Feeling a lot better today! And I had this whole chapter playing through my head today...as well as a little bit next chapter :) Trust me, it's adorable. Anyway, now is the next morning, but will we have little human(ish) toddlers runnin' around or still little bots?

Chapter 3

Wake Up Call

A little squeal and something flopping onto his stomach was what got Jeremy awake. He was expecting to see a little bot on him…not the little copper-haired toddler with gold bear ears who was currently trying to use him as a jungle gym.

"You woke up!" came Emily's voice as she walked in, holding a tiny, blond-haired boy with pale green eyes and two little gold rabbit ears that were pricked forwards, "I thought you wouldn't ever wake up…you slept through the bells…and the screams. I thought for sure you'd wake,"

Jeremy blinked a few times before everything registered.

"What time is it?!" he demanded.

"A little past eight," Emily told him and Jeremy struggled to get up…just for Mike to give a squeal and hold even tighter to him.

"Ack! Mike! C'mon, I need to get up!" he told the little girl.

The golden eyes narrowed and she crossed her little arms as Jeremy set her on the floor…just for her to grab his leg.

"Mike!" Jeremy groaned, "C'mon, I gotta go…"

"Wobby," the little girl muttered.

"He's right over there," Jeremy said, looking at the red-headed toddler who was currently asleep…and using his tail like a pillow, "Want me to take you to him?"

"No," Mike growled, "My Wobby. Want my widdle Wobby,"

Jeremy blinked.

"You…want me to bring the little guy here?" he asked and Mike nodded rapidly, "Mike…it's…"

"Pwease?" the little girl pleaded, her big gold eyes filling with tears as her little lip trembled and her long eyelashes fluttered.

Jeremy gave a groan. Now he knew were little Robby got that face from…

"Aw…with the face and the eyes and the…ugh, alright," he growled, "I'll bring him over,"

"YAY!" Mike squealed, clapping her tiny hands happily as she hugged Jeremy.

"Soon," Jeremy finished, getting a sputtering squawk from the golden toddler.

The little girl's eyes flashed black and a soft, rumbling growl fluttered through the air. Jeremy gave a smile.

"Aw, are you gonna throw a temper tantrum, Mikey?" he asked, "That's adorable…"

And then he got knocked flat by a shadow. Matt and Sam started giggling as Jeremy looked at the pale gold gaze in the little girl's face.

"No…callin' us 'dorable," Gold hissed and Jeremy really tried not smile at the little lisp the darker half had.

Jeremy got to his feet and looked at Emily, who was trying to set Spring down on the ground…but the little boy did not want her to let go and gave a very glitchy sounding hiss whenever she tried…

"Alright! Alright!" Emily said, "Putting you down is a 'no-no',"

Spring gave a single nod before burying his head into Emily's shoulder, a soft sigh of contentment as he did. Suddenly Jeremy's phone rang and Robby shot up like he'd been stung as the rock tune played. Somehow, someway, the phone had ended up underneath the little red-head's tail and the vibration as well as the loud guitar riff startled the poor little guy…who shot over to Jeremy and nearly climbed the guard like a ladder, whimpering.

"Robby, chill, it's just my phone," Jeremy soothed, patting the toddler's back.

"Nuh uh!" he whimpered, pointing, "Monsta! Don't like, Jeremy! Scawy!"

"Says the big fox bot with sharp teeth and a pirate hook," Jeremy deadpanned before picking up the phone and wincing as he saw the caller ID, "On second thought…maybe you got a point, Fox,"

"Hello?" Jeremy said cautiously as he held the phone out far away from his ear…and with good reason.

"JEREMY ALAN FITZGERALD!" Kayle's voice shrieked, "WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"Kayle?" Mike's voice piped up as she toddled towards Jeremy, and her eyes brightened, "Kayle! Jeremy! Can I talk t' her? Pwease? Pwetty pwease?"

"Not now, kiddo," Jeremy shushed her.

"Did you just call me…" Kayle seethed before Jeremy shushed her, "Don't you shush me beanpole!"

"How the heck did you even figure out my middle name?" Jeremy asked.

"I…didn't…wow, I just took a shot in the dark…you're serious? Your middle name is Alan?"

"Yeah…what is it Kayle?"

"Seriously!? You didn't show up! I thought you got eaten by those bots!"

"Why we eat 'im?" Sam blinked, "Jeremy taste yucky,"

"And you'd know that how?" Emily asked and the boy innocently looked away, rocking on his little heels as he pushed up his oversized glasses.

"Robby was asking about you…Jeremy, you don't know how scared he was when he found out you didn't come home! After what happened with Mike…"

"Wha she talkin' 'bout, Jeremy?" Mike asked softly, "Wha 'appen t' me?"

"Nothing," he told her before turning back to the phone, "Look, Kayle, I'm sorry…got stuck at work. I shoulda called, but it slipped my mind. I'm going to pick him up from school, ok?"

"You'd better, stringbean, otherwise I'm cuffing you to a lamppost and making you lick it. It snowed last night, by the way…so that'll be amusing to see,"

Jeremy shuddered and sighed.

"Okay, I'll be there," he told her…right as a loud crash sounded in the background.

"HE DID IT!" both Sam and Matt shrieked, pointing at each other as both of them stood next to one of the toppled over speakers.

