AN: This is my first BB story and I'm a little nervous. I love this show and can't believe it existed for so long without my knowledge. It's not my plan to always have a F/m scene in future stories, it just happened to come out this way in my only two stories on FFnet.

Please review and let me know what you think. I'm looking forward to writing more stories for this fandom.

"So what's the verdict?" Frank Reagan sat at the kitchen table, sipping at his coffee and watching his youngest poke around under the sink.

"The garbage disposal is done for. Motor's burned up," Jamie answered, grabbing a wrench. "I can get a new one ordered for about a hundred bucks and put it in when it gets here."

Frank nodded in approval and Jamie continued to remove the damaged disposal.

Sunday evenings after dinner usually found him hanging around his childhood home fixing leaky sinks, tightening loose cabinet screws, and doing other odds and ends. It wasn't that he thought his dad and his grandpa couldn't handle it, because they had been the ones to teach him how to use a wrench. At this point, they just shouldn't have to. His dad put in an average of seventy hours a week keeping the city he lived in safe and Gramps had sacrificed plenty as well. The least Jamie could do was play handy man once a week.

Jamie put the broken disposal aside and washed the grease off his hands.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on between you and your sister?" Frank asked.

"I wasn't planning on it," Jamie said, drying his hands and turning around to face his dad. "It's between us." To say that Erin was giving him the cold shoulder was an understatement, not that he could really blame her.

Frank raised an eyebrow at him, but Jamie held firm. He hated it when his dad treated him like a kid and nosed around in his personal business. He might be the baby of the family, but he was in his thirties now. He could resolve his own problems.

"It's nothing we won't work out. She's just irked at me right now."

"Does she have reason to be?"

"I don't know, maybe," Jamie shrugged, mentally running through the events of the last couple of days. Ever since he looked into the whereabouts of Nicky's friend, Tyler, his whole life had gotten more complicated and now Erin was livid because he didn't double check with her first.

"What do you mean maybe?" Erin stormed into the kitchen for the second time that day, the look of annihilation planted firmly on her face.

"Hi sweetheart, forget something?" Frank asked, smiling at his daughter.

Erin turned to him. "Nicky forgot her laptop," she said, calmly before turning back to her brother without skipping a beat, a capability she had mastered long before she even got near a court room, Jamie could attest to personally.

"You went behind my back on a matter that concerned my daughter, a matter I had completely under control by the way. You undermined my authority and made it look like I couldn't handle the situation. You had no business doing that."

Jamie crossed his arms and glared at his sister. They didn't get into it too often, but when they did it was generally something to write the papers about, mainly because Erin could never just forgive and forget. She had to stew about it first.

"I already apologized to you for that. If I had known you didn't approve I would've butted out."

"That's exactly my point, you should've checked with me first. That girl has you wrapped around her finger so tight you don't know your right from your left around her."

"That's not true," Jamie snapped back, though he had to admit Erin had a point. He had a soft spot for his niece. It was hard for him to say no to her and Nicky knew it.

"Isn't it? You would've sniffed the lie out of anyone else, but Nicky Reagan can play you like a fiddle. She knows all the right notes."

"Why is it she lies to me and it's somehow my fault?" Jamie asked, his voice matching the volume of his sister's.

"Enough!" Frank Reagan's voice boomed through the kitchen, causing both grown adults to stop squabbling and stare at their father, somewhat in shock.

"It seems to me that there's a certain teenager who has you both so well played that you're at each other's throats instead of hers."

"Oh believe me, she's not off the hook," Erin insisted. "The two of us are going to have a long talk when I get her home tonight."

Jamie chuckled at that. "Yeah right." He might have a soft spot for his niece, but Erin had been letting her get away with murder on a routine basis for years now.

"Excuse me?" Erin countered. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Jamie sighed and looked to his dad for help. He didn't want to hurt his sister's feelings outright, regardless of how irked she was with him. Frank gave him the usual Switzerland look.

"I'm waiting," Erin insisted. "What did that mean?"

"You're too easy on her. She gets away with everything."

"That's not true," she said, taking her own turn in enlisting their father on her side. "Tell him that's not true."

"How you discipline your daughter is none of my business."

"I feel a but coming on," Erin said, sounding dejected.

"No but. You are a tough as you need to be. Nicky's turning into a fine young woman. She's a top notch student and for the most part she makes responsible, thought out decisions. You should be proud of that. She is, however, very talented in pulling a fast one on you."

"She is, isn't she?" Erin admitted, sinking into the seat across from her dad. "I still can't believe she's been lying and sneaking around all week."

"From what I recall, it's more or less normal teenage behavior, albeit still unacceptable." Frank took another sip of his coffee. "I seem to remember an incident where a certain sibling, upon spending a week with you, lied about studying in order to spend the entire night with Veronica Jenkins."

Jamie felt heat in his cheeks as the memory came back to him. "It's been years since I thought about her," he said, taking a seat at the table.

"Veronica Jenkins," Erin repeated, her face lighting up in recognition. "The only girl in a fifty mile radius that could make you abandon all of your morals in one night."

"What can I say?" Jamie said with a shrug. "She was hot."

"I don't remember you going very easy on him that night," Frank observed, taking another sip of his coffee.

Jamie stared at his father. "You couldn't come up with another example? Maybe one not centered around me?"

It was bad enough that his siblings were constantly dredging up embarrassing moments from his childhood. He didn't need his dad jumping in and leading the herd.

Frank just shrugged. "Lying, sneaking around, fits within the same lines."

"Mom," Nicky poked her head into the kitchen at that moment, laptop in hand. "I thought you wanted to get home."

"Change of plans," Erin ordered, her eyes never leaving Jamie. "Your uncle has a story to tell you."

"Really?" Jamie huffed at his sister. "You want her to hear this?" Normally she wanted to keep her daughter's ears away from all stories about their childhood shenanigans, afraid the stories would rub off the wrong way.

"I think it might prove to be enlightening."

"What is it?" Nicky asked, uncertainly. "Is this still about Tyler? Cause I already-"

"Just come sit down and listen."

Jamie watched as Erin gave her daughter a glare that would freeze boiling water. He almost shuddered himself, part from the look and part from the memory that flashed through his head.

