancy, I'll explain when I get there."

He smiled as he imagined her face, full of curiosity but trusting that whatever was happening was what needed to happen. Her trust was one of the things he depended on in this life, and she did not let him down.

"OK, I'll let you know when I get off in town. Love you" he finished.

He looked over at his young charge and saw that she was thinking hard about what she had just heard.

"I hope spaghetti is OK?" he asked.

"Sounds great" she said, still staring straight ahead and obviously wrestling with a thousand thoughts.

"I'm Liam, by the way, Liam Holt" he said, realizing he literally knew nothing about her, including her name.

She paused so long before responding that he wasn't sure she had heard him, or was not going to reciprocate.

"Rebeccah" she said, sounding it out and savoring it like it was the first time she had spoken the word. He suspected that it probably was, but he did not press. It didn't matter what she had been called up to now; from here on out, she was Rebeccah.

The trip did indeed take longer than he had hoped, and it was 6:45 by the time he sent a quick text to his wife telling her he was 10 minutes from home.

The two had been mostly silent during the long drive, strangely enough not uncomfortably so. Rebeccah had, understandably, retreated inside herself, but he did not feel a nasty vibe in any way, she just seemed to be thinking really hard about a lot of things. He left her in peace, respecting her need to process what she had endured in the last couple of hours.

"My wife's name is Marie. I have one daughter, Lauren, who just started her senior year of high school, and one son, Seamus, who just started his junior year. They are two years apart in age, but only one grade. Do you mind me asking how old you are?"

"Sixteen" she said after a brief hesitation, like she had to think about it to remember.

"Do you go to school?" he asked, cursing himself for the stupid question as soon as he said it. "Sorry, I don't mean to pry, forget I asked" he quickly added.

Surprisingly she laughed at that, and he realized it was the first time he had heard the sound.

"Kind of" she answered.

"I have been to 11 different schools, none for more than 3 months. I have also been tutored, at least that's what they call it, at the Child Protective Services orphanage in between all the different schools. They may not be good at finding a place for kids like me to stay, but they ALWAYS push school, I guess so they can keep me busy all day" she added, her voice trailing off as the memory faded.

"Wow" he said, realizing that was all he could say.

"Well, this is our street, won't be long now" he added as he turned the final corner of their journey.

As he approached his house, he thought something must be wrong.

Even though it was still mostly daylight, every light, inside and out, was on, making the house shine like a beacon on the otherwise quiet street. He saw people and movement in the driveway, and realized as he got close enough to recognize faces that not only were his wife and kids standing right in the middle of the drive way, about a dozen other people, all parents and kids he recognized as close friends, were standing with them.

He was absolutely confused as he pulled in, and looking over at Rebeccah realized that she was in a state of shock, surprise and fear etched in her face. She slumped down in the seat, trying hard not to be noticed.

He turned the car off and noticed that the group had formed a small knot about 20 feet from the car, giving him plenty of space as he opened the door.

His wife separated herself from the small crowd and wordlessly pulled him into a desperate hug as he got out.

He returned the embrace enthusiastically, wondering why but not caring, letting their intimacy melt all of the stress of the last few hours away. She finally pulled back and looked him in the eyes, more intensely than she had ever done. He was still trying to figure out what was going on.

She raised one hand and cupped his face tenderly, still staring directly into his eyes. "I am so glad you are ok. You are the dearest, sweetest, bravest, stupidest most wonderful man on this earth" she said, choking back tears.

He continued to stare into her wide, crying eyes, unable to tear his gaze from her face, until he finally found his voice.

"What is all this?" he said, gesturing toward the quiet crowd. "Is something wrong?" he asked, forgetting for the moment the story he had been planning to tell.

His daughter Lauren stepped forward from the group and put her hands on his arm.

"We saw it Dad. We saw what happened in the alley" she said with somber intensity

"What?" was all he could say, staring at her incredulously.

"Somebody walking by caught it on a cell phone camera and posted it on YouTube. Stacy Peterson saw it like right after it had been posted, and recognized you. She put it on Facebook and started texting and calling everybody telling them to look at it."

"I saw it about an hour ago and showed Mom. People have been calling and texting and coming by non-stop. Mom sent most of them away because she didn't want to make too big a scene, but she let these guys stay in case you need any help" she finished, gesturing to the small crowd behind her that was still silent.

Dad stared open mouthed at his daughter, his wife, and his son as Seamus also stepped forward, enveloping him in a macho hug.

"So where's my little sister?" he boomed, squinting to try and see in the window.

"Yes, where is this brave, precious child?" his wife said, wiping her eyes and getting down to the business of mothering.

Without another word she whisked around to the passenger door of the car and slowly opened it up, squatting down so she was level with the seat. Looking at the scared little girl huddled in the seat her heart broke for all the pain she knew she had suffered.

"Hello sweetie, I know you've met my husband. I'm Marie and these are Lauren and Seamus" she said, motioning to the children that were now standing a polite distance behind her.

The girl looked up at the sound of her voice, the motherhood in it reaching out to her like a gentle hand, wrapping around her frantically beating heart with calming peace.

"Would you like to come in and join us for dinner?" she said quietly "We're having..."

"Spaghetti" the girl finished for her, surprising all of them with the unexpected comment.

"That's right" Mom said, a huge smile transforming her face from intense concentration to joy. "It's Seamus's favorite, I hope you like it too" she finished, the spell of uncertainty broken.

The frail child made a decision then, that whatever was going to happen when she got out of this car, it was better than running away again. Something shifted in her heart and mind as she looked around the group of people gathered in that driveway, pieces to a puzzle she never knew she had been a part of falling into place in a way she did not understand. As she unbuckled the seatbelt and started to climb out of the car, she had the strange sensation of coming back to something, even though she had never been there before.

As she stepped out of the car she stood rooted in place, suddenly not knowing what to do, and she started to panic as the lights and the people began to swim before her eyes.

"Hey Sis, welcome home" Seamus's big, loud voice boomed, breaking through the panic and instantly anchoring her to this new reality again. "I know you and Lauren have a ton of girl stuff to do" he added, grimacing at the thought "but can you guys save it for later? I'm starving, so let's eat first and you guys can 'chick it up' later, ok?"

Rebeccah stood transfixed, staring at this huge teen ager who just called her Sis and was talking about something to do with girly something, the unreality of it shocking her once again.

A pretty girl wearing jeans and a sweatshirt with her hair in a messy pony tail stepped up and pushed Seamus aside like he was nothing at all.

"Stop talking about food you big goon" she said playfully, turning her attention to Rebeccah.

"Sorry about that, just ignore him. He thinks he is going to pass out if he doesn't eat every hour." She held out her hand, which Rebeccah found herself taking, naturally, as if she had ever held hands with someone before.

"Come on, let's wash up and we can figure stuff out after dinner" she added as she beckoned her new Sister inside. Rebeccah followed mechanically, tunnel vision shutting out all the people and noise that had commenced now that the silence had been broken.

Mom and Dad stood rooted in place, staring at the two girls as they retreated inside the house. Their befuddlement was broken by Seamus once again "Mom, I am telling you, if I do not have a plate of spaghetti in front of me in 60 seconds, I am probably going to faint, and I don't think you and Dad are going to be able to lift me by yourselves...so let's get going, I bruise easily".

The two parents burst out laughing simultaneously, the tension they had not realized they were feeling sloughing off their shoulders like water off a duck's back. They turned in unison to the families gathered behind them who were buzzing excitedly.

"I would invite you guys all in for some spaghetti, but I don't think we have enough" Marie said in a loud, affectionate voice as she looked around at her friends. "And unless one of you wants to carry an unconscious teenaged boy inside, we better get going". The crowd, who knew the Holt's all too well, laughed and started to approach Mom and Dad to say their good byes and good wishes. As the last visitors drove away, Mom and Dad held hands as they walked inside, their silence communicating more than a thousand words could have done.

"Rebeccah" Dad finally said as they entered the kitchen

"Rebeccah" Mom repeated, thoughtfully, "that sounds just about right. I like it. And she is adorable!" she added, smiling at the thought of the girl as she heard two young female voices laughing down the hall.

Her expression suddenly hardened as she continued to stare down the hall to where Lauren was now busily talking a mile a minute, punctuated by occasional comments from the other girl.

Looking her husband in the eye and taking him by the shoulders, she spoke clearly and with unquestionable conviction "Just to be clear, we are now a family of five, right?"

"I think we've got some shopping to do" he said as he kissed her tenderly.

To say the YouTube video, formally titled "Now THAT'S a DAD!" went viral would be to insult even the Plague. By the time Dad and Rebeccah had rolled into the driveway, the clip had over a half million views, and by the next morning it was already on the all-time top ten list for views and likes and everything else.

While this certainly brought with it some unwanted attention, such as calls from news networks and seemingly every crackpot that owned a computer, the combination of the clip and a friend in the local Police Department had gotten them a 72 hour Writ of Temporary Custodianship by noon the next day, which was Saturday, and an appointment with the Deputy Director of County Child Protective Services first thing Monday morning.

Saturday was a whirlwind of waffles and shopping, putting Dad in the position of having to turn down every manager of every store wanting to give them everything for free. He insisted on paying, but grudgingly compromised with the angry clerks by accepting a series of unannounced sale prices and special weekend discounts that made the total outlay for the day a fraction of what it should have been.

As Mom inventoried the bags and boxes, she noticed that there weren't many clothes.

As Becca was down the hall trying on one of the new outfits, she told Lauren "Honey, you guys didn't get many clothes. Becca's going to need more than just a couple of new things".

"She wouldn't take any more Mom. I tried, I really did, but she just kept saying that this was more than enough."

"Well, we can go again later, but you should have gotten at least a few more things, don't you think?"

"Don't worry Mom, we're the same size. We can share until we can talk her into getting stuff that she likes better."

Mom turned away, not wanting Lauren to see the tears that fell, a result of another moment that simply took her breath away. How did she get such unbelievable kids?

"Ok honey, great idea. Thanks for sharing!" she managed to say around the lump in her throat.

"No problem Mom, we got it covered".

That night found the five of them munching popcorn and alternately cheering and crying while Harry Potter tried his best to right the wrongs of his world, all of which was new to Becca, much to her delight.

As Mom and Dad made their final rounds late that night after teeth had been brushed and all was quiet, they met outside Lauren and Becca's room for a final check.

"Where's Seamus?" Dad asked. "Is he still in the bathroom or something? He's not in his room."

Mom held a finger to her lips and silently opened the door to Lauren and Becca's room.

The two girls were sleeping peacefully in their new twin beds, one on each side of the room, while Seamus was sprawled out on the floor between them.

Their black collie Tucker was curled up at the side of Becca's bed, while their black lab Daisy was in a similar spot on Lauren's side.

"I heard Lauren ask him to help Becca setup the group messaging app on her new phone so she could get the Family Messages, and each time I walked by after that he and Lauren were swapping Most Embarrassing Stories about each other.

When Seamus told the one about Lauren pooping through her diaper all over the floor while throwing a tantrum behind the baby gate in her room, Becca came out of there at a dead run, saying she was going to pee her pants if she didn't get to the bathroom in time. I guess he just fell asleep after the last story"

"Can you believe the dogs?" Mom asked, voicing a topic both had noticed but neither had had time to discuss.

"No...and yes I guess" Dad answered. "I mean normally they are so rambunctious when people come in, the neighbors, the kids' friends, even aunts and uncles and people they know well. So, yes, I was amazed when we walked in that first night. It was so quiet I thought you must have put the dogs outside until things died down. But there they were, sitting totally still, chins up, tails wagging, letting Rebeccah pet them like they had known her all their lives."

"Yeah, that WAS weird" Mom agreed. Usually we have to hold them down!"

"But...on the other hand" Dad said, "They know so much more that we realize...I am kind of not surprised that they figured out she needed them to be gentle and welcoming, instead of hyper and vigilant. They never cease to amaze me" he finished, shaking his head.

Just then they looked in the crowded room one more time, and Daisy raised her head up, looking back at them over her shoulder knowingly. She snuffled once, then put her head down, settling back into her watchful sleep. The message was clear; the pack's newest member was now one of their own.

The two lovebirds put their arms around each other and sighed contentedly, all their babies safe and sound for the night. The energy of three was different, but the feeling was as old as time itself. As they kissed briefly, then more passionately while still just outside the half open door Seamus did his best to whisper as quietly as a teen aged boy can...

"Ew gross you two. You HAVE a room, go use it!"

And so they did.

The four senior Holt's woke simultaneously on Sunday morning to the unmistakable sound of a frying pan hitting the floor, and each shuffled out to the kitchen to try and ascertain who had done what, and if someone else had bothered to make coffee.

"This is AWESOME" Seamus said loudly, surveying the huge stack of pancakes rising up from the mess of the kitchen counter. "You rock Sis!" he added as he grabbed a plate and started transferring large chunks of the stack to his plate.

"What's all this?" Mom asked as she took in the scene; Becca, covered in flour, concentrating on flipping a pancake in the big pan while Lauren schlumped sleepily down the hall.

"Looks like breakfast to me" Lauren said as she too plucked some pancakes from the stack before sitting down at the table. "Mom, can you grab the milk?"

Once all the Holts were seated around the table munching their pancakes contentedly Mom tried again "You didn't have to do this Becca...and where did you learn to cook, anyway?" she asked. "All Lauren and Seamus can do is fry eggs and make mac and cheese"

"You guys said yesterday that Saturday was waffles and Sunday was pancakes...I've never made them before, but when I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep I thought I'd give it a try. It's pretty easy if you follow the directions on the box" she added.

"I haven't done anything helpful all weekend..." she added, and quietly finished by saying in a small voice "And since I'll be leaving tomorrow I figured I could at least try to say thanks."

The sound of all those knives and forks hitting plates simultaneously was deafening, especially combined with the roar of 4 people talking and yelling and gesturing wildly all at once

"What are you..."

"What do you m..."

"That's crazy..."

"Where are you"

The noisy tumult finally stilled when Dad raised his hand to quell the unruly mob.

"Hang on folks" he said with authority. "One thing at a time."

As he turned to Becca he saw the uncertainty and sadness in her eyes, and still didn't understand it.

"Becca, you caught us all off guard there for a minute...do you mind me asking what you meant when you said you would be leaving tomorrow?" he asked calmly with a gentle tone.

Becca looked down at her plate and quietly answered "Well I know you guys are taking me back down to the CPS people tomorrow so they can put me back in the orphanage. You guys have been so kind to me, I don't know how to say thank you. This has been the best two days of my life" she finished, trying to smother a sniffle.

Stunned silence filled the room. Dad was the first to recover, looking down to gather his thoughts before taking a deep breath and beginning.

"Becca, I need to apologize to you. In all this craziness the last couple of days, we forgot to ask you what you wanted."

Becca raised her head with a quizzical look on her face "What do you mean, what do I want?" she asked. "It doesn't work that way. You just do what the County tells you to" she finished with an unhappy sigh.

"Becca, it is absolutely true that we have an appointment with the County tomorrow morning to talk about you. We are going to be giving them a form called a Request for Lawful Guardianship and Permanent Adoption". Do you know what that means, have you ever heard of that?" Dad asked.

Becca brightened visibly "It sounds like maybe I would get to stay a little longer maybe?" she asked, the humble hope in her eyes breaking his heart, again.

"Not quite" he said, alarmed at the immediate look of hurt on her face and the slump of defeat in her shoulders.

"It's ok, I know it's hard with me around" she said, trying so hard to sound brave through her quivering lips.

"No sweetie, it's not that at all. We are going to be telling the County that we want to adopt you permanently, starting immediately, right away." He said, his voice quivering with emotion as well.

"What?" she asked, completely stopped. "Do you mean I would be, like, part of the family kind of?" She asked, not allowing herself to believe that she understood what he was saying.

"No" he said slowly and carefully, grabbing his wife's hand while looking her in the eyes. "Not 'like' anything, not 'kind of' anything. You would be our daughter, 100%, permanently, same as these two, forever."

Becca sat in stunned silence, not trusting that she had heard the words from outside, afraid that she had made them up in her head.

Lauren leaned over and took her hand "Becca, we need you in this family. I need you; having had a sister for two days now I can't imagine going back to being without you" she said earnestly.

"I second that" Seamus boomed with his usual full volume. "Lauren can get a little weird sometimes; she NEEDS somebody to keep her in line" he said, winking playfully at the two girls as he reached for yet another pancake.

"Why?" Becca whispered, her eyes closed and tears streaming down her face.

"Why would you do this? I don't deserve this! I am just a nobody that doesn't belong anywhere" she said softly, burying her head in her hands.

Mom spoke this time, rubbing her back as she spoke, gentle and sweet, the sincerity of her words like sunshine after rain.

"Becca, from the second I saw you on that video, I knew that you were special. And from the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew that you were my daughter."

"There is one thing about families that is more important than anything in this life, and that is that families just ARE. We don't choose our families, we don't earn our families, and we can't lose our families, no matter what."

"There is no answer to your question "why" sweetie; there are no reasons with families or "becauses" with families. Families just ARE, from A to Z from start to finish from first to last, till death do you part...and even then, you don't lose your family; you just get to meet the ones that came before you and greet the ones that come after you in heaven."

Becca was so still she hardly appeared to be breathing, eyes still closed, but the tears were no longer streaming down her face.

"A minute ago I apologized because we had never asked you want you wanted" Dad said quietly.

"We are so eager to have you in our family, we forgot to ask you what you want. I am so sorry we didn't think of your feelings. You don't have to answer now, with the pressure of all of us sitting here together. You can think about it, and you can tell the person at the CPS office tomorrow what you want to do. We will absolutely support whatever you choose sweetie" he finished.

Becca was silent a few heartbeats longer, and then raised her head slowly. She looked at each of the people around the table, one by one, her back straightening, her chin lifting, and her smile widening more with each face.

"Do I?" she asked, going for serious but unable to hold back the mischievous glint from her eyes.

The remaining Holt's looked at each other in confusion, not sensing a problem, but trying to figure out what she was talking about.

"Do you what?" Mom finally asked. "Becca, honey, I'm sorry, but we honestly have no idea what you're talking about" she added gently, joined by three other heads nodding in agreement.

"Do I look that stupid?"

Four equally astonished faces gaped with open mouths.

"What do you think I am, an idiot? OF COURSE I WANT TO BE A HOLT!" she yelled, unable to hold back the now happy tears.

"Oh Snap, you did NOT just punk all four of us you sneak!" Seamus yelled while the table dissolved in laughter.

That night after Mom and Dad made their rounds, locking doors and shutting windows, making lunches for the next day and starting yet another load of the unending pile of laundry, they once again met in the hallway between the kids' rooms.

"It's never dull, is it?" Dad asked as he closed Seamus's door gently.

"I can't stand being bored" Mom said as they held hands and walked to their room.

2. The Office

"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice" Marie said as she got Rebeccah settled and then sat down herself. "I understand that these things are complicated, and I am so glad we could get started right away".

"Sorry about having to do this so early, but we're booked a few weeks out so the only time we could do this was before business hours" Barbara said, with only a hint of annoyance. "I'm Barbara Spalding by the way. I've seen the video, and you certainly have a special case here...I assume this is the girl you've brought with you?"

"Yes, this is my youngest daughter Rebeccah" Mom answered.

"Where is your husband?" Barbara asked.

