18.

"Got any weekend plans?" Johnna asked, glancing over at Hayes before scribbling down some more notes.

The weekend? Hayes scrunched her nose. She was just trying to get through Thursday, taking it one day at a time. "Not that I know of," Hayes replied. "I think Austin wants us to wash his car?" Scratch that, she knew they were washing the cars this weekend. Something about sibling bonding through manual labor. Free labor was more like it.

"That's fun. Good ole' bonding time with the brothers."

"Exactly like that," Hayes mumbled, trying to listen to the teacher as he droned on and on about biology.

"I wish my older brothers were home. Being with Abe all the time is boring and he annoys the hell out of me. Oh," Johnna excitedly slapped Hayes' arm multiple times, "That's what I was getting to. I have a soccer tournament this weekend so I won't be here tomorrow. I wanted to warn you that you'll have to face our brothers by yourself at lunch."

"That's alright." She was used to being the only girl. "Um, good luck." Hayes offered as an afterthought.

"Thanks! I could always use the good luck though, not gonna lie, our team is pretty much the best in the county. I know basketball is your jam and all, but do you play soccer?"

A stern cough from their teacher interrupted their conversation before Hayes could respond. "Pay attention, ladies. This will be on your test next week."

Hayes blushed, hating the feeling of being reprimanded, and sunk lower in her seat.

"Sorry, Mr. Brandt," Johnna apologized with a sheepish grin. "Won't happen again."

The bell rang a couple minutes later dismissing the class for their fifth period. "Soooo, like I was saying, soccer?" Johnna bounced along next to Hayes as they walked the halls.

"I know how to play, yes." Hayes shrugged. It was a favorite activity of her old PE coach and she enjoyed it, being one of the rare girls who actually put effort into playing. The rest of her girl classmates liked to form circles and gossip like no tomorrow.

"Sweet! Now you'll have to tag along when we play at the park."

"I didn't say I was good." Hayes warned, tugging on her backpack straps. She should have known Johnna was going to trap her into plans. But the more she thought about, the more fun it began to sound like. Maybe she'd even make some more friends while doing something she enjoyed; playing sports!

"That's true," Johnna laughed, "I bet you're good though. But if you're so worried about not being good, I'm sure with the number of brothers you have, one of them must play soccer. They can bring you up to speed." Johnna wasn't going to let her off the hook that easy.

The girls approached the hallway crossroads where they'd separate until lunch. Although only knowing each other for four days thus far, they quickly picked up a routine. Johnna would turn right to head to her history class and Hayes would continue on to Italian class.

"See you at lunch," Johnna waved as she fell into the flow of moving students.

Hayes replayed the conversation in her head as she walked, her arms swinging aimlessly at her side while holding on to the backpack straps. She had to admit, Johnna made a good point. One of her brothers did play soccer, Dakota. Or, at least he used too.

She was so distracted by her thoughts that she hadn't realized she reached her classroom until she walked directly into another body. She rebounded off of them, catching her balance after a little stumble.

Rubbing her nose, she glanced up much to her annoyance to Francis' smirk. "Fancy seeing you here, Sissy." He had seen her walking down the hall with no awareness of what was going on around her. The perfect opportunity to start some trouble.

"Francesca," she mocked, taking a chapter out of Dakota's book. The scowl on her face didn't last long since she couldn't fight the instinctual smile that appeared when she saw her siblings.

"Hardy har har and I was going to buy you a cookie today." Francis spun on his feet and entered the classroom with a dramatic flair.

"Wait, wait," Hayes hurried after him, sending a polite smile to their teacher in greeting as she looked up at them from her desk. Hayes stood beside Francis' chair, watching him casually toss his backpack onto the table. "Francis, I have a serious question for you."

"How serious?" Francis asked, taking his sweet time to sit down.

"Umm, super duper?" Hayes answered unsure of herself. "It's about Dakota."

"Ew no." Francis deadpanned, watching Hayes begin to frown. He was only kidding. It was part of the job as older brother to tease his younger siblings. He should know, because he had to be the youngest child for the past several years and was constantly 'bullied' by his elders.

