Matters of Family: The Visit

Title: Matters of Family: The Visit
Author: Sammi M.
Author's address: NEW ADDY - sammi4@earthlink.net
Date completed: January 21, 2001
Rating: PG (language)
Category: Humour, a smidge of angst (wouldn't be me if it didn't have that), h/c, and healing
Spoilers: Survival and Finkelman's Folly (Two of my faves, as if you didn't know)
Archive: Yes, CL and GP

Disclaimer: Simon and the rest of the gang that you recognise belong to other people, but certain Banks people outside of Daryl belong to the Blue and Sammi household. :-)

This story wouldn't leave me alone. My mystery guests wanted to have more time with Simon and I just couldn't say no.

Warnings: First person and Simon-centric. You don't like him - you don't have to read it.

Matters of Family: The Visit
By Sammi M.

I never thought I'd be so glad to see my front door. But, after one week with little more than a curtain separating me from the comings and goings of a vast majority of the health professionals of Cascade and then another week with a solid door that allowed me about as much privacy as the curtain, that door represented my haven of solitude.

Even though I headed towards my home under someone else's steam, I was still feeling pretty good. Close calls tended to make you appreciate every little thing, dontcha know? The grass had never looked greener and the flowers had never looked brighter. I took a good look around and noticed that my yard had been well tended in my absence and I figured I owed Sandburg a gruff, but heartfelt, thank you. Since there were no old newspapers or mail littering the yard, Jim could probably be included in that as well.

Speaking of the Dynamic Duo, I tuned back in to their bickering as we neared my door. It would seem that my best detectives were arguing over who would get what bedroom during their expected tenures as the babysitters of record for my convalescence.

Wouldn't they be surprised later.

After several seconds passed with no end of the back-and-forth in sight, I finally decided enough was enough. "Would you gentlemen, and I use the term lightly, mind continuing this inside? As much as I'm enjoying the view of my fine yard and door, I'm sure I'd enjoy my bed and a few hours of sleep more."

The silence behind and beside me was startling. If I wasn't sure my turning around would bring me unbelievable pain, I might've checked to see if they were still there. Instead, I kind of wiggled enough to prod them back into motion. "Sorry, Simon," Blair offered as he quickly unlocked my door.

"Don't worry about it, Sandburg. As long as you and the Dark One promise to keep it to a bare minimum, I promise not to shoot you."

Jim snorted, "As if we would let you anywhere near a gun with the amount of meds and stuff coursing through your veins." He wheeled me over by the sofa, set the brakes on the chair, raised my arm around his neck and aided me (read: lifted me like a baby, which is no *small* task) to a comfortable half-sitting, half-lounging position. "You're so smackered, you'd probably shoot off your own foot."

I tried to give him my best glare, but if the barely concealed laughter was anything to go by, I failed miserably. Oh well. "I'll have you know that the doctors guaranteed me that I was only being placed on the finest of medicines and that none of them would leave me in such a state that I could ever be considered 'smackered'."

"Would you prefer snoshed, slogged, toked, versnickert? Since smackered offends your delicate sensibilities, I'm sure we could come up with any number of terms to define the state of you being high enough to fly a kite."

Sandburg was really pushing it. "And on what are you basing this observation?"

"Uh, Simon," Jim added, "You tried to leave the hospital without any pants."

Oh yeah. "Well, besides that." Hey, I had to try and salvage some of my dignity.

"You tried to tip the nurse who pushed you out of the hospital for a table dance."

Smart-ass. "Okay, never mind." Shit. Damage control time. "But, if I hear anything about that at the precinct, I'll loan you both out to Vice and limit your wardrobes to things out of Megan's closet."

Jim was the first to recover from my threat as he started lining up the pharmacy I'd brought home with me. "That would be cruel and inhumane and you know it. Some of those colours would seriously damage my eyes, not to mention the fact we're not even remotely the same size."

Finally, a threat that could work. "Don't speak of those incidents and we'll never have to find out."

"Man, Simon, talk about intimidation."

"What, Sandburg, did you think I made captain only for my good looks?"

"And on that note, I think I'll scramble us up something to eat so that we can get you settled and then ourselves." Typical Jim. Feed the troops, get them bedded down and then catch a few winks. You can take the man out of the army, but he never truly relinquishes those army-regulated boxers.

Oh boy. Maybe I am teensy-bit smackered.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"What do you mean, 'thanks a lot and now go home'?" Jim demanded as he stood in my bedroom doorway and glared at me. "Have you forgotten that you just got out of the hospital and you have about as much strength as Rhonda's baby?"