"He had to go to the Health Clinic at Adoption Services to schedule her checkup. Rebeccah and I will be heading over there when we're through here" Marie explained.

Barbara smirked with a half-annoyed half-amused grin "Mrs. Holt, you do know that the temporary custody assignment the Chief issued ends tomorrow, right? While I appreciate that you are taking this so seriously, after tomorrow it's my job to see that the girl is placed in the best situation possible for her safety and development."

"Mrs. Spalding, this is my daughter. You said that she will only be my daughter for another 24 hours, after which it will be your job to find a better place for her. Well that means that I only have 24 hours to make sure you understand that the best place in the universe for her is as part of my family."

Barbara paused, the true pause of one really seeing something for the first time. "Well, we'll see how it goes" was all she said.

"Now I see that you've filled out the request not only for Lawful Guardianship, but Permanent Adoption as well. Are you sure that you want to take that big a step right away?"

"Absolutely Mrs. Spalding. As far as we're concerned, she IS a part of our family. We're just waiting for the paperwork to catch up" she added, sharing a smile with Rebeccah.

"Ok, you certainly seem to know your mind. Now I am going to ask you to step out of the room so I can speak with the girl alone. "

"Of course, I understand. But one thing please."

"Yes?"

"Can you please use her name? Rebeccah is such a pretty name, it's a shame to waste it."

Properly chastised, Barbara replied directly to Rebeccah "I'm sorry, she's right. I apologize Rebeccah."

"No problem Mrs. Spalding" Rebeccah replied shyly, not accustomed to being treated so respectfully inside this type of building.

"Ok I'll just be out here" Marie said as she stepped out and closed the door.

As soon as the door shut, Rebeccah looked over at Mrs. Spalding and before she could ask anything, Rebeccah just said simply "Yes".

"Yes what?" Mrs. Spalding asked, looking down at the stack of papers on her desk and pulling out the questionnaire she was supposed to go over with the child, Rebeccah, she corrected herself. It was designed to help a young orphan think about their current foster home setting and decide if they wanted to stay when the parents requested adoption. She had not done this often, as the adoption of teenagers was so rare.

"Whatever you're going to ask me about staying with my family, the answer is yes."

"So you are pretty sure that this family is the place you want to stay."

"Yes"

"Do you understand that this would be permanent?"

"I'm counting on it"

"Are you sure? This is..."

"Look, Mrs. Spalding, you can keep asking me all those questions on your sheet, I know you're supposed to do that kind of stuff, and if you need to, that's fine, I don't mind. But I can save you some time if you just put "Yes" on everything. I have spent all my 16 years in this system, and I can guarantee you that there is nowhere else in the world that I would rather be then back home with this family, MY family."

"Wow, it sounds like you are pretty sure Rebeccah, which is great. Are you absolutely sure there is nothing else we can..."

"Mrs. Spalding, if you would spend two days with this family, like I just did, you would want them to adopt you too. I'm not kidding".

Mrs. Spalding stopped writing, put her pen down, threw her head back and laughed.

"Rebeccah, I have been at this a long, long time, and I thought that I had seen it all. But that was a first. You've convinced me that you really do want to be with this family, and I am pretty sure they really want to be with you too."

"Mrs. Spalding, you can't imagine how much I hope so."

"Well if they're really as great as you say, maybe I'll just come home with you!"

Rebeccah and Mrs. Spalding both laughed, but stopped suddenly when they heard a muffled voice from the hallway "I can hear you, you know!", prompting another fit of laughter.

After the questions were asked and answers recorded and the various papers were printed and signed, mother and daughter stood to leave. "We're open for business now, so things will be a little crowded out front. Let me walk you out" Barbara said as she circled past the pair and opened the office door. She lead them down a short hallway, back to the "Employee Only" area which had been empty when they came through before.

When they rounded the corner, Barbara stopped in her tracks, causing Mom and Rebeccah to pull up suddenly to avoid running into the back of her. "Mrs. Spalding, is there something wrong?" Mom asked, trying to peek around Barbara's shoulder to see what had caused her to stop so abruptly.

"I don't think so" Barbara said in a quiet, slightly awed voice, full of wonder and disbelief. Mom stepped to the side so she could see...and saw.

She saw dozens and dozens of Child Protective Services employees, all standing shoulder to shoulder, forming an impromptu receiving line leading from where they stood all the way through the warren of cubicles and printer stands to the front of the large office. The silence was absolute, each person standing patiently.

Barbara slowly lead Marie and Rebeccah through the human gauntlet, Marie smiling and nodding to each person, saying quiet "thank you"s as they passed. Rebeccah walked hesitantly, in awe of all the people staring at her, even though their smiles were wide and their eyes friendly. She had never been the center of attention like this, and it made her feel self-conscious, knowing that somehow they all knew who she was and why she was here. Some of the women held out a hand to touch her or Marie gently, wanting to pass on their good wishes.

When they got to the front, all three of them turned in unison and looked back the way they had come. The staff members were active now, starting to hustle and bustle about, the hum of conversation beginning to swell to the level of barely contained chaos that was obviously the norm in the busy office.

Barbara was the first to surface and broke the spell by clearing her voice and saying with genuine astonishment "Well, you don't see that every day" and offering Marie and Rebeccah a lopsided grin.

"I guess not" Marie agreed, laughing delightedly, full of the positive energy from so many well-wishers. The women looked at each other, really looked at each other, for the first time, and broke into a fit of giggles that sounded like two middle schoolers conspiring to plan the next round of truth or dare at a slumber party.

As their mirth subsided, Mom looked at Rebeccah, who was still staring, shell shocked, at the now thriving office behind them, asking herself if that had just really happened... "Are you ready kiddo? We gotta meet Dad at the Health Clinic so we better get going". Rebeccah tore her gaze and her thoughts away from the crowded scene behind her and nodded as she looked at the two women, trying to focus on what her Mom was saying, and thinking yet again how weird it was to think of someone as a Mom, as her Mom.

"Thank you again, Barbara, for meeting us so early and for all your help. I can only hope the rest of the process is as easy as this!" Marie said, putting her hand out to shake, then thinking better of it and enveloping her new friend in a hug.

"Good luck" Barbara said, determined to do whatever she could to right the wrongs Rebeccah had suffered. She opened the door separating the interior of the office from the public area and was immediately pushed back by a wall of sound, by the cheers and whistles and clapping of a room full of strangers, all straining to get a glimpse of her newest charge.

Marie looked out at the crowd, an incredulous smile lighting up her face. Turning to Rebeccah, she put an arm around her daughter's shoulders and bent down to whisper gently "I guess we better go...are you ok with this? Is it bothering you?"

Rebeccah continued staring out at the room full of people, unable to take her eyes off the spectacle. "Yeah, it's fine. I don't want to be late, let's go."

As Barbara watched them snake their way through this second crowd of well-wishers, her boss came up behind her and leaned against the door jamb, "County's Best Boss" coffee cup steaming. "What do you think?" she asked.

"I think that is a very sweet Mother and Daughter, normal as apple pie, that's what I think" Barbara said, feigning ignorance.

"You've been at this a long time Barb, almost as long as me. What makes you so sure that's the best match?"

"At first I wasn't...but after watching them together, even just in the office doing paperwork, I realized that by the end of it, I wasn't thinking about them as orphan and guardian or foster parent and charge...they just seemed like any other mother and daughter working on papers for school or girl scouts or whatever. "

"But you know what really did it?" she mused, mostly to herself, "It was right here, when they were getting ready to wade through that crowd out there. I could tell Rebeccah was just floored emotionally; being around this many people after growing up so alone amped her up through the roof. She was excited, but scared and mostly just didn't know what to do."

"I was standing right behind them, and I see her, just a bundle of nerves, no idea what to do or how to handle this...and she instinctively reaches out her hand blindly toward the woman, her 'Mom', like kids do when they're scared, you know?"

"OK, so what happened?"

"As soon as she did, she found her Mom's hand already there, right where it needed to be. So she just grabbed it, they looked at each other, big smiles on their faces now, and off they went. That's when I really and truly knew."

"Wow" Barb's boss said..."that is probably the sweetest thing I have heard in...I don't even know how long. And I think you're right, it sounds like they found each other just in time".

"I know...now I just gotta figure out how to convince the State of California of that in the next 24 hours".

3. First Day

"OK, there's Lauren over by the office; Becca, she's gonna take you in and get you squared away, and Seamus, you make sure you guys meet me here right after school, ok?" Mom said to the occupants of the minivan.

"Got it Mom, no problem, just chill. We'll be here after school" Seamus said in that flippant teenaged tone.

Mom rolled her eyes in Seamus's general direction and looked Becca in the eyes. "You ok honey? Do you want me to come too?" she asked.

Big breath, pushing down the terror "It's ok. I gotta do it sometime, might as well be now, right?" she said with transparently false bravado. "I'll see you after school".

"Let's go Sis" Seamus said, opening the minivan door and motioning her out. "Lauren, make sure today goes smooth, ok?" he said to his older sister, motioning vaguely to the mass of buildings and kids behind her.

"Come on Bec, let's get your schedule and get this party started, woo hoo" Lauren said, pantomiming the now-uncool "raise the roof" motion, universally despised by teenagers the world over. Rebecca could not help but laugh at her sister's efforts to distract her, and realized that it was working, if only a little bit. And she also realized that Lauren's confidence in her was also giving her the final nudge she needed to take that first step. She did NOT want to let her new family down.

Ten minutes and one new class schedule later, Lauren and Becca left the office wing with 6 minutes to spare before the first get-to-class bell rang, thanks in large part to Lauren's polite bullying of the office staff to make things happen.

Lauren glanced again at the schedule card and then scanned the "quad" area, the large, bench-lined center of campus, looking for something. "Hey, Sophie, come here" she yelled, directing her statement to a short, wiry girl with wet hair and a huge armful of books. Sophie turned and seeing Lauren, twirled mid-stride to walk in her direction.

"Hey Lauren, what's up?" Sophie asked, directing a friendly smile toward Becca. "Is this your Sister?"

"Sophie, this is Becca, Becca this is Sophie. Sophie is my best friend and she and I are captains of the polo team together" Lauren told Becca. Becca's first reaction was to be intimidated, both by the fact that Sophie was Lauren's best friend, by choice, not just some weird adopted sister...and by the fact that she was the captain of any sports-related team, something as foreign to Becca as the surface of the moon.

"Nice to meet you" Becca said quietly, not daring to meet Sophie's gaze, assuming that she would be immediately forgotten now that Lauren's real friends were around.

"Hey, come here munchkin" Sophie said, somehow managing to hold the huge stack of books in one arm while reaching out toward Becca and grabbing her in a fierce one-armed hug. Becca's first thought had been that Sophie was tiny, but she soon realized that while she may be short, she was as strong as a very petite ox. The image of a dainty ox made Becca laugh spontaneously, but it came out more like a hiccup due to Sophie squeezing her so hard.

"Welcome to Claycord High, and more importantly welcome to the family" she said, a big smile lighting up her face and immediately convincing Becca of her sincerity. Becca recovered with a deep breath and the fleeting thought that she just might make it through today if she had two people that she already knew. Little did she know...

"Carla, Annie, Jody, come here" Sophie shouted somewhere over Becca's head. Becca turned to see what or who Sophie was yelling at, and saw three other girls all change course and make a bee line for their ever expanding group.

"This is Lauren's sister, Rebeccah, the one she was telling us about at practice. This is her first day." The three girls all greeted Becca with a chorus hello's, hey's and how ya doin's, which Becca tried her best to return.

"Hey guys, Becca's got first period history with Smithson, anybody got that?" Lauren said in a new tone, all business and every bit the captain Becca now knew her to be.

Jody piped up "Yeah, me and Susan have that, we got her covered. What's her second?"

And it went on like that for the next couple of minutes, the girls figuring out who of their clan had what classes in common with Becca, and sketching out plans to make sure she was escorted to and from every class.

Becca's head was swimming as she tried to keep up, and finally all she could do was squeak out "You guys don't have to do this...I can probably figure it out, you don't have to waste your time helping me...but it was so nice of you to offer..." her voice trailing off into uncertainty as she faced the silence of the group.

"Hey Becca, I know this is your first day" Annie said, stepping a little closer, "But you gotta understand...this is how we roll", motioning toward the group of girls standing behind her. "We've got each other's backs, ALWAYS, no matter what. And if Lauren needs something, then we're gonna make damn sure she gets it". Murmers of assent rippled through the group.

"But why are you being so nice to ME?" Becca said. "You don't know me at all.".

"Not yet kiddo" Carla chimed in with a serious expression, "but we'll fix that soon enough. Any sister of Lauren's is a sister of ours. She would do the same for any of us...heck, she HAS done the same, or more, for each of us. Don't worry about being new; I can tell right now you're going to fit in just great." she finished with a smile.

"And if there are any problems, we have the entire Boy's polo team to make sure they get, shall we say, resolved" Jody added with a wink, causing all the girls to laugh out loud.

"Come on Becca, we don't want to be late to your first class on your first day!" Jody added, grabbing her by the elbow. "See you guys at lunch" she threw over her shoulder to the other girls as she pulled Becca toward the next building.

"See you in a bit Becca!" Lauren yelled as she waved, turning to head toward a building in the opposite direction.

Becca still had no idea exactly who these girls were or why they were being so nice to her...but her BS Meter, well-honed after a lifetime of foster homes and shelter living, told her that there was no threat here, that for whatever reason they were genuinely on her side. As this realization took root in her mind, she realized that she was smiling for the first time since the alarm clock went off that morning. Maybe it was going to be ok after all.

The day flew by in a kaleidoscope of classes and teachers and room numbers and names and faces. She was never alone, sheparded from one class to the next by an ever changing group of girls who mysteriously arrived as if on cue to move her along through the day and made sure she always had the right book or pen or paper or whatever she needed.

She was whisked away to a seat at a lunch table full of even more impossibly gorgeous girls who tried unsuccessfully to keep their questions to a minimum so she could eat...which was fine because she was so busy trying to make sense of everything that she forgot what food was.

Lauren kept popping in and out, checking on her and making sure she didn't need CPR or a new brain...and took over chaperone duties as she was headed to her last class of the day.

"You sure you're ok Sis?" she asked, a concerned smile on her face.

"I think so...I haven't really had time to think about anything too much" Becca replied, taking a much needed breath.

"Well, last class coming up - you'll like this one, it's Psychology with my favorite teacher Mr. Champlain. Just sit next to Jody, take some notes and have fun, the tests are easy so you don't have to worry about catching everything".

"That sounds good right about now...Lauren, I can't thank you enough, this has all..."

"Zip is Sis - this is nothing more than the Holt First Day of School treatment; all Holts get the same package" Lauren said, interrupting Becca's halting thank you speech. "Hang in there and I'll see you at home in a bit".

"Ok, see you later...hey Jody, hi" Becca said, greeting one of her gaggle of new friends.

"Let's go Bec, Mr. Champlain awaits!" Jody said, holding the door open.

Psych was just as Lauren had said, comfortably low key but fascinating. However, mid-way through the class Becca realized that when the final bell sounded, she was going to have to find her way to the parking lot to meet Seamus and Mom...and at this point, she had no idea whatsoever where the parking lot was...or where anything was.

All the worries that had been held at bay by the constant ebb and flow of the day started to come crashing back down...where do I go, how will I find the parking lot, what do I do with my books, will I look stupid walking around lost... Becca started breathing heavily and was suddenly feeling warm...

Jody noticed, and put a gentle hand on her arm, nodding slightly to let her know she was there, which helped calm her down. She scolded herself, telling herself that if worse came to worse she could just hide somewhere and wait until everyone was gone and then sneak out...but then Mom would worry...and then...

"BBBRRIINNGGG" the final bell sounded, jolting Becca from her reverie of terror. She mechanically put her notebook back in her bag and started frantically thinking of a way she could nonchalantly ask Jody to help her FIND THE FREAKING PARKING LOT BECAUSE SHE WAS SUCH A DORK....and realized that she was already two feet from the door, right behind Jody, but she didn't know what to say...

When she heard the now familiar voice, and then saw the familiar face.

"Hey Sis, how was Psych?" Seamus asked, falling into step beside her, as if walking his fake sister from class to the parking lot was the most natural thing in the world...she let out the breath she had not realized she had been holding and slumped against him like a life raft in a churning sea. "Hey, Bec, you ok?" he asked, catching her as she stumbled against him, ironically from relief. "Fine, fine, just...tired from the big first day, you know" she said, finally finding the strength to pull herself upright. "Lauren was right, Psych is a GREAT class, and I LOVE Mr. Champlain" she added.

"Yeah, he rocks...although I wouldn't expect to get any favors from him because of me...let's just say I wasn't his best student" he said, laughing at some not-so-funny memory.

As they walked on, she quickly recovered her equilibrium, both physically and mentally, and when one of Seamus's friends joined them she spared the newcomer a quick glance and a shy "hello" before going back to her jumbled thoughts, trying to sort out the newness that was, quite literally, everything.

"Seamus, man, you didn't tell me your little sister was smokin' hot" Jake said, punching Seamus in the chest to make his point.

Seamus casually but authoritatively put his arm around Jake's shoulder in a friendly fashion, but spat out the words like a drill instructor:

"Don't

Even

THINK

About

It"

And I mean, dude, whatever you are thinking right now, don't even THINK about ever even THINKING about it AGAIN."

He stopped and stared the larger boy in the eyes and continued in a low voice "NOT EVEN ONCE, get me?"

Jake took an involuntary step back, and held his arms up in mock surrender "Ok, ok, I feel ya man, I'm just sayin'"

"DUDE, I TOLD YOU NOT TO EVEN THINK!"

The other boy laughed and slapped Seamus on the back "You got it dude, off limits. That's cool. I'll see you at practice tonight. But think about it man, I may be the first to say something, but I won't be the last!"

Becca finally registered that Seamus had stopped walking, and stopped herself to wait while he caught up. Belatedly she replayed the conversation she had just overheard and realized that that boy, Jake, had said something about "little sister" and "hot" in the same sentence.

Wait, what?

She literally looked around in a full 360 degree circle, trying to figure out who Jake had been talking about, because it could NOT have been her...or could it?

Seamus caught up to her just as she was trying to figure out if her hearing had been correct, but quickly put that thought out of her head, filed away to come back to later. She had much more pressing things to worry about right now, like how to not get lost trying to follow Seamus to the car.

"OK, everybody buckled up?" Mom asked, putting the van into drive only after hearing the two "yeahs" from the back seat.

"So...how was school today Seamus?" she asked, casually.

"Fine"

"Anything interesting?"

"Nope"

"Learn anything new?"

"Not really"

"Did anything occur that would justify us continuing to pour our tax dollars into your public school education? Anything at all?"

Seamus gave Becca the long suffering look of the picked upon younger child, rolling his eyes at what to him was the thousandth edition of this one act play. "Not that I can think of" he said, winking.

"A mother can always hope...well, how about you Becca?" she said with a forced casualness that didn't fool anyone "How was your day?"

Becca and Seamus burst out laughing at the absurdity of the idea that Mom was only marginally interested.

"OK, OK, yes, I am DYING to know how it went!!! Tell me!"

"Hey Mom, how about we save this until we get home, as it might be pretty hard work...maybe a little snack would help give Becca the strength to give you the full story, you know?" Seamus said, shooting Becca a conspirational glance telling her to play along.

