I sat in my room, playing with my toys as I sighed in boredom. School has been out for a week now because a couple of Mhamaí's work friends had mysteriously vanished in the dead of night.... In fact, this was the fourth pair of night gaurds this week that just no longer existed after seeing them the day before, and it's begun to make Papa worry about her's, mine, and Aintín V's safety. "N, honey, I HAVE to go! The DJD is short staffed with all these recent dissapearances as of late- I can't afford to call off as their boss." Mhamaí sighed exasperatedly from outside. "Uzi, PLEASE- there must be SOMETHING you can do to compromise with them! If whatever it is is targeting DJD members only, how do you know you won't be next? At least if you're here, I can protect Gambit AND you without having to worry about losing one of you." Papa protested, his voice thick with worry. I set my toys down, and went to my bedroom door to listen in on them as Mhamaí snapped, "I don't NEED protection- our priority is Gambit; HER protection matters more to me than my own, N!" "And I'm not implying that it doesn't, dear. I just want to be the husband you need, and look out for you- Gambit gets to see me almost every day, so I KNOW she's safe and sound! You're here and there, and I don't want you to get nabbed." "Honey, I'm not a child anymore; you don't HAVE to protect me from something I don't even know." "True, but I also don't want our child to lose their MOTHER." Papa protested. The front door finally slammed shut, and my Papa let out a frustrated groan before flopping on the sofa in the lounge. Since the dissapearances, Mhamaí and Papa seemed to have been arguing a lot- mostly because my Mhamaí's too hard headed, and my Papa, bless him, had a soul too good for his own metal! I walked out of my room to greet him in the lounge and check on him; He seemed so very stressed, and tired as he grumbled under his breath. I took his arm, and gently shook it before saying softly, "Papa? Papa? Are you alright?" "No, Gambit sweetheart, I'm not.... Mommy still refuses to listen to me; says I'm only overreacting, and that she can handle herself, but it's not like Cyn and the Absolute Solver, or back when we were saving you! I just worry that she'll accidentally slip, and we'll lose her..." He turned his head to face me, his yellow eyes weary from worrying so, and I gently moved his hair from his face as I comforted, "Oh, Papa. You shouldn't worry for Mhamaí TOO much! Mhamaí's a strong lady, and she can fight off any bad guys that try to hurt any one of us- you can't have ALL the fun or responsibility of protecting us you know." "I know, sweetie, but it's just so hard to do. It's my job as a husband and father to protect the family, and I feel like I'm not doing enough for you both. I don't want to fail or disappoint you and mommy..." He murmured, taking my hand softly, and running his thumb over the back. "Why, Papa! I'm shocked you'd think we'd be disappointed in you for sharing the load." I replied, letting go of his hand to climb onto the sofa with him, making him sit up. Once I was settled beside Papa, I leaned my head on him, and continued, "Mhamaí and I KNOW how hard you work to keep us all safe, happy, and together. We love you SO so much, Papa! And because we love you, we want to protect you too..." I looked up at him, and said softly, "Just because we want to help, doesn't make you a failure. It means that you have such an impact on us that we only wish to pay back that kindness! We're so proud of you, Papa, and on behalf of Mhamaí, I thank you for thinking of us, and loving us unconditionally always." Papa gave a small smile before glancing down at the Coffee table at the news article that talked about the dissapearances in a worried manner. To redirect his gaze from the grim headline, I took a candy bowl, and covered it up before climbing into his arms to embrace my Papa. He chuckled slightly, and asked, "What did I ever do to deserve such a loving family?" "Easy, Papa. You never stopped loving others!" I replied, kissing him lightly on the cheek. I understand Papa's worries, and I do suppose Mhamaí should be a bit more understanding to him, but he also needed to understand her as well! They both have experienced so much in their lives, and always looked out for each other to the best of their abilities despite their different veiws- something precious and not to be taken lightly from either side. "Though, I DO hope the missing gaurds are okay." I said, giving a silent prayer to them and their families. "I hope so too... And I hope whoever took and held them are apprehended soon..." Papa sighed, continuing to hold me close to him. "Say, where's Beta gone off to? I bet he'll cheer you up quite quickly! Beta! Oh, Beeeeeettttaaaaa!" I called, and a jangling came from my Papa and Mhamaí's room followed by a mechanical barking. A silver dog came into the room, his big, floppy ears, dopey eyes, and loppy tongued face looked our way in excitement. I looked over at the doggy with a smile, and said, "Beta, come! Papa's not feeling to good today." As I had commanded, Beta obeyed, and he quickly trotted his way to us before leaping onto the sofa, and making himself comfortable beside Papa; resting his head on his knee with a look of contentment. "Good boy, Beta. See? Beta wants you to feel better too!" I chirped, and Beta barked in agreement as my Papa laughed. I liked when he laughed because it lit up any room no matter what the occasion, or the situation! He pat Beta on the head, praising the mechanical Golden Retriever for hid loyalty before saying, "Okay, Gammy, I see where you're getting at. Just, if you absolutely MUST leave the home cubical, PLEASE let me know where you're going, and be VERY careful, okay? Papa doesn't want to beat up a poor guy or gal because you're hurt." I nodded my head, and promised in a confident tone, "I will, Papa!" My Papa smiled, relived, and nodded as he continued to hold me close. A few hours ticked by, and we stayed in solitude before I asked Papa with a sneaky grin, "How's your Irish been?" "Awww, don't bring THAT up. ANYTHING but THAT!" My Papa whined in a joking manner. "YOU wanted to learn, Papa. You can't back away now!" "I know, kiddo. It's complex, and between work and all this it just kept slipping my mind." "Do you at least remember your vowels?" "Nooooottt reaaaalllyyy... You offering to help?" "I suppose, if it means I get to see your Irish in action." I giggled. For the next hour I was helping my Papa go over the basic vowels in my language while stifling laughter at his odd attempts to say them when Mhamaí finally came home to the sight. "Mhamaí!" I cried out, running up to her, and embracing her. "Hey there Gambit! Teaching daddy alien again?" She teased, ruffling my hair. I finally laughed while Papa cried, "I-It wasn't alien speech! I was doing Irish vowels..." "But he DID sound like an alien." I teased back along with her, and Papa waved me off playfully as Mhamaí hung up her coat, and came to the lounge to sit with Papa. She laid across his lap, while I climbed onto her stomach, and Papa laughed as he asked, "Good day today?" "For the most part... We finally found the missing gaurds, but I'll tell you when Gambit's not in the room." Mhamaí said exhaustedly as she cuddled me. Papa nodded in understanding, and I exclaimed happily, "Yay! Now they can go back to their families." For some reason, this made Mhamaí's smile look more.... Bittersweet.... Wasn't she happy that the missing gaurds were going back to their families? Papa spoke up, a gentle ring in his voice as he told me to go play for a moment while Mhamaí and him spoke. I nodded, kissed my Mhamaí's cheek, hugged Papa, and climbed down to go play in my room with the door slightly cracked. Beta had come with me, and he curled up onto my bed as I opened up a book to read about a magic bunny. It was very quiet in my room- nothing but the soft snoring from Beta, and the quiet whispers of my parents as they spoke about today. I listened intently, hoping I could pick up on what they were saying, but it wasn't any good... They were too quiet.... "Gee... I sure hope Mhamaí's okay...." I said to myself before getting back to my story... That night, sitting around at Supper seemed to bring Mhamaí's mood back into higher spirits, and my Papa rambled on and on about stories from his Mechanics job, making us laugh! There was nothing to worry about, or at least, that's what I had thought until the next day when I got a visit from Fletcher and Thatcher...