Guess who's back? Yeah, I finally got this chapter done. I totally understand if you thought I was discontinuing this or something since the last time I updated was...3 months ago? Wow, that's depressing. But I promise I'll finish this! I also apologize for my lack of updating. School has been hectic for a while now, but it's almost over so that's good.

And not to mention I had to rewrite the beginning of this 3 times cause I didn't like it, and then I get halfway done with this chapter, and then my laptop decides to crash. So I had to write the whole thing over. I hate technology sometimes. Okay I'm done rambling.

Disclaimer: I do not own KND. But I do own the video game I made up in this chapter!

Chapter 10: Wondering

At the Treehouse:

Numbuh Five was still on one of the couches in the main room reading a magazine. Numbuh Two was still playing the video game he and Numbuh One were playing earlier, trying for a new high score. Numbuh One had left a long time ago claiming he had lots of paperwork to do.

By now it was late and the sun had already gone down. They would be heading off to bed soon. Right now they were using the moment to relax.

"Hey have either of you seen Numbuh Three?" Numbuh One said as he re-entered the room.

"No. She's probably in her room or something." Numbuh Five said from the couch.

"No she's not. I just looked and she wasn't in there."

"Well maybe she's somewhere else. Maybe with Numbuh Four? After all she was looking for him earlier." Numbuh Five reminded him.

"Really? When?" Numbuh Two said scratching his head.

Numbuh Five grabbed her hat from her head and hit him on the head with it. "Before fool!"

"Hey! Ow! That hurt! I didn't notice." He said rubbing his head.

"Well maybe if you weren't so caught up in that stupid video game of yours, you would've noticed."

Numbuh Two looked insulted at her comment and paused his game. "Yipper Space Galaxy is not stupid. It requires skill and lots of smarts to navigate through some of the levels." He said as if this was a well known fact.

"Okay knock it off you two." Numbuh One interrupted before they could start arguing. "You're probably right Numbuh Five. I'll go look."

"Is there a reason you need her?" She questioned.

"Not really. Just to…you know…see if she's handling things okay."

"Alright. See ya Numbuh One." Numbuh Five went back to reading her magazine and Numbuh Two resumed playing his video game.

Numbuh One headed off down the hallway towards Numbuh Four's room. He should have known to look there earlier. He did remember Numbuh Thee come in earlier and ask if they knew where Numbuh Four was. So obviously, she was looking for him. And he figured that since she didn't come back, that meant that she found him and everything was alright. Well he was about to find out.

As his hand swung open the door to Numbuh Four's room, he never would've expected to find his room empty. That's strange. He thought. If Numbuh Three's not here then where else would she be? Maybe back in her room perhaps?

He thought it was worth a shot. That was the only other likely place for her to be at this hour since she would not be outside this late. But again, he was disappointed as he found no Numbuh Three in her room.

Huh. So no Numbuh Three or Numbuh Four? Where are they? Numbuh One was stumped. He knew that neither of them would go anywhere without telling someone where they were going and yet they were no where to be seen. He started to panic but then remembered that he could always do a Treehouse scan. He decided that was the best option to take right now so he headed to his own room.

The Treehouse Scanner could tell you the exact location of the operatives in the Treehouse without having to actually search the whole place yourself. He had used this only once before but he still remembered how to use it.

He closed his bedroom door behind him as he entered and ran over to the Treehouse scanner. It was built in to one of the computers he had in his room, specifically the one that he used to contact Moonbase. He hurriedly typed in a bunch of passwords and started the scan. He was afraid of the results. For some reason, he felt as if he somehow knew that they weren't in the Treehouse.

But if they aren't here, then where could they have gone?

Maybe they went out somewhere.

And didn't tell anyone? I don't think they would do that.

Maybe they didn't want to anyone to know where they were going.

But surely they would've been back by now.

Numbuh One's continuous mental battle of the possibilities raged on until the scan was done.

Numbuh One stared wide-eyed at the screen. "No…" he whispered.

The Treehouse scan showed that Numbuh Three and Numbuh Four were no where in the entire Treehouse.

That's what I was afraid of… Okay. Just relax. Maybe the others would know something? He didn't truly believe that they would, but one way or another he needed to let them know what he had found out.

He took a deep breath and exited the room. Obviously Numbuh Five heard him come out of his room and saved him the trouble of beginning his sentence which he had forgotten.

"So did you find her?"

"No. I checked Numbuh Four's room like you said and neither he nor Numbuh Three were there. I also checked Numbuh Three's room again just to be on the safe side and still nothing. And I just did a Treehouse scan and they are not in the Treehouse at all."

"Really? Well maybe they went somewhere and lost track of time. You know how those two get if they're alone." Numbuh Five pointed out.

