A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

Chapter 11

Mike made a minor stage production out of pouring the charcoal on the grill. He arranged the briquettes and lit them. He wiped his hands on his jeans when he was finished.

"You know how to properly load briquettes into a grill, I'll give you that much." Eric stood back and watched his brother work with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Eric, believe it or not, I do know how to grill without ya standin' over my shoulder watchin' me." Mike rolled his eyes.

"I just want to make sure that you're doin' it right." Eric pushed his sunglasses up on his nose.

"Mhmm," Mike grunted. "So, how is our baby sister really doin'?"

"Mike, I don't know. She says that she's fine and I wanna believe her, but there is somethin' in her behavior that says somethin' is off. It can't be anythin' too serious or she wouldn't be as put together as she is. She's just the baby and I worry 'bout her." Eric shrugged his shoulders.

"She is tougher than either of us give her credit for. She always has been. She's had to be. She grew up as the only girl in football family with our dad as her father. I'm not scared to be blunt or honest, so I'll come out and say it. She has bigger balls than either of us do. She is the one who can stand up to dad. Before she left for college on her ROTC scholarship she told him to his face that she loved him, but he didn't get to dictate her life to her. She'd do what she damn well pleased and he could like it or not." Mike retorted.

"Mom told me 'bout that conversation and I'll admit that it sounds like Charlie. You're right she does have big brass balls. She doesn't care man or woman she will go toe to toe with 'em. She's dad's perfect son her only sin in his eyes is that she wasn't born a boy. She's so tough though, I don't know if she knows how to be weak." Eric replied thoughtfully.

"I've got a guy in South Carolina who owes me a favor. I can do some diggin' and see if he can find anythin' out, 'bout our darlin' baby sister. That's one of the perks of bein' a federal agent. I have people all over the place who owe me favors." Mike offered.

"I won't say yes and I won't say no, I will just say if she finds out 'bout this I knew nothin'." Eric gave him a knowing look.

"I know how this works. We've been her big brothers for twenty-eight years. We have to act like we ain't protectin' her to protect her." Mike nodded his head in agreement.

Eric heard the back door open. "Act innocent."

"I hear ya," Mike grunted.

"I'm sure that you two are out here misbehaving that's why my sister sent me to warn you to be on your best behavior. She also said that your best behavior is helped along by beer." Shelly handed them each a beer.

"Tell your sister that she worries too much. We are out here bein' perfect gentlemen." Mike winked at her.

"Your brother may be a gentleman, but I know different when it comes to you, Mikey." Shelly rubbed his arm.

"Where is my baby sister when I need her? She'd have somethin' to say 'bout this situation and I'll just keep my mouth shut, 'cause I know what's good for me." Eric mumbled to himself.

"I wouldn't be surprised if when she went into the garage she didn't take off running." Shelly supplied helpfully.

"I will have you know that I'm right here. I was gettin' the tent that I stashed in there. I much rather sleep out in the back yard than under the same roof as my parents. I love 'em to death, but there is a reason that I moved out so young." Charlie retorted.

"Charlie, why are you puttin' up a tent in my backyard?" Eric arched his eyebrow.

"Tami told me I could. Also, I told her if she didn't make a big deal outta of it I'd let Gracie Belle camp out with me for as long as she wants." Charlie shrugged her shoulders.

"Even I know better than to argue with that." Eric pointed with his eyes to Shelly and Mike.

"Mike, could you may wanna be a little less obvious 'bout the fact that you're eye fuckin' our brother's sister-in-law." Charlie shook her head and went about setting up her tent.

"Ask and ye shall receive. I just didn't know I'd receive that much." Eric snorted.

"Oh, Eric, your brother is a shameless flirt and he's fun to mess with. I need to go back in my mother and your mother have taken over the kitchen and I'm being forced to help. You know Tami just had a baby and she can't lift a finger to do anything." Shelly rolled her eyes.

"They are little old women, Shelly. That's how they see things. My mother asked me if I was gonna need to have one of my brothers set this tent up so it was done right. I roll my eyes out loud at 'em. I have to or I would be up on my soapbox and your sister would be right there with me." Charlie chimed in.

