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Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy =)
Chapter One-Hundred-Seventeen




By the time Kevin and Brian finished giving the kids a bath Jackie and Denise had walked in the house with the Pizza. Harold looked at his wife confused as they came in.



"What took you so long getting back? Aje is probably nearing New York by now."



"We stopped at a few stores on the way back," Jackie admitted, as she set the boxes of pizza onto the counter. "It's not every day that I have another woman around to shop with. Where is Brian?" she asked when she looked around at everybody and noticed that her son is missing. "And Kevin?"



"Upstairs giving Josh and Ellie a bath. Ellie decided she was going to torture Josh for her own amusement and it resulted to a huge mud fight in the backyard." Nick explained, smiling a little as he sat at the table with Dakota still cradled in his arms — Dakota who had been very silent ever since she heard 'Aint That Cute' playing. Jackie laughed a little.



"My, doesn't that sound familiar," She replied, looking over at her eldest son with a small smile on her face. Harry smirked.



"I was just saying the same thing. Kev needs to get a move on, on adopting her because we all know that he eventually will, I mean he is perfect with her and those kids will make great cousins — they are practically like brother and sister."



"Well, you never know, he'll come around." Howie replied, suppressing his grin in order to keep Kevin's secret, and he went and got paper plates down for everybody. When Kevin had pulled the plug to the tub in the hallway bathroom, he grabbed the towel he was using earlier and looked at Elenore. He held his hand out to her and she took a hold of it allowing him to help her up so she is standing and he wrapped the towel around her and scooped her up into his arms cradling her. He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead softly.



"That's better, now I can see my pretty girl's face." Elenore beamed up at him and snuggled into his arms.


"How come you didn'ts get me in trouble Kevy?"



"Cause Brian and I have learned that fighting is just what the two of you do and there's nothing we can do to stop you. Besides, mud fights are natural for little kids. Brian, Harry, and I got into plenty." Elenore smiled up at him and he smiled back before once again kissing her forehead as he carried her out of the bathroom and across the hall to their room. When he got her in there he set her down on the bed and went and dug through her drawer for some pajamas.



~*~*~*~*~*~



Meanwhile, in Florida, Doctor Johnson ended up giving his big long speech at lunchtime and just like Brandon had told him, the kids just loved him for it. They spent all day long cleaning the entire Orphanage, and by the time four o' clock came around, he finally told them they could stop. Some went off to play, and others went off to take a nap. Chris, however, who was grounded, had to go straight back to his room. Jennifer made him take part in the cleaning and he wasn't very happy about it at all because he was no way involved in the breakout that happened the other night. But Jennifer told him maybe it would teach him not to have an attitude with her and refuse bedtime anymore. As Chris sat in his room around five thirty, he angrily tossed his basketball against the wall, muttering things like "stupid Josh" and "I hate him" and "I'm going to give him a piece of my mind when he gets back". Jennifer walked into his room then to check on him and she rolled her eyes.



"Will you stop tossing that ball at the wall? You are going to disturb someone in the next room." Chris stared at her annoyed for a moment, than he rolled over and began throwing the ball at Josh's wall instead. Jennifer scowled, and she went over and grabbed the ball from him.



"HEY! Give it back!"



"I asked you to stop throwing the ball against the wall. You aren't even supposed to have this, I took all of your toys away where did this come from?" Chris looked at her sheepishly suddenly.



"I hid it in Josh's room…"



"Oh really? Well then I guess you really haven't learned your lesson yet, have you? You can stay in your room another day. If you want to play with your friends you will knock this behavior off Christopher. Chris shrugged and rolled over facing the other way as a single tear rolled down his cheek. Jennifer saw this and she sighed and went and sat next to him, and she rubbed her hand over his back. She sat there with him in silence for a few moments, before speaking again.



"I don't mean to be the bad guy…I know you are hurting right now because of Josh leaving you…and trust me I feel for you, I really do. But that is no reason that you need to be acting like this. You could be down there playing with your other friends Chris…you know? So why do you have to be like this?"