"Okay, come on I'm only joking Sissy," Francis grabbed her backpack, stopping her from walking away. "You can ask me anything." Francis raised his eyebrows, encouraging her to speak. He was curious about what she wanted to know. His little sister was an inquisitive thing, but usually had Glen as her mouth piece. "Try me."

"Do you think he'd play soccer with me?" Hayes fiddled with the backpack straps some more revealing her anxiety. "Johnna invited me to play soccer at the park sometime, but I could use the practice and I thought that maybe since Dakota used to play, that he'd help me? But I don't want to ask him if he's just going to say no. Ah, never mind. Forget I said anything. I don't want to annoy him. I know he doesn't play anymore. Sorry for bothering you, Francis." Hayes talked herself out of that fleeting thought, not even giving Francis a second to respond before finding her own seat for class.

Rolling his eyes at his sister's lack of courage, he pulled his phone out of his backpack. If she wasn't going to ask, then Francis would do it for her.

Taking matters into his own hand, Francis sent Dakota a text message. Honestly, he didn't know how Dakota would respond. They called him moody Dakota for a reason.

————

Hayes slowly walked up the stairs, her hand dancing on the banister as she went. It was Thursday night so the siblings were all at Baker's home for their weekly dinner. Glen had disappeared halfway through dinner claiming another headache so Baker told him to lay down in their guest room. Austin had checked on him a little while ago and now she was doing her due diligence as his sister to go wake up him.

He had a headache every day this week and the siblings were beginning to get worried. Currently unbeknownst to the kids, Austin made them a doctor's appointment on Monday morning for a check-up. It was a necessity in order for them to play sports for the school but also he wanted to make sure they were as healthy as they could be. With Glen's headaches, it was perfect timing.

As Hayes walked down the hallway, she kept a look out for a particular picture that hung on the wall. She wanted to make sure she wasn't crazy. Glen hadn't seemed too concerned about it when she finally got to speak to him with no interruptions but Glen also had a talent for hiding his feelings when he thought they'd worry her.

The picture... It wasn't there. That's weird, she could have sworn it was suppose to be the last photo but instead there was a picture from Emerson's weekend birthday bash with all 8 siblings. Their first family photo since the return of the blonde babies, as Dakota would say. A sense of warmth over came her as she stared at their joyous faces.

"Hey," someone mumbled, sounding as if they just woke up.

Hayes turned her head to see Glen sluggishly walking toward her. One hand was scratching his chest, the other rubbing his eye. Her lips curved up into a smile at the classic post-nap behavior.

"I was just coming to wake you," Hayes replied, snuggling close to him as he hugged her. He laid his cheek on the top of her head, letting his eyes close again. He wasn't really awake but he wanted to go home to his own bed. "How's your head?" she asked quietly.

"Hurts."

"Maybe Austin has medicine -"

"No." Glen grumbled, cutting her off. Hayes frowned, but knew not to push the issue because she was the same way. They would never take medicine if they could help it. From a young age, they saw what abuse of drugs could do to a person and at the time, they had no guidance to differentiate good medicine from bad choices so they just said no to all medications.

It was brutal at some points, such as when Glen accidentally broke his arm. But they were too traumatized, not wanting to take any chances to turn out like their mother. Not wanting to do anything their mother did.

"Okay," Hayes relented. The two stood embraced in silence, enjoying each other's company for the time being. Sometimes they just needed a moment together away from the watchful eye of their older siblings to reboot. It could get overwhelming at times when they were so used to just being the two of them. Overwhelming and very loud.

"Glen," Hayes chewed her lip, her thoughts returning to what she was originally stuck on, "Remember the picture I was telling you about?"

"Hmm," Glen half-heartedly replied. How could he forget?

"It's gone."

Glen reluctantly opened his eyes, scouring the wall before him for the particular picture that was driving his sister insane. 'A girl who looked just like their mother,' was what Hayes told him. She was right, there was nothing like the sorts.