"No, I haven't forgotten any of that, thank you very much, but I figure I don't need a couple of babysitters tonight. After I take my night meds, I'll be zonked for the rest of the evening. By the time I wake up, it'll be morning and the nurse I've been assigned will be ready to take over."

Jim let out a grunt. "We aren't staying here for your gracious hospitality, Simon. We're just making ourselves available in case you need something."

"Jim… I am not going to need anything." I could see he was about to interrupt me. "Listen to me, Jim. I'm fine. I just want to have some time alone. I hate to admit it, but I am sick of company. I am tired of never having a minute to myself. In the hospital, I had people with me just to go to the bathroom. I want…no, I need a few hours to myself."

Blair looked at me with his "It's okay, just listen to me" look. "Simon, wait…just listen to me…." Yep, I knew it. "You won't even know we're here. We'll leave you completely alone." Blair raised his hands up as if to put up an imaginary wall.

I sighed. This was not going well. "Guys…please. Just go. I am not in critical condition. My doctor released me from the hospital, right? I have a nurse coming who will be here for days. Let me have just a few hours to myself. I swear I'll call you if I need anything."

Blair and Jim sighed together. They were breaking. I had to close this sale fast. "You have heard of it, right? The telephone? You know, a little device with buttons that you can talk into? I know you have because you both woke me up continuously at the hospital checking on me." Looks of guilt…good. I could work with that. "I know you mean well but you are killing me with kindness. Please, let me *rest* in my own bed. I won't if I know you're here - I'll keep expecting you to pop in every hour like they did at the hospital. You both can come by on your way to work, if that will make you feel better. Fair enough?"

"Well, I can understand your need for some down time. But, I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Jim muttered. I had broken him.

Blair was about to say something else, however. "Still…."

Jim cut him off. "Give it up, Chief. Let's give our boy his beauty rest. God knows he needs it," Jim grinned.

Blair relented - barely. "We'll be here first thing in the morning."

"I'll look forward to it. Now go!" I said before they could change their minds. It wasn't long before I heard the sound of the alarm being set and my wonderful door closing.

Ah…peace at last.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Someone was in my house. I had no confirmation of this by any sound or movement, but my gut was telling me someone was there. Damn those guys! I knew they meant well, but I really wasn't kidding when I said I'd know. There was this tingling in between my shoulder blades that wouldn't go away.

Don't get me wrong. I love them like brothers - I really do, but everyone needs time away from family. Short of using my gun, I thought they understood that.

Obviously not or else I wouldn't have had to get my tired, doped-to-the-gills, way-too-old-for-this-sh- shtick butt out of my nice, warm bed. I wrestled with my robe for a few minutes and, sadly, it won and totally gave up on trying to find my slippers cause my ego had taken enough of a beating from the robe thing before I kind of weaved my way to the bedroom door.

After saying a few choice things to the door once I pulled away from it, I finally located the knob, opened the blasted thing and started towards my living room area where I was sure the culprits were.

As I made my way closer to the room, I noticed one interesting fact. The voices were a lot higher than Jim and Blair's. And then it hit me. Great, just great. I shook my head in disgust. It looked like thanks to the wonders of modern pharmaceuticals, I was in the middle of the Munchkin Dream. I couldn't believe it. I had hoped to miss out on this particular joy this go around, but it was obvious that wasn't meant to be.

Bracing myself, I continued into the room certain that I would find Jim and Blair in green lederhosen and sequined coats with tails skipping around my coffee table singing, "Follow the Evidence Road." Yeah, yeah, I know. They really shouldn't give me the hard stuff.

Anyway, I closed my eyes to gather strength - Jim in a kilt was okay, but lederhosen really weren't his thing - and opened them to find … one young lady sitting on my sofa and her double standing in my breakfast nook.

Man, either the doctors had given me some *really* good stuff, or this wasn't the Munchkin Dream. "You're not Munchkins?"

Sofa Girl turned to her double and gave her a worried look. "I wonder what he's on?"

BN Girl nodded rather sagely, "Probably comparable to the stuff he usually arrests people for using." She moved in my direction and smiled at me like I was a cat-nipped feline. "Simon, don't you recognise us?"

A flash of recognition settled over me and I returned her smile - showing teeth even. "Of course I do." I pointed to Sofa Girl first and then her double. "Thing 1 and Thing 2."