Nicky promptly sat. "Okay, okay," she grumbled taking off her jacket and hooking it on the back of the chair before settling still.

"I think I'll make hot chocolate," Frank offered, standing up. "We could be here a while."

"Jamie?" Erin raised an eyebrow at him while his niece looked at him expectantly.

"Fine," he said, giving in, "But next time I'm telling one of your most embarrassing stories."

Erin simply gestured for him to begin.

"In the middle of my sophomore year, your grandparents and my grandparents went to Hawaii for a week together and your mom was elected to keep an eye on me since she was the only one not working nights."

X X X

Fifteen year old Jamie Reagan watched his dad load the last suitcase into the taxi.

"I expect you to listen to your sister and keep your nose clean while we're gone," Frank explained again as the two of them waited for his mom to come out of the house.

"Can't I just stay here alone? I can take care of myself."

"No you may not," Frank answered. "You might think you're grown, but you're not there yet. An entire week is still too long for you to stay home alone without any supervision."

Jamie rolled his eyes at the thought of a week stuck with Erin. He wished Joe wasn't on night tours this week. He was the choice sibling to spend any extended amount of time with. The other two were just a bit too intense to take and that was putting it nicely.

"Is this going to be a problem?" His dad asked in a voice that said he wouldn't take anything but no for an answer.

Jamie straightened up his frame on extinct and looked him in the eye. "No sir."

"Do we need to review the rules for this situation?"

"If I get in trouble with Erin, I get in trouble with you," he answered, trying to sound as contrite as possible, hoping his dad would leave it at that. "Don't worry dad, I won't cause any trouble."

Frank nodded and was about to say something else, but his mom came down the steps just then, camera in one hand and purse in the other. "Behave yourself," she said in a firm voice coated in softness and kissed him on the cheek.

"Yes ma'am."

"Your father didn't sneak in his fishing poles did he?" She asked.

"Not that I saw," Jamie grinned, opening the taxi door for her.

"I don't see how you can call it a vacation if I can't fish," Frank grumbled, climbing into his own side of the cab.

"One vacation without fishing as the primary agenda will not kill you," Mary countered and with one more warning from both parents to behave and not give Erin a hard time, they were off. Jamie watched the taxi disappear around the corner before heading back inside.

X X X

Most of the week went by uneventfully. Erin kept busy working on a deposition and chasing Nicky around the house while Jamie split his time studying for his big French test and screwing around with his friends. Joe came around a couple of times before his tour and played basketball with him, making sure he was ready for the playoff game on Friday night. They ate their mom's prepared meals and cheated with pizza and takeout Thai while Jamie rolled his eyes at Erin's constant questions about school and homework. As always, she was on him way more than mom and dad ever were, like he was a puppy she was going to lose the second she turned her back or something. It was more than a little annoying.

It wasn't until Thursday, right before third period, that things picked up momentum. Charlie, his best friend and occasionally his partner in crime, came running up to him while he was getting his calc book out of his locker.

"Man, you are not going to believe what just happened."

"You found out you're not flunking out yet," Jamie half joked. It seemed that learning was the last reason Charlie went to school.

"Hey, we can't all make straight A's"

"What is it then?"

"I got us a double make out session tonight at a certain tall brunette beauty's apartment."

"You didn't?" Jamie felt his cheeks flush at just the thought. He'd had a crush on Veronica since freshman year.

"Oh I did. We are meeting Angela and Veronica tonight at 7 at their place. Their mom's a nurse so she'll be gone all night."

"And they both just want to hang out and fool around with us all night?" Jamie asked doubtfully. Not that he didn't have any self-confidence, he knew girls found him hot, it was just normally his experience that girls in general weren't so eager to make out all night. That and Veronica had barely given him the time of day in the past.

"They want to hang out and do a Scream marathon since the second one just came out. So basically the same thing."

"Cool deal," Jamie said, not believing their luck.

"So I can count you in then?"

"I don't know," Jamie hesitated as his conscience started adding up all the risks. His dad would kill him if word got back to him. Heck, Erin would kill him before his dad got a chance if he got caught. He wasn't really one for sticking his nose in trouble too often. He'd learned to avoid that by watching his older siblings get into their own messy predicaments on a consistent basis.

"Come on man, it's gonna be the greatest night of our high school lives."

Jamie snorted. "Cause I don't hear that once a week."

"This time I mean it. Just tell your sister you're staying at my house to study and I'll tell my mom I'm staying with you. Our bases will be covered and we'll be in the clear."

"You really think that'll work?" Jamie asked doubtfully. He was a crappy liar to begin with and even worse at sneaking around.

"Sure it will," Charlie grinned. "So are you in or not? Cause Ronni's going to be seriously bummed to hear that all of this won't be showing up," he said, gesturing at Jamie.

"She will not."

"Oh yeah, she wasn't going to go along with it until I told her you would be there."

"Really?" Jamie asked.

"Really, her face lit up when I mentioned your name."

"So what you're really saying is if I don't go, then you don't either?"

"Come on, I'll owe you."

Jamie weighed the pros and cons of the situation, finally deciding that Veronica's legs beat out any risk the night would pose. "Fine, count me in," he caved, grinning from ear to ear as he closed up his locker.

X X X

That afternoon Jamie entered the back door into the kitchen to find his sister pouring over law books. She barely looked up when he came in.

"I hope pizza's alright with you," she said, pulling a book forward. "I know it's a little repetitive, but Monday is my deadline for this and cooking is out of the question."

"What about Nicky?" He asked, looking around for his toddling niece. Jack being out of town was the main reason Erin was staying here for the week instead of him staying at her apartment.

"Jack's mom is watching her for the weekend so I can meet this deadline."

"Pawning off the kid for career advancement? It must be serious," he teased.

"Really?" She asked, shooting him a deadly glare.

"No, it was a joke. Lighten up." He studied her expression, wondering if he should even bring up his plans for later. As much as he wanted to go hang out, he didn't want to burden his sister, especially if she was this stressed out. But then again, the odds of having another chance to hang out with Veronica all night were slim to none.