"Hayes," Glen stood up straight and placed his hands on her shoulders, his voice quickly turning serious. He had to say this before his head started pounding again. She looked at him, wide-eyed, trusting, willing to listen to anything he had to say. He briefly removed one hand to rub his forehead before putting it back. Damn headache. "Hayes, I'm pulling rank. Listen to me, do not dig."

"Glen, that's not fair," Hayes protested. She now had confirmation that Glen knew something that he wasn't sharing.

"Please, Hayes," Glen pleaded, "Please, please don't. Just let me figure it out first."

"The last time you said that..."

"Please."

Hayes slowly nodded. She'd drop it for now. Not like she had the guts to bring it up to her eldest brothers in the first place, but now Glen was stone-walling her too. She didn't like it. She really didn't like it because it meant something serious. But it was Glen, and she trusted Glen with her whole heart.

"Yo, Sissy, baby bro," Francis was climbing up the stairs to them. "Baker has to tell us something."

"What?" Hayes asked curiously, glancing at Francis and breaking up their staring contest.

"That's what we're about to find out," Francis said in a duh tone. He waited for the two kids to make their way to the stairs before turning and flying back down the stairs. Glen would have rolled his eyes at his brother if it didn't hurt his head. Francis had two speeds, either sloth slow or bouncing off the walls. Was that hypocritical? Maybe, but at least Glen also had the normal homosapien speed as well.

The rest of their older brothers and Peyton were already settled in the family room by the time they reached the bottom step. Hayes hurried forward and took the open spot next to Austin, leaving Glen to sit on the smaller couch with Colton. If Glen hadn't known any better, he'd say she was a bit mad at him. Okay, so she was a tiny bit upset at him but also she'd never miss the opportunity to snuggle with Austin.

He wasn't worried.

Glen's eyes flickered to where Baker was standing with a look of apprehension on his face as he faced his siblings. But now he was. Glen felt his stomach drop, not getting good vibes from this, whatever it was he had to share. He also didn't like the look of sadness on Peyton's face. The atmosphere was turning into one of gloom and doom.

Baker nervously rubbed his hands together, before clearing his throat. "My unit has been selected for deployment." Glen and Hayes looked at each other in confusion, not quite sure what that meant. "Nothing major. One of our partnered police departments is having trouble and requested assistance," Baker added.

"When do you leave?" Francis asked sullenly. Glen noticed that no one was necessarily surprised at the news besides himself and Hayes, so this must have happened before.

"Wednesday." So sudden and so soon?

"How long?" Dakota questioned, crossing his arms. He tried to be nonchalant but his brothers saw past his act. Dakota hated his brother leaving just as much as any one of them.

"They said plan for a month, could take longer, could be shorter." Baker replied, taking in his youngest siblings' forlorn expressions, "Hey, it'll go by so quick you won't even notice I'm gone. Plus Lindsey is coming and no one would dare mess with that scary bastard."

Glen rubbed his forehead, unable to handle anymore information. Baker was leaving for one month. Emerson just left yesterday. Who's next? Francis was going to college next year. Colton and Dakota were both adults and could technically go whenever they wanted. And who was to say Austin wouldn't just up and leave them, too? They said they wouldn't ever leave, but words were just words in the end. In his mind, actions were more powerful.

Good gosh, he was starting to sound like Hayes. He needed to stop jumping to conclusions because this nonsense wasn't helping his headache.

Stop panicking.

What did he truly know? For starters, he didn't even know Baker could be deployed. He was on SWAT. Wasn't deployment a military term?

Additionally, he also knew Baker may be gone for one month. Maybe.

As the news settled in his brain, the color drained from his face. Baker was going to be gone for one month. He'd miss their birthdays. Oh, Hayes was going to be devastated. She had been so excited after Emerson's birthday too.

This would have been their first real birthday celebration since before their world was changed. They never celebrated their birthdays with the Bear but Glen made sure that the two of them took the time to remember their special days. Then when the Rayon family took them under their wings, Deja took over with her motherly ways. Their two-person celebration turned into 5 with an ice cream cake.