"It's not the same without him" Jennifer sighed not knowing what to do. She sat there with him for awhile, and then got up.



"I'll be up here with your dinner in a little while," she told him gently, and she turned and left the room, shutting the door behind her. She went downstairs to find Doctor Johnson in the lobby with Brandon who she can't help but notice is almost as gorgeous as his brother is. Almost.



"Hey Doctor J, what's up?"



"Not much Jen…how is Chris?" He asked, knowing all about his tantrum, because she confided in him about it earlier.



"Not much better then before," Jennifer frowned.



"Maybe it'll help if he calls him on the phone?"



"I don't know Brian's number."



"I do, I have all of the guy's cell phone numbers, I can give him a call after dinner if you want." Jennifer smiled then.



"That would be great J, thanks."


"No problem," Doctor Johnson smiled, and he pat her on the shoulder. He turned to look at his brother then, who was standing there watching in amusement.



"What?" he asked. Just when Brandon was about to open his mouth to reply, his beeper went off. Doctor Johnson groaned and pulled it off his belt loop to look at it.



"Oh no…an emergency up in the hospital wing. Jen will you and Brandon make sure the cafeteria gets set up for dinner?"



"No problem J, Of course I will." Doctor Johnson gave her a grateful smile, and then he rushed off toward the hospital wing.



"In love much?" Brandon asked Jennifer, as soon as Doctor Johnson was long gone. Jennifer blushed.



"Is it that obvious?"



"You are the only caregiver here who doesn't call him Doctor Johnson…and he seems to be mighty interested in you too because he addresses every other caregiver here by their last name." Jennifer blushed an even brighter shade of red and he chuckled.



"Well come on, we better go see about dinner." He told her, and he linked her arm with his and brought her in the direction of the cafeteria. Meanwhile, in the Hospital wing, when Doctor Johnson got up there he noticed the paramedics bringing in a woman on a stretcher and Doctors and nurses rushing over to help. Doctor Johnson joined them.



"What do we have here?" He asked dutifully, and a paramedic read off her stats.



"Twenty four year old woman, her name is Annabelle, and she was involved in a head on collision right outside this Hospital." Doctor Johnson nodded, and quickly pushed her off to a room with other doctors and nurses at his side.



~*~*~*~*~



Meanwhile, on the airplane to New York, the flight attendant announced on the speaker that the plane will be arriving in five minutes and advised that everybody should take their seats and fasten their seatbelts. AJ groaned and looked around the plane for Laila, who had hopped up from her seat awhile ago and was playing hide n seek with AJ.



"Laila Marie, where are you young lady?! This isn't funny anymore!" he demanded irritably and he was beginning to get a little scared. Where is she? Kevin will kill him if he lost a 2-year-old on an airplane — and not just kill him, but brutally murder him. He turned the corner into the second class area, just on time to see a flight attendant holding her out to him with an amused smile. AJ sighed with relief.



"Is she yours? You look like a terrified father trying to find his little girl to me."



"Yes…thank you. I'm sorry she was running around your plane like this ma'am."



"It's not a problem Mr. McLean…you're a first class passenger…we pretty much allow you to do whatever you want." AJ looked a little taken aback. He doesn't remember ever telling her his name…but then again it doesn't surprise him too much. At least she is being a professional fan, and not addressing him by his first name, though he can tell it's killing her and this amuses him. AJ flashed her a charming grin, and then he looked down at Laila and kissed the top of her head. "Except we don't ever allow them to wander around the plane while we land…so I suggest you get to your seat quickly." AJ nodded.



"Thanks again," he told her, and he carried Laila off to his seat playfully scolding her for scaring him half to death. When he got there, he sat down, and sat Laila down in hers. She made to jump out of it, but he gently pushed her back down groaning a little.



"Maybe D was right…" He muttered to himself, as he buckled her up. When he finished, he buckled himself up and he waited for the plane to land.