"Jamie," she practically whined, rubbing her temples. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Actually, I was going to head over to Charlie's to study. Sister Katherine dropped a test on the Renaissance on us today, plus I have that French test. I'll grab something to eat there."

Jamie started rifling through the cupboards for the cookies mom made before she left, keeping his face hidden so that he wouldn't give himself away. Lying did not come easy to him and his sister could see through him more than most.

"What time do you plan on coming home?"

"I was thinking I'd just sleep over."

Erin looked up at that. "On a school night?"

"Yeah." He wondered if she could hear his heart beating from across the room. "His mom's okay with it and it'll give us more study time. This test is supposed to be killer. Sister Katherine needs to remove the stick from her-"

"Alright," Erin cut him off. "I get the picture. I'll allow it, but give me a call in the morning and come straight home from school tomorrow."

"I got my basketball game tomorrow."

"Right, I knew that. I'll be there."

" Thanks Erin," he said, taking off upstairs to get his stuff together, snack in hand. He let out a sigh of relief at the top of the stairs. So far so good.

X X X

Jamie couldn't remember the last time he felt so nervous. Did he remember to put on deodorant? He gave his arm pit a quick sniff, even though Charlie snickered at him.

"Relax, I already told you she likes you. You've got nothing worry about."

They were standing outside the girls' apartment, waiting for them to answer the door.

"Special delivery," Charlie yelled, knocking on the door again.

Giggles could be heard coming from the other side. When the door opened, Jamie felt his heart stop. There was Veronica in a modest black skirt and blue top looking as gorgeous as ever.

"You guys are late," she said, smiling at him.

"Yeah, sorry," he answered back.

They stared at each other for what seemed like forever until Angela yanked them out of the moment.

"Don't tell me you two need a room already?" She asked, pulling Charlie into the apartment. "Where's this special delivery at?" She asked Charlie.

"You're looking at it."

Jamie rolled his eyes at his friend's corniness.

Veronica rolled her eyes. "On that note, we should get the first movie started."

"I'm the bartender," Angela announced. "What's everyone having?"

Charlie didn't hesitate to provide his order. "Jack and Coke."

"Same for me, minus the Jack," Jamie added.

"What, are you a saint?" Veronica asked, shooting him a teasing smile.

"No, just a basketball player. I got a game tomorrow," he explained. There was no way he was going to jeopardize that with alcohol. He just hoped she didn't think he was weird or lame.

She just smiled at him. "Coke for me too."

Angela rolled her eyes at them. "You two were made for each other."

After drinks were provided and popcorn was made, they say down to start the first movie.

X X X

Sounds like a genius setup to me," Nicky commented, as Jamie paused the story so Erin could help pour hot chocolate. "I'm not sure I'm buying the whole not drinking thing though."

"Oh you're not are you?" Erin asked, turning to face her daughter. "And exactly why is that?"

Nicky shrugged. "I just know how much this family lives for alcohol."

"Good answer," Erin said, placing hot mugs in front of her brother and her daughter.

"If you don't believe it, you can ask Uncle Danny," Jamie piped in. "He subjected me to a sobriety test."

"Subjected?" Frank came over with the remaining two mugs and sat down.

"Yeah, in front of the girl I liked. And I was the only one he picked on."

Now it was Frank's turn to freeze his offspring with a glare. "If it had been me all of you would've performed sobriety tests and at least two of your friends would've faced underage drinking charges. All these years later, you should be grateful your brother only went as far as he did."

"I know that," Jamie blushed and took a sip of hot chocolate, taking his time in meeting his father's eyes. "Doesn't make the memory any less embarrassing though."

"So what was Uncle Danny doing there?" Nicky asked, looking at her uncle. "And how'd you get caught, anyway?"

"I was an idiot, that's how," Jamie said. "Remember how I had a game the next day?"

"Yeah" she answered, confused.

"Well I left my gear by the kitchen door."

"And I went to Charlie's house to return it to him so he'd have it," Erin added. "And just guess who I didn't find?"

Jamie buried his head behind his hot chocolate again, wishing not for the first time that he hadn't agreed to tell this story.

"So anyway," he said, continuing on. "Once your mom figured out I wasn't where I said I'd be, she called your uncles and it went downhill from there…."

xxxxxxxx

Halfway into the second movie Veronica had snuggled up against Jamie and every time the suspenseful music started up she would get even closer. They hadn't kissed yet, but Jamie was content with the snuggling. Charlie and Angela had kept up their steady drinking and were currently making out on the loveseat while Jamie and Veronica were both doing their best to ignore them.

Out of nowhere an explosive pounding came from the front door followed instantly by, "Police, open up!"

Jamie jumped at the familiarity of that voice while Angela started screaming at the top of her lungs. Veronica had only jumped and rushed to turn the TV down.

"Why would the police be here?" She asked.

Jamie blushed. "That would be my brother."

Veronica gave him a confused look as the pounding on the door sounded again and Angela once again screamed right after.

"Shut up," Charlie yelled at Angela, getting to his feet and heading towards the door.

"Charlie, watch it," Jamie warned, also getting to his feet. He knew that voice and the lack of patience behind it. With all the noise going in here he wasn't sure what Danny would do.

Sure enough, second later splinters flew as the door was kicked open. Angela screamed louder as Danny burst into the room.

"Police, nobody move," Danny ordered, as he assessed the situation. His gun wasn't drawn, but his hand was on the holster. "What's with all the screaming?"

"Cause that's the name of the movie," Charlie said, nodding toward the TV screen. "Scream."

"Charlie, probably not the time," Jamie warned, jabbing his friend in the side with his elbow. Mouthing off to Danny when he was in full authoritative mode was never a good idea, Jamie knew from personal experience.

Danny went over to the TV and turned off the screen. "I'd listen to him. Keep the smart ass responses to a minimum, kid."

Danny paced around the room for a minute, looking around and then went back to the front door. "It's clear," he yelled into the hallway. "Just four really stupid kids."

Erin stepped into the apartment at that moment and made a beeline for Jamie, pinning him with one of her famous death glares. "This is why you lied, so you could hang out here?" She asked, livid." Just wait till I get you home."