"I am a little hungry, now that you mention it" she chimed in.

"Well, what do you know. It just so happens I DID do a little baking this afternoon...chocolate chip cookies in fact, Seamus's favorite." Mom replied, feigning serendipity.

Then she looked over her shoulder at Becca and said "Actually Becca, I was GOING to make YOUR favorite homemade cookies for your first day of school snack...but I realized I don't even know what your favorite cookie is! I am so sorry I forgot to ask you this morning.

"That's ok" Becca said, choosing that moment to look out the window.

"So, for future reference, what is it honey? What is your absolute favorite kind of homemade cookie?"

Becca paused briefly, and then quietly replied, still looking out the window "I don't know...I've never had a homemade cookie before"

The silence that fell was like a huge bubble that enveloped the three of them, muting the outside world while they shared a moment, each with their own thoughts and feeling the others.

Seamus covered the sound of their mother's soft sob by pronouncing in his best carnival barker voice:

"Well then little sister, it will be my pleasure to be the first to introduce you to what is probably the world's only perfect food - the Holt Chocolate Chip Cookie!"

Becca knew what he was doing, and knew how sad it must seem to them that she had never had a real cookie before...but she realized in that moment that it wasn't sad anymore.

They weren't judging her or pitying her or making fun of her; she knew in that moment that Seamus was genuinely excited about sharing their Mom's chocolate chip cookies with her, and she found that she could think of no words that could describe what she was feeling.

Love?

Belonging?

Family?

Peace?

Nothing seemed adequate to describe what she felt when she looked inside her heart of hearts and realized that it wasn't empty anymore, because she wasn't alone anymore, even there.

Her smile, the cookie-smile, came from that place, the place inside her that she used to be afraid to go. "Well all I can say is there better be milk" she said, putting on her best I'm-pretty-hard-to-please look, failing miserably, and bursting into giggles when Seamus said, in all seriousness, "What do you think we are, SAVAGES???"

Neither sibling noticed that Mom's tears flowed anew, but this time they landed on a smile.

After schlepping all the school gear in from the car and finally getting settled around the kitchen table, Seamus solemnly selected the biggest, most perfect cookie of the batch and held it reverently aloft. He looked around the table, making sure all eyes were locked on the precious article.

Slowly, with as much gravitas as a 16 year old can muster about a cookie, he pronounced

"The...

First...

Cookie...

Of...

Fall...

Quarter..."

and distributed a small chunk to Lauren, Becca and Mom, keeping the largest for himself, of course.

"A toast to the best school year ever!" Lauren added, clinking her glass of milk with the others.

Later, in bed, when the homework was done, the dishes were clean, the laundry was folded and all 50 other chores of a normal household were done, Becca let her mind wander to the events of the day.

Worrying ahead of time had made the first day of her public school career seem like an insurmountable task that she could never hope to handle. She had been sure that she would be overwhelmed and make a fool of herself and probably get herself sent back to an orphanage or at least back to elementary school.

But here, in the quiet of a house, her house, school seemed more like an adventure than a punishment, and she found she was looking forward to trying it again the next day, committed to learning everything she could as fast as she could about her new environment. Last of all she vaguely remembered the "hot sister" comment as she slipped into her dreamless slumber, but decided that craziness could wait.

4. Ring Leader

"Hey Bec, remember Mom's got that thing today so we gotta hoof it home after school" Seamus said as he passed his sister in the hallway before the last class of the day.

Stopping suddenly, Becca put her hands on her hips and with as much sass as the shy girl could muster spit out "I'm calling you out Cupcake – meet me at the bike racks after school if you've got the guts to defend yourself", staring after him with what she hoped was an intimidating glare.

"Ooohhh, scary" Seamus's friend Jake crooned as he walked by, evaporating whatever sass Becca had managed to channel.

"You are so weird" Seamus complained, with a big toothy grin, as he continued in the opposite direction. "And you don't stand a chance!"

Becca hurried through the door of her favorite class, Psychology, just as the tardy bell rang, taking advantage of her teacher writing on the board to sneak into her seat.

"Cutting it a little close today aren't we Ms. Holt?" he drawled, never putting the chalk down or glancing in her direction. A few giggles brought the red back to her face as she opened up her textbook to try and cover her embarrassment. She still wasn't accustomed to being the center of attention, even harmless teasing that the other kids took for granted and enjoyed.

When the final bell rang, Becca gathered her things and made her way to the front of the school, short cutting through the library grass and popping up behind Seamus with a smack to the back of his head. She was rewarded with his instantaneous flinch and a loud "Son of a...!" for her stealth. She never got tired of getting the drop on her big brother.

"No cookie for you" Seamus pronounced in his best Seinfeld voice, and they set out laughing on the 10 minute walk home.

"Hey, since we gotta walk all this long way in this stifling heat, I wanna Frappuccino" Seamus whined as they approached the Starbucks that marked roughly the half way mark of their trek home.

"It's your allowance Bubba, if you want to slurp it all down through a straw, be my guest" she replied, following him into the refreshingly cool restaurant. Being two blocks from the high school guaranteed this particular Starbucks a huge mid-afternoon business of cookies and fraps and anything else sweet, so the line was already long and the tables mostly full when they stepped in.

"I'm going over there where it's not so crowded" Becca said, stepping into one of the few empty areas of the busy store. She pulled out her phone and was just about to send her sister Lauren a text when she heard someone using her sister's name, loudly, and not exactly in a flattering way.

"That bitch thinks she is soooo smart, just because she's getting an 'A' in AP Chem and already got into Cal Poly" the voice whined, at a volume just enough above normal to turn more than a few heads.

"I bet she just took a bunch of those SAT prep classes and bought her way in," she continued, sneering every syllable as if she were discussing some evil queen.

Becca shifted so she could see the speaker, and recognized her as one of the bitchy cheerleaders her new friends had told her to avoid at all costs. "Classic Mean Girl" was the verdict they had pronounced, and while Becca hadn't had time to see the movie that spawned that title, she got the gist.

Becca hung back, hoping that the girl was done with her diatribe, but unfortunately she wasn't. She went on to question not only the legitimacy of Lauren's captainship of the water polo team, but her choice in men as well. That was enough for Becca.

"Hey, can you please stop doing that?" she asked The Bitch after positioning herself next to her table so she could be heard while speaking softly.

The Bitch stopped mid-rant and slowly turned her head so she could see who was talking to her. She gave Becca the once over, and apparently unimpressed, played dumb, which, Becca thought, wasn't much of a stretch.

"Stop what? And who's asking?" she said, doing her best to stare Becca down, obviously putting on a show for her followers sitting around the table.

"I mean please stop talking about Lauren Holt like that. We both know that none of that stuff you said is true, and she didn't do anything to you to deserve it." Becca said in her most reasonable tone, still keeping her voice low.

"Is that right? And who are you to know so much about that skank Lauren Holt?"

Becca stood a little taller, and still working hard to keep herself under control, managed to keep a reasonable tone.

"She's my sister." Becca said simply.

"Now don't get me wrong, you don't have to like her," Becca continued "and I'm not asking you to say nice things about her...what you think about her or what you say about her in private is your business."

"But like I said, we both know that stuff isn't true, and you can NOT talk smack about her out loud, here, in public, where people don't know you're lying and where she doesn't have a chance to defend herself."

Silence descended like a curtain on an empty stage; despite Becca's best efforts to keep her voice low, the subtle intensity of her tone and her taut body language stopped all conversation and swiveled every head.

The Bitch noticed and understood that she was now not only the center of attention, but also on the defensive, as she had been called out in an obvious lie.

"Oh, so you're the orphan that the Holt's took in off the street, I heard about you. And here you are already calling her 'sister'; does she know you do that, out loud, in public?" The Bitch taunted, trying to deflect the attention away from her by going on the offensive.

"You know, I guess that's kind of the difference between you and her. Here her parents take me in off the street and open up their home to me without knowing anything about me. And the first thing Lauren did was call me sister, share her room with me and introduce me to all her friends."

"So yeah, she's my sister whether you like it or not, and I am only going to ask you one more time to stop the trash talk."

Becca was pretty impressed with herself, keeping it mostly together and not sounding like a complete idiot in front of what was now a huge crowd, completely engrossed in the scene unfolding in front of them.

The Bitch knew she was on the ragged edge of losing any advantage the cheerleader uniform may have given her against this little waif, so she took one more shot at backing her down. "Zip it Cinderella, you're really starting to bug me. Buzz off."

"I think you've got two choices" Becca countered.

"The easiest thing you can do is just stop the smack talk. You don't have to be her friend, you just have to give her the respect she deserves. We all walk away and that's it."

Unbelievably, The Bitch just didn't know when to stop.

"And what if I don't?" she sneered, assuming Becca wouldn't go any further and she could still have the last word.

"Well then I would ask your friend here to hold my earrings while I kick your ass" Becca said, as calmly as she could. The already silent crowd went catatonic, no one daring to so much as breathe.

"They were a present from Lauren, and they're the only pair I have ever owned. So I don't want to risk losing one."

Silence continued its' uncontested reign, and Becca didn't bat an eye for about 5 seconds, which seemed like an eternity to the assembled crowd.

"I assume your silence means you are going for option #1, and I hope you're as relieved as I am." Becca said, the hint of a genuine smile ghosting across her lips.

Seamus was, not surprisingly, the one to break the stunned silence, putting his arm across Becca's shoulders and looming over the table of cheerleaders. "I see you gals have met my little sister; but don't worry, I don't think she wants to be a cheerleader" he said, shooting an exaggerated wink at The Bitch. "We gotta bounce, see you guys around" he said, leading a now-jittery Becca out the door without so much as glancing back.

They kept up a dignified pace across the parking lot, neither saying a word until they rounded the corner out of sight. Lauren grabbed her knees and gave in to the hyperventilation that had been building, while Seamus pumped a fist skyward "That was AWESOME Becca! AWESOME!!! I have NEVER seen that bitch shut her mouth for more than 2 seconds...EVER! Woohoo!!!!"

Becca glanced up and gave her brother a half-hearted wave "Give me a minute....I still may pass out" she gasped.

Becca tried to be as small as possible the next morning on her way to her locker before her first class, just in case someone who had been at Starbucks yesterday saw her. Other than Seamus's enthusiasm for the "Bitchy Beat Down" as he called it, she had no idea how anyone else might react. She was still a nobody, with only Lauren and Seamus's hand-me-down friends who knew her. The whole thing had gotten out of hand quickly and she was terrified that there were going to be repercussions of some kind.

She stopped a few feet from her locker, as she could tell right away that something was wrong. There was some kind of paper sticking out from the bottom edge and she was starting to imagine all the worst case scenarios when she saw Seamus round the corner in front of her.

"Hey Slugger, what's wrong? You look like some cheerleader just threatened to beat the crap out of you" he said, managing to make her smile despite her fears.

She explained the situation, and Seamus immediately went into big brother mode, telling her to stand back while he opened her locker. As he made the final turn of the dial and the lock clicked, he slowly opened the door, which then covered him from the waist up so Becca couldn't see what he was doing.

The next thing she knew he was reading a piece of white paper that he had pulled from the locker, and holding something else she couldn't see in his other hand. "What is it Seamus?" she asked, figuring it best to know the name of the person who was going to make her life miserable for the foreseeable future.

No answer.

"Come on, what is it?" she asked, wanting to get it over with.

"Earrings."

"What?"

"Earrings" he said again, this time holding up a pair of earrings and the note he had been reading.

"Who...what...why" she stuttered aimlessly, so befuddled she was not even sure what question to ask.

"Who - no idea. What - six pairs of earrings. And Why - I have a feeling you made a few new friends yesterday who want to show their appreciation for you standing up to their personal nightmare" he said, counting off the points on his outstretched fingers like a demented preschool teacher.

"I don't...wait, what?" Becca said again, only just starting to understand what he was saying. "Someone gave me a pair of earrings? Who?"

"Not who...whos, as in six whos. There are six pairs of brand new earrings in here Becca. You're famous!" he shouted, picking her up and twirling her around the hallway.

"Oh snap" she said, covering her face with her hands, wondering what could possibly happen next.

Lauren.

Double snap.

Yesterday on the way home after the Bitchy Beat Down Becca had made Seamus swear he would not tell Lauren or their parents about 'the incident', hoping it would just kind of get lost in the shuffle of normal high school life. Nothing had really happened, after all, so hopefully it would just fade away and they would never know. Seamus had thought that was pretty funny, but agreed to keep the secret.

The fact that there were six pairs of earrings in her locker had only begun to sink in, and her first thought was terror that her sister might find out what had happened.

"Seamus, what if Lauren finds out?" she whispered to him urgently. "What if she overhears someone who was there or something?"

"Hey guys" came a voice from behind them, dripping with false nonchalance.

Seamus and Becca turned slowly in unison to face their older sister, who was sizing them up like a cheetah would her prey.

"Something weird happened when I went to my locker this morning" she continued slowly, pretending to be in deep thought.

"When I opened it up, I found these" she said, holding out her hand and opening up her fingers to display 4 pairs of earrings resting in her palm.

"Something" she said while nodding in the direction of the six pairs Seamus was still holding "tells me you guys might know something about this" she finished, fixing each of them with an intense stare. She could barely hide the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Seamus snapped out of his daze first and thrust the earrings he was holding back into Becca's locker. "I'll let you two have some quality girl time before class" he said as he backed away slowly. He looked at his younger sister and said, in his best Ricky Ricardo voice "Becca, you got some 'splainin' to do" and laughed uproariously at his own joke while he headed out the hallway door to his class.

Becca was staring at the floor, thinking furiously of what she could possibly say. She came up empty; no idea, none at all. She slowly raised her head to look her sister in the eye, and opened her mouth to see if something, anything would magically come out. Lauren lost any semblance of control and started laughing as hard as Seamus had.

"I know all about your little run in with The Bitch yesterday kiddo" she said, catching her little sister up in a fierce hug. "A whole bunch of people texted me last night, and at least 10 more have stopped me this morning" she said in between laughing breaths.

"You knew? Last night, you knew?" Becca blurted out, totally confused. "Why didn't you say something? Are you mad? Why aren't you mad?" she asked.

"Mad? Why would I be mad?" Lauren asked, frowning. "You stood up for me to the biggest bitch in the school, and threatened to KICK HER ASS because she was talking smack about me behind my back. And all YOU were worried about was your EARRINGS!" She reached out and hugged her little sister again "That is like the sweetest thing EVER! Stupid, but sweet" she added. "What if she had taken you up on your offer to fight? She's got 6 inches and a good 30 pounds on you."

Becca's relief was palpable; she had been so worried that Lauren would somehow be mad that she had been the object of such a public altercation, and that she would want to distance herself from her fake sister for getting into it with such a well-known Senior Cheerleader, even if she was a bitch. These were Lauren's people, and she might not appreciate Becca making waves.

Because while part of her knew that Lauren was the best sister ever, deep down she still had doubts about what would happen if their relationship were tested and she had to choose between Becca and some part of her "real" life.

Not anymore.

"I would have gone all ghetto on her skinny ass and taken her down, HARD" Becca said, surprising herself with her own attempt at humor.

"Becca!" Lauren squealed in shock

Becca leaned closer and whispered in her best attempt at an intimidating tone "Street kids know stuff. Bad stuff."

That was too much for both of them, and they burst out laughing again.

"Very funny. But in all seriousness, as your big sister I absolutely forbid you, from now on, to take down anyone, for any reason..."

Becca's happiness plummeted as she felt a reprimand coming

"...until I get there. I don't want to have to see something like that on YouTube, I want to see it live and in person".

Becca's smile said what the lump in her throat wouldn't let her say out loud.

Best...Sister...Ever

...

"OK people, who's clearing tonight?" Mom asked, full well knowing the answer.

"That would be me Madre" Seamus confessed, standing up from the dinner table and grabbing handfuls of plates, glasses and silverware.

"Remember to take it all the way to the proverbial 'house' as it were, i.e. the literal 'dish washer'" Dad chimed in, air quotes and all. As he ALWAYS did when someone cleared the table.

"So what was the final count?" Lauren asked Becca while dodging their brother's table clearing activities.

"Eleven. How bout you?" she replied.

"Seven"

"What on earth are you girls talking about?" Mom asked, always having at least one ear open to hijack any and all of her children's conversations.

"Uh, just some school stuff Mom" Lauren said innocently, while shooting Becca a mischievous wink.

"School what?" Mom pressed, her radar firmly engaged due to the obvious glossing over of the details.

"Just, you know, school stuff" Lauren repeated, rising from the table. "Come on Bec, let's compare our 'notes' on the subject and see what we've got to work with" she added, Becca jumping, literally, at the chance to escape further interrogation.

Mom looked thoughtfully after her daughters as they headed toward their room, fist bumping a grinning Seamus on their way out of the kitchen.

"Bec, can I borrow those blue ones tomorrow if you aren't going to wear them? They would SOOO match my new scarf" followed by a pair of giggles was the last thing she heard as the girls closed the door to their room.

"OK Seamus, something's up. Spill"

"Don't look at me - it's their school project" he replied, looking hurt that she would even accuse him of having any knowledge of the topic.

"Yeah right" she mumbled, giving up for now, but filing this little tidbit away for future exploration. There was something going on, but because her Mom-dar wasn't pinging an alert, she was going to let it go....for now.

"Oh, and Mom, on an unrelated topic" said Seamus, trying to sound casual and failing miserably "the girls' birthdays are coming up soon....and I would advise you NOT to get either of them earrings" he said, unable to keep the Cheshire grin off his face. "You know, I'm just sayin'" he finished.

"Your children are SO weird sometimes" Mom said in a lovingly accusatory way to her husband..."And I know just where they got it from."

5. Lessons

"Hey Dad"

Becca's Dad glanced over the top edge of the book he was reading, "Hey yourself" and went back to his book.

"How ya doin?"

Now he put the book down.

"Fine. But I don't think that is really the question of the day... How are YOU?"

"Fine, great, excellent, yeah, no problem."

"Oookkaaaaayyyy" he said with obvious suspicion.

"Dad, I want to learn how to swim."

"Oh thank goodness. That was literally the last thing I have been worrying about for the past 30 seconds" he gushed.

"I'm serious. I want to learn how to swim."

"No problem honey, I would be happy to teach you" he said, warming to the topic immediately.

"No Dad...don't take this the wrong way, but I don't want you to teach me" Becca said in a faltering voice.

"Oh. Ok sweetie. I'm sure Seamus or Lauren would be happy..."

"No, it's not that. I don't want any of you to teach me."

"OK sweetie, if that's what you want" he said sincerely, but with some obvious hurt.

"Look, it's not you guys. Well, not that way at least. What I mean is, I know any of you would be an awesome teacher, no doubt. But that's kind of it. You guys are so awesome at swimming, it's like you were born in a pool. I have never even been in a pool. I know I'm gonna stink at first, I get that...but what if I never learn? What if I never get better? I don't want to be embarrassed by sucking at something that you guys are all so good at."

After a few seconds of silence, he replied "I get it sweetie. I understand what you're feeling, thank you for telling me so I understand."

Becca sighed with relief, her shoulders relaxing as she exhaled. "I'm sorry Dad, I'm just a chicken about stuff like this."

