Disclaimer: I don't own Codename; Kids Next Door!

Title: Cherry

Summary: Numbuh 86 enlists Numbuh 60's help in cheering up their Soopreme Leaduh.

...

The intercom on Patton's desk crackled to life at around 15:30 military time. Patton pressed the little red button and spoke into it with no real relish. "Can this wait? I was just about to pack up. Wanted to go home and get a siesta."

"'Fraid not, sir," the voice on the other end replied. "There's a ship requesting docking."

"Docking?" He frowned. "Bit early in the season for new recruits, ain't it?"

"It's Numbuh 86, sir. She sounded pretty wigged out."

"Fulbright?" Patton stared at the mostly finished paperwork on his desk, trying to decide just how surprised to be. He was due for a visit, true, but 86 very rarely came to the Arctic Base. She hated the cold almost as much as she did the opposite sex. It must be decently serious. "Tell her she can come right in."

"Yes, sir."

Numbuh 60 climbed out of his chair and went around the front of his desk for a proper greeting, running his fingers through the sprout of black hair that poked out of his beanie. He tucked his arms behind his back and waited.

Numbuh 86 didn't knock. It wasn't her style. The door to his office slid open with a quiet little shnnk noise, revealing the Head of Decommissioning, her nose bright red and her hands even redder, the girl blowing into them for warmth. "I-I swear, Drilovsky," she chattered. "Ye work in a death pit."

He was by her side in an instant. "What do you think you're doing, not wearing your proper winter protection clothing!? That is a cadet-level mistake, Fulbright!"

"I jus' got back from the desert," Numbuh 86 muttered, taking off her chilly metal helmet. "The heat got ta' me a bit, is all. Made me forgetful."

"Excuses don't do anyone any good," Patton said, unzipping his jacket. "Here, take this."'

The girl scowled at him. "I don't need no boy's jacket."

He shoved it into her arms. "It's the jacket or the med ward, Fulbright. You pick."

"I'm a licensed medic, Patton! I know me craft!"

"And I know I ain't doing any more paperwork than I have to!"

Numbuh 60 watched her reluctantly put it on, helping her zip it up along the way. He grabbed a scarf from the spares drawer and gave it to her to wrap around her cold neck and cheeks. That done, he nodded to himself. "There. Now you're fit for arctic life."

"Goody."

"Why the sudden urge to see me?"

Numbuh 86's lips quirked downwards, eyes darting off to the side. She's always been a proud woman. It's something Patton appreciates about her. That she can take a beating and stand right back up, black eyes and skinned knees and all, and dare them to try again. "I need ye help."

He blinked and brought a hand to her forehead.

"What're yew doin'?"

"Checking for a fever."

Fanny batted his hand away. "I don't have a fever."

"I find that hard to believe," he said gruffly. "You did just ask a boy for help, after all."

"I know what I did," she snapped, then sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep her temper in check. "Look. This is some serious info we're talkin' 'bout here. The kind I can't trust with just anybody."

"And you trust me with it?"

"Aye."

"I'm touched."

Fanny made guttural sound Patton took as disapproving. "Whatever."

Numbuh 60 typed a code into the panel on the door, locking it. The chances anyone would be in this area of the Arctic Base on a Sunday was pretty low, but he'd never live it down if someone busted in. "Alright, let 'er rip."

She shoved her hands into the jacket pockets. "Numbuh 1 is missin'."

He stared at her. "Whattaya mean, missing?"

"Missin' isn't a complicated word, Drilovsky."

Patton rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean, Fulbright. Operatives don't just go missing. We've got trackers."

She shrugged. "Uno's gone. We can't locate his tracker. Can't even find the remains of his tracker. It's drivin' the conspiracy theorists up the ladder bananas."

"Can I say somethin' callous?"

"Sure."

"While I recognize this is a very serious event and all, I'm shocked you care." Numbuh 60 gestured to her general dirtiness. It made sense, now. She must've been pretty busy. "I thought you hated Uno."

"I hate him with every fiber of my bein'," Fanny replied quite passionately. "I didn't do this fer Uno."

"Oh," said Patton, understanding. "Numbuh 362. How, uh... how's she handling this?"

She met his eyes, and that was answer enough. "Ye wouldn't happen ta' know how ta' cheer someone up, would ya'? I'm absolutely terrible at it."

"Fulbright, I'm a drill sergeant with no free time. Do you really think I have any idea how that all works?"

Numbuh 86 grabbed him by the collar, yanking him down to nose level. "Well, I guess we're just gonna have ta' figure it out, aren't we?"