His mind skimmed over what else Baker would potentially be missing. His basketball games, for one. Abe accidentally let it slip that Colton was going to officially let him on the varsity team. He was going to miss his first game ever in two weeks. That was something Glen was looking forward to share the experience with his siblings. His own little fan club.

Maybe he deserved this. Maybe he had too high expectations for his brothers and now it was his own fault that he was disappointed. It was his fault that Hayes was going through more heartache. Trust me. Trust them. Wasn't he just telling her to trust him about the picture? The irony. How could he expect her to trust him when he led her astray like this.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"You okay, bud?" Colton's voice broke through his thoughts as a hand started running through his short hair.

"Yeah," Glen muttered lifting his head up. He must've of blocked out the rest of Baker's news as he filtered through his own thoughts, because everyone seemed to have broken off into groups. Baker, Dakota, and Francis were no where to be seen. His eyes quickly darted around to find Hayes who remained sitting on the couch being consoled by Austin. He watched her as she hastily rubbed her eyes before Austin grabbed her hands, wiping away her tears with his thumbs instead.

She was crying.

"Hey, hey don't get up." Colton pushed his shoulder back so he'd remain seated.

"Hayes needs me," Glen protested, but his body listened to Colton. His strength was gone.

"Austin's with her. You need to regain some color back to your face before you go thinking about other people." Colton's hand met his forehead then his cheeks checking for a temperature. His brothers all did the same thing constantly during the week. But he wasn't sick, he just had a headache.

When Colton finally stopped 'mothering' him, Glen groaned and dropped his head to his hands. Why did Baker have to go? Baker said he'd never leave them. He broke his promise.

Glen felt so incredibly stupid.

He had been so careful his whole life on who to trust, trying to keep himself and Hayes safe. Yet as soon as the opportunity arose, he was hook, line, and sinker. Trust. He was the one who pushed Hayes to embrace the change. He went all in, yearning to be accepted and loved by his brothers. He deserved to be loved, didn't he?

Look where that got them.

Maybe it was always meant to just be him and Hayes. Us against the world, that's what kept them together.

"You think really loud," Colton noted, resuming running his fingers through Glen's hair. When he felt Glen relax, Colton smirked. No Powers sibling was immune to the soothing notion, a habit picked up by all the brothers from Austin. Even Dakota, on the rare occasions that he allowed it, succumbed to the comfort.

"No, thanks." Glen wasn't even sure he knew what Colton said, just saying anything to get him off his back.

Colton thought he had a good idea of what was running through his little brother's head. It wasn't unlike what all the brothers went through the first time Baker had an away assignment. The three eldest brothers recognized the same signs of attachment in the youngest siblings, and expected that it would be difficult for them. Hell, Francis still experienced separation anxiety and he was almost 18. Emerson came home for visits whenever he could. Dakota was simply special. And Not to mention that he, Colton, a grown man with a legitimate job, was still living at home.

Granted nothing could beat free rent, but he also loved his family and couldn't see himself moving out anytime soon.

It was hard not to be attached to each other when that was all they had.

"What you're feeling right now, we all feel it," Colton spoke gently, "it hurts a lot when someone you love has to leave. Whether it be a day, a week-"

"years," Glen muttered with distaste. His mood was rapidly dropping. He blamed the headache for being unable to snap out of it.

"Just because someone is gone, the love remains." Colton patted Glen's chest right by his heart.

"You sound like Patrick," Hayes popped up in between them, startling them apart. While the two had been engaged in conversation, she had sneakily climbed onto the couch, stepping behind Colton's back to force her way into the middle of them.

"I'm going to check on them outside," Austin offered as an apology for the interruption by Hayes. Just as quick as he appeared, Austin was off again, planting a quick kiss on Glen's head as he passed.

Austin loved them, there was no doubt about that. His actions and his words spoke levels whether it be a quick head kiss, a squeeze of the shoulder, or simply saying 'I love you.'

