The Story without a Title

Chapter One- Modern Family

"Bailing?" Kate exclaimed. "What do you mean you are bailing?"

Kate paced around the floor with horror. She could only listen with despair as her sister was quitting on her. This was supposed to be the best vacation ever and now it was on the brink of being terminated. She waited two whole years for this and now she had to listen to her vacation die through a rock cell phone.

"So, in conclusion, I really can't watch your kids all weekend," Kate's sister, Penny, concluded. "Can't anyone else take care of them besides me?"

"Absolutely not," Kate argued, taking offense. "I would never leave them in the paws of strangers."

Well, this was the end. Kate would not be able to leave home after all. She didn't know anyone else that could responsibly take care of her two kids all weekend while she enjoyed a favorite getaway with her one and only mate. There was only one close relative she knew that could possibly be her bridge from stress to tropical getaway… No, that was a screwball idea. She wasn't even going to consider that last option. She had to end this conversation before Penny guessed the answer and then wondered why she wouldn't take it.

"Yep, no one," she told Penny quickly. "No vacation for us. Ta-ta!"

"Wait," Penny screamed in the phone before Kate could hang up. "What about Buck?"

Kate forgot about manners and hung up the phone quickly. If Penny wondered what happened, the battery died. She couldn't bring herself to explain a reasonable answer. Buck? She was very protective over her kids and leaving them in Buck's paws would be worse than letting a T-Rex watch them. Something bad would happen to them because her lunatic brother was an irresponsible bowl of crazy flakes. She always thought this so she always disliked Buck, even since they were little. Penny actually liked him and wouldn't agree with her reasons anyway. Well, the vacation was done now.

Kate walked outside and wondered how she would break the news to Axel that there would be no vacation. They both deserved one more than anything. When she stepped outside the den she saw Axel presenting something to the weasel kids as they gathered around with interest. He pointed to a bunch of numbers on a leaf and was showing them how to do long division.

"Remember, no remainders," he reminded them. "Remainders are not scientific or what a math genius does. What do we do when a number doesn't fit into the dividend?"

"Add a zero and decimal point," Joey finished.

"Yes, that is exactly what we do," Axel praised. "Now how about we try doing something fun."

"This IS fun," Joey insisted.

"No it's not," Jill said. "Let's do something else that is really fun."

Axel seemed confused and Joey had the same expression. From the distance, Kate was also wondering what was actually fun. Learning was the most fun a kid could have, wasn't it?

Jill's eyes trailed to a pink butterfly that was flying by. "Like that!" And then she raced off in pursuit of it. Kate restrained herself from racing after and silently assured herself that Jill chasing a butterfly was safe. The rest of her family members were also silently restraining themselves.

"See?" little Jill called back to them. "This is really-OOF!"

Jill tripped on a rock and skidded to the floor. Kate gasped with terror and raced over to the crime scene along with the others, almost trampled in the stampede. When the little weasel got to her paws, Axel swooped her up effortlessly and she was mauled by her over protective family.

"Oh my goodness, Jilly," Kate panted. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she growled. "I'm completely fine."

"Are you sure?" she pressed. "Do we need to call 911?"

"No!"

Of course they didn't believe her. Joey looked at Jill like she just did something incredibly amazing. In their family, she did. After that epidemic, the kids were ready to find out where the sun really goes every evening.

Kate pulled Axel over to the side to break the news. She braced herself and then said it flat out, "Axel, we can't go on vacation tomorrow."

"What happened?" Axel demanded and was imploding with disappointment as he tried to keep it cool.

"Penny can't take care of the kids this weekend," she explained. "So I guess that is it then."

They stared at the ground, the sky, and wherever else was fit to stare at and silently took this in. Kate expected this to go easily, but she knew Axel was VERY disappointed. He seemed to silently consider options as his green eyes flickered around. Kate felt guilty. She shouldn't have, but she knew that she didn't consider all her options and then finally decided that maybe this was worth their vacation after all.

"I do have another idea that could save our vacation," she began unsurely. "Perhaps Buck could do it."

Axel looked at her very strangely and crossed his paws. "You seriously want that idiot to be left alone with OUR kids for a weekend?"

"Well, it was just an idea."

"Buck is a Wingnut," he tried again. "And a disgrace to your family tree. I mean, a crazy-"

"Okay, Buck's an idiot, I get it," she interrupted. "But Buck isn't all that bad…"

He shrugged and looked to the kids who were messing around. Jill was tormenting Joey who was trying to finish the abandoned division problem. Buck would be a bad, that was an understatement, an appalling influence on their pliant minds. Kate watched them too and then thought of their vacation. Kids… vacation. Kids versus vacation…

"I'll see if Buck is available."