"Eric! Mike! Charlie!" Roy walked out and yelled at each of his children.

"What, dad?" Charlie yelled back at him.

"I wanna throw some passes with my kids while the grill warms up." Roy told her.

"I'll go get the ball bag out of the truck. If we're gonna do this we better do it right." Charlie replied.

"I would like to know how it is that Charlie gets to be out there while I'm stuck in here." Julie grumbled.

"Julie, it's because no one wants food poisoning. Your aunt can't cook. I'm not sure how she's still alive. While she lived on base at least I knew that she could eat in the mess hall. I don't know how she made it on her own when she was coachin'. I'm not sure that I wanna know either. I would probably faint at her horrible eatin' habits." Donna rubbed her granddaughter's shoulder.

"It's always the youngest you have to worry about." Ruth chimed in.

"My youngest likes to go to war zones for fun. Ruth, until you have Roy Taylor in female form you don't know my pain." Donna laughed.

"Charlie is well behaved and a very good girl. I have Shelly I will gladly trade you." Ruth bargained.

"I am standing right here." Shelly protested.

"I didn't say anythin' that I wouldn't say to your face." Ruth smiled at her.

"Alright, daddy, your grandson has a clean diaper and a full belly now if the perfect time for you to hold him. Especially, while Roy and his daddy are both outside." Tami came out of Hayes' nursery with the baby in her arms.

"Let me hold the boy." Luther held his arms out. He smiled when his daughter settled his grandson in his arms. "Hey there, Eric."

"Big Eric hears you call him that and he will probably think you're talkin' to him. We call him Hayes. That was his daddy's idea." Tami corrected him.

"Tami, mom thinks that when compared to you I was the bad one." Shelly told her sister.

"You were." Tami gave her a look.

"And you didn't have your moments?" Shelly asked her.

"I know what I was. I've admitted to what I was. You and Michael on the other hand. The dirt I have on both of you is enough to fill a cemetery." Tami countered.

"Mikey is as harmless as I am." Shelly protested.

"Shelly, just do me a favor and don't. I've never wanted to know and I still don't." Tami warned her. "Julie, if you daddy keeps throwin' like that he's gonna need the aspirin. You should take them to him." She found a way to get Julie out of the kitchen.

"I will do that. If Matty comes back while I'm outside let him know that there is football to be played out back." Julie replied.

"Of course, I'll let him know." Tami smiled at her.

Julie went into the bathroom to grab the aspirin for her dad.

"Tami, what do you think of this young man Julie is engaged to?" Donna asked.

"He's a very good boy. He's Eric's shadow and he does whatever I ask him to. He's so good with Gracie Belle and Hayes. Those two are lucky to have him for a big brother. And Julie is lucky to have him. If any of you ever say I said this I'll deny it, but he reminds me of Eric in a way. They are both smart and they both didn't exactly fit into that dumb jock mold. I've known a few dumb jocks in my day, so I speak with authority." Tami replied.

"Don't you think they are a little young to be gettin' married?" Ruth asked.

"They are no younger than Eric and I were when we got married at this point. We had been together longer, but they are good for each other. And if this is the only problem I get from her I'm thankful. I only hope that Gracie Belle and Hayes are that well behaved." Tami looked up at the ceiling pleadingly.

"Lookie here, Seven. Coach has quite the arm on him." Tim commented. He had brought Matt home.

"I know all about Coach's arm. Check out the arm on Charlie." Matt's jaw dropped.

"Chuck could put our new startin' QB to shame." Tim said in awe.

"Saracen, Riggins, both you come here. We need receivers." Eric waved them over.

"Sure, Coach," Matt agreed.

"Hold on a minute," Eric held his hand up. "Matt, Tim, this is my brother Mike and my father Roy. Dad, Mike, this an old player of mine Tim Riggins and Julie's fiancé Matt." He introduced them.

"It's nice to meet you, boys." Roy shook both their hands.

"Matt, if you make my niece cry I make you cry. It's as simple as that. Tim, you look like my kinda trouble." Mike patted them both on the back.

"Yes sir," Matt nodded.

