Brooke looked up at her sister, “I guess it’s the least I can do, since you helped me out this morning.”

“No Sis,” C.C. grabbed onto her sister’s arm and pulled her toward the door, “The least you can do is buy the pizza, too.”

The scrub-clad woman stood at the entryway of her house to see the small doorstep taken up by two of her siblings. Quirking a silly smile, she greeted them, “Well, look who’s bearing gifts. If it isn’t my sisters, Fric and Frac.”

“Bite me, Terri,” Brooke shoved past her, juggling several pizza boxes and two six packs of beer.

“Glad to see that you could make it C.C.,” Terri motioned with her head toward Brooke, “Where’d you pick up that mad dog?”

Brooke set the impromptu dinner down on the coffee table in the living room and turned to address Terri. “I’m not allowed to stop and see my sister? It must be a bad time… is Rick around?”

“Hey, you know the policy, anytime, as long as you bring food. And I see,” Terri lifted the lid on the pizza box, “…you’ve paid the toll.” The woman dug a slice out of the box and took a seat on the couch. “Rick…are you kidding? If I’m here, he’s there at the hospital. Don’t worry, my sex life isn’t going to suffer by you stopping by.”

C.C. threw her purse on the small hallstand and followed her sisters, “You mean, you old married couples still have sex?” She flopped down in a chair and leaned forward toward the boxes of food.

“Hey, watch it.” Brooke halted her first bite of pizza, “I’m older than her C.C.”

“Yeah, but you’re not married…” C.C. paused before adding, “…yet.”

The second eldest sibling looked rather surprised at her sister, “Yet? You think this is going to change sometime soon?”

The young woman winked, letting a smile come to her face as she swallowed her food. “You know what I mean.” Her tone was almost apologetic.

“Yeah…I know,” Brooke smirked then turned to Terri. “So…just for future reference, it’s marriage first, then the kids…right?”

C.C. stuck her tongue out at Brooke in defiance, “Trust me Brooke, children are not in my game plan yet… I hope.” The brunette crossed her fingers, offering a brief prayer up to the heavens, then resumed her eating.

“Well, the little buggers are in mine. You should have seen the screaming children that I took care of today,” Terri rubbed her ear as if it hurt.

“Well, I was just asking for future reference.” Brooke cleared her throat, “I mean… I’d hate to get the two backwards.” She grinned, and then bit into her slice of pizza.

“Ah…Brooke, you’d have to get more than that backwards to have kids,” Terri wiped her mouth trying to hide the smile on her face. “You’d have to get a man.”

“Nope… not necessarily,” Brooke winked at C.C. as she received a glare in return. “Who knows, I might one day find someone to have a baby for me.”

Seeing the look on C.C.’s face, Terri offered her thoughts, “Now C.C., we can do a lot in the laboratory…” the physician smiled at the chance to tease her younger sister, “but you better invest in a large…” Terri caught Brooke’s attention, then glanced toward C.C., “very large petri dish. You know how big the Gordon babies come.”

“Oh yeah, right,” Brooke added with a subtle wink.

“Yeah, right. Some of us are even bigger than life,” C.C. looked over at Brooke.

“So, you think if I decide to have a kid one day, that I should warn my partner about what they’re getting into, or out of, first?” Brooke exchanged glances with Terri then smiled, waiting for C.C. to respond.

She waited to finish her last bit of pizza before wiping her hands on her napkin and nonchalantly asking her sister, “And you’re going to get sperm from whom for that one, Brooke? It’s not like we have any brothers.”

“Oh yeah…” the older sister nodded, “…need that stuff huh?” Brooke swallowed her food and washed it down with a mouthful of beer, “Okay, so it wouldn’t actually be a Gordon baby…”

Finally, C.C. started to catch on, “Hey, you guys are just trying to scare me… aren’t you?” She looked at both sisters and nodded, “Yeah, I thought so.”

Brooke tilted her head to the side and looked at C.C., “Is it working?”

The brunette shot a dirty look at her sisters, “It has got me thinking.”

“Oh yeah?” Brooke sat back on the couch, “About what?”

“About how we need an expert to settle this discussion once and for all.” C.C. jumped up from her chair and strode over to the telephone on the hallstand. Picking it up she punched in a number then waited as she watched the questioning looks on her sisters’ faces.