"Erin-" Jamie started to plead, not sure exactly where to start.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that no parents have been informed of this little get together," Danny said to the room, cutting Jamie off before he could say anything else, much to his relief.

"So, what do you care?" Angela asked, hand on her hip.

"Excuse me?" Danny countered.

Jamie groaned. He couldn't believe this night had turned around so fast.

"It's not like we're doing anything illegal and you had no right to break down my door."

"Well, I'm pretty sure underage drinking is illegal," Danny said, picking up Charlie's drink from the coffee table and taking a whiff. "And I broke your door because you were screaming your head off."

Erin pulled out her flip cell phone. "I'm going to let Joe know we found him and he can stop keeping an eye out," she said to Danny, stepping out of the apartment. Being a rookie, Joe couldn't venture too far off his beat, but Erin had asked him to be on the lookout anyway, Jamie learned later.

"Alright, everyone have a seat," Danny ordered. "Girls over here, guys over there."

When the teenagers settled, Danny finally turned his own attention towards Jamie. "Just what the hell were you thinking?"

Jamie shrugged, "Just that Iwanted to hang out. I don't get what the big deal is, this is harmless."

"Harmless huh?" Danny glared at his brother and picked up Angela's drink, taking a good sniff. "Funny, none of you look 21."

"Danny-"

"And which one's your drink?" He asked, picking up another drink off the coffee table and sniffing it.

Jamie rolled his eyes. "The one over there on the right. It's just Coke. There's nothing in it."

Danny moved over and sniffed both glasses on the table in front of the sofa. "Come over here," he ordered Jamie.

"Why?" Jamie knew he was pushing his luck, but at the same time it would've been stupid to blindly walk over to his obviously irate older brother, who was a hothead on a good day.

"Cause if I have to come to you I'm gonna knock your head in."

Jamie sighed and walked over. The second he was in arm distance, Danny grabbed him by the arm and hauled him closer.

"Ow, Danny, c'mon." He tried to free himself from his brother's tight grip.

"You think this hurts, just wait."

Danny leaned into him to smell his breath and then took a pen out of his breast pocket. "Follow the tip with your eyes only, keep your head still."

"Are you serious? I'm not-"

Before Jamie knew what was happening Danny spun him around sideways and applied four hard swats to his rear. He then spun him right back around to face him.

"Ow! What are you doing? Not here," Jamie protested, feeling his face grow beat red. It's not like his brother hadn't worn him out before. It was inevitable when he had ten years on him, parents who worked for a living, and a family that strongly believed in spare the rod and spoil the child. But for him to do it here, in front of his friends when he was fifteen was too much for Jamie to stand. He could feel Veronica's eyes on him and he sent out a silent prayer for the floor to open up and swallow him. Not to mention that the swats hurt more than he wanted to admit and he desperately wanted to rub the sting out.

"Okay," Danny agreed and grabbed him by the scruff of the shirt. "We can go in the bathroom and do this proper."

"Danny!"

"Or you can follow the pen. You've got three second to make up your mind. One, two, th-"

"Okay, okay...I'll do it." He couldn't believe his brother was counting.

Ten minutes and three long, embarrassing tests later, Jamie had managed to prove to both siblings that he hadn't been drinking.

Danny then grabbed Jamie by his shirt neck and passed him off to Erin, who had come back into the apartment by that point. "I'll contact the girls' parents and take Charles here home, if you want to deal with our delinquent here."

"Sounds good to me," Erin agreed, wrapping a strong arm around Jamie's left bicep.

"I'll stop by after my tour to make sure you haven't killed him."

"No promises," Erin said, dragging him out the door.

Jamie gulped at the underlying sincerity he heard in her voice. He was too embarrassed to even look in Veronica's direction let alone say goodnight to her.

"Hey," Danny stopped them before they got too far. "Who's calling Hawaii? Cause that's one conversation I don't want to have."

"I can think of the perfect candidate."

Jamie felt two sets of eyes on him and groaned out loud.

"Good luck, kid," Danny said, turning back into the apartment as Erin continued to half lead, half drag him down the staircase.

"Yeah thanks," he said, careful to keep the sarcasm and the eye rolls to a minimum as Erin continued to lead him down the stairs.

X X X

"What were you thinking?" Erin demanded, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned her back against the kitchen counter.

To say that the ride home was unpleasant would've been an understatement. Erin had refused to say a word in the car, despite Jamie's best efforts to apologize and try to break the ice between the two of them. He'd been ordered to keep his mouth shut and the rest of the drive was spent in complete silence without even the radio to break up the tension.

Now Jamie was seated at the kitchen table, racking his brain for an appropriate answer to his sister's question. He knew exactly what he'd been thinking, but he was pretty sure that "I wanted to make-out all night," was not what Erin wanted to hear.

"I don't know," he said instead, hoping she would let it go at that.

"You don't know?" Erin repeated, her voice rising. "You lied to me about where you were going so you could hang out at a girl's apartment all night and that's the best you can come up with? Do you know how worried I was?"

"I don't know why you're so mad," Jamie countered. "You pulled stuff like this all the time with mom and dad and now you expect me to be the saint?"

"Are you kidding me? What I did as a teenager is irrelevant right now. And I'm this angry because if something had happened to you tonight I would've had no way of knowing about it. Not to mention I trusted you and you lied to me, Jamie."

Jamie dropped his head in shame. "I didn't mean to make you worry," he answered, studying a scratch in the kitchen table "I just wanted to hang out and I figured you'd say no if I told you the truth." He thought about mentioning that she wasn't supposed to find out about it at all, but figured that wasn't a good idea.

"So you lied to me instead," Erin stated, glaring at him.

"I'm sorry."

Erin shook her head, determination coming over her face. "You're only sorry you got caught," she said, turning around to grab at an object in the utensil carousel on the counter. She turned back around yielding mom's favorite wooden spatula in her hand. That thing packed a sting that lingered for days.

"Erin, come on!" Jamie pleaded, his stomach plummeting at just the sight of the deadly object. "Can't you just ground me until mom and dad get back?"