"Maybe. I thought that too but I wasn't sure."

"Aw relax. Numbuh Five thinks they're fine."

"But I can't help but think something may have happened to them."

"What could possibly have happened to them?" Numbuh Two asked.

"I don't know. What if they got into some sort of trouble?"

"You know they would contact you if they were in trouble. Numbuh Five says that Numbuh Three probably went looking for Numbuh Four because she wanted him to go with her somewhere and they just aren't back yet."

"Yeah Numbuh One. They're probably heading back right now." Numbuh Two agreed.

"Hmm…yes. That might be."

"Look. They'll be here in the morning. Numbuh Five says we all go to sleep and if they're not back, then we can worry. But I'm telling you they're fine."

Numbuh One at that point chose to believe what Numbuh Five was saying. She almost never talked in first person. The only time she would ever do that was when she was trying to make a point, so he could tell that she was serious.

"You're probably right. Well goodnight." Numbuh One said and left the room.

"You know where I think they were?" Numbuh Two asked Numbuh Five as he turned off his game.

"Where?" Said Numbuh Five without much interest.

"On a date."

Numbuh Five raised her eyebrows at the chubby boy in front of her. She didn't expect that kind of an answer but she knew something she could say that he wouldn't expect either.

"Numbuh Two if they really went on a date don't you think we would know about it? You know Numbuh Four wouldn't be able to keep quiet and would make a big scene about it."

Numbuh Two chuckled. "You make a good point. And Numbuh Three would probably have told you about it huh?"

"Probably. Now if you don't mind, Numbuh Five is going to bed."

"Yeah, me too."

And with that, they both left to go to their rooms for the night.

Meanwhile, at the mansion:

Numbuh Three and Four were still in the mansion's basement sitting side by side leaning on each other. Despite the cell being poorly lit and the cold breeze that would occasionally blow through the window, they were pretty comfortable. After all, they now knew how they felt about each other.

They hadn't said anything for a while since there wasn't really anything left for them to say. It would be nice if they could get out of there and be in the nice and comfy Treehouse with the others but they weren't complaining.

"I wonder what the others are doing." Numbuh Three wondered aloud.

"What they usually do. Numbuh Five reading or listening to music, Numbuh Two playin' some type of video game and Numbuh One complaining there aren't any missions."

She smiled at that. "Yeah probably… Do you think they noticed we're gone yet?"

"Ah'm sure they have."

"Then why aren't they here yet?"

"They don't know where we are. For all they know we could have gone home. For all we know they could've already started looking. But it's getting late. They'll probably come tomorrow. So we're gonna have to stay here for the night."

"Okay…" Numbuh Three sounded a little disappointed that they would have to stay here for the night, but hey, nothing's ever perfect. "I guess we should get to sleep then huh?"

"Yeah. Ah'm pretty tired." Numbuh Four took his head off of Numbuh Three's and removed his arms from around her. She looked disappointed that the moment had to end.

He then proceeded to lie on the floor on his back and gestured for Numbuh Three to come next him. She smiled and took that spot next to him and laid on her back as well.

"The ground isn't comfortable…" She noticed as she lay down.

"It's only for tonight." Numbuh Four said. He placed his right arm around her shoulders and brought her close. "At least Ah have you."

She giggled and placed her head on his shoulder. "Thanks Wally. That's sweet." She said as kissed his cheek again. To her, it felt even better doing it a second time and she wasn't as nervous either.

"Aren't yeh scared?" He asked out of the blue.

"Why would I be scared?"

"Of having another nightmare."

"Not when I have you to protect me from them." She said as she looked into his eyes.

This time, it was him who was flattered. He even gathered up the courage to kiss her on the cheek for the first time.

She giggled and blushed a deep pink. Thank goodness for the lack of lighting in here! But he's so sweet! I feel so loved!

"Goodnight Kooks." Numbuh Four said from next to her.

"Goodnight Wally." She responded. She closed her eyes and sighed. Could this day have ended any better? Sure we're kinda stuck here and all, but I'm happy that we are. I got to tell Wally how I feel and he feels the same! What more could a girl want?

And she truly meant what she said earlier about not having to worry about another nightmare. He was there to protect her from them now. And after tonight, she knew he always was and always would be.

In the morning:

Numbuh Three awoke to the morning sunlight coming through the barred window. At first she thought she was in her bed at the Treehouse but the cold, hard flooring would prove otherwise. Where am I? I don't remember falling asleep on the floor…

Slowly, she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She saw dark grey walls but more importantly, she saw Numbuh Four lying next to her. For a moment she was extremely confused as she failed to recall what had happened yesterday. But soon enough everything became clear to her.