"Tim is everyone's kinda trouble. He supplies me with drinks regardless of the time of day." Charlie chimed in.

Mike gave her a knowing look and whispered in her ear. "Cradle robber,"

Charlie glared at him in response. Words couldn't convey as much as that look had.

"Timmy, why don't you run a post pattern and wait for Mike to hit you? Matty, you run a flag route and Charlie will hit you." Roy instructed them.

"Yes sir," Matt and Tim answered in unison.

"You can throw first I wouldn't give you an excuse as to why you threw bad." Charlie smirked at her middle brother.

"Whatever you say, baby sister." Mike pinched her cheek to get to her. "Alright, down, set, hit." He called out. He hit Tim right in the chest with his pass.

"That was a nice pass for an old guy." Tim complimented him.

"I ain't as old as Coach." Mike shrugged his shoulders.

"Matty, you ready?" Charlie asked.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Matt replied.

"Down, set, hit," Charlie dropped back to pass and hit Matt on the fly and he kept running.

"Holy shit, Chuck, you were holdin' back on us earlier. That's not an arm that's a cannon." Tim marveled.

"One of my superpowers is that I have an arm that's better than a lot of NFL QB's. I just had the bad manners to be born a woman." Charlie snorted.

"Ok, Charlie, we don't need ya to get up on your soap box." Roy rolled his eyes at his only daughter.

"Yep, no problem." Charlie nodded her head. She was used to her father and she knew when to argue with him.

"Charlie, Matty, could ya'll come here a minute please?" Tami called them into the living room once everyone else had settled in for the night. She sat on the couch holding Hayes and Eric was sitting beside them.

"What do you need, Tami?" Matt was still a little uneasy about calling his future mother-in-law by her given name.

"Whatever it is I didn't do it. I haven't been drinking yet." Charlie joked.

"Smart ass," Tami laughed. "We just wanted to talk to you two about somethin'."

"Whatever ya'll need." Charlie added.

"Charlie, you know better than just 'bout anyone what family means to me. Matt, I would hope that you know that too. I try to treat that team like a family and I try to get ya'll boys to behave like a band of brothers. Here's the way I see it Hayes has two sisters by birth and he's lucky enough to have a brother via the oldest. I have one sister and she means everythin' to me." Eric cleared his throat.

"What Eric is tryin' to say is this. We would love it if ya'll would be Little Eric's godparents." Tami clarified.

"Yeah, of course," Matt smiled shyly.

"Ya'll sure? What 'bout Shelly and Mike? Aren't they gonna get mad?" Charlie asked.

"Shelly and Mike are Julie's godparents and Julie is Gracie Belle's godmother. We're sure, Charlie, don't worry so much. We know what we're doin' here." Tami smiled at her.

"Then yeah, I'm in. I can't think of a more important job." Charlie crossed her arms.

"Thank you both. This means a lot to us. This wasn't a decision that we came to lightly." Eric spoke up again.

"I can't promise that I won't get him kicked outta preschool for cussin' like a sailor." Charlie laughed.

"I'm countin' on that. I'll just make sure that the school calls you when he does somethin' that he's not supposed to." Tami teased her.

"That's fair enough. I think I can handle that." Charlie smiled widely.

"Matt, let's you and I go out back and have a beer and leave these two to talk." Eric gestured for the younger man to follow him outside.

"Tami, tell me that you didn't tell my brother anythin' 'bout my inability to sleep soundly at night." Charlie begged.

"I didn't say anythin' to him, but I told you that our earlier conversation wasn't over." Tami reminded her.

"It's a little insomnia it's nothin'. Some nights it's not a factor other nights I play hell gettin' to sleep. Or I'll get to sleep then wake back up in a couple hours and not be able to go back to sleep. It sometimes just depends on how stressed I am or how much stuff I have kickin' 'round in my head. Sometimes a couple belts of whiskey is the only thing that helps." Charlie explained.

Tami listened to what amounted to her baby sister talk and understanding dawned on her face. "Charlie, have you been diagnosed? Have you talked to someone?"

Charlie produced a prescription bottle from her pocket. "I've talked and talked 'til I was blue in the face and they gave me these pills and some others. I take them like I'm supposed to, but they don't always help."