Sofa Girl snorted in a very unladylike fashion that would have had my mother rushing out to buy her a feedbag. "Uh, first Oz and now Seuss. Something tells me he's not in Cascade any more, Dorothy."

"Lisse, hush. He's obviously pretty out of it. I mean, look at that robe." BN Girl moved up beside me and started rubbing my arm. "Simon, it's me, Mira."

"Mira? I only know one Mira, but she's…" And just like that, the drug haze disappeared. "Mira?!" My eyes included both of them into my circle of disbelief. "What the hell are you two doing here?"

Sofa Girl, I mean Lisse, laughed. "What a greeting, Big Bro. We're happy to see you too."

I glared at the girl, but a sudden pain turned it into more of a grimace as my body remembered that I was on the injured list for a reason. Mira grabbed the arm she'd been rubbing and, with surprising strength, helped me over to the sofa, kind of propping me up on Lisse. "Well, Simon, since it seems you insist on getting out of bed in a drug-induced stupor in the middle of the night, looks like we came at a perfect time."

"Yeah, well, if you hadn't shown up *inside* of my house in the middle of the night, I wouldn't have had to get up." Obviously, I was feeling a little better now that I wasn't on my feet. "And I repeat, what are you doing here? Don't you have school or something?"

Lisse plumped up the pillows behind me and then gently rolled me so that most of my weight was on them. "To answer your questions: we're here to take care of you and one of the advantages of attending private school is that you have all sorts of breaks that public school kids can only dream about." She smiled a totally devilish smile. "Thanks a bunch for timing this little stunt at a time when we were off. If you hadn't, this could have seriously done some damage to our senior record. Skipping school is really frowned on by the nuns."

Did I ever mention how much Lisse's sarcasm sounds like mine? Looks like I'm gonna have to work on my attitude cause, judging from this, it ain't pretty.

"Knowing you, I'm sure you would have found some way to get around it." That was an understatement.

While I'd had to wait for the reading of my father's will, I'd been forced to get to know my younger sisters. Between Nell, my mother, Esme and the girls themselves, I had no choice but to spend time with them. It hadn't been all bad, but it hadn't been a picnic either.

I soon found out that Mira is quite the little mother - complete with stop-you-in-your-tracks looks, hands-on-the-hips intimidation, and pinches of death. I still get phantom pain from one or two of them she gave me when I threw one of my tantrums - her words, not mine. On the flip side, she could smile and you would find yourself doing almost anything and she had this way of offering comfort that didn't belittle me for mourning for a man that a large part of me still despised.

Lisse, on the other hand, proved to be more like me than even Daryl. We found that we had the same loves of sports and music and even television shows. I found out that the Banks' cunning had definitely come from our father because she could run a con better than I did when I was trying to convince Chief Warren that Jim and Blair had *needed* to destroy that much city property in order to keep Cascade safe. She showed me a car that she was rebuilding that was giving her a problem and together we figured it out.

Of course, that didn't stop us from having one hell of a blow-up later when she wanted to pick my brains about our father when he was younger. I found out that telling her, "to go to hell on the same bus as that ass of a father of ours" was a sure fire way to get her to respond in a suggestion that is anatomically impossible and completely repugnant.

Neither of us was willing to apologise to the other and Mira compared our behaviour to a bunch of schoolkids. I didn't care. Hey, I was back home surrounded by my mother and sister - who both still treated me like a kid - and I wasn't having to set an example for anyone - Daryl had gone back to college. I'd return to being the grown-up when I returned to Cascade.

Lisse and I finally made up while we were watching a game on television. Our mutual hatred of the opposing team was enough to restore harmony back into the Banks family. That and the fact that she can badmouth a call as good as most pros.

As for my relationship with Alessandro, there was no relationship. He stayed clear of me and I returned the favour. Outside of the glares he shot me at the reading of the will, I don't think he ever made eye-contact with me during my extended stay. Probably just as well. What could I say to him? What would he want to hear?

Anyway, as I was saying, Lisse could have probably convinced the nuns that she and Mira were on a mission for God to aid me in my recovery. I definitely wouldn't put anything past my sister. "Okay, so it's break time, but that still doesn't explain how you knew I'd been hurt. This wasn't broadcast in the papers or to the news. It's been kept pretty quiet."

Ever see a deer caught in headlights? Try seeing that look passed between two identical faces and it's almost awe-inspiring. I think it took them a full minute before they decided to say something. "Um," came from two different mouths followed closely by what looked like twin blushes. This was going to be good, I could tell.

