I know... I've got too many stories going already. But this idea wouldn't let go of me, so...


February 12, 1998

"What ya doin'?"

Justin Russo glanced over at his little sister, Alex, who was standing up on tiptoe to get a better view of the countertop where her brother was working. It was almost time for her to be in bed - well, technically, it was past time for her to be in bed, but since Alex wasn't old enough to be in school yet, their parents were quite lax about her bed time.

"I'm making Valentines for the other kids in my class," Justin explained, meticulously writing his name in block letters on one of the cards. He set it aside, on the stack, and Alex stretched her arm out to pick it up, opened it, looked at it.

"What's a Valentine?" she asked, frowning at it. It said something, but at four, Alex couldn't read yet.

"Valentine's Day is supposed to be a day for..." Justin frowned for a moment, searching for the right word, then gave up, "for being nice to people. My teacher says we all have to make each other cards and say we like each other, even if we don't."

"Oh." Alex frowned, then started going through the cards, looking at each one. Justin frowned at her.

"Be careful. If you tear those up, I'll have to make them again."

"Is that when Daddy gives Mommy those red candy boxes and flowers?" Alex asked, ignoring her brother's warning.

"Yes," he answered, working on the next card.

"Oh." She set the last card back down, said, "Are you gonna give me anything?"

"What?" Justin looked at Alex. "Why would I give you something?"

"Daddy gives Mommy candy and flowers. I want candy and flowers." Alex crossed her arms and put on a pout. "You should give me them."

"Alex - Dad gives those to Mom because they're married."

Alex frowned at her brother, then said, "Well, we're gonna be married when we grow up. So you have to give me stuff."

"What?" Just shook his head, looking at his little sister again. "No, we won't. Brothers and sisters don't get married."

"Why not?" she insisted, climbing up onto the stool next to Justin.

"I don't know, they just... they just don't. Alex, go watch TV or something. I need to finish this." He turned the stool partway, to face away from her, moved the card he was working on as he did. "Besides, candy and flowers cost money, and I don't have any."

"Then make me a card. I want a Valentine too!" Frustrated by Justin's facing away from her, Alex thumped him on the shoulder.

"Wh -" Justin started, then stopped himself, annoyed at how much Alex was getting him to say 'what'. He turned and looked at her for a moment, said, "I'm making them for my class. You're not in my class, Alex - you're not even in school yet!" he said, then turned back to what he was doing.

"Justin! Make me a card!"

"Alex, I can't!" Justin told her, not looking at her this time. "We only got enough - there's not any extra. Now please find something else to do - I'm busy!" He signed another card, hoping Alex would go away, but inwardly sure she wouldn't; Dad was downstairs in the sub station, closing up, while Mom was busy giving Max a bath. And if Mom hadn't waited until the last minute to get the cards, I'd have this done already. It was only the 12th, but the 14th was a Saturday, so his kindergarten class was going to have their Valentine's Day party tomorrow... and so he needed to get all twenty cards done before bedtime.

Justin being Justin, he couldn't just write his name on all of them, stuff them in the envelopes, then write the other kids' names on those. Instead, he was writing a personalized message to each of his classmates, ignoring the fact that several of them couldn't read yet.

He finished another, set it on the stack, carefully not even glancing in Alex's direction. These days, with Mom busy a lot of the time with Max, she'd taken to following him around, poking into everything he was doing. As much as he loved his little sister, sometimes it got annoying - and when he was around other kids his age, it wasn't cool to have your little brother or sister following you, so...

Justin stopped then as he heard a sniffling sound. Turning around, he saw that Alex had moved away, and was over on the couch now, sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest, looking away from him. He turned back away, opened the next card and started to write on it, then stopped when he heard the sound again.

Setting his pen down, Justin slipped off the kitchen stool and padded over to the couch as silently as he could, then craned his neck to look at Alex without her seeing. She'd turned on the TV, and was staring toward it as DeeDee smashed her brother Dexter's latest experiment.

He started to reach out to touch Alex's shoulder - and just then, their Mom came down the stairs, carrying little Max. "Alex, turn that off," she said, and Justin turned to look at her. "It's time for you to go to bed. Justin, finish your cards up, and then you need to go too."

"Okay," Justin said, and hurried back over to the counter to resume work. As Alex got up and started up the stairs, though, he couldn't keep from looking, trying to tell if she'd been crying or not.

"Mommy, am I going to marry Justin when I grow up?"

Theresa raised her eyebrows at Alex's question, then smiled and shook her head, patting Alex's arm as she did. "No, mija. It's sweet that you want to, though."

Alex frowned cutely, looking up at her mother. "Why not?"

"It's... it's hard to explain," Theresa said. "But when you get older, you'll understand." She put a hand on her daughter's shoulder, looking down at Alex in her pajamas, looking cute and snug in her bed. "Why do you ask?"

"He was making Valentines, and I told him he should get me flowers and candy, like Daddy gets you. But he said no," Alex said, finishing with a pout.

"Oh... I see." Theresa nodded seriously, trying hard to keep the smile off her face. "Well, you know your father and I always get you something. And who knows, maybe someone else will too. Now, good night, mija." She bent down, kissed Alex on the forehead, then adjusted the blankets around her, even though it was completely unnecessary.

Theresa walked to the door, looked back at her daughter, said, "Sweet dreams," then flicked out the light.

It was Justin's turn next. He was, of course, sitting up in bed reading when she came in, and Theresa smiled at that. He'd somehow managed to teach himself to read, just from looking at the books while she and Jerry would read aloud to him, and sometimes it was hard to get him to stop.

Seeing his mother come in, Justin dutifully stuck a bookmark on the page he was on, carefully closed the book, then set it on his nightstand. Sitting back up, he presented his cheek for Theresa to kiss, then scooted down into the bed. She reached for the light, and just before her hand reached it, Justin spoke.

"Mom," he said, then stopped, the words, Was Alex okay? on his lips. But he held them back, knowing Alex liked to try to be a big girl, and if she had been crying... if she wanted their Mom to know, she'd tell her...

"Yes?" she asked, snapping Justin back to the moment.

"Can I have some water, please?" he asked instead. She brought it, then wished him good night and turned off the light.

Justin turned on his side and stared at his night light, frowning as he wondered if his little sister was crying in her room. A few minutes later, he heard his mom's steps on the stairs as she went back down, and then quietly slipped out of his bed.