Hey all. This is my fourth and final story of this series. I realize it is not a popular series, so I am just going to post all the chapters and have it complete all at once. I'm disappointed that it didn't really interest anyone, but I still enjoyed writing it. Anyway, here it is. If you feel like leaving a review, I would greatly appreciate it.

Lee Christmas tapped his fingers on the wheel of his truck while he looked around out the window. It was a grey, rainy day, and the dampness chilled him a little on top of the already brisk weather they'd been experiencing that spring. He heard the bell go off inside, and he turned to see children start coming outside from the school. He spotted his 9 year old son, Eli, talking animatedly with his best friend, Katie. Lee smiled. If he didn't know any better, he'd say his son had a small crush on her. He watched them wave at each other before his son came towards where he was parked.

"Hi, Dad," he said, climbing in. Lee smiled at him.

"Hey, sport. How was your day?"

"It was okay," he answered, buckling up. Lee started the truck and pulled out onto the road.

"What exciting thing did you learn today?" he asked after a moment.

"I learned about weather," Eli replied. "It was cool. We made it rain."

"Really," Lee said. His windshield wipers squeaked a little. He stifled his laugh. All they had to do was go outside to get some rain.

"How was your day?" Eli asked.

"Same ol' same ol'," Lee answered. "Fixed some cars. Talked to some people. Had lunch with your Mom." Something he was still avidly thinking about, but he didn't let on.

"Did Uncle Barney call?" Eli asked, excited. Lee chuckled. Eli loved the Expendable team. Toll was his ultimate favorite, but Barney was a close second. He was supposedly coming to visit, and Eli was asking every day when he was coming.

"Not yet. I promise to let you know when he does," Lee said.

"Okay."

Lee thought about his old team as he drove. They were getting older, but they still did the odd mission. Barney had mentioned possible retirement soon, though. True to Barney's prediction, Lee had gone back to work with them seven years ago, but he had stopped doing missions again when Eli turned six. He had almost died in a particularly brutal fashion, and it had made him realize that he wanted to be able to teach his son stuff when he got older instead of simply being a memory or a story that was told. It had put his wife, Rita Vrataski, at ease when he hung up his knives and said he was done for good this time.

"Katie invited me to her family cottage this weekend," Eli said, bouncing in his seat. "She said you and Mom could come too."

"Oh yea?"

"Yea! It'll be fun. Pleeeeaaaase?"

"I'll ask your mother."

"I hope she says yes," Eli said, crossing his fingers. Lee chewed on his cheek. Katie's father was some big shot lawyer who drove him nuts, but he didn't have the heart to tell Eli that. He had no idea what Katie's mother did, but they had a lot of money, so he figured she was someone important. The idea of spending a weekend with them just seemed unfair, but he wanted his son to be happy. They pulled into their driveway, and as soon as he parked, Eli was out the door and tearing up the steps to the house, calling for Rita. Lee got out and followed slowly.

"Hey, you," Rita said, embracing Eli as he hugged her waist tightly. "Good day?"

"It was awesome."

"Good."

"My day was pretty epic too," Lee said, winking at her from behind Eli. She blushed. Their "lunch" had been pretty wild. He was remembering it quite vividly, and he knew she knew it.

"Barney called," Rita said, clearing her throat.

"He did?!" Eli shouted, jumping up and down now. "Is he coming? Is he coming?!"

"He'll be here Sunday night."

"Yaaaayyy!"

"Why don't you go wash up and do some homework?" Rita suggested. Eli obeyed without hesitation. Lee went over to her and circled her waist with his arms from behind, burying his face into her neck.

"I'm amazed you're even standing," she teased.

"It's an effort, but it was worth it," he responded, kissing her neck softly. "Eli forgot to mention our invitation for this weekend."

"For what?"

"The Millers want us to attend their cottage."

"It's not even warm out yet," Rita said, frowning. "The lake would be freezing."

"I didn't have the heart to say no," Lee replied.

"Hmm. All right. I know how much he likes Katie."

"If they stay friends, we might be looking at his future in laws," Lee teased.

"Oy," Rita sighed. Lee laughed as he pulled a beer out of the fridge. It was one weekend. It wouldn't kill them.

...

"You go through with this deal or else," the man threatened. The woman scoffed.

"Or else what?"

"You'll be very sorry."

"Oh, please. Threats? That shit doesn't make me bow down to your commands."

"Be careful, Theresa," the man warned. "You might regret this."

"Get out of my office," Theresa said angrily, banging her fist on her desk. He obliged but not without a final glance back at her. It made her feel a little bit chilled.