Mira to the rescue. "Well, it certainly wasn't from Aunt Erica or Nell. Which means that you are going to be in so much trouble when they find out you didn't tell them about yet another mishap. You know how angry your mom was when she found out you'd been kidnapped and beaten by that Quinn bastard."

"Watch the language. He may be one but that doesn't mean you have to mess up your karma by saying it." Oh, jeez. Sandburg would be so proud. Then the rest of it hit me. "*Aunt* Erica? And how do you know about her being angry at me for keeping that away from her?"

Again with the Lisse snort. "Get with the program, Simon. It's what we've been calling her pretty much our whole lives. Everyone just thought it would be easier on you if we … refrained from using it while you were down." Another Banks' trait reared its ugly head as she looked at me: total and absolute smugness. "As for knowing, I don't think anyone back home *didn't* know she was royally pissed at you. She told Mom and Daddy that if Quinn hadn't kicked your ass so thoroughly, she would have gone to Cascade and finished the job."

I couldn't help myself - I actually sighed in relief that my mother *hadn't* gotten a hold of me. That woman was terrifying in the extreme. "Mom wouldn't have said 'ass'."

"Simon," Mira nodded wisely. "Trust me on this, she said it and I think she meant it. The only thing that saved you after you were shot in that bank was that you went home and recuperated with her."

"Yeah, but she still got a bit of her own back when she *accidentally* on purpose gave you that pain shot a little rough."

No way. "That *was* an accident. She apologised for the bruise."

Way. They both looked at me like I was so pitiful and Lisse actually patted my arm. "If that helps you to sleep at night, then okay, Simon."

Crap. "Okay, forgetting about my mother and that vindictive streak that really should be held at bay where her kids are concerned, you still haven't told me how you knew about this."

Because of what was said, I couldn't remember which one said it. But whoever said it, I was left with a tightness in my chest. "Alessandro's been having you followed."

"What?! Why?!"

Mira held me down concerned that I was going to spring off the sofa. "Simon, calm down. You're not gonna do yourself any good if you make yourself worse." I settled, but only because I couldn't have done anything else. God, I really hate being sick. "It's not really Ales' fault. Bart Haggerty, Dad's business partner, told him that they needed to keep an eye on you since Dad left you almost everything."

"Why?! I told him that a friend of mine's dad had helped me find an excellent corporate lawyer who would be overseeing everything. I guaranteed him everything would stay the same."

"Yeah, but Bart doesn't like unknowns and you were an unknown. He filled Ales' head with a lot of stuff and Ales has felt pretty vulnerable since Daddy died."

"And if you believe that, then I have some lush farmland in West Texas I can sell you."

"Lisse," Mira hissed as she glared at her twin.

"What? Stop sugar-coating it, Mira. There is no way you can justify what Ales is doing." Lisse returned the glare and her voice started to rise. "He's being a jerk - pure and simple. Bart is a cover for him to get back at Simon and you know it."

"Get back at me? Why? Up until a few months ago, I didn't even *know* him. I didn't want to know him."

Mira's hand tightened on my arm in restraint. I could tell she was getting worried, but I needed answers. "Simon, I don't think you understand where he - *we* - are coming from. All you see is Daddy choosing us to be with, but…"

"But he was never really ours. He never got over what he threw away and for our whole lives, we've known that." I was shocked to see a tiny hint of tears in Lisse's eyes. Against all of my preconceived beliefs, those more than anything made me want to hear what she had to say. "Mama calls it the 'Second Syndrome' - she was the second wife, Ales was the second son, and we were second daughters. Mama was okay with it where she was concerned, but I don't think she ever forgave Daddy for us."

"Don't get us wrong - he loved us. We knew that, but, in everything he did, his heart was with you guys first." Mira's hand eased on my arm and started to rub it in a soothing pattern. "He never said it, but we always knew that if Aunt Erica or you ever said what he needed to hear, he would have left us."

I don't know why, but suddenly I was defending him, "No, he wouldn't have just left you. He was a lot of things, but he wouldn't have just left you with nothing."

Mira shook her head, "Of course he wouldn't. I never meant he wouldn't have taken care of us. He would have made sure we wanted for nothing, except what we needed the most - *him*."

"Simon, do you know what it feels like to know that just one word from his beloved son would be enough to have him turn away from his 'Seconds'?"

