Bionic-1
Part-1
It is a warm sunny day and Helen Bennett is sitting on the patio watching her children play in the pool. Her eldest child, JD, is a bright studious 8-year-old, while 7-year-old Eric loves baseball and aspires to be a professional player in the majors when he grows up. His twin sister Megan loves to play dress-up with her dolls as far away from her brothers as possible. The youngest is Bunjiro, who at 6 years of age is passionate about Karate.
Helen's husband, Jack, is a Tech Sergeant in the USAF and is gone for long periods of time such as today. She misses her husband very much, but like most military wives she stays home looking after the children. However, being a very smart woman, Helen is studying to earn her PhD in marine biology but with four young children to look after, studying is a little difficult.
Right now, the boys are splashing water all over their sister who is not happy about it. "Mommy!" the little girl calls out. "Boys! Leave your sister alone." Helen tells them, the little boys stop for moment then go back to splashing their sister. Finally Megan has had enough and gets out of the water very upset and sits next to her mom. "It's OK, sweetheart." Says Helen as she kisses the top of her child's head.
A little later she calls the rest of children out of the water dinner time is near and she needs to start making the meal; the children run inside to clean up and get ready for dinner. The boys continue picking on their sister, further annoying her as they head upstairs to their bedrooms.
Each of the children has a story to tell on how they came to live together; JD is of African American decent the eldest of Helen and Jack's children. He was adopted at the age of 6 months. His big and bright brown eyes are always on the lookout for knowledge something his parents are always happy to provide him with.
The twins, Eric and Megan, are the couple's biological children; both blond with big blue eyes, they like to pick on each other a lot, but is obvious how much they care about each other. At the moment both are sporting short hair cuts; Meg (as everyone calls the little girl) has a very cute pixie hairstyle. If one were to see her from the back no one could tell her apart from her bother, but her little earrings give her away. Eric, on the other hand, loves to wear baseball caps and has a big collection along with his baseball trading cards.
Bunjiro or Bunji as he is affectionately known is the newest member of the family he is of Japanese descent and was adopted just a few months earlier after his father, Saburo, went missing in the Himalayas a year earlier and was never found; his mother, Yuka, tragically died during childbirth. Just before Saburo left for the Himalayas on an expedition, he entrusted his only child to the Bennett's care as he had known them for many years even before he was married.
After dinner the children and their mother sit on the couch and watch a little TV before bedtime; Helen finishes off the evening with a bedtime story. This time it is Meg's turn to pick a story, to her brothers chagrin she picks Sleeping Beauty. After story time is over Helen tocks each child to their respective bed with a goodnight kiss. Once her little ones are in bed, Helen goes to her own bedroom and readies for bed hoping her husband will come home soon.
It's 3 A.M. when Tech Sergeant Jack Bennett arrives home. He heads upstairs to his bedroom; along the way he goes to each of his kids' bedrooms and gazes at them as they sleep. A smile appears on his lips as he sees each of children sleep soundly; he walks over to his bedroom and stops at the door and stares at his sleeping wife.
A few hours later Helen wakes up to find her husband sleeping by her side, she smiles and snuggles up close to him. Jack lightly wakes and wraps his arm around her shoulder pulling her closer - the two sleep for a little longer then . . . "Daddy! You're home!" Meg shouts as she and her brothers jump in bed with their parents.
The children all wrap their arms around their father talking all at once. "Calm down, calm down." Their father tells them. "Daddy, they were picking on me." Meg says pointing a finger at her brothers. "Did not!" Eric says. "She's lying." Bunji adds. "Not true." JD says. "How could your brothers be picking on you if you just woke up?" Jack says turning to his daughter. The little girl pulls away a little and thinks before answering. "They did it yesterday." She finally answers.
Jack smiles at her. "Are you going to punish them?" She asks. Before he can say a word the boys speak up. "Daddy you aren't going to punish us, right?" Bunji says. "He isn't." JD tells his brother. "Good, I do not like punishments." Eric says. "We love you, daddy." The boys say in unison then get out of the bed and head for kitchen. "I'll make breakfast." Helen tells her husband and follows after the boys.
Father and daughter remain in the room. "Let's go get breakfast." Jack tells his child. She nods and smiles at her father. The two walk hand in hand to the kitchen. There they find her brothers helping their mother set the table. "Go help your brothers." Jack tells Meg. She nods and does as told. "Do you need help." He asks his wife. Helen gives him a quick kiss on the lips before answering. "You can help me get the orange juice." She says.
After breakfast, the family enjoys some quality time with Jack. Since it is the weekend, his wife and children have him all to themselves until Monday.
The family enjoys the warm sunny day outdoors by the beach; Helen is helping her daughter pick flowers while Jack is playing with the boys in the ocean's waves.
The grand Victorian house the family calls home is perch high about a cliff with a winding path that leads to the beach bellow. The ocean air is salty and fresh and the sun is warm and inviting just like the Bennetts like it. Lunchtime is in the form of a picnic thanks to their mother who always plans ahead. As the day comes to a close, both parents and kids are exhausted but happy to have enjoyed the day together as it should be.
Dinner time is usually an affair everyone enjoys, but not as much when Jack is the one making it. Jack loves cooking but some of his culinary creations aren't to his kids taste and more often than not they will try to avoid eating his meals. This time, however, the kids can't do anything about it.
Surprisingly this time their father makes something they like and they eat what is in front of them without fussing. Just like the night before, the kids enjoy their time before bed with their parents watching a little TV and with a bedtime story that Bunji picks this time. The story he chooses is a scary one, more to frighten their sister than to help them sleep.
"I miss you so much." Helen tells her husband once they are alone in bed. "I miss you too." He replies. The two settle for bed enjoying the time they have together, but little do they know one of them will soon be at death's doorstep.