He laughed out loud at that. "Becca, the last thing you are is chicken about anything. Think about what you're saying; there is a challenge out there, an obstacle you want to overcome. And you want to do it as much as you can on your own. All you're asking for is a tiny bit of help so you can try to conquer it. That is what bravery is all about. And as your parents, me and Mom are thrilled whenever one of you guys tries to do something positive, and we will do anything we can to help in any way you need. Even if that means stepping back and NOT doing anything."

Now she knew he really understood, and was once again floored by the unconditional support she received every day.

She jumped up and threw her arms around his neck "Thanks Dad! Wish me luck!"

...

"So how are her lessons going? It's killing me not to ask, but I know she'll tell us when she's ready. You MUST know something from picking her up..." Dad asked his wife after dinner a few weeks later.

"I told you Katie O'Brien is her teacher; I did manage to "bump into" Katie on the way to the bathroom, and she said that Becca is killing it. She's only had 6 lessons, and she already knows backstroke and breaststroke, and competitive freestyle."

"What does she mean by "competitive freestyle"?"

"She said that Becca can already swim two laps, without stopping, and even has a wicked flip turn."

"Whoa, only 6 lessons? Sounds like she's a natural after all" her Dad said with obvious pride and awe.

"Agreed...I wonder what her next step is gonna be?"

...

"Dad"

Putting the book down first this time "Yeah sweetie, what's up?"

"I wanna join the swim team"

"Which one? The one at school?"

Deep breath and slightly trembling voice "Yes."

No hesitation this time "OK, kiddo, that sounds great. I think the signup meeting is sometime this week during lunch at school" he said, trying his best to sound casual.

"It's tomorrow. I already talked to Lauren and Seamus, and they're good with it. I just wanted to make sure you and Mom were ok."

"Of course sweetie, like I said before, anything positive that you guys wanna do, we are all for it."

"Thanks Dad."

"Just two rules."

Becca looked up in alarm; nobody said anything about rules in swimming!

"The rules are the same in this house for any sport. First, you have to keep up your grades. And second, you have to try your best."

"That's it?"

"Yep, that's it"

"Ok, phew. No problem with either of those, I'm good."

"Honey...are you scared? I mean I know you did awesomely awesome in your lessons; Katie said you were hands down the best, hardest working student she ever had. But swimming in competition is a big step. I don't want you to think you have to do this just because Lauren and Seamus do it."

"Yes, I'm terrified. And yes, I am doing it partly because Lauren and Seamus do it, and I want to share this with them, and with you and Mom, because I know you are such Uberfans. And I want to do it for me, too."

"From the first time I had the guts to put my head underwater, in my first lesson, I loved it. I love the feel of the water, I love being able to shoot through it like I am weightless or in space or something, it feels like I am flying instead of swimming. And I want to see if I can do it. I know I am not going to be all super-studly like them, and that's cool. I just want to be like everybody else and find out how that feels. I have never been a member of any kind of team or anything like that before. It scares the crap out of me, but it also makes me excited just to think about being part of it, just like everybody else."

The words tumbled out in a rush, leaving her breathless, sitting literally on the edge of her seat. He had seldom seen her so animated, the combination of fear and excitement making her a bundle of nervous energy.

"Becca, have I told you how unbelievably awesome you are?" was all he said.

As the words cut through her hyped up nervous haze, she blushed like a tomato ripening in time lapse.

"Thanks Dad. I know I'm gonna suck, but I gotta try. I am a Holt after all."

"Pretty much the best one ever" he laughed, giving her a fierce hug. "Marie, we need another trip to Swim Country for another team suit" he yelled down the hall on his way to the kitchen.

Neither father nor daughter saw the other's tears through their own.

...

"I think I'm dead. Actually, that can't be true; if I were dead it wouldn't hurt so much" Becca said as she sprawled out on the couch after her first swim team practice.

"That's good Sis, that means you're doing it right" Seamus said over his shoulder as he raided the fridge. "You were awesome today, by the way" he added, waving the turkey drumstick in his hand to somehow emphasize his point.

A non-distinct grunt was Becca's only reply, but he continued unabated, turning his attention to his Mom.

"You should have seen her Mom, it was crazy. Coach knew she was new so he started her in the slowest lane, but she kept lapping everybody so he moved her up. She kept lapping everybody in that lane too, so he bumped her up to lane 3 already. A rookie starting out in Lane 3 on the first day - man, you should have seen it!" he rambled, excitedly pacing the floor between the fridge and the couch.

"Well that sounds like quite a first day Becca, can I get you anything?" Mom said, eyeing Becca's prone form, wondering if she had already fallen asleep.

"Sleep, sleep and more sleep, that's what I need right now" she answered without opening her eyes.

"Alright sweetie, but first things first. You need some protein, then you need to do your homework... THEN you can sleep as much as you want. Until school tomorrow" she added.

"Aaaarrggghhh can't you see I am inches from a chlorine induced coma over here?"

"Yes dear, this isn't my first time treating a chlorine induced coma. Now come to the table, eat your steak, and I promise you'll feel better."

Becca cocked one eye open "Did you say steak?"

"Your father is bringing it in off the grill right this second. Wash up and come sit down."

"For steak I will risk moving by poor aching body. I sure hope there are potatoes somewhere to go with it" she muttered as she crawled to a standing position. "I'm just glad the hardest part is out of the way" she added, limping to the sink.

"The hardest?" Seamus said with a mischievous glint in his eye. "I hate to break it to you sis, but the first day is the easiest practice of the season. Workouts will get harder every day for the next 10 weeks, until we start easing up to prepare for the League Meet on the last day of the season. But don't worry, you'll get used to it; you'll be zipping around again in two, three weeks tops" he added, as seriously as he could muster.

"Son of a nutcracker! Mom, I'm gonna need a lot more steak..."

...

"Ok kiddo, first meet of the season, you nervous?" Seamus asked with poorly disguised amusement.

"What do you think Einstein? I'm about to get up in front of hundreds of people and make a fool of myself, no doubt finishing last in a Junior Varsity race, probably getting disqualified...and all while wearing a bathing suit in front of all these strangers!" Becca whispered back, loudly.

"Don't worry, you'll do fine. You know what to do, you've done it in practice, just tune out the crowd noise and race yourself and the clock and no one else."

"It's a lot easier for YOU to SAY that than for ME to DO it!" she whispered, even louder this time.

Seamus laughed, knowing she would be fine "Just do your thing, Dog" he added helpfully. Or so he hoped.

"So how was it?" Lauren asked as Becca scrambled out of the pool after her first official race.

"I'm not sure. I mean I didn't drown, and I don't think anybody lapped me, so I guess it was pretty good, considering what I was afraid might happen." Becca replied in between gulps of air.

"Well, just FYI, you not only finished your first race...you won it!" Lauren squealed, catching her little sister up in a big hug. "You were awesome!"

Becca looked back at her sister in absolute shock. She had actually won! It was only Junior Varsity, but still, she was about as Junior Varsity as Junior Varsity could be. Maybe she wouldn't look like a complete idiot after all!

"So what's the deal with you and The Bitchy anyway?" Becca asked as she and Lauren walked to the car that evening after the meet.

"We have actually been rivals for a few years now. We literally never see or talk to each other for nine months of the year, but during swim season, while we still don't talk, we race the same races and we are about equal most of the time. She almost always beats me in freestyle, and I almost always beat her in IM. But we are usually no more than a few tenths of a second off, so it is always intense." Lauren said, a look of steely determination in her eyes.

"I thought about switching events so I wouldn't have to race against her every week, but I didn't want to give her the satisfaction. I don't know what her problem is with me, but while I go out of my way not to antagonize her, I don't want her to think I'm giving in either."

"She actually seems kind of human in the pool sometimes." Becca said, considering some memories from the past 6 weeks of swim practice involving the usually-nasty cheerleader.

"You know, I have this feeling that inside she is not as bad as she wants people to think she is outside" Lauren said somberly. "It's almost like something is pressuring her, pushing her, hurting her, so she has to push back to try and control it, like trying to get some balance against whatever is hurting her".

Becca stopped mid-stride and looked intensely at her older Sister, considering what she had just said. "Yeah, that kind of fits, now that you put it in words like that. I do kind of get the feeling that she is always looking over her shoulder, waiting for something bad to happen, whenever I see her around school. The only time she looks even remotely normal is when she's at practice, like that's the only time she can forget about whatever else is bugging her."

"Or" Lauren said innocently as she unlocked the car door "She COULD just be a bitch."

The sisters laughed their way home and melted gratefully into the now familiar routine of dinner, chores and homework, at peace with themselves and their world.

...

"Where are my goggles?" Becca heard the distracted voice asking over and over again from the other side of the low wall separating the pool area. Swim races were starting with the loud crack of the Starter's gun and ending with the crescendoing swell of hundreds of parents and teammates cheering madly until all the swimmers had touched the wall. In the midst of this controlled mayhem the unknown girl's voice took on an increasingly urgent tone.

"Come on, come on, come on, WHERE are those FREAKING GOGGLES!" she yelled at no one in particular. Becca had a few more races until it was her turn to swim, so she stood up and walked over to the origin point of the frustrated voice, finding out too late that it belonged, in fact, to none other than The Bitch. Who happened to turn suddenly in Becca's direction in her search for her missing goggles. She stopped mid-rant and eyed Becca's sudden appearance with suspicion. "What do you want?" she asked, able to spare only a small sneer from her fruitless search.

Becca realized that she only had a split second to decide how she was going to respond, and sorted through her options like the Terminator:

1) Pretend she didn't hear her and walk away

2) Say something sassy, taking advantage of her distracted state to piss her off even further

3) DO THE RIGTH THING, which pulsed in her mind's eye like a flashlight beam in a dark room.

Snap.

"Uh, I don't swim until a few races after you...if you need some goggles, you can borrow mine. If you want. You don't have to, you know." She stammered, reddening furiously.

That stopped The Bitch, literally in her tracks. She stopped searching, stood bolt upright, and stared intently at Becca, with part suspicion, part disbelief, and part hope.

"What's the deal? Do I have to apologize in front of the whole crowd or something?" she snapped, proving that old habits do in fact die hard.

"N, n, no, nothing like that. You can just use 'em, I mean, I don't need 'em right now. You know, being teammates and all" she stuttered. When her adversary didn't make any further snide remarks, Becca plucked up a little more courage.

"Really, you're welcome to use them, I'd be happy if I could help" she said, immediately feeling embarrassed by going too far.

Just then the announcement for her race was made over the loudspeakers, so she was out of choices. "Thanks" The Bitch grunted as she reached out to grab the goggles from Becca's outstretched hand. Without a backward glance she ran to the starting blocks and stood up in her lane, adjusting the goggles as the Starter called the girls to begin.

Becca watched the beginning of the race in nervous fascination, marveling at The Bitch's skill, and realizing only after the first lap that in all the last second activity she had forgotten that Lauren was in this race as well. She ran to the edge of the pool and cheered loudly for her sister, who wound up losing by less than half a second to her rival. She watched with a smile as the two shook hands after the race, but was not surprised when they parted ways after getting out of the pool.

"That was a great race Lauren!" Becca beamed when she met her sister back at the team area.

Lauren gave her a smile and a thumbs up "I would call that a very good race. I liked my time a whole lot, but it would only be GREAT if I finished first when SHE is in the pool" she joked.

Becca laughed and agreed "If I ever come in first in a race with her, I will officially consider that the GREATEST RACE OF ALL TIME and I will retire, right then and there, since there would be nothing else that could possibly compare".

"Good call" Lauren nodded in reply. "But as they always say, be careful what you wish for."

"I don't think there are enough wishes in the world to get me in the same race with her, let alone winning it" Becca scoffed. "I'm still trying to learn butterfly".

"Oh, and by the way, kiddo" Lauren drawled, "your new friend asked me to give these back to you", handing her the goggles she had loaned The Bitch.

"Because, apparently you loaned them to her for her race, you know, like friends do" she continued, enjoying Becca's obvious discomfort.

"So...this is where you explain why you lent your mortal enemy your goggles...or, the why's and how's of hell freezing over, whichever came first, I can't tell."

Becca couldn't resist the smile lurking and finally gave in "I didn't mean to, I mean, I heard someone looking for goggles and I went over and before I realized it was her..."

Lauren threw her head back and laughed, enjoying her sister's discomfort "No worries Sis, I actually think it's pretty cool. I don't know if I would have been able to do it, but you know what? I would have WANTED to. But you just did it. Pretty awesome if you ask me".

Becca was silent, chewing on Lauren's compliment, and realized in retrospect that it did feel pretty good to do something unexpectedly good.

...

"No, no, no, it can't be, please, no!" Seamus cried in anguish as he watched Becca preparing for her race.

"What's up bro?" Lauren asked as she stepped up next to him to watch Becca's race.

"There are no other kids in Becca's race!" he said desperately. "That is the worst! It is sooo embarrassing to be the only one in a race....she'll be crushed!"

Lauren did not hesitate "Not on my watch" she said as she started putting her goggles on while she ran to the blocks.

Becca was distracted by the usual terror she felt before a race; in only her third meet it was still so new to her that she had to reassure herself that it was going to be ok, people did this every day and no one was going to notice one more anonymous kid swimming in the middle of a pool full of kids in a Junior Varsity race.

She was doing ok with her self-psych job...until she noticed that as the soaking wet kids cleared the pool from the race before her, there were no other dry kids like her waiting to step up on the starting blocks for the next race.

No way.

She tried to at least appear nonchalant as she frantically looked around the starting area for another swimmer that was getting ready to join her race...any, any, anyone, please! she pleaded silently, as if she could conjure up at least one other kid from the chlorine laden air.

"Junior Varsity girls 100 yard freestyle" the Starter announced over the loudspeaker. "Step up".

Becca froze, vacillating between climbing up onto the starting block like she was supposed to and either feigning illness or just plain running in the opposite direction.

One of the Moms that was timing the race in her lane tapped her gently on the shoulder "It's time honey, this is your lane. Step up".

Becca nodded mechanically and realized that anything she did to dodge the race at this point would draw even more unwanted attention to herself, as she was starting to gum up the flow of the meet. She grudgingly put one foot and then the other up on the starting block, breathing deeply to try and calm her racing heart. All these people would be staring...at HER, alone in the pool...

"Exhibition" a familiar voice called out as Becca saw a flash of movement to her right. Curiosity cleared the fog of fear that enveloped her brain long enough for her to glance over and try to assess this newest threat to her quest for anonymity.

Her eyes widened well beyond their natural capacity when she saw her sister standing on the block next to her adjusting her goggles. "Lauren!" she stage whispered as loud as she could "What are you doing?"

"I'm swimming in this race, what does it look like?" she replied, trying unsuccessfully to make it sound like nothing more than business as usual

"This isn't your race, this is JV; you just finished your Varsity race what, like 10 minutes ago? You can't do this one too!"

"That's why I announced 'exhibition'; that means I'm swimming as an unofficial extra. I get to swim with you, but on paper, I was never here" she explained, trying to sound like a Twilight zone commercial.

"No one should have to swim alone, and certainly not my kid sister" she added, giving Becca a 'and-that's-final-don't-argue' look.

"I'll just kind of chill and keep you company" she added, "it'll be fun".

"Oh man...Lauren, I appreciate the thought, I really do" Becca whispered "but..." she stopped suddenly as she looked at the expectant timers and fans, who were starting to notice something was amiss.

"Ladies, it's time" the Starter began.

Both girls turned toward him simultaneously and said in perfect unison "Hang on", eliciting a laugh from those close enough to see and hear the uncanny synchronization.

"Wait, wait" Becca said, realizing how unbelievably kind her sister was being and not wanting HER to be embarrassed by having to dumb down her skills to baby sit her lame little sister in a JV race.

"You're time is what, 8 seconds faster than mine, right?" she asked, brightening to a wacky but possibly ingenious idea.

"Yeah, about that...but don't worry..." Lauren replied.

"No, no...if we're going to do this, let's make it interesting" Becca said, warming to her insane plan. If you're going to look foolish, might as well make it worthwhile she thought.

"OK, so you give me an 8 second head start, then see if you can catch me. "

"What?" Lauren asked, looking quizzically at her little sister, wondering if she had gone off the deep end.

"What, are you afraid you won't be able to? That your little sister will beat you?" Becca taunted, fully engrossed in their own private world now, ignoring the increasing attention the crowd was directing toward their little drama.

"Oh so that's how it's going to be, eh?" Lauren said, giving in to her sister's crazy scheme, also forgetting the crowd. "It's on, punk. It is SO on" she finished, sealing their deal with a fist bump.

"Exhibtion" someone else called out from behind Becca, making her swivel around to see what was going on.

"What the..." the Starter mumbled under his breath "What now?"

And there stood The Bitch herself, goggles on, her own this time Becca noted randomly as she tried to process what was happening.

"What are you doing?" Becca demanded, genuine curiosity getting the best of her.

"It's called exhibition..."

"I know what it means, why are you doing this?" she asked.

"The more the merrier, right?" The Bitch asked, looking past Becca to catch Lauren's attention. "I want in."

"Ladies" the Starter said again, this time with obvious exasperation "We need to..."

This time all three girls turned toward him simultaneously and said in perfect unison "Hang on", drawing a burst of laughter from the larger crowd that was clued in to what was unfolding.

Becca and Lauren looked at each other, immediately agreeing on an unspoken reaction. Lauren turned her attention to The Bitch and said "OK I give her 8 seconds, and you give me 1 more since you've been kicking my butt in this race for the past two years."

"No cheating, and no slacking off" Becca added, giving the two girls a stern look. "Let's do this!" she added, no longer caring about the crowd, which was now fully aware of what was happening and giving the unprecedented scene their full attention.

Without thinking, she reached over to initiate the customary fist bump with The Bitch, realizing too late what she was doing. After only a slight hesitation, The Bitch returned the bump, and actually smiled. This latest development was perhaps the craziest part of the whole deal Becca thought to herself.

"Ladies, do I have your kind permission to continue the meet?" the Starter asked sarcastically.

"Yes" the three girls answered, once again in complete unison, and now drawing full on laughter from the crowd which was completely engrossed.

Lauren turned back to the Moms who were timing the races, all of whom were standing up straining to hear every last detail of the exchange. Virtually all of them knew the girls, and their fascination with the goings on was high.

"Mrs. Morgan, can you let me know when it has been 8 seconds?" she asked one of the Moms she knew well.

"Of course Lauren - and all of you girls" she said waving to encompass all three of them "good luck!"

Lauren looked over at The Bitch "Give me that one extra second and then give it your best shot, because I plan to be long gone" she taunted good naturedly, sharing a strange but oddly sincere grin with the girl she had assumed was her enemy.

"Watch and learn" The Bitch replied, softening the challenge with an uncertain grin, daring to join the comfortable banter.

"Swimmers, take your mark..." and BANG went the Starter's pistol, along with the click of a hundred cell phone cameras.

Becca dove off the blocks and did her best to maximize her glide underwater before she surfaced and started swimming for all she was worth. Forgetting about pacing or saving some for later, she just swam as hard as she could.

"Five...six...seven...EIGHT!" Mrs. Morgan yelled, Lauren diving off the blocks with a whoop and a neat splash as she cut through the water on her dive.

Followed exactly one second later by a second splash, and the game, as they say, was afoot.

Nailing her best ever flip turn at the first wall, Becca continued her kamikaze swim, holding nothing back as she began her second lap. Gaining slowly but steadily, Lauren had halved the distance between them by the beginning of the third lap, and The Bitch's head was even with her feet as they flew down the pool.