Hearing the voice on the other end, C.C. turned her attention back to the phone. “Hey, we were just having a discussion and thought you might have the answers. How about if you come over to Terri’s.” She paused for a moment, listening to the reply, then nodded, “Okay… see you in a few.” The woman hung up the phone, and then turned back to the living room, “Now we’ll get the real story.” She dusted off her hands and took her seat on the chair.

Terri and Brooke both looked at each other, then turned to watch C.C. shrug her shoulders.

“Hey, she’s the one with the kids. I called in the expert witness,” C.C. said smugly. “Yep,” she opened the box and took another slice out, “It’s a sisters dinner for sure now.”

“What did I miss?” Terri looked from C.C. to Brooke, then back again.

“Randi’s on her way,” Brooke sighed, “and all because she’s given birth.” The tall woman shook her head and muttered under her breath, “All because I wanted to make sure that it’s marriage first before kids.”

Terri rolled her eyes, “I just hope she acts like the lawyer that she is and keeps it brief. You know how she gets sometimes,” the woman frowned, “…one subject leading her into another.”

“Yeah, Randi has the tendency of thinking she’s going into trial when she talks to us.” Brooke leaned back and bit off another crust of pizza.

“God, I wish I was that committed to my profession.” Terri sighed, “Sorry, but I’m not treating you girls as patients.”

“Even me, Ter? I’m still the baby of the family,” C.C. batted her eyes and smiled, acting childlike.

“Thank God you don’t treat us like patients!” Brooke swallowed and began teasing her sister, “The last thing I need is you shoving a thermometer up my ass.”

Surprised by the statement, Terri shook her head, “Hey, what do you think nurses are for?” She smiled wiggling her eyebrows mischievously. “Besides, I’d much rather prefer to keep to the ears, nose and throats, thank you.”

“Good point,” Brooke emphasized it by pointing at her sister and smiling back.

“Ewwwee, that’s the breeding ground of all childhood infections,” C.C. made a face.

“You would know that too… always sticking your nose into everyone’s life.” Terri threw a crumbled up napkin at her younger sister.

“Oh, but it helped me to know you guys so well,” C.C. showed a coy smile.

The sound of the doorbell set Brooke in motion, getting up off the couch and strolling over to the door. She looked out the window in the door before opening it. “Hey, guess who’s here? It’s Randi.”

“Hey Sis, you’re a little out of your territory, aren’t you?” Randi tapped Brooke on the shoulder, and then walked past her.

“Nice to see you, too.” Brooke closed the door, “Actually, I had some errands to do in the area.”

Randi turned and winked, “Sure.” She entered the living room and addressed the other sisters in turn, “Doc,” she nodded, “Brat.” Walking past them, she settled into the recliner in the corner, “So, should we break right in to the questioning that is overwhelming all of your minds today?”

“Well… seems simple enough…” Brooke walked into the room and took her seat, “marriage is supposed to come before the kids, right?” She looked at her older sister with a little upturned smile to her lips.

The lawyer skirted the underlying implication, “In a perfect world… or are we talking C.C.’s?” Randi let her gaze go to the youngest sister.

“Hey, I resent that,” C.C.’s head popped up from her beer can.

Clearing her throat, Brooke drew the attention back to herself, “I just wanted to know for future reference…”

“Future reference? Brooke… you changing in mid stream?” Randi smirked as she watched her sister shake her head adamantly. “Then why would it matter to you?”

“I told you… for future reference. I won’t be single forever.”

Randi watched Brooke closely, trying to figure her sister out. “Then you are switching.”

Brooke grabbed a slice of pizza, and then took a pull from her beer. “Nope. It may not be legal, but I could get married… eventually,” she shrugged.

“What are you planning to do… have your own harem like I suggested at dinner the other night? I guess it got you thinking, huh?”

Terri and C.C. both spit out their food and drink at the thought, causing both of them to jump at the same time for napkins, smacking into each other in the process.

“I mean with one person… just like you and Terri have done. Ring any bells?” Brooke smiled innocently.

“Cute Brooke, but those bells would be wedding bells then?”

“Hey, I was just thinking about the ‘grandchild’ discussion over dinner at Mom’s.” The musician winked at C.C., “Not anytime soon.”

The youngest sibling covered her ears, while scrunching up her face at the thought of giving birth. “Long time for me, I hope.”

“Why the face C.C.?” Randi looked over at her baby sister. “At the rate you’re going through the guys… you’ll be the next one.”

“And to think, I was the one who invited you.” C.C. stuck out her tongue, causing Brooke to nearly spit out her beer as she burst into laughter.