"This Patrick sounds like a smart guy," Colton said, wrapping his arm around Hayes' waist to support her. She was leaning on her knees, precariously balanced on the edge of couch.

"He is," Glen confirmed, "you'd like him. He taught us everything we know about basketball."

"Well I hope I get to meet him." Colton watched as Hayes teetered for a second while she wiped her nose on her sweatshirt sleeve. Instead of waiting for her to topple, he swiftly pulled her onto her lap so she sat sideways. Only now her feet dangled next to Glen, giving her the temptation to kick his legs.

"Stop, Sunshine," Colton halted her movements with his other hand but it didn't matter. Glen ignored her anyways, used to her childish regression whenever she was overly upset or when her mind was so overwhelmed that she couldn't think anymore, or as in this case, probably both.

Hayes sniffled and shoved her head against his shirt, feeling extra sensitive to Colton's chiding.

"Did you know?" Glen asked.

"Know about Baker's trip?" Colton downplayed his words and hid his own worries about it. Glen nodded. "Yeah, he told me last night."

"And Austin?"

"He knew too," Colton squeezed Glen's shoulder. It sucked being in the dark, something that Glen was still getting used too. Someone else controlled what knowledge was deemed important or not. Someone else was looking out for his well-being. "Don't worry so much, you heard Baker. He'll be back before you know it."

Glen appreciated Colton's attempt to reassure him but didn't agree. Nonetheless, Glen gave a grim smile, muttering, "sure."

But the truth was, he missed Baker already.

————

Glen strolled into the kitchen, feeling pretty good on this lovely Friday morning. His headache was gone, like every morning and he kept his fingers crossed it would stay gone. They didn't have basketball practice after school but Austin said if he has a headache today then he couldn't go to Saturday morning's practice. Which meant Hayes probably wouldn't go either and he didn't need to give her any reason to be grumpy at him.

"Good morning, Smiley," Austin greeted him, glancing up from his computer screen.

"Where's Hayes?" Glen frowned, immediately noticing his sister was no where to be seen. By now, he'd have been attacked by her, in what she called a hug, spreading her post-run smelliness to him. Hayes was weird.

"Bathroom, taking a shower." Austin took a sip of his coffee, before standing up. "What can I get you to eat?"

"Already? Is she okay? Did she eat breakfast?" Glen ignored his question, a little bit confused. Hayes was acting out of routine which meant she was probably still upset about last night. So was he, but Hayes didn't typically avoid Austin. Though she did go running with him this morning so that was good.

"No, not yet." Austin said more slowly. Glen nodded, debating on whether to go check on her or not. Austin didn't seem concerned so maybe he should either. But then again, he liked to think he knew Hayes better than Austin having spent the last several years with her. Meh.

Deciding against it, Glen looked back at Austin thinking about his next move. The time was now or never to ask questions. Hayes or any of their brothers could come in at any time.

"Hey Austin, can I ask you a question?" Glen propped his arms on top of one of the chairs.

"Yes, always. What's up?" Austin replied, analyzing him. He closed the laptop lid, taking his seat again. Glen now had his full and undivided attention.

"Well, maybe it's not a question but more of a comment? But, umm, well Hayes noticed something and," Glen paused, scratching his head before clasping his hands together. Where was his courage?

Austin continued to watch him, waiting for him to continue. He sat back in his chair, trying to be as least intimidating to the boy as possible.

"Austin, I know," Glen blurted out, making Austin raise his eyebrows. "Hayes saw a picture at Baker's house and she recognized her somewhat but couldn't place her. But Austin, I think I know who she is."

"Know who who is, Glen?" Austin asked carefully.

"Lotte." He had to be right, it was the only plausible explanation for who the girl could have been in the photo. But why would the brothers want to keep her a secret? That part he hadn't figured out yet. All he knew was he also wanted nothing to do with her, wanted Hayes to have nothing to do with her.

