In this story, I only own Rachel, Amy, Amanda, Anna, Bethany, Sasha, Sergeant Williams, and Chloe. All other characters belong to their respective owners. Also, this story is the sequel to my other story "A Home Warmly Filled With Love". Also, part of this story was inspired by the Disney movie "Finding Nemo" which I do not own.

Always Protected By Those Who Care

NRG looked at his adopted daughter as he grabbed his Plumber's badge and put it where he could easily reach it. "Are you sure you don't mind being here by yourself for a bit, Chloe?" he asked. "I'm not sure how long I'll be and I'm not sure when your aunt Rachel will be home."

"I'll be okay," she said.

"What are the rules?" he asked her.

"Don't answer the door and don't answer the phone," she said. "And don't leave the house."

He nodded. "Alright, if you need me, just call. Alright, kiddo?"

"Okay," she said. "Do you know when…Anna will be home?"

"Hopefully later this evening," NRG said as he gave her a gentle hug, which she hesitantly accepted. Even though she had been their daughter for a few months, Chloe was still unsure about NRG and Anna. They knew she was still adjusting and was hesitant about a lot of things, but understood it would take time for the young girl to trust them after what had happened.

The armored-alien now left and Chloe was thinking about heading into the Mansion library to just sit for a bit when suddenly there was pounding at the back door. "Chloe!" an all-too-familiar voice yelled out.

The thirteen year old froze. "No," she said to herself. It couldn't be her stepfather. It was believed he had died when the house had collapsed in the fire, but as the pounding got louder, she now ran around the house, looking for a hiding place. While she was frantically searching, she didn't notice a white figure watching her before disappearing. She then decided to hide behind the couch and so dove behind it, just as the back door flew open.

"CHLOE! YOU BRAT! GET OVER HERE!" came her stepfather's angry voice.

Chloe shivered as she stayed hidden, hoping he wouldn't find her. Suddenly, she heard another voice that sounded angry.

"Intruders are not welcome here," it said.

"Especially ones that seek to hurt a member of our family," another voice hissed, sounding like it belonged to a vampire.

"Leave now," a ghostly voice hissed.

"Not without Chloe. She's my daughter," said Chloe's stepfather.

"Freeze!" said another voice.

"Ah, Sergeant Williams, thank you for arriving so fast," said the vampire-like voice.

"No problem," said Sergeant Williams. "This guy is really slippery. He even slipped away from that fire he set to that house three months ago, even though Rachel had given him a good whack to the head."

"Please make sure this scum never comes back here," said the first voice.

"I have half a mind to give him something to make him paranoid," said the ghostly voice.

"Go ahead," said Sergeant Williams.

Chloe listened and then heard an awful hissing sound that sounded like thousands of angry snakes and then heard her stepfather scream loudly and then scream louder as a horrible moaning was now heard. A thump followed soon after.

"Well, Toepick and Ghostfreak scared him good," said the first voice.

"Good," said Sergeant Williams. "Thanks again, guys."

"Thank you, Sergeant," said the vampire-like voice.

Chloe then heard silence before a chuckle sounded behind her. "There you are," said a deep voice and she turned to see a frog-like face looking at her, a huge smile on his face. She backed up a bit and felt cloth suddenly wind around her waist.

"Easy now, Chloe," said the first voice that she now saw was coming from a mummy. She looked like she was about to faint.

"Calm down, Chloe. We won't hurt you," said the ghost that she could now see had green chains on him.

Shaking, the thirteen-year-old quickly squirmed out of the mummy's tendrils and backed away from them, whimpering as they stepped closer to her. She then felt a clawed hand on her shoulder.

"Now is that any way to thank your rescuers?" came the vampire's voice with a chuckle and she whirled around, letting out a scream when she saw his green mask and pale face and ran away from him, bumping into the frog, who caught her, gently turning her around to face them all as they formed a circle around her.

"Whoa," he chuckled gently. "Slow down there, kiddo. You're among family."

Chloe looked at them all fearfully, her eyes huge with fear as she struggled to get away, but the frog person's grip was unmoving.

"Let her go, Bullfrag," said the mummy. "She's scared to death and restraining her isn't going to do any good at this point."

"You're right, Snare-Oh," said the frog, who released Chloe and she backed up from them all, her shaking now more noticeable as they saw she looked about ready to collapse, which is what she did next, causing the ghost to come up to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently, but she didn't answer. He then nodded to Snare-Oh, who used his tendrils to pick Chloe up and put her on the couch, sitting down beside her as Bullfrag sat by her other side. The vampire monster moved out for a moment and came back with a glass of water, gently placing it in Chloe's hand.

"Drink this slowly," he advised gently. To his surprise, she did as she was told, although she still looked a bit frightened.

"I'm going to call NRG and tell him what happened," said the ghost.

"Good idea, Ghostfreak," said Bullfrag. "While you're at it, we should let Chloe talk to him. He is her father, after all."

The others nodded in agreement and Ghostfreak went to make the call. He soon came back in and handed his badge to Chloe. "Your father wants to talk to you," he said gently. "Press here to talk and release to listen."

Nodding, she took the badge in her hands. "D-Daddy?" she asked, her voice tense.

"Chloe! Munchkin, are you alright?" came NRG's voice.