As Becca pushed off the wall to start her final lap she saw Lauren close by and knew that she was on pace to catch her by the finish. Lauren glanced sideways as she pushed off the wall underwater and similarly saw that The Bitch was now only a single stroke behind her.

The large crowd was doing the math and each person knew that the three swimmers were on a pace to finish in a dead heat, which spurred them on to cheer even louder, encouraging the girls to push even harder.

All three girls knew the finish was less than one lap away now and unleashed whatever they had not even known they had in reserve as they thrashed toward the final wall. The crowd was on its feet as one as the three girls continued their alignment, reaching perfect symmetry in a single line as they thundered the last few feet and all touched the wall in what seemed like a single stroke with one final splash of white water.

There was a moment of dead silence as the crowd tried to make sense of what they had seen, and then they roared with approval, not knowing or caring what the final result was.

The timers were huddled together like a football team, looking at each other's stopwatches, gesturing wildly at each other trying to be heard above the crowd. The Starter came over and joined the huddle, in turn listening, looking at watches and scratching his head.

For their part, the girls had each collapsed against the wall, lips blue, gasping for breath, pained but exultant looks on their faces, knowing that whatever happened they had each given more than they ever had before. Lauren managed to catch her breath long enough to duck under the lane rope and join Becca in her lane, pulling her into a tight hug.

Becca managed to finally open her eyes and as she started to focus and once again notice the world around her, the first thing she saw was The Bitch, similarly wrung out, breathing hard and trying unsuccessfully not to notice the intimate moment of sportsmanship the two sisters shared.

Without thinking, Becca reached across the lane rope and grabbed her in a hug, at first meeting surprised resistance, which quickly gave way to a fierce return. Lauren impulsively joined in, and the three of them floated there for what seemed like an eternity, sharing the satisfaction of absolute competition and the warmth of shared achievement. The lane rope between them did nothing to separate their companionship.

Eventually they separated, finally realizing they were still in the middle of a swim meet, and they prepared to scramble out of the pool.

Before any of them could climb out, the beleaguered Starter broke ranks from the huddle of timers and officials that had swelled to more than a dozen people.

The still buzzing crowd shushed so they could hear what he was preparing to say, as no indication had yet been given as to who had actually won the race.

The Starter silently walked over to Becca's lane, and after glancing down to make sure she was in it, he slowly raised his hand over his head, one finger extended, and nodded over at the scorer's table to confirm that he was signaling that the swimmer in that lane was to be awarded first place in what was called a "photo finish", a race where the winner had to be determined by agreement of the timers and officials since the times themselves were too close to call.

The crowd erupted into a loud cheer, and both of the older girls in the pool reached out to congratulate Becca....

Until they heard the crowd suddenly grow quiet again.

The Starter had stepped to the head of Lauren's lane, and to the delighted amazement of the crowd, he once again raised his hand overhead, one finger extended, signifying that the swimmer in this lane, too, had placed first.

At this point every single person on the pool deck including swimmers from both teams, parents, officials and even the maintenance workers who had been hauling the trash, were mesmerized by the events unfolding in front of them, and they responded with an even louder roar, louder than anyone present thought possible.

The sisters looked at each other with amazed happiness, laughing out loud at this crazy turn of events.

Until the crowd quieted one final time.

At this point the Starter knew that he was the center of attention, and chose to embrace his 15 seconds of fame as he walked over to The Bitch's lane, positioning himself behind her starting block with what he hoped was calculated coolness. The crowd was absolutely silent, holding their collective breath as the unprecedented scene continued to unfold.

With what he hoped was an understated but dramatic flair, the Starter slowly raised his hand above his head and for the final time extended one finger, confirming what the crowd had already known...that the three girls had, in fact, all tied for first place.

Chaos, as they say, ensued.

As the deafening din subsided, strong arms and caring hands pulled the exhausted but ebullient girls from the pool, and they unconsciously linked arms, supporting each other as they wobbled over to the team area on the edge of the grass. They promptly collapsed on the soft turf and indulged in another round of exhausted giggling as they relived the unbelievable event.

"Oh, ow, I am already sore" Becca complained "I'm not sure I'm going to be able to make it to school tomorrow" she joked, wincing as she tried to stretch her exhausted arms and legs. "You guys are used to this; I'm dying here".

"That was not a normal race kiddo, I can feel my hammy's starting to tighten up already. Maybe Mom will have mercy on us and let us at least sleep in tomorrow" Lauren quipped, grunting as she tried to stretch the backs of her legs.

Previously silent, The Bitch sat up and slowly, purposefully looked at each of the sisters. She then held out her hand to Becca, saying with a firm and friendly voice "Hey Champ, I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Virginia Masden, but my friends call me Ginny". All three caught the unspoken invitation, and Becca never hesitated as she put out her own hand to shake.

"Nice to meet you Ginny, I'm Rebeccah, but my friends call me Becca" she said, daring to accept the friendship she offered, trusting that Lauren would not be offended.

Not to be outdone, Lauren extended her own hand and shook the hand of her former nemesis. "Yeah, I've seen you around, but I don't think we've ever really met either" she said, with only a hint of an ironic smile. "I'm her sister Lauren" she said, hooking a thumb in Becca's direction, "But my friends call me Lauren" she finished, in a comically serious tone. The message was clear to all; let's start over.

Ginny blinked rapidly a few times, trying unsuccessfully to pretend that it was the chlorine or an allergy or a bug or anything other than unexpected tears, and the sisters each found something that required their immediate attention elsewhere.

Becca was the first to find her voice, "Well, as fun as THAT was girls, I'm glad I wont' have to do it again; I don't think I could handle that kind of pressure every week" she said playfully.

"Uh, sorry to be the one to tell you..." Ginny said with mock sadness while glancing mischievously at Lauren.

"What?" Becca asked, honestly clueless about the other girl's intention.

"You're gonna have to. With your time in that race...you just made Varsity".

Becca sat in stunned silence for a heartbeat, and then fell back onto the warm grass "Son of a biscuit, it's all your faults!"

The two older girls fist bumped and joined Becca reposing on the grass, laughing and enjoying the peace of new found friends, so much the sweeter for its' unexpectedness.

Later at home, Lauren told her parents the parts of the day's events that Becca had been too embarrassed to tell.

"I cannot tell you how proud I was of her, not just the swimming, although that was awesome enough on its own. But to have not only the guts to reach out to someone who up until that moment had been a mortal enemy...but to WANT to do that. I could tell that when the opportunity came up, Becca never once thought about turning around and walking away, even though she would have had every right to do so."

Her parents were quiet, absorbing the fantastic story and trying to sort through everything they had learned. They deeply regretted not having been there, but knew that the visit to the hospital to comfort a gravely ill friend had been even more important. Watching the race on YouTube had given them a rough approximation of what it would have felt like to see their daugthers' race in person.

Dad sighed and looked at his wife and wondered aloud, not for the first time "When are we going to stop underestimating our kids? As high as our expectations are, each one of them just blows us away, regularly" he said.

Turning his attention to Lauren he added gently "Don't think we didn't notice your part in all this Missy. You're making it out like Becca did all the heavy lifting, but you started the whole thing...great job. We are so very proud of both of you".

Lauren actually blushed a little, not expecting the recognition. "Thanks Dad, thanks Mom. We wouldn't have had it in us if we didn't watch you every day" she added sincerely.

"What's for dinner people?" Seamus bellowed as he entered the kitchen, ending the conversation but not spoiling the mood. "Isn't anybody else hungry? Dad, back me up here!"

"How about some steak?" came Becca's muffled voice from down the hall "I'm starving!"

6. College

"Seamus, do you want to take it the 14th or the 28th?" Mom asked.

"I don't WANT to take it at all Mom" Seamus answered around a mouthful of turkey sandwich.

"We have been over this a hundred times dear, just because things are all setup, you still have to actually qualify. And don't talk with your mouth full" Mom countered.

"Argh", or something like it, he mumbled while he finished up his last bite of sandwich "Ok ok, I'll take it the 14th" he said after draining what looked like an entire quart of milk.

"See, that wasn't so hard was it? Now, how about you Becca?" she said turning her attention to her youngest daughter as she walked into the kitchen.

"How about me what?" Becca asked, not sure what Mom was talking about.

"The SAT dear, when do you want to take the SAT? You can take it the 14th or the 28th".

"What IS the SAT? I've heard some kids talking about it recently, but I don't know what it is. Some kind of test, right?" she asked.

"Of all the things that you guys SHOULD learn on the schoolyard...you would think this would be one of them" Mom mumbled as she picked up Seamus's plate, glass and dirty napkin. "Seamus, do your own dishes next time!" she yelled after his retreating form as it disappeared down the hall.

"I'm sorry Sweetie, I guess I just assumed one of the kids had explained it. The SAT is a test that all high school kids have to take before they apply. The schools then use your score on this test, plus your grades plus any other activities in which you have been involved to decide who they are going to accept."

"What school?" Becca asked, still not clear on what Mom was talking about. "Where is Seamus going?"

Mom stopped loading the dishwasher, realizing this was one of those weird moments when her adopted daughter's lack of knowledge of things they so took for granted broke her heart just a little bit.

She sat down across the table from Becca, and gave her her full attention. "College honey, that's what Seamus and I were talking about. Almost all colleges get more kids applying to get in than they can fit, so they have to pick which ones they think will be the best fit for their particular school. The SAT test, their grades and extra activities, along with an essay each student writes about themselves, is what they use to try and figure out who they are going to accept."

Becca nodded, understanding now what Mom was talking about, but not quite understanding why she was talking to HER about it.

"You know that your father and I both went to San Luis Obispo; that is one of a couple of dozen colleges that the State of California operates; there are literally hundreds of other colleges, of all shapes, sizes and types, that are owned privately. "

Becca nodded again in understanding the "what", but still not grasping the "why" of what Mom was telling her.

"You know Lauren is going to San Luis Obispo, of course; Seamus is also going to attend there next year." Mom added.

"But you said that in order for the school to accept someone, they have to give them their grades and the score of this SAT test. If Seamus hasn't even taken the test yet, how can he know he's going to San Luis Obispo already?" Becca asked.

"Good question sweetie. Normally San Luis Obispo is very, very hard to get into. I read something just the other day that there are only 4 state-owned schools in the whole country that get more kids applying than SLO. Last year they had over 50,000 kids apply, and they only accept about 5,000 of those.".

"Oh my gosh!" Becca exclaimed "What do all the kids do who don't get in?"

"Well, they just go somewhere else. Most kids apply to a handful of different schools, some they know they will probably get in to, based on their grades and scores, and some that they WANT to get into, even if they know they might not. So those kids that don't get in to one of the super tough schools like SLO usually go to one of the other schools that they DID get in to.".

Becca nodded again, but then asked "So how does that work with Seamus? Why does he know he already got in to such a popular school before he even took the test? Are his grades THAT GOOD that he will automatically get in, no matter what his SAT score is or something?"

Mom laughed, not unkindly, at Becca's continued questions. "No sweetie, Seamus is in a bit of a different situation. In addition to both of us going to SLO when we were kids, your Dad teaches down there for a week every year."

"What? Dad teaches college?" Becca yelped.

"Kind of. Your Dad kept in touch with one of his favorite teachers from SLO over the years, and believe it or not, that professor is still teaching. About 10 years ago he asked Dad to come down and teach his class for a day as kind of a guest lecturer just for fun, to give the kids a change of pace."

"Your Dad did such a great job that he asked him to come back the next year...and eventually it turned into a whole week. So while he only teaches one week a year, technically he is on the staff of SLO."

"Oh, so there is some kind of family deal where the kids can go there, is that it?" Becca asked.

"Oh no, SLO is way too competitive to allow the kids of all their professors to automatically get in. When children of professors apply, they still have to meet the requirements and be ranked in the top 20% of the applicants. If they are in the top 20%, then they DO get special consideration and they get accepted automatically at that point. But they still have to be in the top 20%, which is pretty tough to do.".

"So is that how Lauren got in?" Becca asked.

Mom threw her head back and laughed "Don't let her hear you say that Bec! No, your sister is a stubborn one. She REALLY wanted to go to SLO, not because your Dad and I did, but because she fell in love with it when she went down to visit while she was checking out other schools she was going to apply to. She refused to apply as a Professor's child, because she didn't want to get in just because of Dad."

"So how did she get in?"

"The old fashioned way" Mom said, doing her best old English accent. "She EARNED it." Becca cracked up at her Mom's dorky impression.

"She wound up being in the top 3% of the applicants, so she would not have needed your Dad's connections anyway."

"Seamus, on the other hand, is a very, very good student, but probably not good enough to be in that top, top group like Lauren was. He is also a very, very, good swimmer...but not good enough to get scholarship offers from schools that have enough money to pay for the top swimmers to attend."

"OK, now I am thoroughly confused" Becca said, shaking her head.

"SLO is a big academic school, one of the best in the world...but they are NOT a big athletic school. They do NOT offer any sports scholarships, and while they still have some really good sports teams, compared to other academic schools, they can't really compete with the big sports-oriented schools who have millions of dollars to use to attract the top athletes with scholarships."

"So Seamus is kind of an in-betweener...a really good student and a really good swimmer, but not good enough at either to get a scholarship or automatic admission to a top school."

"So here is where it gets interesting for Seamus. SLO doesn't have a swim team right now, and they have been trying for a few years to start one. Last year they finally got approval from the Dean to start one, and they were able to raise enough money to hire a coach and start getting a new team together."

"Because your Dad and I are graduates and because of Dad's teaching, he and Lauren popped up on a list of potential students that the new Coach wanted to invite to try out for the team. Lauren declined, as she wanted to focus on her studies. Seamus, however, realized that this would probably be the only way he could attend, and so he said he was interested."

"What happened then?" Becca asked, engrossed in the tale.

"Last summer they had a 'swim tryout', where they invited any swimmers already attending SLO and anybody who wanted to try to apply in the next two years to come down and make up a team for the summer. They competed against all the other small colleges in California, trying to figure out how well they would do if they actually created a full team."

"How did Seamus do?"

"Well, in the pool he did very well. He wound up as the 4th fastest kid on the SLO team, and he ended up taking 6th place overall in the league when the season ended. Remember, this was swimming against college kids from SLO as well as other established small college teams all cross the state."

"Wow, that is awesome! So he did well enough to get accepted to SLO?"

"His performance in the pool definitely made him a strong candidate, that is for sure. The deal that the Coach made with the Dean was that each year he could provide automatic acceptance for 3 kids who applied, as long as these 3 kids met all the criteria and were in the top 20%."

"So Seamus might NOT get in, if the three other kids who were faster than him want to go, right?" Becca asked, doing the math.

"Well, that is where Seamus showed why he is, well, why he is Seamus. Even though he was one of only a few high school kids on the college team, competing against all the other college teams...he was elected Captain of the SLO squad. And they actually won the summer league championship."

"So based on all these things, the Coach told us that no matter what, as long as Seamus is in the top 20%, he will give him an automatic spot. So that is why Seamus pretty much knows he is in...but it is also why I am bugging him to TAKE THE SAT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE" she said, shouting the last sentence loudly enough for Seamus to undoubtedly hear above the sound of his video game.

"Wow" was all Becca could say.

Then...

"But what does all of that have to do with me? Why do you want me to take the SAT?"

"So you can start getting ready for college, why else honey?"

Becca finally put the pieces of this strange conversation together and realized belatedly what her Mom had been trying to tell her. She expected Becca to GO TO COLLEGE.

"Mom, I can't go to College!" she said, shaking her head emphatically.

"Why ever not dear?"

"Because...because...I'm not smart enough! I don't know anything about College! I've been in and out of so many schools, I'm just hoping to barely graduate high school! How could I go to College?"

Mom stared at her daughter, at her precious, beautiful, humble, fantastic daughter, and threw her head back and laughed. And laughed.

"Mom, why are you laughing at me? It's not funny!"

"Oh Becca, I'm not laughing AT you my dear, sweet child...I am laughing at how truly remarkable you are."

"What are you talking about?"

"Honey, despite all the things you just mentioned, all the terrible things you have had to deal with all your life, here you are, with a full load of hard classes at a good high school. You are getting straight A grades!!! Why on earth would you NOT go to college?"

That stopped Becca cold. She opened her mouth to protest, but could not think of anything to say.

Was Mom right? Could Becca actually go to some kind of college somewhere, somehow?

She had literally never in her life thought about even the idea of going to college.

In reality, it had only been since her adoption by the Holt family a few short months ago that she had started thinking more than an hour or at most a day ahead. But she realized in that instant that she had not given any thought to something that far ahead. Could she?

But then reality came crashing down.

"But I know college is expensive. I don't know how much, but there's gotta be no way you and Dad could afford to put Lauren and Seamus AND me through it..."

"Becca, don't you worry about that. Yes, college is expensive, but we have been planning on this for many years, and you have some relatives that have passed away that have left us a little extra money for exactly this reason. One way or another we'll figure out the money; you just have to figure out where you want to go and concentrate on getting in."

Becca sat shell shocked, her previously tiny world rocked by yet another concept that was so new to her, yet so tantalizingly awesome she could hardly let herself think about it for real. Mom sat quietly, watching her work through a million thoughts at the speed of light, seeing the full gamut of human emotions flash across her face one after another.

Becca herself was at first focused solely on this new idea, but her wonder and disbelief soon turned to her life in general. Here she was, some street kid, sitting in a nice warm kitchen redolent with the smell of fresh cookies, talking to a woman who called her Daughter and loved her, without reservation...talking about going to college. She shook her head to clear it, trying to make sure she wasn't imagining it all, and hoping beyond hope that she wasn't.

After a few more moments of thinking deeply, a bright and determined smile lit up her face.

"San Luis Obispo" she said.

"What about it sweetie?" her Mom asked, trying to follow her train of thought.

"You went to SLO. Dad went to SLO. Lauren's going to SLO. Seamus is going to go to SLO. If I am going to do this college thing, I want to do it right." she said lightly, but with a steely resolve.

"Wow kiddo, that is quite a decision to make so quickly sitting here in our kitchen. Are you sure you don't want to go out and see other places, other schools, check out what is available to you? I don't want you to try and go to SLO just because we all did; you might not even like it" she said, trying to walk that parental line between supporting her kids and not letting them go down a road that might not turn out well for them.

Mom had no doubt of Becca's intelligence or her ability to succeed, but getting into SLO was a tall order for anyone, especially someone coming from such a limited academic background.

"Holts go to SLO, so I am going to SLO if it is at all humanly possible" Becca said, with even more conviction than before. "I know it is a long shot Mom, but I've got to try. I don't know anything about colleges, except that you said SLO is a great school, and you guys all love it, so I'm sure I would too."

"But the other thing is...I don't want to be alone."

"You wouldn't be alone wherever you went honey" her Mom said, trying to ground her daughter.

"I know I wouldn't be alone-alone...but I have just now found you guys, and I can't stand the thought of only just getting to know you all and being so happy and then leaving to be on my own again. I spent 16 years alone, and now that I know what it's like to belong, to have people who care about me, the thought of being alone again feels like hell" she said quietly.

Mom sat very still, understanding dawning on level after level as she listened to her daughter and felt the depths from which she spoke.