"It's not the best feeling, believe me. But, Lisse and I were lucky - we had each other, Mama, Aunt Erica and Annelle to give us some balance." Mira lowered her eyes. "Ales didn't have that."

I'd had some idea that all was not as peachy in their house as I'd thought all these years, but I'd never suspected it was like this. Still, I'd had nothing to do with any of it. This was Alexander Banks' mess, not Simon Banks'. "I understand that, but why is he targeting me? I didn't cause any of this. I hadn't spoken to our father in over twenty years. Why am I the bad guy?"

Lisse shrugged, "Because you're here and Daddy's not. Because it's easier to hate you - who was just as much a victim - than it was to hate Daddy."

I don't know why, considering I couldn't stand the boy, but that hurt. "He hates me?"

"Of course he doesn't hate you, Simon," Mira answered. "He just doesn't know you and his stupid, stubborn, asinine Banks' pride won't let him." She nailed me with those almost black eyes. "No more than yours will let *you* know *him*."

"The only difference is, he's being more of an ass than you."

More of an ass. Which implies that I'm being one, just not at such a great extent. I shook my head to try to clear it of some of the jumbled thoughts I was having and figured I was too tired to keep on this track. As soon as I was feeling better, I'd contact my lawyer and have him come up with some ways to stop this having me followed. But first, I had other questions that needed answers. "Okay, pushing the whole Alessandro mess and how you found out I was hurt to the side, I still haven't heard how you made it into my home."

Both girls couldn't hide their relief at the change of subject and they were practically falling over themselves trying to explain their ingenuity.

"We had a key, silly."

"And your alarm code was so easy, it was almost laughable."

I felt the headache that I knew I was going to have at the end of this begin. "In the time I was down there, I don't recall my giving you a copy of my keys and I *know* Nell and Mama would never have given you one." I turned to look at Lisse cause I figured she was my best suspect. "So, when did you pick my pocket?"

High pitched giggles were *not* the reaction I was expecting. Dammit, that look had caused felons to pee in their pants and here was a teenage girl giggling from it. I was seriously losing my touch. "Why on earth would I pick your pocket when all we had to do was ask Daryl for a copy of his when we went up to visit him a couple of weekends ago."

They went to see my son … and he didn't tell me about it?! Wait, I had an even better question. "Why in the hell would he give you a key to *my* house?"

Mira smiled and I suddenly realised my little sisters were beautiful. "Because we asked for one, Silly." And I also realised I was going to have to stop this "Silly" nickname business as soon as I could. Captain "Silly" Banks just didn't bring to mind a tough-as-nails, hard-assed cop, you know.

"And because we helped out a couple of his friends by going out with them."

"Daryl set you up with a couple of his friends? You," I pointed at the both of them, "his two underage aunts with two of his *adult* friends who he had no idea what they had on their minds to do with you." For some reason, this whole scenario was bringing out all of my protective instincts. How dare my son set my baby sisters up with a couple of his perverted friends! I was seriously contemplating maiming my one and only heir.

You would have thought I'd just given them a million dollars with the way their smiles grew. Before I could finish my tirade, I felt twin kisses on my cheeks. "You're actually worried about us."

"Well, what a bunch of nonsense! Of course, I'm worried about you. You're my sisters and Daryl, whom I thought knew better, put you at risk."

Lisse laughed, "Oh, Simon, we were perfectly safe. Daryl and his date were with us and he made sure his friends were perfect gentlemen." Her eyes sparkled. "But thanks anyway for the concern. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were actually learning to love us."

I wasn't quite ready to grasp that concept and I was feeling my injuries a bit more as the time passed. But, before I'd give up and let the pain medicine take me away, I still had one more question. "Did Guardian Daryl also give you my security code?"

"Get real, Simon. Daryl's not stupid." Lisse gave me one of her better shit-eating grins. "No, that one we figured out on our own. We kind of guessed that being a cop you'd have your system set on the 'three strikes you're out, call 911 now' program, so we came up with three possible codes and we got it in two." She patted my head in feigned sympathy. "Yours and Joan's anniversary, Simon? That is like so sad. You guys have been divorced for how long and you're still using that date?"

Oh, man. I knew that would someday come back and bite me in the butt. I had my reasons for using that date, but I wasn't sure *they'd* get it. Oh well. "It's not because I'm pining away for what we had, if that's what you think." I shrugged as much as my injuries would allow. "I keep it there as a reminder of my trip into Hell. It makes me appreciate the Heaven of my home now so much more."

