A/N Yeah, so this story is about Artemis and Butler's brother/brother and father/son relationship throughout the years. As far as I know, there's nothing that really need a warning, but I'll tell you if there have is a time there needs to be one.

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl, unfortunately.

Butler had always been there for Artemis. He'd been by his side since he was born, protecting him from everything. From criminals, bullies, and even himself sometimes. Artemis had always been his principal, and, although their relationship had gotten strained at some points, Butler had stayed by Artemis' side through thick and thin. He stayed when Artemis was doing everything in his power and chasing every lead to find his father, when he got a crazy idea to capture a fairy, and when he fought side-by-side with said fairy. He'd been there every night after Artemis had been born and woken up screaming because he was hungry, he'd been there when ever Artemis had gotten sick, and he'd been there every time Artemis had a nightmare.

He stayed not only because the Butler's had always served the Fowl's, but because Artemis had become a little brother to him. Artemis had become just as much family to him as Juliet was. And, although there were times where he felt like leaving, he didn't because Artemis needed him. He knew the chance of the boy admitting it was rare, but it was true. Artemis didn't just need him to take down the criminals and bad guys, but also to be there for him. Because Butler was one of the few people who hadn't let Artemis down, who hadn't left him.

No matter what, no matter how strained their relationship got, Butler would always be by Artemis' side. Always.

2 Weeks Old

"Come on, Artemis, please stop crying," Butler begged as he looked down at the young baby, who was only a couple weeks old. He sighed, hating his job at the moment. "You're his principal, so you're going to take care of him. Angeline and I are very busy, so you'll have to learn how to do it. It's part of your job," the Major had told him.

Butler ran a hand over his face, sighing as the baby's cries got louder. He gently reached into the crib, taking out the small baby and cradling him in his arms. Butler couldn't help but marvel at how small he was; he fit in Butler's palm. Of course, he didn't have much time to marvel about it as another wave of crying came from him.

Butler sighed again as he started rocking Artemis, quietly begging him to stop crying. Yes, the great Butler was begging a child to stop crying. But, after you've been woken up by a crying child for six days in a row, you start begging. Butler had a new found respect for mothers, especially mothers with more than one child.

"Having a little problem with Arty?" Angeline asked as she walked into the room.

Butler just looked over at her before nodding and saying, "I can't him to go back to sleep."

Angeline just smiled and walked over to Butler. She studied Artemis for a couple seconds before stating, "He's hungry."

"How-?" Butler started, staring in confusion at Angeline.

"How do I know that he's hungry?" Angeline finished, continuing only after Butler nodded. "It's a mother's instincts. He's crying because he's hungry and wants someone to feed him. You keep holding him and I'll go warm up a bottle for him." Before Butler could say anything in protest of leaving him with Artemis, Angeline walked out the door, heading towards the kitchen.

Butler sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that night, and glanced down at Artemis, who was still crying. "Just you and me, eh?" Butler said, still rocking the small child in an effort to calm him a little bit.

The next couple minutes seemed to be a couple hours for Butler. For someone trained to wait things out, he wanted Angeline just to come back with the bottle so he could leave. He felt awkward rocking a child and trying to calm him while he cried his eyes out. All of his training had never prepared him to take care of a baby.

"Come on, Artemis. I'll do anything if you just stop crying," Butler said as he sat down in a chair in the room, still rocking Artemis. Artemis just stared up at him with wide blue eyes, tears still running down his face. Butler shook his head and just continued to hold the boy, praying that Angeline would come back soon.

Five minutes later- five long minutes spent with Butler still trying to calm Artemis down- Angeline walked into the room with a bottle in her hand. When Butler tried to hand Artemis to her, she just shook her head. "I have a feeling you'll need to know how to feed little Arty. So, you're learning today," she said.

Butler bit back his groan as he nodded and sat back down in the rocking chair. Angeline showed him how to hold Artemis right while holding the bottle in one hand, and then she placed a towel over Butler's shoulder. Butler raised an eyebrow as he glanced up at her, silently questioning what she was doing.

"You'll have to burp him after you feed him, and babies tend to spit up when they burp," Angeline explained. Butler just nodded, trying not to imagine what baby spit-up looked like. "Well then, place the bottle tip at the corner of his mouth."

Butler did as she said, watching as Artemis latched onto the bottle, immediately sucking at it. Butler held the bottle with one hand as he cradled Artemis with the other, waiting till he was done and had drank all the milk before pulling the bottle away.