"I know that I will want to go out and be on my own someday. But if I can have another few years with Lauren and Seamus, sharing the same things, doing the same things, being in the same place, even if it is just at school...coming home to be with you and Dad together...that matters to me. More than anything."

Mom looked again at her youngest daughter and closed her eyes. All the impossibilities of what she was asking appeared in her mind very clearly. But all she could see was that determined look that Becca got when she was about to put her mind to something.

In the brief months she had known her, Mom had seen that look many times, as there had been so many "firsts" she had had to overcome. And she could not think of a single thing that Becca had failed to accomplish once she got that look on her face. If this kid was willing to commit her whole self to this crazy idea, how could her Mom do any less? All Becca was asking for was a chance.

"Ok Becca. Let's do it." She had to raise her voice to be heard over Becca's screaming to finish "I don't know what will happen, and you have to understand it may not work, no matter how hard we try". This quieted Becca's squeals though not her enthusiasm. Mom continued in a lower voice, full of intense sincerity. "If it can be done, let's do it. And if anyone can do it, it's gonna be you".

"Thanks Mom!" Becca squealed as she grabbed her Mom in a lock down hug. "If it doesn't work, at least I'll know I tried!".

And that, Mom thought, is all anyone can ask about anything isn't it?

...

"OK kiddo, got some news. You ready?"

"Ready Dad. What's it look like?" Beccas asked, half excited and half afraid.

"Turns out that all Cal State colleges have what they call the "Non-Traditional Pathway" program.

"What's that?" Becca asked curiously. "Sounds weird".

"In the past, the State College system realized that their method for recruiting and accepting students was geared exclusively toward kids coming out of state-accredited high schools, with 4 years of grade point averages, and access to the standard SAT type entrance exams. They realized that there were a group of kids that did not fit into that category and they wanted to make sure that kids who would make legitimate students in the State College system had a chance to get in, even without this traditional method."

"So it's like a charity thing, where they take weirdoes like me?" Becca asked, frowning.

"Not at all. The NTP charter says that any 17-19 year old youth can apply to any State College and request a NTP review. The NTP committee reviews their request, and if they think the kid shows enough potential, they do a thorough evaluation to determine if they think the kid can succeed, and if their non-traditional circumstances, whatever they are, are worth setting aside for entrance purposes. "

"It is most definitely NOT a charity thing. I read their reports, and of all the kids that have requested a NTP review, only 5% go through to the formal evaluation. And of those 5%, only 20% are accepted as students. But the biggest thing is...of those very few kids that make it into the State College system under this thing...95% of them graduate in four years. That is much higher than the "normal" graduation rate. So what that means is that they are extremely picky about who they let in through this system. If you make it in via NTP, it means you are already considered a top student prospect, just coming through a different route than the vast majority of the other kids" he finished.

Becca chewed on this, and finally said "OK, so it sounds legit. What do I have to do to see if they will take me?"

"I knew you were going to ask that" Dad said, grinning over at his wife who nodded knowingly.

"I ran your current status through their office, and they said that because you only have one year of identifiable high school grades, you would definitely qualify for consideration. However, you would need to complete at least one more full year, and complete at least the minimum Senior requirements. You would also have to get at least an 1800 on the SAT test. If you do all that, they would then set you up for the formal evaluation."

Becca chewed on this as well. "OK, that sounds a little too easy..what's the catch?"

"The catch, if you want to call it that, is that right now based on the classes you have and the classes you would need, you will have to go to one more semester of Claycord High, even if you take a full load next year."

"You mean I would have to go BACK to Claycord after next year, and go one more semester?"

"Yes, there just aren't enough periods in the day to take all the classes you need."

"Hmm...."

"It would be very, very busy, but I'm sure you could do it kiddo, if you really want this" he said.

Becca was silent for a full minute.

"OK, that sounds pretty good...but I do NOT want to have to come back to Claycord for another semester. Lauren is already gone, and Seamus will be gone...I would feel like some kind of freak hanging around for one more semester" she said.

"You wouldn't be a freak sweetie, you would be doing something almost impossibly hard!" Dad interjected, trying to get her to see reason.

"I get it, I do...but there's got to be a way to finish on time, with Seamus and all my friends, and still swing it."

Mom and Dad were silent after that, looking at each other with a weird mixture of guilt and suppressed laughter.

"OK, you two are kind of freaking me out here. What aren't you telling me?"

They couldn't hold their laughter any longer and gave in to the giggles, which looks weird when your parents do it Becca thought distractedly.

"I knew that's what you would say" Mom answered, standing up to do a little victory dance, kind of a half-jig, half-disco bump.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Becca asked, her concentration broken by her Mothers spastic movements.

"My victory dance. I called it! She won't give up!" she shouted, redoubling her efforts.

Dad was the first to recover from the sight of his wife's celebration.

"OK, since Mom was so sure you wouldn't agree to coming back for another semester, we checked into what other options could be even remotely possible."

"Now we're talking" Becca said gleefully, rubbing her hands together. "Spill Daddy-O, what's it gonna take to finish on time?"

"Two things" he said, unconsciously using his Professor voice.

"First, you would need to take three classes during summer school this summer" he said, pacing the kitchen floor like a classroom. "You are only supposed to take two, but the Principal agreed to make an exception, since one of them is PE."

"Well that sounds easy" Becca said confidently.

"Remember dear, each class is an entire semester's worth of work condensed into 6 weeks. It's like triple speed" Mom warned.

"OK, three classes, six weeks, triple speed, got it. What's the other thing?"

"Second" Dad said in his best academic drawl "You would have to take Spanish Three at the Junior College during fall semester next year. And then you would have to challenge the year end exam and pass it for full credit."

"What does challenge mean?" Becca asked, all business now.

"That means that after one semester of the college Spanish Three class, you would have to take the High School Spanish Three final exam that the other students take after a full year, and pass it."

"OK, so the summer school thing, then the Spanish Three class at the Junior College, and then pass the final."

"And take 6 senior classes at Claycord High." Dad reminded her.

"Got it. Anything else?"

Mom and Dad, fully expecting a response like this, were none the less still shocked into silence for a moment, before breaking into wide grins.

"Nope, that's it."

Seamus was all for the plan in his usual kooky way "Awesome Sis – that would be so cool to go down to SLO together – three Holt's on campus at once? They won't know what hit 'em" he teased around bites of his burrito.

"Hey, I took one of the classes you got in Summer School last year and I still have my notes you can use. And we both have Chem and English next year, so I can definitely help you study for those too" he said, fist held high for a bump.

...

The months passed in a blur, and come January Becca breathed a sigh of relief as Summer School was a distant memory and she had managed a solid B on the Spanish 3 challenge. With only a full load of Senior classes, she jumped at the chance to spend another season on the swim team, and was good and truly shocked when she was elected captain of the girls team unanimously.

Almost as shocked as Seamus was when she raised an actual bruise on his shoulder when she smacked him after finding out he had turned down the boys Captain position so she wouldn't have to share the spotlight.

One of the benefits of Seamus's offer to tutor his little sister was that his grade point average rose sharply, putting him into the top 6% of SLO applicants. It was not quite Lauren's 3%, but coupled with a decent SAT score, he was accepted even without the swimming exception.

Becca declined another chance at the SAT after her 1890 on the first try.

"I know I could probably do better if I took it again Mom, but I have taken more tests in the last six months than I thought existed in the world. The SLO NTP guy said 1800, so if they kick me out over an 1890, then I'll know this wasn't my future after all" she said exhaustedly.

Mom thought about all that she had been through the past 6 months, and marveled once again at what a whirlwind of intensity she could be. She crossed the fingers on both hands, toes too, when she realized that the next and final step was the interview.

...

"So Ms. Holt, welcome to NTP, I'm Dr. Johansson. I've reviewed your file, and it appears that there is some kind of problem with the packet of information we received with your application."

Becca, nervous already, felt her heart start to pound even harder "Wha, What do you mean Dr. Johansson? I have another copy of everything with me if there's something missing" she said, grateful that Mom had handed her a duplicate copy of everything this morning, just in case.

"I don't think there is anything missing, I think we may have gotten some information regarding another student mixed in with yours. What I would like to do is run through the high points and figure out what got mixed in by mistake" he said with the slightly annoyed arrogance of the lifelong academic having to deal with paperwork.

"OK Dr. Johansson, thank you."

"Quite, quite Rebeccah, no trouble at all. Now, let's see, it says here that you were an orphan until you were 16, and were in and out of a number of foster homes and care agencies."

"Yes sir, that's right."

"And you attended a number of different schools and CPS clinics during that time."

"Yes"

"It looks like you were never in one secondary school for more than a single academic quarter, and there appear to be gaps suggesting you were not in full time secondary school at all for months at a time. Is that correct?"

"Yes sir. I was always in class somewhere, but the CPS clinics don't give grades, as they are only for temporary students. And the regular schools don't give grades for partial terms" she said, trying to sound as smart as possible without tripping over her words.

"Yes, quite right. I am, unfortunately, intimately familiar with the failings of the public school system." he added imperiously.

"Moving on, it looks like you came under the guardianship of the Holts when you were 16, but it also looks like you were adopted simultaneously, which is not normal procedure. Can you clarify how long you were with the Holts before the adoption process started?"

"72 hours sir"

"72 HOURS?" the older man asked incredulously. "I don't mean how long you were waiting for assignment or in CPS hold...how long from the time you first met the Holts until the adoption?"

"Yes sir, 72 hours, a little less actually. I ended up at their house on a Friday night, and they put in the permanent adoption request Monday morning" she replied vaguely, trying not to overstate things but not wanting to leave any doubts.

"I see, so the file is correct. Quite unusual, quite unusual indeed. Never seen anything like it with a teenager. Hmm... Well, moving on...it appears that you then started at an excellent public high school as a Junior, despite not having any formal secondary school levels."

"Correct"

"Why? How was the decision made to start you so high up the academic ladder with no precedent?"

"My sister was a Senior and my brother was a Junior, and we figured it would be easiest to be in the same grade as one of them, so I just started Junior classes."

"You just started Junior classes? It says here that your first semester GPA was a 3.8."

"Yes sir, I got a B in Spanish".

Speaking slowly and carefully, Dr. Johannsson asked quietly "Do you mean to tell me that with a hodge podge collection of CPS and fly-by-night public school classes for preparation, you started as a Junior on a college preparatory track and only got one B your entire first semester? Wait, it looks like that was your only B the entire year. Am I reading this correctly?"

"I didn't know it at the time" Becca answered somewhat defensively.

"Didn't know what?"

"I didn't know the classes were preparing me for college. I just took what my Mom and Dad and the principal suggested, and what was open."

"I see" Dr. Johansson mumbled, not seeing at all. "Now I think this may be one of the mix ups in your file. It indicates that you then joined the swim team during your second semester, and there is a notation that until the adoption you had never been on a team before. That doesn't seem to fit in here, can you clarify?"

"Yes, I started taking lessons at the city pool in October, and the season started in February. I really liked the lessons so I thought I would try the team."

"Do you mean to tell me that you joined the competitive swim team after a few months of lessons after never having swum before? And, according to this, you not only made the team, you were promoted to Varsity after only three meets. Something doesn't add up here Ms. Holt, please elucidate" he asked in exasperation, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms defiantly.

"Well, my brother and sister are both really, really good swimmers, so it was pretty easy to kind of get in the groove, you know? My sister is the one that really helped me make a big jump during that third meet" she added.

At his insistence she told the whole story of The Race, casting The Bitch in a much softer light since they were now good friends.

"Ay yi yi...what the...." he grumbled, not wanting to believe what she said, but finding the proof in the file he was gripping with whitened knuckles.

"All right Rebecca, now here is where I really get lost. From what I can tell in your file" he said, casting a suspicious glance at the traitorous pages "you then decided to try and finish high school on a hardship clause by taking summer school classes, a full load for both semesters of what became your senior year, and passing a college Spanish class simultaneously. PLEASE tell me what REALLY happened, if you would be so kind" he said in desperation.

"Sure" Becca replied, trying to help this nice, slightly confused man understand the complicated year she was just finishing up. "You got it all right, although the college Spanish class was only one semester"

"I see"

"So after it was done, I had to challenge the Spanish Three final at the high school so I could get the full year credit"

"So you challenged a full year final after one semester of third year college Spanish"

"Yes"

"Did you pass?" he asked reluctantly, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"Yes. Although I got a B, while I was hoping for a B+. But that was good enough for the credit, so it was all good" she added, warming to the conversation as it progressed.

"All good indeed...this can't be..." The elderly educator took a deep breath and reluctantly continued.

"I understand you have taken the SAT exam and submitted a final score of 1890 with your application. May I ask what you scored on your previous attempts?"

"Actually I just took it the once. The other SLO NTP representative said 1800 was what I needed, so I didn't want to push my luck you know?" she said, chuckling to try and cheer Dr. Johansson up a bit, as he looked so sad all of the sudden.

"And that brings us to your visit here today" he sighed, unable to muster the energy to be surprised any more. "You have applied for the NTP program. Do you understand what that is?"

"Yes sir. In the past, the State College system realized that their method for recruiting and accepting students was geared exclusively toward kids coming out of state-accredited high schools, with 4 years of grade point averages, and access to the standard SAT type entrance exams. They realized that there were a group of kids that did not fit into that category and they wanted to make sure that kids who would make legitimate students in the State College system had a chance to get in, even without this traditional method."

"Oh my goodness..." Dr. Johansson gurgled, closing his eyes

"That's how my Dad described it when he told me about it. It made sense, so I have just used that answer whenever people ask. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, Ms. Holt, that does make sense. It makes so much sense I may write it down myself" he muttered.

Dr. Johansson rallied, wanting to finish this interview so he could think long and hard about the public education system.

"So I gather that your Mother, Father and Sister all did or are currently attending SLO, is that correct?" he inquired, once again referring to the file for details.

"Yes, and my Dad teaches one week a year in the Comms department. And my brother is going to be coming here next year on a Swim exception. Although he didn't end up needing it after all. But he still wants to swim. Sorry, too much information." she finished quietly, chastising herself for going too far.

"So you were an orphan for 16 years, were adopted within 72 hours of meeting your future family, became a competitive varsity swimmer in 3 months, were then voted team captain in only your second season, finished high school in two years while simultaneously passing a college class, and scored an 1890 on your first attempt at the SAT. Did I get that right Ms. Holt?"

"Y, y, yes sir" Becca replied, sensing he was somehow off his game at this point.

"And you have two alumni parents, one a part time professor, and two other siblings either attending or accepted...and you want to join them because you like them all so much you would miss them if you had to go somewhere else."

"Is that in there?" Becca asked, trying to peek over the top of her file. Dr. Johansson played keep away with the file, not letting her see his precious notes. "Yes. Now just answer the question" he snapped, clearly at the end of some kind of rope.

"Yes, that sums it up I guess." she replied, leaning back in her chair, assuming the decision was now out of her hands.

"So that's it...finally" he mumbled as his intercom buzzed. "Yes Peterson, what is it?" he barked into the device.

"Sir, there is some additional information I was told to pass on" came a tentative voice over the speaker.

"What is it? Speak up man!"

"A threat sir, that the Director wanted you to know about"

"A threat, what kind of threat? Are we under some kind of attack?" he asked, his last nerve frazzling as he spoke.

"No, nothing like that sir. More of a promise, made by a prospective student."

"What are you talking about Peterson? Make sense man!"

"Sir, the Director got a call from the Swim Coach"

"He did. A call"

"Yes sir. The swim coach was quite agitated, and quite adamant about discussing the content of this call with the Director."

"And..."

"And the Director was then quite adamant about sharing the content of that conversation with me sir."

"With you"

"Yes sir, with the expressed desire that I pass on the content of this conversation to you. Forthwith."

"Forthwith"

"Yes sir, as in right away sir"

"I KNOW WHAT FORTHWITH MEANS YOU TWIT! WHAT DID THE DIRECTOR WANT YOU TO TELL ME?" he yelled into the intercom, spittle flying as his comb over began to loosen precariously.

"Quite sir, quite. He wanted me to pass on the threat. Or the promise rather. That was communicated to the coach."

Dr. Johansson held his face in his hands, shaking his head back and forth slowly, soft words in a foreign language emanating from his lips.

"WHO SAID WHAT TO WHOM PETERSON!" he finally yelled.

"Seamus Holt sir"

"Who or what is a Seamus Holt, Peterson?"

"The applicant's brother sir."

Dr. Johansson whirled around and glared comically at Becca, whom he had forgotten was there.

"You mean this girl, Rebeccah Holt, her brother, threatened the swim coach?"

"Again, not so much a threat as a promise" Peterson corrected.

"What the..."

"Apparently Seamus called the coach and indicated that should Rebeccah not be admitted, he would be reluctant to attend as well"

"So? Why is the swim coach so upset Peterson? Surely they can find another incoming freshman swimmer to take his place?"

"Perhaps sir, but there is the issue of the captaincy sir."

"What about the swim team captain could possibly affect this meeting Peterson?"

"Seamus is the captain sir, which would leave the team in a bit of a pickle, being a brand new team"

"An incoming freshman is the captain of the brand new swim team? How can that be? He hasn't even attended a single class yet!"

"Apparently he made such an impression on the team when he attended the summer league last year that he was preemptively elected captain sir"

Becca, who had been following this exchange like a referee at a ping pong match gasped when she heard this. Seamus had never told her that he had already been elected captain of the college swim team...while he was still in high school. That goober was going to hear about this!

And what about this threat business? He was so dead when she got home...

"Peterson...listen carefully. I want you to get the Director on the phone right now."

"Yes sir, stand by sir"

"Dr. Johansson? Are you ok sir? Can I get you some water or something?" Becca asked, concerned at the now completely disheveled appearance of the distinguished scholar.

"I think you have done quite enough young lady. In a few moments I will resolve this situation once and for all and I will then be able to return to more pressing matters!" he finished with a maniacal look in his eyes.

Becca prepared herself for the worst, feeling like the interview had somehow gotten off track at some point...but determined to see it through and try to convince this nice man that she could succeed here if she could just get the chance.

"Johansson, this is the Director" boomed a huge voice over the intercom. "What's going on with the Holt girl?" he asked gruffly.

"She's here Director, sitting right here in my office." he replied with equal gruffness.

"Excellent. Where are you at in the process? Have you finished the interview? Do you have all the records? Do you need more time..."

"NO!" Johansson yelped "NO! I never want to see another student record again as long as I live! This has all been highly irregular and I just want it to end so I can get back to work."

"Well, what's the verdict? Is there any possibility that she could make it into the program?" he asked. "And remember, I really don't want to lose a swim team captain Johansson."

"Director, the NTP program was invented for Rebeccah Holt. She embodies everything that we set out to do when we started this all those years ago. She is hands down the most remarkable student I have ever met, and if you don't sign her College Acceptance Offer yourself today, I will retire. FORTHWITH!" he shouted into the intercom.

"And it has nothing whatsoever to do with your high school swimming captain, so TAKE THAT!" he added.

Becca was floored, looking up at the semi-crazed professor standing in front of her, having just endorsed her to attend SLO!!!

"Oh thank you Dr. Johansson! Thank you thank you thank you!!! She squealed, jumping out of her chair and catching him in a huge hug. "I promise I won't let you down!" she added, hopping from one foot to the other in her excitement to go and tell her family.