"Y-Yeah," she said, still a bit shaky. "I'm…I'm okay."

NRG let out a sigh of relief. "Chloe, don't be afraid of your uncles who are with you," he said gently. "The mummy alien is Snare-Oh, the frog one is Bullfrag, the vampire one is Whampire, and the ghost one is Ghostfreak. None of them will harm you."

She was still shaking a bit. "He came," she said. "I thought…he was dead."

NRG knew who she meant. "We thought so too, but he's gone now, munchkin. He can't hurt you again. Not only that, your uncles won't let him get near you again and neither will your mother and I," he said reassuringly. "For right now, I'm still a bit tied up at work, but your uncles have agreed to watch over you until your mother and I get back. Okay?"

She nodded and spoke into the badge. "Okay," she said, her shaking going down a little.

"Be good, munchkin. I'll be home later," he promised her before signing off. She handed Ghostfreak back his badge.

"Thank you," she said to him.

"You're welcome, Chloe," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"A little better," she admitted, flinching when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Easy, Chloe," said Bullfrag. "Take some deep breaths."

She did as he told her and they all jumped when the front door suddenly flew open and Rachel burst in. "Chloe!" she called out, her voice worried.

Chloe immediately ran up to her and Rachel wrapped the thirteen year old in a hug. "Oh, honey, are you alright?" she asked. "Sergeant Williams called me and told me what happened. He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Chloe shook her head. "No, they came and stopped him," she said pointing to the four aliens. Another one came up to them.

"Toepick helped us too," said Ghostfreak.

The young teenager stayed by her aunt's side and Rachel hugged her again. "It's okay, Chloe. They won't hurt you," she said reassuringly.

Chloe didn't look completely reassured, so Rachel led her to the kitchen to sit at the kitchen table and have a snack to calm down. After her snack, the younger girl felt much better.

"Are they really my uncles?" she asked, sounding a little uncertain.

"Yes, they are," Rachel said gently. "They're good friends with your father and the rest of us."

She then took down a picture of the four aliens and four girls and showed it to Chloe. "That's Amy, her sister Amanda, Bethany, and my sister Sasha. They're engaged to Snare-Oh, Ghostfreak, Bullfrag, and Whampire respectively."

Chloe looked at her. "Does anyone who comes to live here become family instantly?"

Rachel nodded. "Yes, they do," she said and then smiled as one alien came in. "Hi, Toepick."

"Hello, Rachel," he answered and then placed a gentle hand on Chloe's shoulder. "Are you alright, little one?"

She slightly flinched but nodded and he drew his hand back. "You're still afraid," he said gently.

She looked down and Rachel gently took her niece's hand in her own. "I think she's more afraid of being hurt than she is of you guys," she said gently. "Her reaction to most gestures is of fear due to her past."

Ghostfreak came in. "Well, there's one gesture that we could try," he said and gently poked Chloe's side with his fingers. To everyone's surprise, even Chloe's surprise, she jumped about three feet in the air and let out a small giggle.

"Ah, it looks like we have another ticklish niece," said Snare-Oh as they watched Chloe quickly slip behind Rachel, using her as a shield, making the owner of the Grant Mansion chuckle.

"I'm afraid that won't help," she said. "Whampire would be on you faster than you could blink."

No sooner had she said that, Whampire had grabbed Chloe, making her gasp in fear as he held her.

"I have an idea," said Bullfrag and whispered it to the others, who agreed. Chloe looked at Rachel with a look that begged her to help. While Rachel knew what the aliens had in mind would help the younger girl, she decided to give the guys a slight caution note.

"Guys, be careful and go easy on her," she cautioned. "Chloe's still getting used to living in a home where she won't be attacked or hurt."

"Don't worry," said Snare-Oh reassuringly. "We'll be careful."

They took Chloe into her room and Snare-Oh gently tied her wrists and ankles with his tendrils so that she couldn't escape them so quickly and the five of them gathered around. Chloe shivered and let out a small whimper. Ghostfreak gently ran his claws through her hair in a calming gesture. "Don't worry, Chloe. This won't hurt at all," he said reassuringly.

"It's just to make you feel better and not feel so afraid of us," said Bullfrag.

"Let's begin," said Toepick.

A couple hours later, Chloe was gasping for air and a huge smile was on her face after the five aliens had tickled her, discovering that her stomach was her weakest spot and that she was very ticklish. She felt a hand on her forehead and looked to see Bullfrag looking down at her with a smile.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

She nodded and didn't flinch when he gently squeezed her shoulder, something that made them realize they had made progress with her. She was then released and she looked at them. "Um…thank you, for saving me," she said.

Whampire smiled as he stepped toward her. "Remember kiddo, you're one of us and no one hurts a member of our family and gets away with it," he said.

"You'll always be protected here because we care," said Snare-Oh.

Chloe surprised them by hugging them all and they returned the hugs. When NRG and Anna came home later, she also hugged them and they returned the hugs, glad she was alive and safe.

Rachel smiled as she slipped away to take care of some chores, knowing that it wouldn't be long before Chloe would trust them all and even trust NRG and Anna enough to call them her mom and dad.

Because she'd realize that she could trust those that protected her because they cared.

There will be a sequel to this one too.

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418