Austin rubbed a hand over his mouth as he took in what Glen said, revealing nothing as he was the master of hiding his true thoughts behind a neutral face. Glen was right, of course, though now the question was how much did he know. A game that Austin did not want to play knowing the young kids would only be hurt in the end. Exactly what he had been hoping to avoid in the first place.

"Just, just don't tell Hayes, please. She's been through so much. This could," Glen started pacing, he couldn't help it. "This could trigger some real terrors in her mind, Austin. There's a lot of stuff locked away that she should never have to worry about again."

"Glen, hey," Austin stood up and walked over to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. He was reminded in moments like this that yes, Glen was wise beyond his years, having experienced more than he ever should have, but he was also just a kid himself.

Austin hesitated as he could hear their siblings starting to awaken throughout the house. He knew he needed to get this message across before they were inevitably interrupted. "You both have been through the trenches and made it out. Don't downplay your own strength and survival. As for Lotte, I promise we'll sit down and talk, but not right now."

"When?" Glen asked. For one, he had a secret of his own about Lotte that he should probably share. It was a memory that had suddenly popped into his head last night. He was noticing that the more time he spent around his brothers, the more recollection he gained, some good some bad, of his childhood including the early moments of living with the Bear. It was kind of crazy how the mind went into survival mood, blocking out trauma in order to process the world.

Secondly, Glen was worried that if he didn't press the issue, he'd never get his answers. Which meant Hayes wouldn't get her answers and he could only hold her off for so long.

"This weekend, bud. We will find a time, I promise."

There it was again, promises. Glen crossed his arms, fighting the urge to automatically agree to anything Austin said. He chewed it over in his mind, before coming to the conclusion that this was the best offer he'd get.

"This weekend?" Glen repeated.

Austin nodded, "Absolutely."

————

Was 6 pm too early to go to bed? Because Hayes was asking for herself. The early morning runs, the afternoon practices, and of course the emotionally draining Thursday night dinner, could really take a toll on a person.  She didn't get much sleep last night, her mind buzzing the whole time about how she was upset at Baker for having to leave and mad at herself for how she completely sidestepped his hug on the way out. What if she never saw him again and his last memory of her would be when she denied his love?

Hayes beat herself up over it for most of the day until finally Colton noticed her distress after school. On the way home, he made a pit stop at Baker's house so she could fix it. They were only there for two minutes but she felt a whole lot better now.

Using her arms as a pillow, Hayes laid her head down on the table. Might as well take a nap until the food arrived.

"Don't do that, the table is gross," Colton scolded her from across the table.

"But I'm tired," she whined, nonetheless picking her head up. They were at the local pizza dinery for some Friday night pizza so she had to exhibit some table manners. Mama Deja didn't raise animals.

Dakota's arm made its way across her shoulders, his hand gently nudging her head against his shoulder. "You're my favorite," Hayes mumbled, laying her head down on his shoulder. She curled her legs in so she was tucked against him.

"Hey, I thought I was your favorite." Francis took offense to that.

"Suckers," Dakota mocked him, gracing him with his middle fingers.

"Why are you even fighting about it?" Glen asked, "We all know I'm her favorite." Hayes giggled, finding their banter amusing. To be honest, she'd find anything hilarious with how tired she was at the moment.

Francis rolled his eyes and picked up his unused straw. Unwrapping it just enough, he brought the straw to his mouth and aimed it so the wrapper would hit Glen right in the face. Before Glen noticed, Francis blew into the straw, sending it flying. Bull's eye!

"You're such a child," Glen, also a child, said condescendingly to Francis before doing the exact same thing with his straw. Only it didn't quite make it to Francis' face, making the brothers burst out in laughter.

"Oh Smiley, you got to up your game if you want to play with the big boys," Francis teased, crinkling up the wrapper and chucking it back at Glen's face.

"Yeah and who the fuck let you into our club?" Dakota asked Francis, swirling his glass around in his left hand. His right hand was laid protectively on Hayes' arm.

"No one," Colton laughed, pushing Francis' head down towards the table in a rare display of joining the shenanigans. It was second nature for the brothers to gang up on one another, as Francis complained about many times before. No one ever seemed to listen to him.