"What was that?" Kayle asked.

"N-Nothing!" Jeremy stammered, "Just…get to work, ok? I'll get Robby and then I'll be home,"

And he hung up on her.

"Alright you two," Jeremy growled, detaching Robby's Velcro grip on his back and putting his hands on his hips once he set the little red-head down, "Who knocked it over?"

"Sam did!" Matt cried.

"Nuh uh!" Sam retorted, "Matt did!"

"You pinched me!"

"You pushed me!"

"You're a meanie!"

"You're a mean meanie!"

"You're a meanie mean meanie!"

"Boys!" Jeremy finally growled, grabbing the two toddler's shoulders, "Enough!"

"Jeremy?" a little girl's voice piped up and Jeremy looked at Amanda, who was nervously sucking on one of the ends of her feathers, "They both did it,"

"Mandy!" Matt whined, "You supposed to be on my side!"

And then the three toddlers started squabbling amongst themselves.

"Why are they fighting?" Spring asked, looking up at Emily.

"I don't know, Spring," Emily shrugged, "Why don't we go find out?"

"…Kay,"

The twosome walked towards the squabbling toddlers…while Jeremy wiped his face with a hand. The man looked at his sister and the little boy.

"I don't know how Mom ever handled you and me, Em," Jeremy sighed, "We'd need a pen to separate them and keep them from fighting,"

Emily's eyes lit up and she turned towards Spring.

"Spring, I need to set you down for a second, okay?"

"B-B-But…why?" the toddler stammered, "I-I-I don't wanna let go…"

"You can hold on to my leg, ok?" she offered, "I just need to separate them,"

"O-O-Ok," Spring blinked and Emily set him down before flicking her wrists.

The thin strings tied around her wrists seemed to come alive and wrapped themselves gently around the fighters, pulling them away from each other.

"That's enough," Emily scolded as she held the three away from each other, "You three are friends…family! You shouldn't be fighting! You should be playing together! Protecting one another!"

"From what?" Matt blinked, "What would attack us?"

Emily opened her mouth to answer…when Spring gave a yelp and fell to the floor, holding his little head.

"Spring?" she asked as she knelt down, putting a hand on his small shoulder…only to get smacked away.

"Get off me!" Scott snarled, before getting a clear look at his surroundings and then at his tiny body, "You…what…what did you do to me!?"

Emily tried to once again talk…just for Scott to give a cry of pain as his eyes flickered to a more fearful look. Spring whimpered and reached up for Emily.

"B-B-B-Bad man!" the toddler wailed, tears streaming, "In my head! Emmy…get him out! Please! Don't want him in my head! It hurts! He did bad things! Really bad! Get him out!"

"I want to, Spring," Emily murmured, holding the little boy close to her chest as he grabbed a fistful of her dress and buried his face in it, "I really want to…"

Hours later, Jeremy stood in front of the school building waiting for Robby to come out. When the little boy did…he gave a shriek of happiness and dashed almost as fast as his namesake towards the grey-eyed man.

"Daddy!" little Robby cried, leaping into the man's arms and nuzzling him happily, "I-I tot bad man got you! You didn't come home! I tot he killed you dead like he got Mama!"

"I'm too smart for him," Jeremy chuckled, hugging the little boy, "Now, why don't we go head home…"

"Daddy, I tot we gonna see Mama today?" little Robby blinked, "Why we not goin' dere?"

"Um…" Jeremy started, trying to think of an excuse, "Well…no one's exactly feeling well at this moment…"

"Daddy, ghosts don't get sick," Robby deadpanned, "I wanna see Mama!"

"Trust me, lil' Capt'n, you don't want to right now," Jeremy told him.

"Yes I do!" Robby growled, "Daddy, I wanna see Mama an' I want t' see her now!"

Jeremy gave a sigh and rubbed his temples.

"Fine," he sighed, "But not today…soon,"

Robby fixed him with a golden glare that eerily echoed that of his mother…right before she knocked Jeremy flat.

"Soon," Jeremy repeated, "I promise,"

"Pinkie promise?" Robby demanded, only to amend it, "Pirate pinkie promise?"

Jeremy closed his eyes before sighing again and hooking his pinkie around the little boy's.

"I promise," he agreed.

"I just don't know how you're gonna react to seeing your mother younger than you, lil' Capt'n," Jeremy thought as he led the little boy to the car.

Jeremy did not say 'Pirate Pinkie Promise, most serious promise there is' so nothin' bad's gonna happen! Well...except for the shenanigans that the baby bots put him through...

Scott and Gold will come around rarely (mainly because I want to write more Spring...I'm selfish that way!). I need ideas of what you guys want to see! I will give you a hint...someone gets 'nommed' the next chapter. But I was thinking of actually letting Ashe and Kayle in on the secret (since this is AU) and having them help Jeremy and Emily take care of the little toddler bots (Because there is no way that just two of them are going to be able to take care of six little kids). Also, little Robby will get to see his Mama and his uncle...I just don't know what I want him and them to do yet. Ideas are appreciated! Very much so!

I hope you guys liked it, if you did send in the reviews! (Along with ideas because I will need them eventually!) :)

Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)

Máriessë ar mára tecië

Elhini Prime signing off.