At the Cottage

Lee surveyed the place as they got out. Eli was already running towards Katie, who was waiting for them. Rita pulled out their duffel bag and Eli's back pack. Lee took them both from her and slung the backpack over his shoulder.

"Whatever happens, we stick together," Rita said, squeezing his shoulder.

"Just don't leave me alone with him for too long," Lee warned. "I can only take so much stupid in one sitting."

Rita snorted with laughter and walked ahead of him to greet Katie's mother and father. Lee groaned inwardly. It looked like he would be going golfing. He wished he had one of his knives on him. He'd stab himself with it.

...

Rita watched Katie and Eli playing on the lawn down by the lake. She was nervous of Eli falling in. The water would cause hypothermia in no time. It was still technically early spring after all. The snow had maybe been gone a week.

"So, what do you do again?" Katie's mother asked. Theresa Miller. England's Secretary of State for Defense, which she was very quick to share with them. Rita surveyed this woman carefully. She was dressed to the nines and drinking the most expensive alcohol Rita had ever seen. She felt very under dressed and a little frumpy, not that she looked terrible. Lee had always admired her ability to stay muscular and slim all these years.

"I used to teach history," Rita said. "But they asked me to help train soldiers for the army a few years back, so I do that now."

"Oh," Theresa said. "That's...nice."

"Your husband is a lawyer?" Rita asked, changing the subject.

"Yes. Tom is very good at what he does."

"Is he prosecution or defense?"

"Defense of course."

"Of course," Rita smiled, chugging back her wine. She wanted to choke on it and die. She hoped Eli was having a good time at least. Lee had given her a very forlorn look as Tom took him to play golf. Apparently indoor golf was a thing. Rita wanted to laugh because Tom was decked out in his golf outfit while Lee was in khaki pants and a white long sleeve shirt, his ball cap low over his eyes. She knew how much he hated golf. She reminded herself to reward him later for going.

"Eli is so sweet," Theresa said. "You did well with him."

"We did," Rita bobbed her head. She wanted to hit this woman. Of course she did well with Eli. He was her son!

"No siblings for him then?"

"We were happy with just the one," Rita replied. Truth be told, they had been unsuccessful having another baby, but they agreed after trying for a while that it was okay to just have Eli. They could always adopt if they wanted to.

"Oh, you're back," Theresa said, seeing Tom and Lee return barely an hour after they'd left.

"My client called. There's a bit of a crisis going on. I have to deal with it," Tom explained, heading for his office. Lee joined Rita on the couch, and she leaned into him. Theresa looked at them for a second too long before turning to Tom.

"Must you? We have company."

"It's okay," Rita assured them. "We understand crisis."

"I won't be long," Tom promised. Then he was gone. Theresa sighed heavily.

"Well, that'll be the last you see of him all weekend," she said. "More wine?" She got up and went to find another bottle.

"I have never fantasized about wrapping a putter around someone's neck so much before," Lee murmured into Rita's ear. She giggled. He kissed her neck suggestively.

"Lee," she hissed, twisting. "Not here."

"Oh come on. She's not watching."

"No," she said firmly, pushing him back as he smirked.

"Here we go," Theresa said, returning. "So, how long have you two been married?"

"Just over 11 years," Rita answered.

"How did you meet?"

"I showed up on her team during the War. It was annoyance at first sight," Lee replied, nudging Rita teasingly.

"I didn't like getting new members at such a crucial time in the War," Rita argued.

"Oh, so you fought together," Theresa said, looking back and forth between them. Lee squeezed Rita's hand then.

"We did," Rita nodded.

"I guess I should thank you both for stopping the Mimics from taking over."

"Ah, don't mention it," Lee shrugged. "It was a long time ago."

Theresa didn't answer. By this time, Katie and Eli were back.

"Can we go for a hike?" Eli asked eagerly.

"Sure," Rita agreed. Anything to not talk to Theresa one on one for a bit.

...

"Careful," Rita called as Eli and Katie raced each other back to the cottage dock. It was a very long dock, and they were heading for the very end. Theresa was on her phone frowning while Rita and Lee held hands and walked side by side. Tom was, of course, in his office working.

"Everything all right?" Lee asked Theresa, seeing her face.

"Of course," she replied. She looked around nervously then, and Lee felt his internal alarm going off.

"Hey, Eli," Lee said. "Why don't you guys come on inside?"