~*~*~*~*~


Meanwhile, at Brooke's house, she and her family had just finished up on dinner. Brooke decided to help her mom with the dishes, while Jeff, Jaime, and Peyton all went and sat in the living room to watch TV.



"So how is your Orphanage going, Brooke?" Ellen, Brooke's mother questioned as the two of them does the dishes together.



"Pretty good, I love it. The kids are great. We are in the middle of working on a murder investigation with a detective though. One our children that was put under our care was raped and almost severely murdered but our doctors saved her. We are trying to catch the people who did it to her."



"Oh that's horrible…"



"Yeah, her parents were killed by them as well when she was twelve years old."



"Aww…the poor thing. It sounds like she's been through a lot." Brooke nodded.



"She's in Kentucky right now, spending the holiday with her caregiver's friends and family. We couldn't leave her at the Orphanage without a caregiver because the guys who hurt her are after her, so he took her with him."



"Oh, I see." The two of them talked about Brooke's Orphanage and various other things for thirty minutes, than when they had finished with the dishes, they went into the living room. Brooke went over and sat on the couch next to Jaime and she poked him in the side, before stealing the remote from him.



"Heeey!" he whined.



"Let's watch something other than Tom and Jerry, okay?"



"Sorry Jai, but I have to agree with her on that." Jeff replied, smiling a little.



"You would," Jamie scoffed playfully, as he watched Brooke turn the channel to something that they all could agree on. When she found a show, she smiled and snuggled close to her brother, and she rested her head against his shoulder. They sat there watching TV together for an hour, and than suddenly there was a knock at the door. Jeff got up and went to go answer it and when he did, he found AJ standing there and he looked at him curiously.



"Hi, can I help you?"



"Does Brooke live here? I'm a friend of hers."



"Yeah, she does…just a minute." Jeff replied, and he turned and looked at Brooke, who had recognized that voice immediately and looked back at the door confused. When she saw AJ standing there she jumped up and ran to the door.



"AJ? What are you doing here?!" He smiled a little and held his arms open, just on time for her to go flying into them for a big hug. "I came to be here with you," He whispered into her ear, so quietly that only she could hear him. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the house and she shut the door behind him.



"Dad, this is my friend and employee AJ. AJ, this is my dad Jeff." She introduced, and she noticed Jaime get up suddenly and go over and stand next to Jeff and an excited Peyton did the same, as she smiled from ear to ear. Their confused mother followed suit.



"And that's my older brother Jaime, my little sister Peyton, and my mom Ellen."



"It's very nice to finally meet you," Peyton was the first to speak up, and she threw her arms around AJ for a hug. AJ chuckled a little and wrapped his arms around her in return. "Anyone who makes my sister happy is part of the family." Brooke rolled her eyes and smiled a little bit.



"Don't mind Peyton…she's very perky but loveable nonetheless."



"Who is that adorable little girl with you? Is she your daughter?" Ellen asked, smiling some, as she noticed Laila in AJ's arms. AJ smiled down at her.



"Nah, she's not my daughter. Her name is Laila and I'm her caregiver in Brooke's Orphanage."



"He brought her on vacation with him too. He's supposed to be in Kentucky right now, but flew all the way out here to be with me." Brooke explained, as she took Laila from him.


"Hiii baby!" she greeted her cheerfully, and Laila smiled happily at the familiar face. Brooke kissed her cheek and cradled her in her arms.



"What can I say? I missed you." AJ replied, smiling some.



"Awww…he missed heeer!" Peyton gushed turning to look at her brother. Jaime rolled his eyes and shook his head smiling.



"Well come in, sit down," he spoke up and he wrapped an arm around AJ's shoulders. "Brooke has told me so much about you. I'm dying to get to know you." He added, as he led him toward the couch. Brooke groaned.



"Oh boy…" she muttered.



"Aje, do you want a coke?"



"Yes please," AJ nodded, and Brooke walked off to the kitchen while carrying Laila a long with her.