Leena Lattimer was agitated, and there was nothing her twin brother Martin could do about it. He watched as his sister twitched back the curtain in front of her, exhaled loudly, and then turned to pace the floorboards again. Her bottle green gown fluttered out behind her like a cape.

"Leena, they'll be here," he soothed for what felt like the hundredth time. Leena whirled on him, her brown eyes flashing.

"Would you please stop saying that?" she snapped. Martin tried hard not to roll his eyes. When Leena was in a mood, it was advisable not to push her.

"This is so typical," Leena muttered, her kitten heels tapping as she continued to pace. Martin straightened the gown that he was wearing, identical to Leena's.

"Leen, it's our high school graduation," he said. "They'll be here."

Leena stopped pacing long enough for Martin to grab hold of her arm. He put a hand softly on her cheek.

"Relax," he murmured. Leena's hardened look softened, and she exhaled loudly as she sat down next to her brother. She dropped her hands to her lap.

"I don't even know why I care," she muttered. "We can just add this to the list of everything else she's missed over the years."

"Mom's got a lot on her plate," Martin started. He wasn't sure why he was bothering; this speech was well worn, and it always ended the same way. "Since Dad... there's just so much for her to deal with. And Phoebe, we both know that Phoebe's got her own way of doing things..."

"Phoebe's got Mom," Leena interjected. "These last nine years, Phoebe has had Mom, all to herself. And you and I, all that we have is each other. I swear Marty, I can't wait to get out of this place, and away from Mom."

Martin's response was cut off by a faculty member calling for the graduating teens to take their places in the bleachers set up on the school hall stage. Leena grabbed Martin's hand as they took their seats.

"Happy graduation," she whispered, the first soft words she'd uttered all day. Martin gave her hand a squeeze as the curtains were opened to the sound of applause from the sea of proud parents. Martin gave a small sigh of relief as he picked his mother out towards the back of the crowd, her unruly curls making her easy to spot. Phoebe sat beside her, her own curls captured in two braids. Martin couldn't help but grin as his little sister caught him watching and started waving enthusiastically. He loved Phoebe, and so did Leena. It was the fact that their mother concentrated all of her attention on the 12-year-old that got Leena's back up. Phoebe was sweet and kind; she was just completely accident prone and often off in her own little world. She didn't demand attention, she just got it. Martin glanced at his twin. Leena was chewing on lip as she toyed with her long brown hair, worn loose to accommodate the cap she wore. Her hair was dead straight, as was his, just like their father's had been. Martin had some time to let his mind wander as the valedictorian, a girl who had only just beaten his sister to the title, stood to make her speech. If Martin had been holding a mirror in front of him, he knew he'd see the spitting image of his father, right down to the smile that everyone said was a Lattimer trademark. Leena was much the same; while extremely feminine, she carried far more of the Lattimer genes in her looks than Bering. However, where the twins mirrored their father in looks, they took after their mother in intellect. Both of them were driven by a thirst for knowledge, reflected in the honour roll scarves draped around their shoulders at that moment. Martin was also athletic, and had happily accepted the offer to play basketball at Duke University. Leena's love was history and literature, and she would join her brother at Duke after completing a summer internship at The Smithsonian Institute in D.C. Martin wouldn't voice it as loudly as his sister, but he was also looking forward to getting out of Colorado Springs, and moving on from the things that constantly reminded him of his father. Martin jumped at the sudden touch on his shoulder.

"Come on," Leena grinned. "It's go time."

They joined the line of students waiting expectantly in alphabetical order. Leena smoothed down her hair, and then turned to straighten her brother's tie. He wrinkled his nose at her, and she stuck her tongue out in reply.

"Leena Juliet Lattimer," the speaker announced. Leena straightened her shoulders, smiled widely, and strode purposefully across the stage. She accepted her diploma from the headmaster, nodding her head politely, and turned to face the audience as she flipped her tassel from one side of her cap to the other. Above the light applause came a loud yell of "Go Leena!" and a cheering whoop. Martin started to chuckle. Phoebe was standing in her seat and clapping enthusiastically, while their mother tried to talk her down with a smile on her face.

"Martin Peter Lattimer."

Phoebe's catcalling continued as Martin stepped onto the stage, but when he turned to look at his sister and his mother, his mother was no longer smiling. Her lower lip was wobbling, and she was wiping tears from her eyes. Martin's heart broke a little as he thanked the headmaster and walked off the stage. He walked into his sister's open arms, and wondered, as she held him, if he would ever be able to speak his own name without reducing his mother to tears.