"Burp him," Angeline said, smiling as she watched the confusion pass over Butler's face. "Just lay his head on your shoulder, and pat his back. Gently. I don't want him getting a broken rib."

"I won't break his rib," Butler said, following Angeline's instructions and carefully adjusted Artemis till his head was lying on his shoulder. He gently patted Artemis' back till the boy burped, then brought him back down so he was lying in Butler's arms. Butler winced at the milk dribbling down Artemis' face. Angeline took the towel off Butler's shoulder and used a clean corner to wipe the milk of Artemis.

"There we go. He should be fine now. Just put him back down in the crib and he should be good for the rest of the night," Angeline said, smiling down at her son. Butler nodded and stood up, still cradling Artemis in his arms. Artemis was already beginning to fall asleep, his eyes slowly shutting. Angeline walked out of the room, most likely to go back to bed, while Butler gently laid the child back into the crib and pulled the blanket over him. Artemis was already asleep, his eyes closed and his chest slowly rising and falling.

"Good night, Artemis," Butler whispered, before flipping the light off and walking out of the room.

6 Months Old

"He's weird, and chubby," Juliet stated, pocking at Artemis.

Butler sighed. Juliet had already said that many times. "Jules, he's just a baby. He's going to be weird and chubby," Butler explained. Juliet looked up at Butler, made a face, and looked back down at Artemis.

They were all in the living room. Artemis was on a blanket, toys surrounding him, although he didn't seem to be interested in any of them, instead he was staring up at Juliet. Juliet was leaning over Artemis, poking him, much to butler's chagrin. Butler was sitting on the couch, watching his little sister and young charge very carefully. If either of them got hurt, he'd be paying the price. Whether it came from the Major or Fowl Senior, it wouldn't be good.

"Still, I bet I wasn't this weird when I was a baby," Juliet said.

"Juliet, you looked the same as any baby in the world does," Butler said, hoping Juliet would just drop it and leave Artemis alone. Of course, she didn't.

"No, I didn't!" Juliet said indigently. She looked up at Butler just as she pocked at Artemis' stomach again, unfortunately, this time she poked a little too hard. Juliet didn't notice how Artemis' face crumbled up as he got ready to cry, but Butler did. He quickly got off the couch, walked over to where Artemis and Juliet were, and picked Artemis up. But by then it was too late to stop the wails that broke out as soon as Artemis was picked up.

"What's wrong with him?" Juliet asked, covering her ears to block out Artemis' cries, which made her speak much louder than normal. "I think he's broken."

Butler tried to hold back his annoyance, "He's not broken, Jules. You just poked him too hard, and please speak softer. I don't think you speaking loud is helping very much." He started rocking Artemis, trying to calm him down.

Juliet pouted, "I didn't do anything to him. He just started screaming."

Butler sighed, knowing there was no possible way for him to get Juliet to understand that she'd hurt Artemis, so, instead, he just continued to rock Artemis in his arms. It took a couple minutes, but Butler finally managed to get Artemis to stop crying. Butler looked down at Artemis, whose eyes were red and puffy, and whose bottom lip was still trembling. He was about to put Artemis back down on his blanket, hoping that the boy would fall asleep, when Juliet spoke up again.

"Is he fixed now?" she asked.

Butler decided it best not to argue with her anymore, "Yes, Jules, he's fixed." Butler gently laid Artemis on his blanket, before turning to Juliet. "If you're good and don't poke or both him for the rest of the day, I'll give you an extra scooping of ice cream tonight," Butler offered. "Deal?"

"Deal!" Juliet practically screamed. Artemis whimpered, and Juliet had the courtesy to look sorry. "I mean, deal," she whispered.

1 1/2 Years Old

"Butwew," Artemis said as he stumbled on his small legs, grabbing onto Butler just in time to stop himself from falling.

Butler shook his head, amused by his principal. Artemis had taken to walking all around the house, even though he still fell over quite a bit. Butler and Angeline Fowl had moved things around so he wouldn't hurt himself if he fell, and so there were certain objects he could grab onto so he wouldn't fall. Butler would much rather have it so Artemis wasn't walking around until he was steady on his feet, but that hadn't gone well for the first ten minutes, let alone the next couple months.

"Yes, Artemis?" Butler asked, looking down at the little boy.

"Hungwy," Artemis said, unable to pronounce the 'r's right. He pointed towards the clock, which said that it was noon. "Lunch."