Mira nodded wisely, smiled and hugged me, "Sounds good to me."

Wow. Beauty and brains. Maybe having little sisters wouldn't be so bad after all.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

From what I gathered from the bits and pieces that I've managed to pull from Jim and Blair, the wee hours of the morning were a bit hot. I'd forgotten about my morning check-in - too bad my first set of self-appointed minders hadn't.

Let's see, I think they said the conversation went something like this…

"Hey, Simon, it's Jim. How ya doing today, Buddy?"

"I'm fine, Sparky, but this isn't Simon."

"Who the hell is this and what are you doing there?"

"Oh, great, just what I need. My turn. Who the hell are *you* and why are you calling a very sick man at 6.05 in the morning?"

Yep, Lisse answered the phone. It was definitely a formula for disaster.

"Look, whoever you are, I don't think you realise who you're dealing with or what you've gotten into. If you know what's good for you, I would suggest you vacate that house and leave the man who lives there in the same shape as you found him or else there'll be hell to pay when I hunt you down."

"Well, if you're cute, hell has its perks. Otherwise, there is no way I'm going to leave the *man* here in the shape he was in when I found him. And, if you have a problem with that, then deal with it any way that you and your shrink see fit."

And on that parting note, she hung up.

What did I tell you? Disaster. With a capital "D". And at the time, I had no idea it had happened.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I somehow managed to - oh, who am I trying to kid - I was *dragged* from my nice, comfy bed by two shrieking banshees. Well, maybe not shrieking and I suppose banshees *is* a little harsh, but I had finally convinced myself that there was no pain and it all was just a bad dream when they came in and disillusioned my illusion.

Anyway, before I knew it, they had me bundled up in my robe (amid lots of snickers and comments about the previous night) and lounging on the sofa with an afghan snugly tucked around me. I could smell all sorts of yummies cooking and my stomach was reminding me that it had not been fed since my last meal at the hospital the day before.

Mira and Lisse were in a talkative mood and I was having a hard time keeping up with the conversation. They had this kind of twin-speak thing going on where one would start on a topic and the other would jump in and they'd continue that way until either the topic was exhausted or they were. It was like a warped tennis match and I was developing the tennis neck to go with it.

Every so often, they'd include me in the conversation and I must have answered appropriately because they never questioned what I was saying. Never knew when that skill would come in handy. I'd learned it shortly after I made captain and it's been a skill I've used many a time since. The ability to tune in just enough to hear what's being said, comment if necessary and still not register what the hell you're listening to is a real gift. Trust me, I've used it enough times on Chief Warren and Sandburg to know of what I speak.

Mira walked out of the kitchen with this unbelievably loaded tray and placed it over my lap. My salivary glands perked up like Jim's hearing when anybody within a mile radius mentions Wonderburger, and I had to stop short of actually drooling over the feast. I had to try to regain some of my dignity after last nights robe debacle.

Anyway, we'd sort of congregated - it was definitely a religious experience - around the tray when the loudest, "Don't move!" I'd ever heard erupted in my living room. Like day-players in some comedy sketch, all three of our heads sharply turned towards the doorway and our widened in disbelief. My two best detectives stood there in defensive positions with their guns trained on us and they didn't look too happy.

In typical Lisse fashion, she adopted a cheesy, television-stereotyped, Mexican accent and turned to us, "Hey, Jose, I think the cavalry has arrived."

I know I must have groaned - not because I was hurting, but because I just knew she was going to get us blown away - and Jim directed his senses to me. "Simon, you okay?"

Clearing my throat in an almost thankful way, I managed to eek out an, "I'm fine, Jim. Oh by the way, have you met my sisters?"

Not lowering the gun one centimetre, those light blue eyes nailed me. "Sisters? Are you under duress?"

"No more than I would be if I wasn't standing on the wrong side of your gun."

That must have registered somewhere in that Army-addled, covert ops-confused brain of his because suddenly the gun was gone and one totally embarrassed cop was having a hard time looking at me. "Uh, sorry, sir." Jim looked over at Blair who hadn't changed his original stance except for his mouth dropping open. "I, uh, think it's okay, Chief."

Considering that Sandburg preferred not to use his gun unless absolutely dire consequences, he was keeping it on us pretty well. I think he thought I was a pod person or something. "Sisters? You? Are you sure?"

Lisse snorted. "He ain't too bright, is he?"

