He walked down the stairs smelling something good cooking. Matt was resting his head on the counter watching Mom stir something a pot.
"Can I just have a bite? A small one? Please!" He begged.
"Sorry Matt but you're going to have to wait till dinner." Mom told him. Matt whined in response, smacking his lips together in a hungry form.
"Hey Mom I actually need to meet up with a friend to help him with something at six fifteen. And we need Matt." He took a stool next to Matt. Mom turned from the stove to look at him with both eyes.
"Really? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" She questioned.
"Matt was supposed to tell since I was in the shower. But I guess his stomach took first priority." Basil said. Matt whined again looking at the pot. He did have to admit it smelled really good.
"Why that time? Couldn't you go after dinner?" She quizzed.
"It was the only time available." He replied shrugging.
"Alright but you're staying for the first ten minutes of dinner." Mom told them. The front door opened and closed and Dad walked into the kitchen. He walked around the counter and gave Mom a quick kiss before he went to his office.
"Basil can you go get your sister for dinner?" Mom asked in the tone that told him he didn't have a choice. Basil slid off the chair and went back up the stairs. Her bedroom door was wide open like usual and she was sitting on the bed messing with one of her stuff animals.
"Bridge, dinner." He said from the door frame.
"Give me a sec." She said not looking up.
"What are you doing?" Basil asked.
"Deciding which color bow would look better." Bridgette explained tying a green bow around a toy. Basil looked closer and realized the toy she was tying a bow to was Lil' Owl. Matt's rabbit was sitting next to it. He rushed over and snatched the stuffed animals up before she could finish tying the knot.
"Bridgette, you know you're not allowed in mine or Matt's room without permission!" He said harshly but she gave no reaction. She had been going into their rooms ever since she could walk. They got so sick of it one time he and Matt played a trick on her to teach her a lesson. They hooked up the door handles to a battery so every time she would touch the knobs she would get shocked. In the end she ran crying to Mom and Dad and they got the 'you two are older than her. You should know better speech.' And grounded for a week. Basil went back down stairs with a stuffed animal in each hand. Matt gave him a confused look when he was him.
"Bridgette broke in and stole Zip and Lil' Owl." He explained giving him Zip. Bridgette walked up behind him grinning from ear to ear. Basil glared at her.
"Guys I don't have energy to deal with this today." Dad shook his head from his seat at the dinner table.
"Are you ok?" Basil asked feeling ashamed of his petty squabble. Dad took a deep breath tapped the table with both hands and got up,
"Yea. It's just this whole time crisis and having to train a rookie…You and Matt are leaving in ten minutes to meet up with a friend right?" Basil nodded in reply. They all got their food and took their seats at the table.
"Hey Dad, I have been thinking about this but how is that Basil's here even though he was part of Damage Time after the Time Crash? Shouldn't he not be here?" Bridgette asked way too happy about figuring that out. Basil wasn't sure how he was supposed to react to that.
"I rescued Basil before the Time Crash originally happened so because of that it's part of the reason why Damaged Time lasted longer." He explained.
"Do you regret it?" She instantly asked. Dad looked at her confused,
"Excuse me?"
"Do you regret it?" She repeated. "If you didn't save Basil Damaged Time wouldn't have lasted as long. Then you've could've gone in and rescued the missing kids sooner. And maybe then this whole time crisis wouldn't be so intense."
"No! Not for an instant! Rescuing Basil was one of the smartest things I have ever done!" Dad glared at her putting down his fork to intertwine his fingers, then he turned to look at him, his expression softer. "You belong here!"
"That's right! You're a Burnish. You're our son! No matter what anyone else says!" Mom backed him up.
"But does he? Does Matt? My teacher says time adoptees really don't belong here at least molecularly because those molecules are already being used here by someone else. So wouldn't that be two of the same molecule in the same time? A double's paradox? So shouldn't all time-adoptees be illegal?" Bridgette continued. What was she saying? Really saying?
"Bridgette you're teacher isn't a time agent! She has no idea what she's saying! You wouldn't exists of it wasn't for time travel!" Dad told her strictly trying his very hardest to keep his temper down.
"Mrs. Manver isn't, but her husband is." She shrugged. Dad closed his eyes and took a deep breath seeming to count to five in his head. When he opened his eyes again it seemed to have work. He looked less mad and in more control.
"I never did like Heavor. Never got along, even in the cadet academy." Dad said calmly and picked his fork back up, taking another bite.
"Matt, Basil you two should getting going if you want to be on time to meet with your friend." Mom excused them. Basil nodded and got up. That was the most awkward ten minutes of his life.