"Where's Austin? It's been like an hour already. I want pizza." Francis complained, pushing Colton away from him. When Colton didn't budge, Francis sighed loudly and slid closer towards Dakota. Stuck in the middle of the two in the back of the booth, Dakota was the lesser of the bullies at the moment.

"It's been 10 minutes, " Colton chuckled at Francis, "And he's been standing over there talking to some woman." From where Colton sat, he was able to watch the whole scene play out from the beginning. Austin had been standing to the side watching the television when the lady came up to wait for her order as well.

The brothers' heads all whipped around to see what Colton was talking about. "Hell yeah, he's talking to a lady. I have a good idea," an evil glint filled Francis' eyes.

"You never have good ideas," Glen said drily, tossing a sugar packet in Francis's direction. Glen had been making a pyramid out of the packets to keep him entertained.

"Yes I do! And this one is really good," Francis retorted, his eyes landing on Hayes.

"Nooo, I'm tired," Hayes turned her head into Dakota's shoulder. She wanted no part of his plan.

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask." Francis pouted. "Please Sissy? Please, please, please, please."

"Holy shit, shut the fuck up and tell us already," Dakota cut him off.

"Okay!" Francis grinned, "Sissy, I need you to go to Austin and call him 'daddy.'"

Before he could stop himself, Colton snorted so loudly and Glen's eyebrows were almost to his hairline, while Dakota just leveled Francis with a blank stare. How was he related to this idiot?

"No." Hayes stated. She didn't even want to look over at Austin to see who he was talking to, so why would she voluntarily walk up to them?

"But it would be funny! And you're the only person who could pass as his kid. Well Glen too, he's still got the baby vibes, but pleaseeee Sissy. For me?" Francis shot her a cheesy smile, one that made her want to smile back.

No, be strong Hayes.

She ducked her head back into Dakota's shoulder, shaking her head.

"You're such a party pooper," Francis moaned. "Wait, what if I gave you $10?"

"Don't bribe your sister." Colton said.

"Okay, sorry. $20?" Francis asked, flinching when Colton slapped the back of his head.

Glen chuckled, "$20 and a chocolate chip cookie might do it."

"Oooh, good idea. Thanks baby bro. How's that sound, Sissy?"

"$20 and 5 chocolate chip cookies." Hayes declared, glancing at Glen to see him wink at her before looking at Francis. She caught Colton shaking his head at their antics and Dakota squeezed her arm in approval.

"Deal." Francis agreed, so Hayes reluctantly sat up straight again, ready to go. "You have to really sell it though. Otherwise you only get 3 cookies."

Hayes rolled her eyes, scooting out of the booth. "5 cookies, regardless." She stood her ground, making Dakota proud. When Francis finally relented and gave her the confirming head nod, Hayes grinned. Show time.

Walking down the aisle between the tables, Hayes faced Austin's back. He wouldn't see her coming until she was by his side, meaning this could go one of two ways. Good, he played along. Or bad, he looked at her weirdly and the whole situation could become even more awkward and uncomfortable for her than it already was.

Oh well, either way she was $20 and 5 cookies richer.

She could feel her brothers' stares on her back as she got closer to her target. Mustering up some enthusiasm to hide any signs that she was dead on her feet, Hayes moved in.

"Daaaaaaad," Hayes whined, instantly catching Austin's attention. He was tuned into his siblings' voices like a hawk. "Is the pizza almost ready? I'm starving." She should get an Oscar award for this performance.

"Hi baby," Austin turned around to see his sister standing there. He lifted his arm so she could snuggle against his side, pressing a kiss against her head to hide his smile. Without a doubt he knew one of his brothers put her up to this.

"Aww, cute. I didn't know you had a daughter, Austin." The woman said, smiling at the two.

Think of the cookies was definitely Hayes' mantra in this moment. "I'm the youngest, and the favorite." Hayes grinned up at Austin. His eyes twinkled in amusement as he poked her nose.