"That's a great idea," Theresa agreed quickly. Too quickly. Even Rita caught it this time. She looked at Lee, who flicked his eyes back at Theresa, who looked very anxious. Lee went to yell again when the boat appeared from nowhere. Rita gripped Lee's arm.

"ELI!" Lee roared when he saw the men holding guns. Theresa started screaming. The kids saw too late. The boat was already at the dock, halfway from the shore. Lee and Rita both started running down to the dock while Theresa stood frozen, still screaming. Tom appeared on the deck.

"What's going on?!" he shouted. Then he saw what was happening. He yanked out his phone to call the police.

Lee felt his blood surging through his body, roaring in his ears. It seemed he would never get there in time. Two men hopped out, and one grabbed Katie, who started kicking and screaming. Eli tried to help, and he was nabbed too.

"STOP!" Lee shouted.

"ELIIII!" Rita screamed. The boat started to pull away, and the men on board started firing at them. Lee ducked the bullets. He was frantic to reach them, to jump on board and pummel the shit out of them. All he could see was his son struggling and shouting, afraid. More shots went off, and he heard Theresa scream Rita's name bloody murder. Lee threw his head back in time to see his wife clutching her stomach and tumbling off the dock and into the lake. His brain was torn. He knew she would freeze in seconds, but he wanted to stop them from taking their son.

"DAD! MOM!" Eli was bawling, his arms outstretched. Lee stopped at the end of the dock, knowing he couldn't get to his son. He memorized everything he could about the boat and the kidnappers before he turned and pounded down to where Rita had fallen in and leaped in after her. The water was dark, but he eventually found her. He could feel his body tightening up from the cold, his brain growing foggy. He surfaced, gasping. By then, Tom was there, and he helped pull Rita out and then Lee, who was shaking hard from the cold he could barely stand.

"Come on," Tom urged. "Inside, hurry. I've called the police already. Come on before you get hypothermia."

Lee carried Rita in his arms, adrenaline kicking in. Theresa was crying and screaming still. Lee felt tunnel vision, and he burst into the cottage, kicking the door practically off it's hinges. He'd had enough training in his lifetime to know what to do. Rita was conscious, but he knew she was freezing cold. She was also bleeding from her bullet wound, which luckily didn't appear to be life threatening. Lee set her down on the floor and started yanking her cold clothes off.

"Lee," she tried.

"It's all right," he said. "Don't talk. Save your energy." He whipped his wet clothes off as well and grabbed the blanket off the bed, wrapping Rita in it tightly. He went into the guest bath and toweled himself dry quickly. He came back and dried off Rita as well before putting track pants and a hoodie on her, picking her up off the floor and burying her under more blankets. He pressed a towel to her wound under her hoodie and tried not to watch as they both turned red. The image of his son reaching for him trapped in his mind as well. Everything felt like a nightmare, but he wasn't waking up from it. After a few moments, Rita wasn't convulsing from the cold as bad, but she was crying. Lee put on dry clothes and two sweatshirts, trying to warm up himself.

"Here," Tom said, coming in with a heater. "Use this. Or better yet, come to the fireplace. It'll warm you up faster than ever."

"I'm gonna need gauze," Lee said. "I have to fix Rita up."

"From what?"

"She got shot."

"Oh my God."

"Rita, luv," Lee said, going to her side. "I have to look at your wound. I know you're cold."

"It really hurts," she whispered.

"I know. I'll fix it up. I need you to bear with me, all right?"

"Lee," she whispered as he pulled the blankets back. There was blood everywhere. He removed the towel as gently as he could so he could survey the damage.

"The police are here," Tom said as he came back with gauze. "So are the medics. She needs to be looked at."

"Is it bad?" Rita asked.

"Bad enough," Lee answered. He was seething inside. How dare those monsters come here and steal his son and shoot his wife?!

"In here," Tom called to someone out in the living room. A medic appeared in the doorway a moment later.

"Hi, Rita," he said. "I'm gonna take you to the hospital okay? They'll fix you up in no time."

"Eli," Rita managed to say.

"The police are on it," Tom answered before Lee could. "They'll find him and Katie."

"Do you know who those men were?" Lee demanded. Tom shook his head.

"I don't."

"Why would they take the kids?"

Tom looked at him for a moment before looking out where Theresa was sitting and crying.

"You'll have to ask my wife," he answered. Lee felt like everything was in slow motion as Rita was loaded up into the ambulance. He got in with her, the police promising to get their statements at the hospital soon. Lee held Rita's hand the whole way, conveying to her that everything would be all right. And they would be if he had anything to say about it.