Lying, sneaking out, being impossible to find, and potentially putting yourself in danger were all offenses worthy of a first class Frank Reagan butt roasting and doing it all in one night, under the care of his sister, just made it worse. If Erin went through with her threat tonight, he'd be looking at two spankings instead of one and that thought made him shudder. He hadn't had his butt beat in over two years and now he was up for two in the course of a couple of days. He wasn't sure he could take it.

"No," she said flatly. "You didn't lie to them. You lied to me and you did it just so you could stay out all night and fool around. Anything could've happened to you and I wouldn't even have known about it if you hadn't forgotten your gym bag. Now look me in the eye and tell me you don't deserve to have your bottom roasted."

"I do, I know that," he admitted, "But twice? C'mon Erin, you know how dad's going to handle this. I'm not going to sit down for a week when he's done with me. I'll do anything you want, I'll wait on you hand and foot, I'll babysit Nicky for free for a year, just please don't do this." He put on his most pathetic little brother face, hoping Erin would have on pity him.

"Don't try to bribe me, Jamie. You deserve this and if I don't go through with it, mom and dad are going to think that I can't handle you. Besides, Danny will just take care of it himself when he comes over later. Do you want that?"

"No." Jamie shook his head, panicked at just the thought. The realization that he wasn't going to be able to talk himself out of this one started to dawn on him and he had to force himself not to bolt.

"You screwed up on my watch and it's up to me to put you in your place. Now I'm not arguing about it anymore. Stand up, turn around, and bend over," she ordered.

"Erin," he whined, knowing he was pushing his luck.

His sister wasn't having any of it. "Now or the jeans are coming down."

Jamie gulped and obeyed. He stood up and leaned his upper torso over the kitchen table, folding his arms in front of him and burying his head in them. He was never letting Charlie or anyone else talk him into another mess again, no matter how intriguing it sounded. He only had a few seconds to reflect on his transgressions that night before the spatula came down hard on his butt and he let out a surprised yelp.

"Ahhh," Jamie hissed out as his sister thoroughly peppered his behind with that evil spatula.

X X X

"Mom, you didn't!" Nicky said, shocked.

"Oh, she did," Jamie chimed in, resisting the urge to reach back and rub his backside at just the memory. His face felt hot and he knew it had to be bright red from the self-admission. "She wore me out. I had a heck of a time sitting down in class the next day."

"Mom!" Nicky said again, obviously still shocked. "I can't believe you were that mean."

"Of course that's what you would think." Erin sighed and rolled her eyes. "He was missing for four hours. I had no idea where he was or if he was okay, but yeah, I'm the bad guy."

"Your mom wasn't trying to be mean, Nicky," Frank weighed in with his own two cents. "She had a responsibility to keep your uncle safe and she did what she thought she had to do. I backed her up on it then and I stand behind her now."

"I felt terrible about it," Erin added. "I cried myself to sleep that night."

"It was all on me," Jamie added, speaking to Nicky, but looking at his sister, remembering her watery eyes that night. "I should've considered the consequences before I decided to sneak around and lie. It was a bad move and I got what I deserved, even if it was more than I bargained for."

Nicky sighed. "So that's the end of the story then?"

If Jamie had said yes or close enough, his dad and his sister would let it go at that, but he couldn't seem to get the lie to leave his lips, especially since that was the reason Nicky had been in trouble earlier to begin with. So instead he took a deep breath and tried to pretend his face wasn't getting redder still, though he could feel the heat in his cheeks rising.

"I wish," he said, before continuing the flashback.

XXX

Several minutes after Erin finished Jamie composed himself and stood up from his position over the table. Before he could say anything she yanked him into a hug that caught him off guard, but he half-heartedly returned anyway. While his butt stung, his pride was wounded more than anything else and hugging was the last thing from his mind.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again," she growled in his ear.

That caught him off guard. Erin being afraid had never crossed his mind.

"I won't," he answered sincerely with a sniffle, wiping his face with his hand.

"Alright then, why don't you go get ready for bed."

Jamie nodded and took off, grateful for the chance to be alone so he could feel sorry for himself. Not moments after he had changed, the phone rang and soon after Erin hollered up at him to come downstairs. As he stood at the top of the staircase his stomach dropped. Erin stood at the bottom, one hand on her hip and the other one gripping the telephone receiver to her ear. She looked up at him and gestured for him to hurry up.

"Dad wants to talk to you," she said when he finally made it downstairs.

Jamie groaned. Guess he wasn't going to have to make that call after all. His first instinct was to plead out of it, but he figured he didn't have a chance and it would just make everything worse anyway. Instead he headed down the stairs like he was going to his own funeral and timidly took the phone from his sister. He couldn't help but notice that her eyes slightly red and watery. That was his fault, there wasn't a doubt in his mind otherwise.

"Hey dad," he answered meekly.

"Jamison."

Jamie remained silent, waiting for the verbal butt kicking that normally followed when his full name came into the picture.

"I hear your sister warmed your tail?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. With any luck the sting will stick until I can get there and reignite it."

Jamie's stomach jumped at the promise. "Dad-" he started to plea.

"What were you thinking?" Frank demanded in the form of a low growl.

Jamie knew from many past experiences that his dad expected a real answer and an I don't know wasn't going to cut it with him.

"That I wanted to go out and have a good time. That there was no harm in it."

"Do you still feel that way?"

Jamie did, but he knew better than to admit it. "No sir."

"I remain unconvinced, but we'll talk about that Sunday, in depth."

Jamie gulped. "Yes sir."

"We're going to have to cut this short. A tour of Pearl Harbor starts in an hour and your grandpa will never forgive me if he misses it. You just remember the conversation we had before I left and I want you on your absolute best behavior until we return."

"Yes sir," Jamie answered again, fully aware of how many times he'd repeated the word sir since getting on the phone.

"I mean it, if I hear anything but immaculate reports from Erin you're going to be in even more trouble than you are now."

"I'm not going to cause any more problems," Jamie said and he meant it too. He wouldn't dare risk another run in with Erin and that damn spatula.

"Good to hear. Let's hope you mean it."

Jamie said that he did.

"Good luck on your game tomorrow."

Jamie almost groaned out loud. He'd completely forgotten about the game. His dad didn't seem to notice his lack of enthusiasm or chose to ignore it, anyway.