"Charlie, there people at the VA who are there specifically to help vets that were wounded the way that you are. I wish I'd known before now. I could have recommended someone." Tami looked at her sympathetically.

"Tami, can you trust that I'm a big girl who knows what she's doin'? I'm not that same sixteen-year-old kid that used to call you and Eric to get me out of a jam." Charlie reasoned with her.

"I believe you, but you have PTSD, Charlie and that's not somethin' that you have to go through alone. Your brothers and I are here for you." Tami tried to get through to her.

"You're my big sister and I won't argue that, but like I said trust me. I consider myself lucky that after the things I did and saw that all I do is lose a little sleep at night. The not sleepin' comes and goes in spurts. Football is the best medicine. It helps me in ways that you wouldn't believe." Charlie replied.

"Then why did you come back home?" Tami questioned.

"There was a guy." Charlie said simply.

"There's always a guy when it comes to you and trouble. That sounds 'bout right to me." Tami nodded her head. She waited for her to go on. "Is there anythin' else that you wanna add?"

"There was a guy with the same affliction as me. I got help for it he didn't. That's all you really need to know." Charlie filled her in.

Tami nodded her head in understanding. "If that's all you want me to know for right now I'm ok with that. You'll tell me the rest of the story when you're ready for me to know."

"Thank you, for that. You have no idea how much that means to me." Charlie gave her a small smile.

"You're a lot like Eric. You need to talk 'bout things in your own time and I respect that." Tami smiled back at her.

"Did you still want me to take Gracie Belle out in the back yard for a campout?" Charlie asked.

"Sweetie, she was so tired she fell asleep before her head hit the pillow. You two will have a chance to do it tomorrow night. I think that she will really enjoy it." Tami replied.

"I will make it a lot of fun for her." Charlie agreed.

"I wish you wouldn't sleep out there, but I know there is no changin' your mind, so I won't even try. Just take a light out there." Tami told her.

"Whatever you say, Principal Taylor." Charlie threw her a mock salute.

"You better remember who the boss is." Tami pointed at her in mock seriousness.

"Matt! Julie! Charlie! Come on up and at 'em! If ya'll don't want Tami on your case you'll get movin' now!" Eric yelled out loudly.

"You are so lucky that I was up already or I would so go off on your loud ass for wakin' me." Charlie came out of the guest bathroom dressed in a black pants suit.

"You really weren't kiddin' when you told Tami that you don't own a dress or skirt were you?" Eric teased her.

"I probably do, but I don't wear that shit unless I have to." Charlie shrugged.

"I don't think I blame you on that one. Momma is gonna have a fit, but I know you can handle that. You haven't made it through this world bein' you without bein' able to handle a little flak." Eric pulled her into a quick hug.

"Sorry, Coach, I didn't mean to be so late gettin' up. Gracie Belle decided to lay on top of me for a little while and there was no movin' her." Matt apologized.

"Matt, don't even worry 'bout it. She's the boss and we just pretend like she isn't." Eric clapped him on the back.

"She's a little pistol that's for sure." Matt was dressed in his suit and tie.

"She takes after her momma that way." Eric nodded his head.

"Oh, good, we're all up. That means I won't have to listen to the grandparents urging us to get out of here on time." Tami walked in.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that none of us wanted that." Charlie made a face.

"We are ready to go then and I don't know what that's like." Tami snorted. "Do one of you two wanna go get your godson?"

"I'll get him. Where is he?" Charlie asked.

"He's layin' in his crib. He's all chilled out in a milk comma in his little suit." Tami made a face.

"Good, he will be manageable." Charlie quipped. She retrieved Hayes from his nursery.

"Alright, we gotta leave in five minutes. Let's get goin'." Eric clapped his hands to get everyone in gear.

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm sorry for the long wait. I haven't given up on this story and I still plan to continue it. A little bit of the Charlie mystery has been solved. This story focuses more on Coach and Tami because let's face it they were the best part of the show. Anyway I'm wondering if I should have Charlie go back on her word to Julie and have a little fling with Tim. Let me know what you think. Until next time please review.