In an attempt to stop the murder of her, I jumped in with something I'd been waiting to say for a while. "Shut up, Lisse." I guess it kind of stunned her because she did - at least for a little bit. Will wonders never cease?

During Lisse's and my bonding experience, Jim had managed to pull the gun out of his partner's hand and was convincing him that it was really me and that the girls did kind of have the same Banks scent - minus cigars - that I did. Sandburg must have believed his Sentinel more than his own eyes because he lost some of that dazed look and appeared more normal - the term being relative, of course. He returned his gaze to mine and attempted a sort of smile - well, as much of a smile as anyone can have after you've broken into your boss' house at 6.30 in the morning and held a gun on him and his family. "Wow, sisters. That's kind of cool, Simon."

"They're underage, Sandburg."

"What? I wasn't thinking *anything*."

"I know, but I just wanted to make sure it stayed that way."

Mira hit Simon's arm, eliciting a testy "ow", and smiled at the other two men. "Don't mind him. He hasn't had his breakfast, his morning meds and he's in the middle of a full-out big brother attack." She stood and walked over to them extending her hand in greeting. "Hi, I'm Miranda Banks and my dubious double is Melisenda. Our friends call us Mira and Lisse. If you promise not to point guns at us again, you can be our friends."

I think I almost swallowed my tongue when Ellison chuckled - oh, who am I trying to kid - he *giggled* at the girl's charm. A teenage girl had taken out big, tough Jim Ellison. Damn! I was hoping that if they did ever meet, that he would be able to withstand them. Now, I knew - my sisters were insidious.

Of course, the dubious double had to open her mouth and prove that charm was endowed *after* the egg split. "Nice talking to ya earlier, Sparky. Course, if I'd known you played with guns, I would have let you have the last word before I hung up."

"You talked to him earlier?" What? When?

"Uh, yeah. He called a bit before we woke you. He really had a nasty attitude and I took it upon myself to let him know it wasn't appreciated."

My head swivelled around in the direction of my detectives. "Is that why you two came in here with guns blazing?"

"Now, Simon," Jim tried to explain, "no shots were fired so technically it wasn't with 'guns blazing'."

"Yeah, and Jim really thought something was wrong when we were outside. He heard you moaning and groaning and asking them to just let you sleep…" Oh, shit. Sandburg! "I mean, you didn't turn off that two-way radio we gave you so we could monitor how you were doing and we heard all of that. We were worried that maybe we hadn't picked up all of Trellis' people." Decent save. Not really one of his best, but it would do in a pinch. The girls didn't know the guys lived too far away for those types of radios to work and damned if I was going to let them find out.

Though part of my brain was listening to Sandburg, the other part of it was tearing apart what Ellison had said. As soon as the younger man stopped, I was ready and turned to look at Lisse. "Jim called this morning, he gave you attitude and you gave it back, you hung up on him and then to top it off, you didn't *tell* me?" I elbowed her - don't worry, it wasn't that hard. "You could have gotten us all killed!"

With absolutely no remorse, she cocked an eyebrow and replied, "Indeed. To quote a human phrase, 'whoops'."

"Lisse!" Even Mira couldn't believe her twin and she should have been used to it. "Can't I take you anywhere?" The diplomat of the family decided to make amends. "I apologise for the misunderstanding. I hope you'll forgive us." She turned up the charm to the point where Lisse and I had to wince. "If it'll help, will you stay for breakfast? We're used to cooking for our older brother which means we made way too much just for the three of us." What? Wait a minute. I hadn't eaten anything yet. How did she know it was going to be too much? She turned back to me and with her eyes sparkling and that smile, I knew I was going to give in. "They're more than welcome, especially since they came over just to make sure you were okay. Isn't that right, Simon?"

What could I say? "Of course, guys. Like she said, we have plenty."

You know, I probably would have enjoyed breakfast a lot more if I hadn't heard Lisse cracking up and muttering under her breath, "Sucker."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

My life after that first morning settled down to a structured chaos. Yeah, I know, oxymoron. But, if anyone has ever lived any time with teenage girls, they know what I'm talking about.

After Jim and Blair made gluttons of themselves and headed to work, the nurse showed up and, over the next few hours, she showed the twins what they needed to do for my therapy and keeping me comfortable. Somehow, Mira and Lisse convinced the nurse they had been candy stripers and that over the next few days, all she had to do was drop by and administer the meds the girls couldn't. The nurse had no chance to protect herself and bought it. She might have stood a chance if she had only been dealing with Mira, but Lisse was helping - there was no way she could say no to the Wonder Twins and their activated powers.