"Hold on, your mom wants her turn. And Jamie?"

"Yeah?"

"Apologize to your sister. You gave her quite a scare."

"Yes sir."

The phone was then passed off to his mother who gave him a similar run down, only making him feel even more ashamed than before. Jamie handed the phone back to Erin as soon as possible and moped upstairs to bed.

XXX

If that night wasn't bad enough, the next day proved to be a waking nightmare. That morning Jamie ate a bowl of corn flakes standing at the kitchen counter while weaving his way through awkward conversation with Erin. Her anger seemed to have deflated a little, but he could tell she was still hurt over the whole thing. She was taking the whole thing harder than he was and Jamie felt terrible about that. Still every time he opened his mouth to apologize he couldn't seem to spit the words out.

The sharp sting from last night had been replaced with a dull throb that ached and itched whenever he sat down for more than five minutes. It took all of his effort not to subconsciously squirm with discomfort in his classes and Veronica refused to even meet his eyes in the hallways.

"She'll get over it," Charlie assured as they sat in the courtyard during lunch. Well, Charlie sat and Jamie took the only opportunity of the day to lean against the stone wall, balancing his lunch tray on one knee.

"I don't know," he said, popping a french fry in his mouth. "She seems pissed, probably didn't help that Danny kicked the door off the hinges."

Charlie shrugged. "Now that was funny."

"Easy for you to say. You're not having trouble sitting down."

"Hey, I'm grounded for the next two months, thanks to you and your stupid gym bag."

Jamie just grunted. It was all Charlie's idea to begin with. He wasn't going to apologize for getting them caught.

"Besides," Charlie continued, "even you have to admit, disruption and all, it was worth it."

Jamie shook his head at his friend, but didn't deny the point.

In fifth period, the only class he and Veronica shared together, Jamie risked passing a note of apology over to her. He wrote that he was sorry his brother was a jerk and he hoped she didn't get into too much trouble. He added that he would probably be grounded until he was thirty if that made her feel better. Jamie had given up on a response from her when the bell rang. As she pushed past his desk without a glance at him a balled up piece of paper fell into his lap. He opened up the note a bit too eagerly, quickly reading the sentence she'd written out. It makes me feel a lot better. And you owe me a door. He wasn't sure if she was still mad or not until she turned around at the door and smiled at him.

The only small victory of the day was the beating they gave the Cathedral High School team at the basketball game that night. Jamie scored five baskets and assisted on four others. After the game Danny slapped him on the back as a reward for his efforts.

"Way to go, kid," he greeted as all three of his siblings met him right outside the school entrance closest to the locker rooms. "I'm surprised you could play so well after last night. Maybe you weren't hard enough on him, sis."

"Maybe not," Erin agreed and Jamie got the feeling that she wasn't kidding.

"Oh you were, believe me," Jamie insisted, hoping they would both leave it at that. Danny had yet to really chew him out for last night and Jamie was hoping to keep that from happening at all. "I just didn't want to lose."

"You kicked butt out there," Joe added. "Looks like all of that practice did some good."

Jamie grinned at the compliment.

"Yeah, a much better performance than last night," Danny added.

Jamie sighed. "I'm sorry, alright I'm sorry I made you all worry and I'm sorry you had to hunt for me." He was still in trouble with mom and dad and he didn't want to be chided about his mistake for the rest of the night. "I screwed up, it won't happen again."

"That's all I wanted to hear," Danny said, reaching for his car keys. "Pizza from Moe's?"

"Are you paying?" Erin asked as she and Danny started walking ahead.

Joe hooked an arm around his neck as they continued walking the parking lot toward his car. "You can't blame him," he said. "You had us all pretty worried."

"I know, I know." Jamie rolled his eyes as they approached the car.

"Do it again and Danny and I will hold you down so Erin can really go at you."

Jamie cringed at the thought. "You wouldn't!"

"Try it," Joe dared, shooting Jamie a glare before he ducked into the driver's seat.

Jamie gulped, silently vowing he would never try anything like this again before climbing into the passenger seat and shutting the door.

"Was she worth it?" Joe asked as he started the car up.

Jamie leaned up against the seat and pictured Veronica's face last night. "Without a doubt," he answered with a grin.

XXX

Sunday afternoon found Jamie cutting up vegetables for salad at the kitchen island while Erin typed away on her laptop, muttering to herself about New York penal codes every few minutes. The aroma of roast beef filled the kitchen, even though dinner wouldn't be ready for another few hours. Joe was due back any minute from the airport with his parents in tow and Danny and Linda were expected to show up in the next hour. The iciness between him and his sister had finally started to melt away and she was starting to treat him normally again.

Jamie, lost in his own thoughts, barely registered the slip of the knife as it took off a piece of his fingernail, scraping the skin underneath. The radish slice flew off the counter and bounced onto the floor.

"Crap."

"Are you bleeding?" Erin said as she charged to her feet and grabbed his hand.

"No, I'm fine." He pulled away.

"Well, you are officially banned from cutting veggies. You're a jittery mess and you're starting to make me nervous. Go set the table or work on your homework. They should both be safer."

"I already did both." He reached for the knife off the counter. "It just slipped, I don't need you to take over." He heard a car pull up in the driveway and he paled slightly.

"That didn't take long," Erin said.

"Their flight probably landed early."

"Either that or Joe's lead foot has returned."

Jamie snickered. "You're the only one who'd dare to drive that fast with mom in the car."

Erin jabbed at his shoulder. "That was one time."

He grinned and rubbed at his shoulder. "If you say so."

"Well, I'm going to go lend a hand," Erin said. "Are you coming?"

Jamie nodded. "I'll be right out."

Erin reached out and squeezed his shoulder in sympathy before she headed outside to help with baggage while he stayed frozen in the kitchen. Jamie wasn't afraid of his parents. Well, he had a healthy fear anyway and he wasn't looking forward to staring at the carpet while he took a trip over his dad's knee. More than anything he dreaded their lectures and disappointed glares he was going to have to face head on in just a matter of seconds.

