He gave her knowing smile as her only answer, before the door opened again, accompanied by a child’s giggle. “Da—oops.”

Leila turned around to face the door, and sighed, a grin on her face. “Jay…”

Standing in the doorway was her youngest sibling, James Eric Orcanisia, age four, with one hand on the door handle, one hidden behind his back, and a sheepish grin on his face. “Hi, Lily.”

“Come in, don’t just stand there with the door wide open,” Andrew told him, smiling. “You never know what may crawl in…” James grinned, coming into the room and shutting the door before walking over to the bed, still hiding one hand.

“What do you have there, Jay?” James was the only one of her younger siblings Leila had been able to form an attachment to, helped by the fact that Erica, spending all her time plotting to advance her older son, had no time for her second. Leila had quietly stepped in, and had more of a hand in raising him then his own mother did. She often marveled at the difference between him and his siblings; even at his surliest, he could never match Charles or Alexandra at their best.

“Snake,” he admitted, pulling his left hand from behind his back and showing it to them. Indeed, wriggling in his grasp was a thin, green snake.

“Where did you find that snake, Jay?” Andrew asked.

“Garden. Wanted to show you, Daddy.” He gave them his widest, most innocent smile.

“And then what were you going to do with the snake?”

He looked at the floor and gave a mumbled reply. Andrew and Leila looked at each other, Leila exasperated, Andrew hiding a grin.

“Say that again, Jay?”

“Hide it in your closet, Lily.” At this, Andrew lost his control, beginning to laugh; James looked up at the sound.

“You were going to hide a snake in my closet,” Leila asked him, hands on hips, her own lips beginning to twitch as she tried to conceal a smile. He nodded.

“Well, that’s not very nice of you,” she told him. “Do you know what would be better?” He shook his head, ignoring his father’s laughter. Leila leaned forward, letting free her grin. “If we waited until tonight, and put it in Aaron and Auria’s bed.”

His eyes went wide. “Really? Can we?”

“Really, really,” she responded, giving him a wink. Andrew wiped streaming eyes and sighed.

“What am I to do with you two, eh?” he asked. Leila and James both grinned at him in answer. “Get out of here, you ruffians. Be gone!”

Giggling, the duo fled the room, ducking a thrown pillow.