"Ms. Holt I have no concerns whatsoever about your surviving SLO. I would bet my tenure on the fact that you will change and grow and ultimately thrive"

"Oh thank you Doctor!"

"I am, however, more than a little worried about SLO surviving YOU unchanged. And that may not be such a bad thing after all"

...

Later that night, after the steak dinner and the celebratory sparkling cider, after Seamus had been made to confess both his captaincy and his unnecessary attempt to influence Becca's acceptance, while wearing her new SLO LEARNER CAL POLY sweatshirt compliments of Lauren, all Becca could say as she looked around the kitchen table was simply...

"I'M A HOLT AND I'M GOING TO COLLEGE!!!"

7. Gideon

"Snap"

"You have got to be kidding me"

"Sweet Georgia Brown"

"SON OF A BISCUIT!!!"

The exclamations got slightly louder with each iteration, eventually prompting Mom to stick her head in the doorway.

"I take it we didn't win the Lottery, is that what I'm hearing?" she asked.

Burying his head in his hands and moaning theatrically, Dad replied "You know when you know you should do something good...but you don't want to? But your conscience keeps telling you to do it...but you keep trying to strangle your conscience so it will shut up?"

"Oh yeah, I hate it when that happens" Mom said, lightheartedly, knowing simultaneously that something at least somewhat serious was bothering her husband, and that he would eventually tell her.

"Let me know who wins that fight" she called over her shoulder as she went back down the hallway towards the kitchen. "And remember Lauren is coming over tonight - TACO TUESDAY!"

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" came the guttural reply.

...

"So do you want to tell us what prompted the wrestling match with your conscience?" she asked over the last of the salsa that night. The fact that he hadn't said anything about it yet meant he needed a little push after all, and something told her it was something they all needed to hear.

Putting down his fork and sighing with defeat, Dad finally dished. "I got a notice from the Bone Marrow Donor group today. Apparently there is a patient in need of a marrow donation at Mt. Diablo Hospital."

"That doesn't sound earth shattering yet...I assume there's more" Mom prompted.

"Apparently the patient has a super rare marrow type" he said.

"And are you like the only match or something?" Seamus asked, assembling the dregs of everything on the table into one final taco as Dad nodded confirmation.

"Yeah, I remember when you donated marrow the first time you were sore for like a week." Seamus reminded him gleefully. "Good luck with that".

"Yeah, but that's not it. It isn't THAT painful, and it's been long enough that I'm cleared to donate again" he said distractedly, staring at Seamus's creation.

"It's the patient."

"Aren't they anonymous?" Mom asked.

"Normally they are...but the director of the program got permission to break protocol and tell me who it is."

"Wow, now you've got me REALLY curious" Mom said, understanding that this really was important.

"Who is it? The Governator? George Bush? The suspense is killing me!" she joked, trying to loosen him up.

"Gideon Weaver" he said flatly.

"Oh snap" all four of them exclaimed in unison.

"Yeah, Snap. Apparently:

a)he is still alive

b)he is in a bad way and needs both marrow and blood"

"Is his blood type as rare as his marrow?" Lauren asked.

"No, he is actually a 'universal recipient' for blood, but he has already used up a whole bunch of blood and they are running low at the blood bank. So they are asking for volunteers to replenish the bank on his behalf, otherwise they may have to limit him as they can't risk other patients by using all their reserves on him."

"Sounds like he is in a REALLY bad way. Did they say what happened?" Mom asked.

"Not in detail. Something about a gunshot wound, but nothing more."

"Wow, that name certainly brings back memories" Mom said, allowing herself to travel back in time, 6 years in fact.

She could still picture his admittedly handsome face, so young, so almost out of control, and yet so scared, in that YouTube video. She hadn't watched it in years, but would never forget the day she almost lost her husband and so joyously gained a daughter.

"Well, for his sake I hope they find a match soon. I guess even someone like that..." Mom said, her voice trailing off as her thoughts forged ahead.

"Wait wait wait wait wait" Mom exclaimed.

"Look at me, look me in the eye....you aren't actually thinking about DOING it!"

His silence was all the answer she needed.

"You ARE! I know that look...are you kidding me?"

"You are going to give your own BONE MARROW to that...that... oh HELL NO...do you know what he could have done to you or to Becca? NO FREAKIN' WAY!!!" she screamed.

General chaos ensued as everyone around the table, except Becca, started talking at once, processing the dynamics of this impossible situation. She was silent, wearing a faraway look.

Becca suddenly gasped, literally pulling back from the table and placing her hands to her mouth like some old Hitchcock heroine.

That stopped everyone cold.

Slowly, deliberately, staring intently at her Dad, she quietly asked him "You didn't tell them did you?"

The silence around the table deepened.

"No sweetie" Dad said, just as quietly.

The silence held for a few more moments, broken by Mom sitting down next to her husband and looking expectantly in his eyes. "What honey? What didn't you tell us?" she asked, more curious than she had ever been in her life.

Dad breathed in and out deeply, with a faraway look of his own. "The video from that night...it ended with me and Becca starting to walk out of the alley" he said, continuing to stare at a place that was nowhere in the room.

"Yessss" Mom said, wondering where this was going with this.

"Well, that wasn't the last thing that happened. As I walked by the leader of those thugs, Gideon Weaver, I said something to him."

No one prompted him, knowing he would continue when he was ready.

"I told him that even though he thought of himself as being a bad guy, I saw something good in him, and that no matter what, because he did this for us, he had earned something good."

"And that's why you need to do this" Lauren said, putting her hand on her Dad's shoulder. "I get it Dad. And good on you." she finished, looking at Becca, knowing what she would find in her sister's eyes.

Mom stood up again, pacing, stammering "Oh honey...I...I...I honestly don't know what to say. I know how you are, and because you said that to him, you feel like you have to do this."

"But before you decide for sure, think. Besides the pain, there is some risk, and if you do this for him, you won't be able to donate again in case someone else needs it...and what about Becca?"

"Mom, it's ok" Becca said quietly.

Total silence again.

"Dad's right. Of all the ways that could have ended...look at the way it did. I know Gideon's the one that started it, and who knows what he had originally planned...but I got out of there, WE got out of there, because of him, and the odds of that were pretty slim."

"If it had been any other thug...I don't think it would have ended the way it did" she finished quietly, head held high, with a strength and confidence that took her Mother's breath away.

She crossed the kitchen and wordlessly enfolded Becca in a hug, and was soon joined by the remainder of the Holt clan, including two dogs who would not be left out. Lots of tears and sniffles as a result of this abrupt reminder of what didn't happen that day, as well as what did.

"Hey Mom, do we have any of that chocolate cake left?" Seamus said, breaking the spell, prompting laughter and searches for Kleenex.

The next morning as breakfast was winding down, Dad was surprised to see Lauren drive up.

"Morning Fam" she said cheerily as she walked in, snagged a cinnamon roll and sat down in her customary chair all in one well practiced motion.

"Good morning sweetie" Mom said giving her a half-standing/half-sitting one armed hug as she brought the coffee pot to bear on Dad's mug.

"What brings you around so early kiddo?" Dad asked around chews of his Saturday waffle.

"We're in" she said simply, leaning over toward Becca first and then Seamus for fist bumps.

"In what?" Dad said quizzically.

"Becca texted me last night that she was going to give blood today while you do the marrow thing. So we're in" she explained, as if this were the most natural thing in the world.

All conversation stopped. All movement stopped. It seemed like the world itself might have stopped.

"Becca, honey, you're going to give blood for Gideon Weaver?" Mom asked emotionally, sitting down and looking hard into her daughter's eyes.

"Well, I started thinking about it more last night, and I realized just how bizarre that whole thing was. And just how small the odds were that he did what he did, letting us go. Since then my whole life has changed. I mean, literally, every single thing about my life has changed because of Dad, and you, and you guys" she waved toward Lauren and Seamus.

"And it all started then and there. So I feel like this is the universe giving me a chance to balance the scales. Up until now it has all been coming TO me, and this is my chance to give it back, even in just this little way."

Mom sat in silence, absorbing what her daughter had said, feeling the truth of it, trying on the 'right' of it like an old coat rescued from the back of the closet. She felt something give way inside her, some boulder that had been blocking part of her soul that rolled away in that moment, allowing more love, more light, and something else to flow freely where she realized now it had been stagnant.

The something else was forgiveness. She realized in that moment that she had been holding on to a whole lot of anger toward Gideon Weaver, for what he had done, and what he had almost done. As a wife and mother she had felt justified holding on to that anger, because he was the one that was wrong.

But now, sitting in her cozy kitchen with the smell of cinnamon in the air and the love of her family a palpable force surrounding the table...she realized it was time. It was time to let go and regain the part of herself that she had held hostage with that anger.

As she had done so many times in the past 6 years, she marveled at her youngest daughter's spirit, absolutely humbled that she had such a capacity for goodness.

Mom let out a trembling sigh and wiped the tears from her eyes, looking around at the faces of her precious family. She knew that they were giving her space to process all this, and that they would support her no matter how she chose to react. She was not embarrassed by the realization that she was the last one to open her heart to Gideon Weaver, she was just unbelievably grateful that she was surrounded by a family that had already done so.

"I'm in"

The world started turning again, and all of the Holts took the breath they had not realized they had been holding. Dad leaned over and whispered quietly in his wife's ear.

"I love you" was all he said.

"They give you cookies after you donate blood right?" Seamus asked as if on cue, still chewing a mouthful of breakfast while planning his next snack.

...

"We're looking for a patient here, a Gideon Weaver" Dad told the very senior citizen sitting at the Information Desk. Her "I'm A Volunteer Just Ask ME!" name tag told them this was Gertrude. Seriously. Gertrude.

"Let me see young man...ok, Gideon Weaver is in room 402. That's in the ICU, up on the fourth floor."

"Thank you maam" Dad replied, wondering when he had last been called 'young man', and really, when he had last actually been around someone old enough for him to qualify as a young man.

Clan Holt headed over to the elevators and crowded in with a couple of nurses, getting off at the fourth floor as directed. It had been Dad who had said he wanted to meet Gideon Weaver before donating his marrow, and the others had agreed. Whatever happened would not change his decision; right was right in this case as in most others. But he did want to see for himself.

As they approached room 402 they were greeted by a uniformed guard. He was actually a city policeman, Dad noticed as they got closer, not a hospital security guard. Not sure what to do as they reached the door, Dad greeted the cop politely.

"Good morning officer".

"Good morning indeed sir. What brings you up here this morning?" he asked, eyeing the crowd of Holts that had gathered behind Dad.

"Well, we were hoping to see the patient in this room. Is that allowed?"

"No sir, not right now. He's unconscious, doc says he slipped into a coma last night, so they won't let anyone in except the docs and the nurses" he explained.

The Holts glanced at each other in alarm, hoping their mission was not too late.

"OK, thank you, Officer...."

"Solomon. But most folks just call me Sol."

"OK Sol" Dad said with a smile, "I guess we'll go then" he added as he turned to leave.

"Do ya know him?" Sol asked , stopping them mid-turn.

"What?" Mom asked.

"Do you know him, the guy in the room."

"Not really" Dad said quietly.

"He's a bit of a strange one he is" the cop said conversationally.

"Do YOU know him?" Dad asked, wondering about this new development.

"I've been a beat copy in the lower avenues for coming on 15 years" he replied comfortably, appreciating the company after a long and boring night in front of the door.

"When I first started there was a big group of kids used to play stickball in the alleys and vacant lots. This one" he said, motioning over his shoulder to the closed door of the room "was kind of the leader, always picking the teams and refereeing the games, keepin' it fair."

"That must be a tough neighborhood for kids to grow up in" Dad said, encouraging the talkative cop to continue his story.

"Tough as any. Most of those kids ended up in trouble one way or another, but this one, I never had to book him. Warned him off a few times, but he always learned his lesson."

"Did he have any family?" Mom asked, now caught up in the tale as well.

"No parents, least when I started, raised by an Aunt I think it was, till she died too."

"What happened to her?" Lauren inquired.

"She owned a dry cleaners, and some gang bangers shot her while cleaning out the register one day."

"That's terrible!" Mom said.

"Hit him hard, too. He started gettin' a little rougher then, which ain't a surprise. Usually happens when these kids lose whatever home they might have had."

The officer looked off at some distant memory for a few moments, coming back to continue his tale, now fully engaged in the role of story teller.

"Right about then we had that bit of trouble down in the avenues, you might remember it, even made the papers" he said, looking at Dad expectantly.

"Yes, I remember seeing something about that area a few years ago" Dad said quietly.

"Well, Gid here was involved in that a bit, nothing that got him locked up or anything, but the Mayor put a lot of extra cops on the streets for a few months so folks would think we were really cleaning it up, 'count of all the publicity and all. Made it hard for the gangs to do business, so they gave him a hard time for a while, blamin' him."

"What did he do? How did he survive?" Mom asked, her Mom genes taking over.

"That's just the thing. He stuck around, actually got a straight job. Worked for Denny down at the auto body on 35th. I used to see him sweeping the floors, cleaning up and whatnot, always wondered how long he would last."

"How long did he?" Seamus prompted, fascinated by the twisty tale.

"Still there. Denny took him in and started showin' him the ropes. Last I saw him, he was a full on mechanic, working in the garage in the back."

"Sol, do you know what happened, how he got injured?" Dad asked, trying to sort through all that he had heard.

"Gang fight, like usual down there. Talkin' got to pushin and pushin got to shootin and by the time me and my partner got there all hell had broke loose and there was a lot of blood and a few bodies. Pardon me Maam, didn't mean to offend the young ones" he added, tipping his cap to Mom.

"Gid here took three in the back and one in the belly. Didn't think he was going to make it. Doc last night said things didn't look too good."

"Well, I guess that type of thing can happen if you run with those kind of people" Mom said sadly.

"Now wait Maam, I think you misunderstood me. Gid wasn't IN the fight. He was workin' in the shop when he heard all the shooting. From what Denny said, he ran up front and grabbed all the customers that were in the waiting room and got 'em in the back so they wouldn't be hit by any strays or anything."

"Is that when he was shot?" Seamus asked.

"No, he got em all safe tucked in back in the service bays and went back to lock the door. He saw someone out on the street that was hiding behind a garbage can, right in the field of fire you might say."

"Denny told me he just yanked that door open and ran out there, right in the middle of it all, grabbed 'em and pushed 'em back inside. That's when they got him; he was holdin' em in front of him, shielding em, when he got hit in the back."

"Oh my..." Mom said, tearing up as she imagined the scene. "What happened to the person he saved?" she asked.

"She's fine. Pretty shook up, but her parents came and got her while we were sortin' through the mess and took her home. Not a scratch on her after all that."

"It was a girl?" Becca asked, chiming in for the first time.

"Sure was" the officer said, focusing on Becca. "Matter of fact, she looked a lot like you."

The Holts stood in stunned silence, absorbing everything they had learned about the man they had regarded as a monster all these years.

"So why are you guarding him?" Dad asked, wondering why the cop was there.

"Oh I'm guarding him alright. Not to keep him from escaping; to protect him in case any of those gangbangers decide he might be a threat as an eye witness."

The Holts were silent once again, each lost in their own thoughts.

Becca walked up to Sol and quietly said "Me and my Dad, we do know him, just a little bit".

"I kinda figured you did" he said gently. "We get the YouTube on the computer down at the station".

"Can I see him, just for a minute?" she asked, straightening her shoulders, holding her head high, that look of resolve that her family knew so well settling in to her features.

"I kinda figured you might" he said. "Is that ok with you?" he asked, looking over at Mom and Dad. "He aint lookin' real good right about now."

Mom came over and put her arm around Becca's shoulders. "Are you sure honey? I know what we learned today changes a lot, but I'm sure you still...it might bring back some bad memories."

Becca turned and looked at her Mom with a clarity and maturity and determination that was new even to her. "Mom, I stopped having nightmares about that day years ago. So many good things have happened since then, you guys have loved me so much, there's no room for bad memories anymore."

She looked over at her Dad, sharing a knowing smile "Dad told Gideon that he had earned something good that day. It's time to repay that debt, and I am so grateful that all of you are in this with me. I feel so whole, so strong, like I am so ready to do whatever has to be done. "

She walked over to the door, alone, looked at the officer and said in a clear and determined voice that left no doubt and brooked no argument.

"If we are going to save this man, we need to know what we're up against."

The Holts filed in and took positions around the hospital bed. The lights were low, making the colored readouts of the various pieces of medical equipment stand out. The only sounds were the beeping of the equipment and the slow, shallow, raspy breathing of Gideon Weaver.

He looked like death, literally, his face ravaged by the battle his body was fighting. The bags under his eyes deserved to be checked in at the nearest baggage counter. The strapping man who Becca had been so afraid of for so long seemed so small, so vulnerable, and yes, so afraid. She watched him for a few minutes, her family giving her time to process.

They saw the change in her, the moment when she shifted from looking inside and started pushing everything bad away once and for all, moving on to the task at hand.

They all watched in fascination as she approached the bed, reached out, and pinched Gideon's exposed forearm.

Mom gasped in horror, thinking this might somehow push him over the edge, and only relaxed when the bedside monitoring equipment showed no changes.

"That's for scaring the crap out me asshole" she said, putting her hands on her hips and giving him her best angry glare.

The assembled group gaped open mouthed in shock, only to recover and burst out laughing at the totally unexpected antics of the youngest Holt. This weird bit of levity totally broke the somber spell that had transfixed them all since entering the dark and dreary room.

Becca, clearly enjoying the thoroughness with which she had turned the tables on her family, grinned hugely as they quieted their laughter.

Stepping even closer to the bed rail, she leaned over and kissed Gideon's cheek gently.

"And that is for NOT doing what I was afraid you would. And for that other girl who is home with her family, safe, just like me."

There were no dry eyes in the room now, as the remaining Holts unconsciously assembled in a semi-circle around Becca, arms linked, supporting her.

"And this" she said, placing her hand gently over his heart "is a promise from all of us to get you well. Cause if you mess with one Holt, you get em all".

Lauren disengaged from the family huddle and stepped up next to Becca, also putting her hand on his heart. "I promise".

Seamus managed not to disconnect anything as he stepped up, "We got this bro".

Mom and Dad, for what seemed like the millionth time in the last 6 years, simply looked at each other and grinned in amazement at what their kids had done. They approached together, and holding hands, touched Gideon together.

"Whatever it takes" Dad said, leaving no room for doubt.

Mom leaned over and whispered gently in Gideon's ear "Thank you. And I'm sorry."

As the clan filed out, Sol noticed that something in the room seemed different. It seemed brighter, and if he didn't know better, he would swear that Gideon had the hint of a smile on his face.

"That's some family you got there" he told Mom and Dad as they passed him on the way out.

"You don't know the half of it Sol" Mom said proudly, shaking her head. "Not even close".

After separating to make their respective donations, the family congregated near the lobby information desk again. By unspoken agreement, they headed back up to the ICU to check in on Gideon.

"How ya doin' old man?" Seamus asked his Dad, noticing the slight limp.

"Fine for now, but when the anesthetic wears off...I'm gonna wonder why I thought this was such a good idea. Why do they have to use that huge needle, and right in the butt cheek!" he moaned.

As they got off the elevator they knew right away that something was wrong. There were way too many people zipping around Room 402, and the expressions were much too grave for anything other than bad news.

"What's going on?" Mom asked the nearest nurse.