He poured the last of the radish slices into the salad bowl just as his dad entered the kitchen, the older man's normally beige complexion now shades away from being lobster red.

"Dad, you look," Jamie paused, searching for the right word, "burnt."

"This is humorous to you?"

"A little," he answered honestly.

Frank nodded and switched subjects. "Were you planning on coming out to say hello or were you going to stay out here and hide?"

The sharpness of his dad's tone brought Jamie's attention away from his burnt exterior and back to the seriousness of his current mess. Frank raised his eyebrows at him when Jamie hesitated to answer.

"I was going to come out after I finished here," he said, picking up the bowl and taking it over to the fridge. "How was Hawaii?"

"Sunny," Frank responded, a brief smile appearing at the corner of his mouth before disappearing altogether. "I'd ask how things went here, but I've heard the report."

"Dad-"

"It goes without saying that I expected better from you."

"Yes sir," Jamie nodded, avoiding his father's eyes.

"Go say hello to your mom, she missed you. After that I want you up in your room. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"What, now?" Jamie asked, his heart skipping a beat. "Can't we wait till after dinner?"

"Not a chance. Erin and Joe are leaving to pick up my granddaughter and your grandparents wanted to freshen up before coming over so that gives us some privacy, not that you deserve any. Besides, I think it's waited long enough, don't you?"

"Yes sir," Jamie nodded, knowing arguing further would just make matters worse. He headed out of the kitchen to track down his mom. After a welcome home hug, Mary grabbed his ear and chewed Jamie out for lying, sneaking off and spending the night unsupervised with a girl. She finished the lecture off with a swat to his rear.

"I never would've expected this from you," she said, glaring at him, finally letting go of his ear.

"I'm sorry."

"If not you will be soon," she said sharply. "Go on up to your room."

Jamie took off, glad to be dismissed, though it was short lived.

Ten minutes later he was pacing around his room when Frank walked in, shutting the door behind him. The older man pointed to the bed. "Sit down."

Jamie obeyed without a word.

"Three things. One, when your mom and I are out of town you are expected to show your siblings the same level of respect and obedience you would us, without exception. You scared your sister half to death and I hope you are just as ashamed with that fact as you are with the sneaking out and lying."

Jamie nodded, knowing not to speak until absolutely necessary.

"Two, never under any circumstance is it okay for you to go off on your own without letting someone know where you are. That has been drilled into you for years now and you knew better. If you'd been hurt or worse, we would've been none the wiser."

Jamie nodded again, this time finding it hard not to stare down at his shoes.

"And three, while I'm glad you did not drink last night, when the alcohol came out that should've been your cue to leave. You're lucky your brother let the underage drinking go last night."

"I know," Jamie agreed.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Not really." Jamie shook his head, hoping open honesty would get him a small reprieve. He'd had a lot of time to think about what he did and he really had only one regret. "Only I'm sorry I made everyone worry. I didn't really think that part through."

Any and all animosity he had two days ago had long since disappeared, especially after seeing how much worry he had caused his sister. Now he really was sorry for his stunt and he really just wanted to get this whole thing over with.

"As far as I can tell, you didn't think any of this through. You took advantage of your sister in order to hang out with your friends after I specifically told you to keep your nose clean. Erin trusted you and you squandered away that trust for your own gain. I thought you were better than that. I taught you better than that."

"That's not what I was trying to do," Jamie explained, fully aware of how lame he sounded. "I just wanted to hang out."

"At any and all cost."

Jamie opened his mouth to deny his dad's notion, but he realized it was true. He would've done anything to hang out with Veronica on Thursday night. "I didn't mean for it to be that way."

Frank nodded once and Jamie found himself thinking, not for the first time, that he wished his dad's face came with a reader's guide. "Your mom and I raised you to do the right thing, personal benefits aside. You knew what you were doing was wrong and you did it anyway and I think you're only sorry you got caught. Am I wrong?"

"At first I was, but now that I've thought about it, I really am sorry."

"If you had it to do over, would you've made the same choices?"

This time Jamie did stare at his shoes while he thought about the question. He thought about how stressed out Erin was that Thursday and he thought about how hot Veronica looked when she met him at the door of his apartment. He knew his honesty was going to bite him in the ass for this, but he didn't care.

"Probably not," he finally answered, meeting his dad's eyes.

"Then there's nothing left to discuss. Stand up."

"Dad, c'mon," Jamie pleaded. "Can't you just ground me? Erin already did a number on me."

"Don't make me ask again."

Jamie sighed and forced himself to his feet, not wanting to push his luck. "I won't do it again," he added, not so much as another plea to get out of punishment, but a promise to try and gain some of his lost credibility back.

"I know you won't. I'm going to make sure of it. Lose the pants."

Frank walked over and took his place on the edge of the bed. Even in his Hawaiian shirt and shorts with a lobster complexion, he looked intimidating. Jamie suddenly empathized with the criminals who came in contact with his dad. He knew better than to argue any further and undid his button and pushed the khakis to his knees without protest. Frank reached out and grabbed Jamie's wrist, pulling him over his knee in one swift motion.

Jamie sucked in a deep breath of air, mortified at the thought of being fifteen and over his dad's knee like a little kid. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd been in this position and that seemed to make this time even worse. He knew he deserved it and he knew there was no getting out of it. He just wanted to get through it and have it be over. Jamie closed his eyes tight and clutched his bedspread, steeling himself for the inevitable.

"Sneaking around and lying have never been acceptable forms of behavior in this household and you are extremely lucky nothing terrible happened to you that night," Frank lectured, adjusting Jamie to the right position. "There are rules in this house for a reason and as long as you live under this roof, regardless if I and your mother are here or not, you will obey them. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir."

With that his dad cracked his hand down hard. Though he was expecting it, the first swat still caused Jamie to gasp out loud. Frank Reagan handled the task of paternal discipline like he handled any other necessary task, swiftly and efficiently, leaving Jamie squirming within the first few swats. In the end, it was a very small consolation that Jamie was granted the protection of his grey briefs. The first ten swats, applied evenly to the center of Jamie's bottom had him fending off tears. Ten more swats to each side and the tears were flowing freely.