Wow, I can't believe that really happened to me. I thought for sure I was having another dream. But then again it felt too real to be just a dream. It was real. I can't believe it! I'm so happy! Wally is so sweet.

She sat up on the floor, careful not to wake up Numbuh Four. Her back really hurt from lying on the hard floor all night. So she decided to get up and stretch out a little. Right when she stood up, she saw Numbuh Four stir and slowly sit up. He looked right at her and seemed to be experiencing the same confusion she was when she woke up, before realization hit him.

"Good morning. How long have you been up?" He asked her as he got up to stretch too.

"Just a minute or two. Did you sleep well?"

"Kinda. The floor was really uncomfortable so that made fallin' asleep hard but since Ah was with yeh that made meh feel a little better and yeh know… Yes and no."

She laughed at his rambling. "Yeah me too."

He seemed relieved that she understood the way he felt. He stopped stretching but it did not seem to do anything to help his back. All of a sudden, he thought of something.

"Yeh didn't have a nightmare again did ya?"

"No I didn't." She had just realized that too. She didn't remember dreaming about anything at all. I wonder why… "How did you know?"

"Well Ah figured yeh would've woken up in the middle of the night and yeh didn't so…"

"Yeah that's true. Maybe they're finally gone! Maybe they won't bother me anymore! Isn't that great Wally?"

She had a huge smile on her face and that made him smile. "It sure is. Now yeh won't be freaked out by them."

"I know! This is wonderful! Thank you Wally! You're the best!" She ran up to him and gave him a hug which he returned.

Numbuh Three looked more and more like her usual self now and Numbuh Four couldn't be happier. After all he missed that part of her when she started having those nightmares.

He pulled away and smiled at her. She did the same.

"So what do we do now?"

He thought for a moment. "Wait for the others to come and rescue us."

"You think they're going to come?"

"Ah don't think. Ah know."

Treehouse:

Numbuh One woke up pretty late that morning. Usually he woke up around 8:00 but for some reason he found himself up at 9:42. It was unusual for him to wake up late and today was no exception. He didn't even go to bed that late so he had no idea what caused him to sleep in.

He decided to go get some breakfast for a change since he usually skipped. When he arrived, Numbuh Two and Five were already there eating some Rainbow Munchies.

He didn't give them a chance to say anything and quickly asked them what had been on his mind since last night. "So have Numbuh Three and Four come back yet?"

"I don't know. I didn't see them this morning. Maybe they're sleeping in?" Numbuh Two said.

That's not the answer he wanted to hear. Immediately, he began to panic. He didn't say anything and instead raced off to check their rooms for their presence. But they weren't any different than he had found them last night.

Without thinking, he ran to his room and ran another Treehouse Scan just to be on the safe side. And the same thing came up on the scanner as it did last night. Nothing.

Okay, okay don't panic. Just keep calm and think. Where else could they possibly be? Hmm… I don't know why, but maybe they went home for some reason.

He quickly picked up the closest phone he could find and phoned both of their homes. Both of their parents said the same thing: they were sleeping over at a friend's house, which would mean the Treehouse. And since they weren't in the Treehouse, that meant that they were completely missing.

Now Numbuh One was freaking out. Now he certainly thought something had happened to them. He sped back into the kitchen where Numbuh Two and Numbuh Five were done eating and having some sort of conversation but he didn't even stop to think about that.

"They're missing!"

Numbuhs Two and Five looked up at him with shocked faces.

"Missing? Are you sure Numbuh One? Are you sure you didn't –"

"Yes I'm sure! I scanned the Treehouse, checked their rooms, and even called home to see if they were there and they're not!"

"But I thought that they were running late!" Numbuh Two protested. "Maybe they still are."

"No they're not! They would've come back to sleep and they didn't. Numbuh Five is just as surprised as you are."

"Exactly. Come on guys, we're going on a rescue mission!"

"But Numbuh One, we don't even know where they are! They could be anywhere!" Numbuh Two pointed out.

"True. But I have a feeling I know who's behind this. Who would capture two of our teammates and would want us to come rescue them?"

"Father?"

"Precisely. Numbuh Two fire up the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.!" Numbuh One ordered.

Numbuh Two saluted him and ran off to his room closely followed by Numbuhs One and Five.

Don't worry guys! We're coming!

So that's it for now.

The next chapter will be obviously, the rescue. Not sure how I'm going to have that work out yet, but once I figure that out I'll start writing it. And once I decide if someone should get hurt or not. lol I'm so evil.

And sorry if it was kinda boring, but it was needed. But I tried to make it somewhat fluffy cause I said I would do that!

And not to mention it's 3 o'clock in the morning right now and I have to wake up in about 4 hours for school. Oh, that should be fun...

Review? I'd be happy.

-Stephanie :]