"I guess it is," Butler said, picking Artemis up, and ignoring his protests that he could walk just fine himself. "Now now, I'm not going to have you hurting yourself right before lunch."

"I won't huwt myself," Artemis protested, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Butler.

Butler suppressed his smile, knowing that it would just make Artemis more annoyed. But, really, a little kid trying to look angry is really adorable, even to Butler. "Okay, well, humor me. Just let me carry you so I feel better," Butler proposed.

Artemis huffed but nodded. "Fine," he pouted, laying his head on Butler's shoulder.

They walked into the dining room. Butler set Artemis down in his booster seat, since he refused to sit in his high chair, which would have made much more sense since he was very small and could barely look over the table in the booster seat. Butler quickly told the cook what he and Artemis would be having before going back over to Artemis, who was trying to reach over the table for the cup filled with coffee, most likely left out by Fowl senior.

"No," Butler said sternly, grabbing Artemis' hand and forcing him to keep his hands in his lap. "You know what your mother has said about you having coffee."

"But it stimuwlates youw mind," Artemis whined. Butler gave him The Look, and Artemis didn't protest again, although he continued to glare at the coffee cup.

Butler sat down in his own chair, making sure to keep a close eye on Artemis. The boy hadn't gotten very sneaky already. At one-and-a-half, Butler wouldn't have expected Artemis to already be doing the stuff he had been doing lately, but apparently Artemis was just as much a genius as Fowl senior was. And that meant that Artemis would be getting into even more danger at a young age.

The cook came in, carrying two plates of food for Butler and Artemis. He set it down in front of them before promptly leaving. Butler dug into his food, while helping Artemis with his as he had problems holding a fork. "It not my fault, it too big," Artemis had whined the first time he had learned that he couldn't hold a fork right.

Just before Artemis had finished (Butler had already finished and was trying to convince him to eat his vegetables), Juliet came running in. "Big brother! I finished my homework, can we go practice now?" Juliet asked. She grabbed Butler's arm and started trying to pull him with her.

"Jules, I'm sorry, but I'm taking care of Artemis right now," Butler said gently. Juliet was always wanting to practice the fighting and martial arts skills Butler had begun teaching her. Unfortunately, she had no patience so she often was trying to get Butler to teach her while he was busy.

Juliet scowled, glaring at Artemis, "Why do you have to take care of him? I'm your little sister, not him!"

Butler sighed, "I know, Jules. But right now, neither Mrs. Fowl or Mr. Fowl are home. So I have to take care of him."

Artemis, who had been listening intently to the conversation and realized that he was the reason Butler couldn't spend time with Juliet, said, "It's okawy. I'll be fine."

Butler shook his head, "I'm not leaving you, Artemis. And your much too young to join us in practice. So, why don't we do something that we can all do together?"

"Like what?" Juliet asked, immediately interested in what her older brother was thinking. Artemis didn't say anything, but Butler could tell that he was interested as well.

"We could always watch a movie. I happen to know that Mrs. Fowl bought a bunch of Disney movies a couple nights ago," Butler said, smiling as Juliet started to jump up and down, shouting "yes" over and over again. He looked over at Artemis, who still hadn't said anything. "What do you think, Artemis?"

Artemis shrugged, "I gwuess it's fine."

"It's settled then," Butler said, standing up and picking Artemis up in his arms. He turned to Juliet. "To the living room." Juliet smiled, turned around, and ran towards the living room, Butler and Artemis following slowly behind her.

Butler smiled as he looked down at his chest, where Artemis was laying, his thumb in his mouth and his eyes closed as he continued to sleep. Looking to the side, Butler could see Juliet curled up on the ground. They'd both fallen asleep during The Little Mermaid. Actually, they'd all fallen asleep.

Artemis had been first, apparently exhausted by his running commentary on how mermaids couldn't possibly exist, and if they did, magic didn't exist to give Ariel legs. Butler had been next, no matter how much he hated admitting it. Artemis' commentary and the fact that he wasn't very interested in the movie had made Butler fall asleep. Juliet had fallen asleep some time during the movie.

Butler carefully sat up, making sure that he didn't wake Artemis. He gently cradled him against his chest as he stood up, walking over to Juliet before he scooped her up into his arms too. Butler shook his head in amusement as they both snuggled closer to him, burying their faces against him.

Looking down at his baby sister and young principal, Butler couldn't have been happier.

A/N sorry for any OOCness. This is my first long Artemis Fowl fic, so it's a work on progress. Please review!