CHAPTER ONE
"Are you ready?" Becker asked the group behind him, who all nodded seriously. He nodded back at them, trying to suppress a smile at the expression of pure concentration on each face.
"On the count of three. One. One and a half. Two-hey, I said three!"
The children, however, had all gone storming into the Ops. Area armed with water guns, water bombs and buckets of water. Becker rolled his eyes, smiling, and followed them out. As soon as he enterred the room, he was sprayed from all directions. Wiping his eyes; he flicked his fringe out of his eyes to see his youngest daughter, little six year old Sophie, grinning a toothy grin.
"O-ho, turning on your daddy, huh?" He said, pumping his gun. Sophie giggled and ran off, further into the room. Becker made to follow, but before he'd gotten very far, he found himself drenched once again. Glancing to the left, he saw Jess holding a pink bucket and smiling, apologetically.
"Sorry, darling" She said, sweetly and Becker shook his hair, showering her. She giggled and hugged him, soaking herself in turn. Becker wrapped an arm around his wife and glanced around the Ops. Area.
There was Abby and Connor's nine year old daughter, Emma, who was in the middle of a duel with Anna Cutter, also nine, and Jess and Becker's eldest, Rachel, eight. Then there was Mollie, Jess and Becker's middle daughter, who was twirling around the Ops. Area in a world of her own, as usual. As soon as Christopher, Nick and Claudia's son, snuck up on her, however, she turned a water balloon she'd kept hidden on him and he ended up drenched, his dark hair dripping into his eyes.
Becker and Jess' middle daughter, Mollie, was chasing Abby and Connor's twin sons, Jake and Tommy, and Bradley Anderson around the room, slipping and sliding so much on the soaked floor that Becker was practically readying himself to hurry over to her when she fell over. As they all knew she would. Mollie had a thing for falling over. She spent most of her time flat on her face. Becker was adamant that she'd earned Jess' balance skills. Or, at least, Jess' none-existent balance skills.
Adam Cutter, Nick and Claudia's younger son was running around with a bucket on his head, threatening to go face first into whoever enterred his orbital path, and Ricky Quinn, Sarah and Danny's five year old son, was sitting in the corner, watching the scene with interest, laughing and launching water balloons at anyone who came too close. Little Isobelle Anderson was annoying him by creeping up and then hurriedly retreating before he could get her.
At that second, a door on the left side of the Ops. Area opened and in came Nick and Claudia, the latter carrying a miniature Anna in her arms.
"Gracie!" Anna said, running over to her parents and holding her arms out to her three year old sister. Claudia passed the little girl to Anna and kissed both of her daughters on the head before going to do the same to her sons and then following Nick over to Becker and Jess.
"I take my daughter to the dentist and you turn the place into a circus" Nick said, clapping the soldier on the back. Becker smirked as Jess began rounding up the children and Claudia left to get towels to dry them all with.
"Where're the others?" Nick asked, glancing around.
"Anomaly, about twenty minutes ago. You're intuitive little girl started asking questions, so Jess and I decided to distract them"
"Yeah, well, that's Anna alright."
"I know" Becker said, with a fond smile.
The door through which Nick, Claudia and Grace had come through opened again and there were numerous shouts of varied versions of "Mum" and "Dad".
Abby and Connor hugged Emma while Jake and Tommy play-fought close by and Sarah showered kisses on her little boys head as Danny ruffled his hair affectionately. Matt picked up his daughter as Bradley ran over to his mother and she hugged him.
"Just another day at the ARC" Claudia said, smiling as she passed, carrying a pile of fluffy, white towels. Soon, the Ops. Area was filled with the children sitting around, drinking mugs of hot chocolate, courtesy of Jenny, and their parents, looking down at them with expressions of pure adoration on their faces. Connor lifted Tommy into his arms as Emma and Jake tried to clamber onto Abby's lap at the same time.
"Daddy, can we play?" Tommy asked, and all eyes were on Connor as he searched for something to say.
"Sure-"
Beep, Beep, Beep.
Connor briefly closed his eyes before setting down his son and following Jess over to the detector. Moments later, when Lester emerged from his office, he enterred a scene of pure chaos.
Emma was screaming at her parents, yelling "Why don't you ever stay with us?" and stomping her feet, her mothers threats and persuasions having absolutely no affect on her, Jake and Tommy were stomping around and yelling while Anna refused to so much as look at her parents and Chris and Adam attached themselves to Nick's legs. Becker had his three daughters all hanging off his limbs and Emily was trying to wrestle her son from his fathers back while Isobelle stood nearby, sobbing her heart out.
"Whats going on down here?" Lester demanded, and silence fell as all eyes turned on him. All except Anna's, who stubbornly kept her hands over them. Emma was the only one left still yelling and under Lesters dark gaze, she quieted fairly quickly.
"Children, here" He clicked and they immediately fell in line before him, military discipline taking over from their childhood instincts.
"Now, you all know that your parents have very busy lives, yes?" He said, speaking to them as though they were adults, rather than children between the ages of nine and five, "And even though they all love you very much," He gave Jenny an I can't believe I'm saying this look, "They're all very good at their jobs and are needed. So you need to all be good for Jess, Emily and Claudia while everyone else goes to the Anomaly, Alright?"
Since having children, and changing their priorities, the team had made a rotor of sorts, proclaiming who took which duty at what time. Each time an Anomaly appeared, they all rook shifts on looking after the children. With there being fourteen children, the team often prayed it would be their turn to go and face a giant, scary monster, rather than look after the kids. They weren't particularly naughty children, but they were a lot to handle sometimes.
"Yes, sir" Adam said, solemnly and Lester nodded, turning to the team.
"Well, get to it" He said, feeling a little hot under the collar as they all stared at him, mouths slightly agape, "Anomalies don't close themselves, you know"
Upon reading back over this chapter, it occured to me...thats alot of kids to remember, right? So at the end of each chapter, I'll leave you a list and a few details. Hope you're all interested :] BTW; They aren't going to be kids forever. The story's going to follow them as they grow up, mainly centering around Anna Cutter, a little complication in the making ;]
Emma Simone Temple
7th January 2012
Hannah "Anna" Louise Cutter
16th April 2012
Rachel Melanie Becker
29th August 2012
Christopher "Chris" David Cutter
10th May 2012
Bradley Gideon Anderson
3rd September 2013
Mollie Elizabeth Becker
4th February 2014
Jake Stephen Temple
30th March 2014
Thomas "Tommy" Nicolas Temple
30th March 2014
Isobelle Amelie Anderson
26th October 2014
Adam Spencer Cutter
22nd June 2015
Sophie Maddeline Becker
5th July 2015
Patrick "Ricky" Daniel Quinn
1st October 2016
Grace Marie Cutter
12th December 2016