A/N: I love that this is my 100th story, posted on the one-year anniversary of joining this site. This is a sequel to What Makes a Family. If you haven't read it, feel free to do so. It will give some great insight into what is going on in this story. For those who don't know this is an AU, not a romance. I also do my best to keep the storyline as realistic as possible, which might mean reading some things you are not comfortable with. Be sure to check the warnings as the story goes along. Emily is a single woman, an artist, and an adoptive mother. She came to know Penelope, Derek, JJ, Aaron and Spencer, through being a foster mom. Penelope aged out before being adopted, but the other four have been adopted by Emily. Dave and Carolyn remain trusted friends. I don't own any of the CBS-owned characters, but the Barrett-Mackey family is my own creation. This story takes place five years after What Makes a Family.

Is a family still a family when it's broken beyond repair?

In five years, so much has changed, and so much has stayed the same.

Dave and Carolyn still lived up the street. Over the years, they had come to every one of the kids' school functions. Every grandparent's day for Aaron and Spencer. They were interview subjects for Derek and JJ who did school projects on time periods Emily had never lived through. Most of all, though, they were simply there, for every stage life. Every high and low. Emily appreciated them beyond measure.

The Barrett-Mackey's still lived too far away for Emily's liking. Nathaniel and Cary remained happily married and committed to raising their son, Matthew, who was now a teenager, and had come so far from when he was first adopted at eight. Emily still recalled the support group where they had met. How she and Nathaniel had bonded over creating art, and she and Cary bonded over their love of it. In recent months, Matthew had taken to calling Emily, and relying on her as a kind of mother figure. Socially, things would always be difficult for him, since Matthew was on the autism spectrum, and often he called to ask Emily questions about girls. Questions his dads couldn't answer, because they wouldn't know what a girl liked. Or what she meant when Matthew asked to hang out and they said "get real." It was heartbreaking to answer these kinds of questions, but Emily was glad to be there for him. She was glad he trusted her.

Emily's own children had grown up. Her oldest, Penelope, who never took her name and who was never officially adopted was 25. She lived on a farm in Pennsylvania with horses and cats. Emily couldn't be prouder of the person she has grown to be. She worked from home as a technical analyst and took Emily's calls free of charge. Penelope was more likely to send pictures of her pony, Buttercup, or newest kitten, Cali, than she was to send an updated photo of herself. Even Christmas cards and letters detailed how the animals were faring, leaving Penelope largely out of the picture. She was happiest surrounded by creatures who couldn't let her down, and her animals gave her comfort and security that people couldn't guarantee. But Penelope was still around if any of the kids needed her. She regularly took calls from Derek or JJ about college tests or money - things they didn't want to call Emily about. Penelope was instinctive about when and how much to share with Emily - and always encouraged the kids to tell her themselves.

They weren't exactly children anymore. Emily could easily recall Derek as a skinny, distrustful twelve-year-old, who had been through hell. He was 20 now, and in college on a football scholarship. Emily hadn't even suspected he had in interest in football, because baseball had been such a big part of his life. But if there was one thing she knew about Derek it was to never put limits on what he could achieve. He constantly surprised her. He graduated with highest honors two years ago, and insisted that he was ready to attend college out of state and make his own way in the world. Though it had been several years, Derek remained in touch with Anna, the specialist, who helped him deal with his past sexual abuse. He rarely spoke of it to Emily, and she was fine with that, as long as he was talking to someone. She insisted he call her once a week, and he grudgingly did, giving her one word answers about how college life was. It felt strange that he didn't need her anymore. But that made the moments when he called with a question about insurance or asked her to come to his game that much more special.

JJ was also in college, barely. At 19, she still struggled academically, and rarely wanted to be there, except if there was an occasion to show off her boyfriend. Like the rest of Emily's kids, JJ had a difficult time adjusting to being part of a family. JJ wasn't on scholarship and she was barely academically eligible. While she had gotten her stealing under control, the boyfriend seemed to have taken its place. Despite a million and one talks from herself, Dave and Penelope, JJ was adamant. They were all making a big deal out of nothing. Emily supposed she should be grateful JJ hadn't shown up pregnant, and prayed that didn't happen until she was good and ready. Emily felt lucky that at least JJ had a roommate - a girl named Jordan - that kept an eye on JJ and had a good head on her shoulders.

It felt strange to only have two kids in the house. Like the days when Aaron and JJ were the only two under her care. Except that now, it was Aaron and Spencer. Aaron was almost 15 and Spencer was nearly 12. They were both doing amazingly well academically, but in other areas, Emily wasn't so sure. Even after eight years, Aaron was likely to disappear on holidays or birthdays, assuming that his presence wasn't wanted for them. As a high school freshman, Aaron worked hard and was president of his class. He was dating Haley, the same sweet girl both he and Spencer had known in elementary school. But just as Aaron had feared, his little brother, Spencer, passed him up academically. Though three years younger than his older brother, Spencer was a high school senior. School was a breeze for him, but he had few friends. As the two boys couldn't have been more different, Aaron steered clear of Spencer, except if he needed a fact checked. Emily always felt it a little unfortunate that Aaron had forged such a close bond with JJ and Spencer had done the same with Derek. Now that the older kids were out of the house, it left the younger ones largely without an anchor. Spencer seemed particularly lost, reminding Emily of the four-year-old who was terrified of mundane things and called Derek his "first friend."

Currently, Emily could hear the sounds of her two youngest, bickering over television channels. Sergio was wrapping himself around her legs, always desiring to be involved. In this second, her life felt blessedly normal.

If only Emily could have known, so she might have treasured these last moments…the moments before everything changed.