"And what's all this?" Mr. McKenzie asked as the two children forcefully shoved the gifts into his hands, neither one of them particularly good at subtlety.

"They're presents, sir!" Numbuh 60 grunted, saluting. "For Rachel."

Fanny hefted a six-pack of cherry soda on top of the box of chocolates and 'we're sorry for your loss' sticky hand they'd ultimately cobbled together after wandering around the pharmacy for a solid half-hour. "Heard she was feelin' down, sir. Thought this might help."

"Oh," the adult answered, surprised. "Well, thanks a lot, kids. I'll make sure she gets these."

The girl gave a salute of her own, and then the duo turned and started walking up the cobble path to the front gate to her house. They heard the door quietly shut behind them and counted it as a victory. For a brief, hopeful moment, Patton thought they might have gotten away from it unscathed.

Alas, they only made it halfway across the yard when an overly familiar voice called down to them. "Drilovsky! Fulbright!" They both glanced up, finding Rachel hanging out of her upstairs bedroom window. She looked earnestly surprised to see them. "What're you guys doing here?"

"It's quittin' time, sir." Patton jerked a thumb behind him. "I was just on my way home."

"I gotta go do some paperwork," Fanny admitted, rubbing at her elbow. "I was jus' walkin' Numbuh 60 home."

They heard Mr. McKenzie's muffled voice- "Look, dear, some gifts for you!"- and Rachel's head disappeared from the window long enough for them to make a break for it, fully prepared to hop the fence, but the Soopreme Leaduh knew them well enough by now. "You two! Upstairs, now!"

Patton was halfway over, wobbling a bit to keep his balance. "We didn't do anything wrong, sir!"

"Of course not." Her face softened. "There's no point to a six-pack if you can't split it with friends."

Mr. McKenzie allowed them in with a fond ruffle of their hair (which neither operative enjoyed). Rachel waited for them at the top of the stairs, eyebrow quirked. Her typical uniform had been swapped out for pajamas and a space-themed kid's robe. Neither of them dared so much as second-glance the slight redness to her eyes.

"You two are such dorks," she snorted. "Were you seriously about to bolt because you got me something nice?"

"We've got reputations to uphold, sir," Patton reminded her stiffly. "And so do you."

"And I've got work to do," Fanny added unnecessarily, tucking a strand of frizzy red hair behind her ear. "Not that I don't enjoy yer comp'ny, sir."

"Don't call me sir off-duty," she scolded. Rachel hesitantly poked a small bruise on Fanny's chin. "When was the last time you went home, Fanny?"

"That's not relevant to any of this." The girl flushed at the attention. "A-Anyway. Yew mentioned sharin' that soda?"

Rachel nodded, waving a hand for them to follow her into her room. "I know you two prefer it without the added fruity flavor, but there's no way I can safely down a six-pack of the stuff, so help yourselves."

Patton twisted the cap off and politely took a mouthful, capping and setting the bottle aside. Fanny chugged her's in one go, setting it down with a satisfied, "Ahhh." Rachel sipped her own, mindful of the fact she had work in the morning.

"You wanna watch Doctor Time Space and the Continuums with me?" she asked finally. "I could use the company right now."

"Of course," Patton said, before Fanny could squirm out of it, workaholic she was. Her paperwork could wait. For once, she didn't seem to mind that he'd spoken for her. "It'd be an honor."

Tucked among the multitude of pillows and old Rainbow Monkeys, the trio almost felt at ease. Patton, still very much worried about the fact that an operative had somehow vanished from their radar, felt his belly begin to settle, then fizz, then warm. Fanny guzzled two of the six within an hour, trying to work up the energy to pull an all-nighter, stuck with paperwork and then an early morning trek through the mountains, but felt her shoulders begin to loosen instead. And Rachel, thinking of her lost friend and knowing she would have to announce it to the KND within the next few days, managed to crack a smile at a corny joke.

The blonde wrapped an arm around both of her friends, and they stayed that way until the marathon was over.

Author's Note: Surprise! Random KND oneshot.

I've had this idea for like a month or so, and have just been lollygagging on writing it out. But, seriously, even if Rachel knew about the GKND, Nigel suddenly joining and leaving the planet must've been a nightmare for everyone involved. It doesn't help that she'd have to label him as missing, given that it was a secret group, and Fanny would be driven to help her buddy get her friend back (no matter how much she despised him) and would go globe-hopping for answers.

-Mandaree1