What? When Daryl was little, I had to watch the Superfriendsâ. Can I help it if some of that stuck?

Anyway, after the nurse left, Lisse, a.k.a. Attila, took great pleasure in my torture medically known as therapy. I tried to elicit sympathy from Mira, but my sweet, loving, little Florence Nightingale had overnight turned into Nurse Cratched. I was on my own.

When I wasn't doing the therapy or sleeping, the three of us sat and talked about anything and everything we could. It was amazing. The topics were endless and it was almost mind-boggling to see two completely different opinions coming out of identical mouths. Sometimes, an article in the paper would set us of and other times it was the television. But, whatever it was, we Banks definitely had an opinion about it.

In between those talks, there were moments where my sisters became the quintessential girls. On one of my infrequent trips out, we went to a movie because they felt it wouldn't be too strenuous. A couple of guys stood behind them in the line to get snacks and struck up a conversation. It was truly an amazing sight to see Lisse giggling and blushing. Great blackmail material which I was *not* above using.

I watched them laughing and joking as we took our seats. It was a good thing the movie wasn't one that I wanted to see and I was still too out of it to appreciate it or else I wouldn't have been too happy. I had no clue what that movie was about.

Mira and Lisse must have given them their cell phone numbers, because at certain times of the day, their phones would ring and the giggling would begin. I would not have been so suspicious had they not jumped up every time I asked who it was. Each would boredly say "Oh, no one you know," and run into another room.

Yeah, right. I'm the Captain of Major Crimes in Cascade, Washington. I knew everything about those boys. I'd had Rafe run their license plate and then from there get me all of their history right back to their grandparents. They seemed harmless enough, but if the girls had opted to go out with them, I guarantee there would have been a lot of surveillance ordered that night.

I must admit their company, although trying at times, was better than any nurse would have provided. Their wit - so much like my own - made for interesting conversation. I suppose it also made me realize how much I missed Daryl. After living alone, it was easy to forget the pleasure of having another human laugh at your jokes, and always just be there for whatever.

My favourite time became the ritual of watching the girls' favourite soap. At first, I would moan and groan when they would run to the TV every afternoon. They would sit and chatter amongst themselves at who was doing what behind so and so's back, etc. In the beginning, I tried to read one of the magazines laying around. After two or three days, I started to join into their conversation only because there was no way Chad should ever get with that Emily girl no matter how good she "appeared" to be. Okay, I'm digressing.

Well, maybe not. I still tape the blasted thing.

As time passed, I found myself getting around the house more and more myself. I started to actually dread going back to work because I knew it meant the girls would have to be returned to their mother and I back to the PD. I did miss the guys at work, but Mira and Lisse were…family. This was going to be harder than I ever thought it would.

Our last night together, we gathered around the television - one on either side of me - and watched movies. It was such a simple time, but it made a great impact on me. I knew in the morning, we'd have to head in different directions, but that night was ours. With that thought in mind, I placed my arms around both of their shoulders and pulled them close.

Of course, during the final minutes of the second movie - after I'd lulled them into a false sense of security - I pelted them with popcorn, which started a massive popcorn fight. It was messy - the extra butter kind, you know - but it was us. Messy, with all of the problems associated with that, but still together.

All three of us slept well that night.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I'd only been back at my desk for a few hours when Jim and Blair decided to pay me a visit. My door had been almost revolving with all of the "welcome backs" and well-wishers. I was almost surprised it had taken them this long to make it in.

After the standard greetings, we settled down with our cups of coffee. "So, gentlemen, judging by the lack of incident reports on my desk, would it be safe to assume that you refrained from doing your normal activities during my absence?"

The two of them looked at each other, shrugged, and smiled. "Of course, Simon," they said in unison.

I could feel a headache coming on. "Oh, great. So when can I expect the paperwork on your latest escapade and will the Chief be contacting me in the near future?"

Again with the shrugs and the unison, "Soon." And then they added, "Probably."

What a great way to start the week. I know I tried a smile, but judging from how quick Sandburg was to jump in and offer some consolation, it probably resembled more of a grimace. "Well, look at it this way. It was good you took as much time as you did to rest and heal up."

I looked over at the row of picture frames on my desk and the brand new one I'd placed there this morning. From it, two happy, identical faces beamed out me and, suddenly, the morning didn't look quite as painful as I thought. "Yeah, healing is good."

Finito