"I have two kids, which is more than enough for me. Though sometimes it feels like many more." Austin replied, looking back to the woman. Hayes could hear the laughter in his voice. Good, he was playing along. "Hayes, this is my colleague Leah. She just started working at my office. Leah, this is my little Sunshine, Hayes."

Hayes waved, the feeling of bravery lost in the wind as she clung closer to Austin. She did her job, and now she was ready to disappear.

"Order 273, order 273, your food is ready" the worker called out.

"That's me. It was nice meeting you Hayes. I'll see you on Monday, Austin." Leah smiled at them again, waving goodbye after she grabbed her food.

Once they were alone, Austin let out a chuckle, wrapping Hayes into a proper hug. "Y'all are a piece of work, you know that?" He asked, kissing her head again.

"But you love us," Hayes grinned.

"But I love my siblings," Austin agreed.

The rest of dinner flew by with more laughter and banter amongst the family. Austin was a good sport, relaying the events of Hayes' act to the group. Francis was satisfied with her performance and told Austin to pay her $20. Austin did so, but not before sending Francis a stern look to reiterate Colton's rule of not bribing their sister to do his dirty work.

As punishment, Colton teasingly ordered Francis to wash his car as well as Austin's that weekend. That lead to Dakota suggesting that the babies might as well wash all their cars.

Hayes and Glen didn't really care, they were just happy to be involved with their brothers' activities. But if Dakota was even remotely afraid of Francis, he would have been 6 feet under from Francis' glare.

As they were finishing up, Glen felt the familiar start of a headache forming and excused himself to use the bathroom real quick. He was hoping maybe splashing some water on his face would help. He just had to last until they got home without anyone picking up on it. That way practice was still a green light for tomorrow morning.

When Glen was done, he left the bathroom and walked back down the corridor. The restaurant was picking up in noise and business as the late dinner crowds were coming.

He turned the corner, choosing to walk by the front area to get to the table. Glancing around at the various people, his eyes suddenly zeroed in on someone. Oh fuck. Was that who he thought it was?

Ducking down a random aisle hoping he wasn't spotted, he zig-zagged his way back to his siblings as fast as he could. This was so not good.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Dakota observed Glen, as he stood at the edge of the table, out of breath. His panic adrenaline was rising with each rise and fall of his chest. Glen couldn't decide if it was his mind playing tricks on him or if this was real. Either way, he couldn't risk not telling Austin.

They all turned to Glen. "You feeling okay? Do you have another headache?" Austin had to agree with Dakota, reaching out to feel Glen's forehead with the back of his hand. He looked sickly pale.

Glen pushed Austin's hand away. "I'm fine. Can we go now?" Glen asked, urgency in his voice. That got Austin's attention, his mind racing to figure out what spooked Glen. He had only left to go to the bathroom minutes ago.

"What happened?" Colton frowned, sliding over to get out of the booth.

"I think we need to go, like right now." Glen's face got paler if it was even possible. He was laser focused on where the lady was. "She's coming. Austin, we need to leave. Please, Austin." Glen grabbed Austin's arm trying to hurry him out of the booth.

"Glen, what is going on?" Austin asked. But it was too late.

"Hello brothers!" Glen watched the lady approach their table. All the brothers tensed. They knew that voice and there was only one other girl who could call them that, besides Hayes.

Austin immediately stood up, putting himself in front of Glen to provide a physical protective barrier. Dakota's arm wrapped around Hayes' stomach, pulling her against him in a protective hold. Her eyes were wide in shock. Instead of fight or flight, her body chose freeze.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Austin. Was. Pissed.

~~author's note~~

Happy Sunday, y'all. I think it's about time things start getting juicy!!!

Unfortunately I don't have the brain cells to remember some of the internal thoughts of the Powers siblings so apologies if I repeat (which, guilty, I probably do) many times. My schooling takes up most of the available space in my brain. Just know, I'm not in school to be a writer 😅

Until next time homies,

CollegeGirl2015