A/N: Here I am with a new multi-chapter story and something even more unusual this time. It's my first complete AU fic, where no one is a lawyer to begin with. I'm a little nervous about the reactions, but also excited to start another McHart project.

I don't want to give away the actual plot. It is written from Diane's POV in first person and it will revolve around Diane and Kurt. Will cannot be missing from this story either and for once I plan to include Alicia too, and try my hands at a Diane/Alicia friendship. We'll see how it all goes. I borrowed these characters from the show, but gave them a different life. I hope you'll still recognize them. :D The rest of the characters are my OCs.

I owe the title to tessgrey99 and the inspiration to write an AU to TheLiberalLady. Special thanks to my sounding boards: Josie, Sab and Ilona, who made sure I didn't stop after the first chapter. 3

Since it's a new and very different story, I'm even more eager to hear what you think and if you want to read more, so please let me know!

Hope you'll enjoy reading! :)

In Another Life

Chapter One

"You are late," I say calmly, but loud enough so she can hear me as she walks by the open door of my study and I obviously manage to startle her.

She probably thought she could sneak up to her room, without me noticing, but she is aware of the rules, so she must know she's missed her curfew.

"Sorry," she stops in the doorway, but as much as I'd love to, I don't see or hear any actual regret.

"That's it?" I sigh, sending her a questioning look. "It's a school night, you know you have to be home by eight," I try to inject her with some guilt.

"We just lost track of time," she explains with a shrug and doesn't seem bothered by my inquiry at all, which makes me angry, even if it's the first time this happened.

"I called Alicia a half an hour ago, she said you'd left already. I've been worried. Where have you been?" I stand up from my desk to give more power to my words and hope to hear the truth from her.

When she was younger, I could always tell when she was lying, but she has seemingly gotten better at it throughout the years. It's a special skill all teenagers want to master and even with the decades I've spent working with them, I seem to fail figuring out my own daughter sometimes.

"Hanging with friends," she confesses, the use of the phrase clearly indicating she doesn't want to share who she was with, and I don't like it one bit.

"What friends?" I try to get her to talk, not understanding why she is hiding the truth from me.

"Friends from school, you know them all, mom," she wants to convince me, but just because I know each student in that school, it doesn't mean I want my daughter to hang out with most them. Especially when she comes home late and doesn't care to share the details of her whereabouts.

"You know the rules, you can go out if you are home by your curfew, I know where you are and with whom."

I step towards her and that's when I sense it, the unmistakable smell of smoke. Were you smoking? The question is on the tip of my tongue, but I swallow it back. At this point she'd only deny it anyway and maybe it wasn't her who smoked, just the people around her. I could tell if I moved closer to smell her breath, but I choose not to.

"I'm sorry I was late, it won't happen again," her apology sounds more heartfelt this time, but it's not convincing enough. And she still refuses to tell me about her company, but I'm starting to realize the reason for that.

"I hope not," I decide to drop it for now, but she must know that I'm going to keep a closer eye on her from now on.

I wanted to trust her, believe that she is old enough to be responsible, but she clearly isn't. She tries to hide the fact that she's hanging with people I probably wouldn't approve of, misses her curfew, not to mention the smoking.

"I'm going to take a shower," she asks for permission to leave and I grant it with a silent okay and sit back at my desk after she leaves.

I remember the unsettling feeling that took over me when I saw her with that boy during lunch break today. And since she was so secretive about her company I cannot help thinking she was with him tonight.

Something about that boy tells me that if he and my daughter are really getting better acquainted, I should do something about it, before it's too late.

o-o-o

"What do you think of the McVeigh boy?"

Hearing my question Will raises his gaze on me and I see a slightly confused expression on his face.

"Keith? He seems smart, Math is definitely his strong suit, but he obviously finds it hard to fit in," he shares his professional opinion as the boy's teacher, which is understandable given that we are in my office, so he could think I'm asking as his boss. But I'm asking as a friend and a mother, because I'm interested in his opinion as a parent.

"Would you want to see your daughter making friends with him?" I clarify my concern.

I can't really justify my fears, because they are mostly based on feelings and my first impression of the boy. Without the piercings, we had him remove due to school policy, he is more handsome, but his behavior has been rather antisocial in class ever since he arrived. And years of professional experience tells me it's more serious than the usual conformity problems students are bound to have in a new school.

"You know I wouldn't want boys around Millie any less than you around Gina, but they are growing up," Will replies in a comforting tone. But I still remember when he first told me about Millie wanting to date a classmate and how much he opposed the idea, even though there was no problem with that boy.

"They are sixteen, they still have time to grow up," I sigh, trying to deny the inevitable.

I guess I've been lucky Gina hasn't showed much interest in boys until now, but she could have at least chosen better.

"Kids grow up a lot faster these days, Diane. We experience it from first hand," he reminds me that we are surrounded with more than a hundred children around our daughters' age, but it's a whole lot different when it's about our own.

"Gina came home late last night smelling from smoke and she refused to tell me who she was with," I share the details with him, because I need to talk about it with someone and apart from being a fellow parent he is also my friend, so I know I can count on his support.

"And you suspect the McVeigh boy?" he raises his eyebrows.

"I saw them together during lunch break yesterday in what seemed like a deep conversation. How did I not notice before that something is going on?" I blame myself just as much as I blame my daughter. I should have paid more attention to her. I'm just too used to her being the good daughter, who never missed her curfew before.

"You only have two eyes and there are a lot of kids running around here," he tries to joke, but I'm not in the mood to laugh.

"What if he gets Gina to start smoking or drinking or…" I begin to list my fears, but Will cuts in.

"Hey, calm down, please. Gina is a smart girl…"

"But this boy is trouble. I knew it the first time he entered my office."

I remember Keith McVeigh's first day in Redville High at the beginning of the school year a couple of weeks ago. I could barely get a few words out of him. He and his father had moved here from New York and the boy obviously wasn't a fan of changing the city that never sleeps to a small town, where everything moves slowly.

"Maybe you should talk to the father," Will suggests.

"And say what? That I don't want my daughter to be friends with his son?" I protest, knowing I don't have any evidence that his son is really a bad influence on my daughter, I'm just putting two and two together, but it could be that I'm drawing the wrong conclusions.

Unfortunately the ringing of my office phone prevents Will from answering.

"Hallo?" I speak into the receiver.

"Your ten-o-clock is here," I hear my assistant's voice through the line.

"Thank you, Evelyn," I put the phone down and try to switch back from mother-mode to principal-mode as fast as I can.

"It's the head of the police department, he's here to discuss the yearly lectures. Do you want to sit in?" I look at Will.

"My class is starting soon, but I can stay for a while," he offers and I accept, knowing my head isn't fully here today, so his presence – as my vice-principal - is much appreciated.

o-o-o

"Good evening, Miss Lockhart," I hear as I open the door to find one of the town's police officers standing there with Gina and the McVeigh boy and I feel my heart beating faster at this sight.

"What happened?" I ask, looking from one to the other.

"I found these two with a bottle of beer in the park," he replies and as I hear that my previous fears were indeed justified I almost feel the earth move under my feet.