Frank paused the spanking and rested a hand on his son's back. "This is happening because you disregarded the rules and potentially put your life in danger. If something had happened to you, your sister would never forgive herself. You need to think long and hard about that."

Jamie opened his mouth to respond, but no words would come out. It didn't seem to matter. His dad continued swatting, this time with his efforts focused on Jamie's sit spot, where his briefs offered little protection. The steady tempo did not break until Jamie went from kicking and squirming for relief to being limp over his dad's lap, sobbing.

Finally, his dad stopped the ambush of swats and started rubbing his back until Jamie started to get himself under control and the tears stopped coming. When he was more or less together, Frank helped him stand up and waited as Jamie fixed his clothes.

He held his son at arm's length. "I don't expect to have to repeat this conversation again, Jamison."

That was the last thing Jamie wanted and through his sobs he choked out an agreement. His dad then pulled him into a hug. He held him close until Jamie pulled himself together and pulled away a few minutes later.

He wiped his face on his forearm and looked his dad in the eye. "I'm sorry," he said again.

"I know you are and you're forgiven as long as we have an understanding that this is never to happen again."

Jamie nodded in agreement. "Never."

"Good. You are grounded for six weeks with a tentative probation hearing at four weeks, if your mom and I are feeling charitable."

Jamie nodded, expecting no less.

"Go wash your face and then I want you to stay in your room until you're called for dinner."

"Yes sir," Jamie said and turned to leave the room.

"And Jamie,"

He turned at the door to look at his dad.

"I wish I could've seen you win your game."

Jamie grinned and nodded before turning again to head for the bathroom.

He fell asleep on his bed moments later and woke to Joe kneeling on his legs and tickling his midsection relentlessly while Danny and Erin attacked each armpit.

"Get off of me," he yelled, grumpy from sleep, resisting laughter as long as possible. "Alright, alright, I surrender," he finally gave in through a fit of giggles.

"It's time for dinner, Sleeping Beauty," Danny announced, smacking him in the face with a stray pillow as Joe climbed off of him, grabbed him up by the shoulder and hauled him to his feet. Jamie, still in a sleepy haze, swiped at his oldest brother, who avoided the blow with ease.

"If you don't hurry, Danny's going to get your portion of the roast," Erin added, beating the three of them to the doorway.

"You know that's true," Danny added, heading out after her.

Joe wrapped an arm around his neck and squeezed, leading him downstairs. "Don't worry, I'll kick his butt if he steals your food."

Jamie huffed at that, not reassured at all. "Yeah right," he said, but let his brother lead him downstairs, nonetheless, his stomach growling at the promise of food.

Even though Jamie had to squirm in his seat through dinner, after two servings of roast beef and potatoes, and several of his pop's stories about Hawaii, Jamie felt better than he had since Thursday morning when Charlie had approached him with this whole stupid idea. After dessert he helped Erin do the dishes and as he was putting away the last plate, she caught him off guard by sweeping him into a rare hug.

"If you hadn't scared the crap out of me, I never would've reacted that way," she said.

"I know and I'm sorry I made you worry," he answered, returning the hug. "It'll never happen again."

"I hope not." She let him go.

He played gin rummy with his siblings until he lost so many times it was embarrassing and then he let his niece treat him like a jungle gym until everyone left.

At the end of the night, when his parents sent him up to get ready for bed, Jamie felt more at peace than he had all week, despite the ache in his rear end.

XXX

"And that's the whole story," Jamie said, finishing off the last of his hot cocoa, wishing he had chosen a stronger drink to help him get through this tale.

"Man, that really sucks, Uncle Jamie," Nicky said, concentrating on her own cup.

He shrugged at her sympathy. "Again, I deserved it and I'm lucky your mom and your grandpa cared enough about me to make sure I wouldn't dare sneak off again."

"Okay, okay. I get it." Nicky threw her arms up in surrender. "I'm sorry I lied to you and mom, I'm sorry I didn't trust you. I'm just so worried about Tyler that I want him to be found right away."

Erin sighed. "Honey, we will find him, but in the mean time you have to trust that I know what I'm doing."

"Okay, I'll try to be more patient," Nicky nodded, taking a sip of her cocoa.

"And…" Erin continued, "We're still going to talk about this when I get you home."

Nicky's face reddened at the thought. "Okay, but just talk, right?" She asked.

"Just talk," Erin agreed. "I hope that at your age that would be efficient."

Nicky nodded.

"We should probably get going, tomorrow is a school day."

Nicky nodded again and stood up. "Thanks for the hot cocoa, grandpa," she said, leaning down to kiss his cheek.

"Anytime, kiddo."

"And thanks for the story, Uncle Jamie. I really am sorry I lied to you."

Jamie nodded. "You're my niece, I love doing favors for you so try not to take advantage of it."

'I won't' anymore, I promise," she said and headed out of the room. "I'll start the car," she announced over her shoulder.

Erin got to her feet and grabbed the empty cups, taking them over to the sink.

"Tomorrow is an early day for all of us," Frank spoke up, getting to his feet. "I'm going to head up to bed. Are you two okay?"

Jamie looked over at Erin, who nodded. "We're good, dad."

Jamie nodded in agreement. "I'm good if she's good."

Frank said goodnight and excused himself, seemingly satisfied. "Lock up when you leave."

Jamie waited until he could no longer hear his dad's footsteps on the stairs. "Are we good?" He asked Erin, standing up to help load the dishwasher, though there were only four cups.

Erin turned towards him and nodded. "I admit, I might've flown off the handle, but I don't like being played…not by my daughter or my brother."

"I wasn't trying to play you," Jamie insisted. "I know I should've asked more questions and I apologize for that. I won't be so unguarded next time."

Erin sighed. "I love that you love Nicky so much, I really do, especially with Jack not being around. She needs that and she appreciates it, but you can't let her cloud your judgement."

Jamie nodded. "Alright."

"So I have an early day on Wednesday. Drinks at McAllister's at 9?" She asked.

Jamie shrugged. "Sounds good."

They locked up the house together and Jamie opened the car door for his sister, taking the opportunity to say goodnight to Nicky again.

When he got into his own car he was grinning, glad that everything was okay between him and his sister.