"Are you family Maam?" the harried nurse asked in a rush.

"Yes" Mom said simply.

"Well then try to squeeze in to say good bye, because it doesn't look good."

The five Holts managed to infiltrate the room, dodging the numerous doctors, nurses and technicians that swarmed around the bed.

Beeps, curses, and the desperate cry of "Ready? Clear!" followed by the unmistakable sound of electric shock paddles thumping an unresponsive body were swirling around the room, making it impossible to think clearly or tell what was happening.

Suddenly the activity ground to a halt, the stench of failure hanging in the air.

"Two minutes, no response. I'm calling it" the doctor said, putting his stethoscope in the pocket of his lab coat and turning away from the bed, professional dejection etched in his face.

The Holts stood speechless, rooted to the spot as the hope they had just been feeling only minutes before evaporated, leaving them staring blankly at the body on the bed as a nurse pulled the sheet up over Gideon's face.

Seamus was the first to stir, literally leaping into action as the trance broke.

"Not today" he said, grabbing Becca by the hand and sprinting over to the bed.

"Young man, you can't..." one of the nurses said as they approached the bed.

"Zip it, we're going in" he said, ignoring her complaints.

The doctor also tried to keep them away from the bedside. "This is a medical facility, you can't touch the..."

"Look doc, he's dead, right? He is literally dead. What could possibly happen if we give it one more try?" Seamus argued hurriedly.

The doctor raised his hand as if to grab Seamus's shoulder, and found himself staring instead into the unblinking eyes of Seamus's dad.

"Not your problem anymore doctor. Leave us be" he said, not knowing what his kids were doing, but knowing it had to be done.

The doctor hurrumphed, turned sharply and strode purposefully out the door.

Seamus was a whirlwind, positioning Becca next to the bed and placing her hand on Gideon's chest, like when they each promised him their help.

Reaching out he grabbed Lauren's hand, and wrapped it around Beccas. Without a word Mom stepped up and grabbed Lauren's other hand, forming a small human chain.

Seamus took his Mom's free hand in one of his, and motioned his Dad to come take the other one, completing the Line-O- Holts.

"Dad, you gotta do your thing."

In response to his quizzical look, Seamus continued "If there was ever an orphan that needed some Dadding, it's him. Whatever you pulled out of the universe for Becca...we need some more. It's gonna end with her, but it's gotta start with you".

Dad immediately understood what Seamus meant. He had no idea what or how, but knew that he would do whatever he could to keep his word using whatever the universe had given him.

"Gotta be now people" Seamus said once they were all assembled and engaged, no room for doubt or hesitation in any heart.

The nurse and handful of other staff that remained in the room looked on in uncertain wonder, knowing this was not standard procedure by any stretch of the imagination, but not daring to intrude.

Seamus looked at his youngest sister and nodded firmly.

"Your show Sis. Not sure what to tell you, but I know there's something left to try. Don't think, just do it."

Becca nodded her understanding, not questioning his direction, instead focusing her thoughts and emotions and everything else on the point where her hand touched Gideon's still chest.

"Come on...come on...come on... " she chanted, eyes closed, face contorted with the strain.

Nothing.

She started moving her hands, touching the top of his head, his forehead, his cheek, then back to his chest, pushing and prodding, trying to will the dormant heart to beat.

Nothing.

Becca knew that their borrowed time was up and she had only one more chance. She squeezed her eyes shut and reached down her right arm with her mind, sensing Lauren's essence where their hands joined.

She felt a light buzzing where they touched, and she went with it, focusing on the contact and feeding it, imagining crackling white energy flowing through the Line-O-Holts, getting stronger and stronger until she knew it was time.

Without thinking about what she was doing, she raised her free hand and brought it down hard on Gideon's chest, punctuating each word with what amounted to a punch as she yelled:

"Come

Back

To

Me!"

On the final word, a number of things happened simultaneously.

Becca felt her arm thrown back, as if Gideon's chest had exploded with an electrical charge.

The medical monitors that were still hooked up to his hands and arms went haywire, their digital displays and wavy lines running at random before they all went dark, tendrils of smoke rising from the back of one.

And Gideon's formerly lifeless body spasmed once, his upper body rising off the bed, half way to a sitting position, before crashing back down.

The otherwise utter and complete silence was broken only by his gasping breaths.

The sound of their hitherto-dead patient breathing in great gasping gulps galvanized the remaining staff into action, as they set aside their astonishment and let their training and experience take over. Gideon was unhooked from the broken monitoring equipment and quickly hooked up to new units that were brought in by yet more staff. He was still unconscious, but the head nurse did as thorough an examination as she could, while yelling to have someone call the physician on duty.

The Holts were gathered in a huddle in the far corner of the room, arms around each other, leaving the nurses and other staff as much space as possible to attend to their patient. None had dared look at each other yet, each still processing what they had experienced individually during the last minutes.

Seamus eventually broke their silence, booming with his usual enthusiasm...

"Well, looks like our work here is done. Don't they have some kind of cafeteria? I had no idea raising the dead takes so much out of you - I need a sandwich".

This mundanely normal yet radically bizarre statement brought the remaining Holts back from their private reveries.

"Turkey on wheat aside, we should probably slip out before anybody starts asking questions about what happened." Dad said, starting to herd the group toward the door.

Their progress was halted by the arrival of the doctor that had tried to stop them from working on Gideon, and he had an important looking executive type in a suit with him this time.

"That's them Director, they're the ones that were messing around in this room and insisted on attempting unauthorized procedures of some kind on the patient" the doctor said in a remarkably adept imitation of a school yard tattle tale.

"The deceased patient, correct doctor?" the man asked with a serious tone, but with the slightest hint of a smile.

"That's correct" the doctor sneered, looking over at the Holts in victory.

"Who is no longer deceased" the man continued, waving in the direction of the patient's bed, which was surrounded by nurses and the new industriously beeping medical monitoring equipment.

"Yes, that's...wait, what?" the doctor asked, whirling toward the bed in confusion. "What is going on here?" he asked petulantly.

Two of the nurses glanced at each other, sharing a knowing smile, enjoying the unpleasant doctor's confusion.

"Nurse, what is the status of this patient? Is he ALIVE?" he asked, angrily.

"Yes Doctor, vitals steady, blood pressure 120 over 90, blood oxygen 98%" the head nurse replied without turning toward him, making a face that only the other nurse could see.

"How did this happen?" he asked, continuing to rant, "He was stone dead when I left this room!" he yelled, not realizing how absurd he sounded.

The ensuing silence was absolute, as the nurses did not want to give the Holts up, knowing that whatever had happened it was not their story to tell.

"It was THEM!" the doctor accused loudly, pointing to the huddle of Holts who were doing their best to blend into the décor of the small patient room.

"What are you saying Doctor?" the Director asked, the small smile still playing across his face.

"This man was dead when I left, and these people were planning to try some kind of unauthorized means of resuscitating him. And now he's alive, that's what happened! What are you going to do about it?!" he yelled at the Director, realizing too late how crazy he sounded.

"What I mean is, you need to find out what they did and report them to..." he added lamely, trying to somehow mitigate the disaster he had brought upon himself.

"Nurse, have you been here the entire time?" the Director asked, looking at the head nurse for confirmation.

"Yes Director"

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"Yes sir. The patient went into cardiac arrest, and I initiated Code Blue procedures. The Code Blue team arrived within 30 seconds, including Dr. Thompkins who was the lead physician" she said, motioning toward the now uncomfortable doctor.

"We attempted resuscitation per SOP, including electronic stimulation and ultimately manual chest compression."

"Was the patient responsive at any time?" the Director asked, all business now.

"No sir. After approximately two minutes of continuous efforts, Dr. Thompkins called it and started to leave the room."

"Then what happened?"

The nurse answered slowly, choosing her words carefully, not wanting to get the Holts in any trouble.

"I'm not exactly sure sir. It was pretty chaotic in here. I was packing up the crash cart over there" she said, pointing to the opposite corner of the room "and all of the sudden I heard the patient gasping for air. So I went over and started recovery procedures, which we were in the middle of when you arrived" she said, casting a warning glance at the Holts.

"So at no time did the visitors interfere with any medical procedure, is that correct?" the Director suggested.

"No sir, not that I saw" the nurse answered more confidently, understanding that they were on the same team now.

"No, I saw them starting to try some weird CPR or something!" Dr. Thompkins interrupted, unwilling to give up.

"Hmmm...well, I guess there's nothing left but to ask our visitors" the Director said, heading over to where the Holts stood watching this comical drama unfold.

"Hello, I'm Director Solomon" he said, directing his introduction to Mom and Dad, but including the three kids as well. Strangely, he winked at Dad, out of the view of Dr. Thompkins but obvious enough that all 5 of them caught it.

"But my friends call me Sol" he added. That did the trick, Dad catching on first that this was Officer Solomon's brother, and based on the wink, he must know something about their history here.

"Hello SOL" Dad said, a little louder than normal, helping the rest of the clan to catch on. A wave of relief swept through the group as they realized that somehow this was going to work out.

"Dr. Thompkins indicates that he believes one or more of you may have attempted to get involved in the resuscitation efforts for this patient. Can you comment on that idea?" Sol asked with a subtle grin.

"I think I may be able to clear it up" Dad said, the rest of the clan gladly letting him take the lead on this.

"As the nurse indicated, resuscitation efforts failed, and Dr. Thompkins did in fact, 'call it' I believe the term was, signaling that no further efforts would be expended on the resuscitation" Dad said in his best professorial voice, commanding respect even from the doctor himself.

"Now please understand that the patient is someone very close to us, and so it was with great sadness that we contemplated his demise" he continued, really laying it on thick.

"It just so happens that two of my children are lifeguards, well trained and experienced in CPR procedures" he said, surprising his family anew at this twist in the already weird plot.

"And I freely admit that in our shared grief at the passing of our close, close friend, I did give the kids permission to try CPR one last time, in the crazy hope that perhaps, just perhaps, there might be a spontaneous recovery".

"Indeed" the Director said.

"Seeing that he was dead" Dad added.

"Indeed"

"So...one of the kids started doing a final round of chest compressions...and BAAM, all of the sudden he sat up and started breathing again" Dad finished with a theatrical flourish, enjoying the spotlight.

"Indeed" the Director said yet again, trying not to laugh out loud.

Dr. Thompkins was a deep shade of tomato red at this point, preparing to argue vociferously that there was no way a couple of lifeguards could do what he could not....

"So let me get this straight...one of our senior trauma doctors "calls" a resuscitation, one of your lifeguard kids takes over, and the patient revives, is that about it?" Sol asked innocently.

"It would appear so Director" Dad said with his own barely suppressed smile.

Dr. Thompkins could wait no longer, exploding...

"This is against any number of hospital protocols! I demand that something be done about it, and that these, these, CIVILIANS suffer the consequences of their actions and get what is coming to them!"

The room was quiet following this outburst until the director turned and looked directly at Dr. Thompkins.

"I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said Doctor" he said seriously. Mom and Dad exchanged a worried glance, thinking they may have run out of luck.

"You are correct that you broke any number of hospital protocols by ending a resuscitation attempt before all avenues had been explored, as evidenced by the fact that a 'civilian lifeguard' had to come in and finish the job correctly, saving the patient in the process."

Thompkins turned an even deeper shade of red as he received this dressing down.

"And there should indeed be consequences, as you so eloquently demanded. I therefore will be docking you a week's pay, and suspend you for an additional week, without pay, to give you the opportunity to brush up on your trauma procedures" the director said coldly.

Thompkins was literally seething, spittle flying from his mouth and dripping down his chin.

"And I will apply your lost wages to an ad hoc visiting clinician stipend for this family, as a meager thanks for saving us the embarrassment of a state audit...and more importantly the shame of knowing we were willing to kill a man for want of a few more chest compressions" he finished, his voice now hard as steel.

Authority oozed from the Director as he made his pronouncement and completely unnerved poor Thompkins, reducing him to a quivering mess as he shuffled for the door, unable to meet that gaze of even the orderly mopping the hallway.

Turning to the nurse who had gone to bat for the Holts, the Director looked at her name tag and nodded slightly "I'm on my way to your Boss's office Tina; expect a couple of days off with pay coming your way. Great job." Tina blushed and could only nod a thank you.

Once safely out of ear shot, the Director turned a huge smile toward the family "I have been looking for an excuse to knock that officious prig down a few notches for a long time. Thank you for giving me the chance!" he said happily, eliciting relieved laughter from all the Holts.

"And if you give me your address, I really will forward two weeks of his wages to you for saving this man's life. Your courage and calm under pressure were remarkable" he went on. "Although from what my brother told me about the extraordinary family he met in Gid's room today I would have expected no less."

"Thank you Sol" Mom said, stepping forward to speak to their new best friend. "But please keep the money, the only thing we need to walk out of here with is the knowledge that Gideon is still alive so he can get the blood and marrow donations we made today. The bottom line is he is still in horrible shape, so all we can do at this point is hope" she added in a trembling, emotional voice.

"I can assure you Maam that I will personally oversee Gid's care and make sure he has every chance to come back. You've brought him this far, I have a feeling he should be able to make it the rest of the way with your, unusually powerful, shall we say, support."

Lowering his voice to a conspirational whisper, he added "Someday I would love to find out what really happened here, but that can wait. All I can say right now is thank you again for staying with Gid. I hope he knows what good friends he has."

The Holts were floored, wrung out by the roller coaster of emotions they had endured in such a short period. It was Seamus who once again stepped in to fill the void, his big voice booming

"No problem Doc, all in a day's work for the Holts. Although if you could put in a good word with the cafeteria along the lines of a few sandwiches, that would even the score, if you know what I mean."

That managed to dissolve the final bit of weirdness in the room, and everyone, including the nurses, laughed out loud.

As they headed for the door, Dad stopped in front of the nurse who had protected them and spoke quietly...

"Thank you so much for your help back there. We're sorry if we caused you any trouble."

Tina grinned from ear to ear and said with a laugh:

"Are you kidding? Seeing that jerk Thompkins upstaged, beatdown and suspended simultaneously was the greatest 15 seconds in the history of medicine" she said laughingly.

"I don't know who y'all are or what that even was, but this is the luckiest guy alive, no pun intended, to have friends or family or whatever like you guys" she added seriously.

"Happy to help" Seamus said with his big dorky grin, raising his eyebrows suggestively toward the pretty young nurse who immediately blushed again.

"And you, I certainly envy you" she said sincerely, looking straight at Becca.

"No, that thing, I never..."

"I'm not talking about the Harry Potter stuff, although I still can't even get my mind around that" she laughed, "I mean I wish a man that handsome was that interested in ME."

Becca was floored by her comment, and immediately started blushing as she stammered "No, no, it wasn't, that's not..."

"Make no mistake, that idiot Thompkins was right; this Gideon guy was dead as dead. All the resuscitation stuff we did was just because we have to try, but we all knew he was gone for good."

Becca was still blushing and shaking her head in denial that it had anything to do with her.

"You may not want to hear it for some reason, but I saw the whole thing, clear as day" Tina continued.

"He crossed time and space and fought death itself..."

"Because you asked him to" she finished in an awed voice.

Becca froze at her words.

"And none too gently I might add" her giggles breaking the stunned silence as she pantomimed Becca's repeated punches to Gideon's chest.

"Yeah Bec, I hope he doesn't bruise as easily as I do" Seamus added playfully, winking at Tina while rubbing his shoulder at the old memory.

"Dad...Car....NOW!" Becca directed, leading the way and leaving a room full of laughter in her wake.

Later, at home, while they sat around the kitchen table basking in the glow of something gone so miraculously right and enjoying the comfort that only a family dinner can provide, Lauren posed a question to her family.

"Hey, I'm not even going to go into trying to figure out what happened back there...but I do have one question about, after..."

Each of them turned toward her, their curiosity piqued.

"Now this is going to sound a little weird so if it didn't happen to anyone else, don't call anyone to come and get me...just drop it, ok?" she laughed a bit nervously.

"Go ahead sweetie, we're all ears" Mom said.

"OK...so right when the whole Becca-shot-a-bolt-of-lightening thing happened" she paused to let the laughs die down "right when she hit him the final time and he like convulsed back to life, I got this like vision thing" she said tentatively. "It was short, but it was perfectly clear, like a scene from a high def movie in my head."

"Oh no, the head movies" Seamus mumbled, cracking the table up at the reference.

"What did you see sweetie?" Mom asked with a tight voice.

"I was sitting in my car, stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a pouring rain storm. I know the car was broken down, because the hood was up and I had been crying" she said, lost in the vivid image.

"And then this voice came from under the hood, yelling to try it again. I looked up as I turned the key, and Gideon was looking around the edge of the hood, smiling at me with his fingers crossed, even though he was soaked through."

"What happened?" Mom prodded gently.

"The car started and Gideon reached around the hood to give me a fist bump before closing the hood and running to his car. That was it. Weird huh?" she said quietly.

"Not so much" Seamus said.

"I had forgotten about this until you said that, but right when Becca lit him up" he paused while Becca smacked him in the shoulder "I had the same thing. Not the same scene, but a super clear image that only lasted like a second."

"What was it son?" Dad asked curiously.

"I was running, and I knew from the view that it was my favorite route through the Ridge. I heard someone laughing and I looked behind me and Gideon was gaining on me, just about to pass me like we were racing to the summit. Like you said - very short, but so clear it was like a memory."

"OK, now I don't feel so weird" Dad said, preparing to tell his story.

"I was in a Tuxedo shop, looking at a row of mannequins displaying the various colors and styles. I looked to the side toward the changing rooms and saw Gideon come out wearing black tails. We caught each other's eye and I gave him a big thumbs up, and he just started laughing, he was so happy, having such a good time."

The table grew quiet, chewing on these bizarre but fascinating revelations, waiting patiently for the next person to describe their version of what was clearly some kind of shared experience.

Becca spoke next, closing her eyes to relive her precious moment.

"I was sitting right here, at this table, with a big plate of spaghetti in front of me, and all of you were laughing at something out of my view to my left" she said, motioning to the space beside her. "I looked over and Gideon was trying to slurp this super long spaghetti noodle without using his fork, and the sauce splashed all over his chin. I laughed so hard milk started shooting out my nose" she said, laughing again at the memory as she opened her eyes and looked around the table.

"What the heck does all this mean?" Seamus asked, as usual around a mouthful of french bread.

Leaning forward and putting on his best Director Sol voice, he continued:

"So let me get this straight...the five of you hold hands while one of you beats the crap out of a dead ex- gangbanger gone straight, shooting him so full of lightening that he almost jumps out of bed and starts breathing again, while the five of you all have different visions of said previously dead ex-gangbanger in various happy scenes. Did I get that right?"

Three of the remaining Holts laughed uproariously at Seamus's impression as well as the absurdity of the events that they had just lived through. The catharsis was just what they needed, all of them letting go of the final bits of tension from the unbelievable day.

Only Mom did not join in the raucous laughter, sitting quietly with something obviously on her mind.

"Hey Mom, what about you?" Lauren asked, realizing that Mom had not shared her vision yet. "Did you see something happy relating to Gideon, as freakish as that sounds?" she added, trying to coax her Mom from her quiet place.

"I saw Eli" she said simply, tears welling in her eyes as her voice broke slightly.

"Who?" Dad asked, suddenly concerned at her unusual mood.

"Our grandson."
