"They know who we are."
Private woke with a start. He looked around, but no one was in the room. Why did the voice sound so close? He rubbed his forehead to find small beads of sweat. He blinked and looked out his bedroom window. It looked like any other winter day, but he felt nervous. He had been having a good dream until he heard the voice. He started thinking about his dream. He was the world's best golfer/pastry chef in the world who loved to paint owls and collect pink seashells and had to dodge explosives coming from Rico's mouth. Why it was that specific, he'll never know.
"The enemy…they know…"
Private blinked, coming out of his reverie. The voice seemed to come from right in front of him, but there was no one there. He stretched and left the room. Kenny's door was still closed and he heard noises from downstairs that told him his mother was busy in the kitchen.
"The enemy? Do they know us?" Private whispered out loud.
"Possibly."
Private jumped, nearly screaming at the voice. He looked around until he remembered he put his communicator watch in his pajama pocket. He took it out to see Skipper's face.
"You must have sleep-dialed me." Skipper said. "I know because I have to force your sorry butts out of bed at this hour."
Private laughed nervously as he shut the door.
"I thought I heard a voice telling me that the enemy knows something."
Skipper scratched his head. "I'm not certain. They have seen us, but they don't know us by name or where we go to school... We don't have solid evidence that Hans really is on their side. I can only tell you my suspicions. I never did see who was behind that mask."
"How's it going with Kowalski?" The younger boy asked.
"About that, Rocky just called. She said she drove down there and basically forced him to come to our house. They're on their way here as we speak, whether Kowalski likes it or not. Don't worry, he's safe with me. Relay the message to Kenny, would you?" The leader said.
Private nodded. "That's good news. Well, I might as well get dressed since I'm up now." He yawned.
"Yeah, good morning!" Skipper grinned goofily before turning off the communicator.
…
Kenny felt a little better when he was told that Kowalski was safe at Skipper's house.
Private and Kenny saw Daniel briefly that day when Gran brought him over to say goodbye. The boys snuck off to play games for an hour while Gran chatted with Andrew and Candace. The fun, however, was stopped as Daniel's parents called his phone to request his return so he could begin packing.
Gran reminded Kenny of Kowalski's presents and the promise that both of the boys were considered part of the family. Kenny smiled, saying he would relay the message.
Ginger came by as Daniel and Gran were leaving. The three kids decided to play with the snow for the rest of the day. Kenny attempted to recreate the snow village with the other two helping.
The bakery was open on Wednesday so the kids decided to help out. Kenny practiced taking orders with Ginger next to him and he was very good at kneading dough.
That night, they discovered that they needed more inventory. On Thursday morning, Ginger and her mother went to help unload the delivery truck. Andrew was taking notes of the inventory with the other worker.
Kenny found himself in the kitchen with Candace as Private was taking orders.
"Hey, Kenny." Candace greeted.
"Hi." He said shyly.
"You're very good at kneading."
"Thanks."
"Did you have a nice stay?"
"Yes."
"I'm glad you did."
"Is he allowed to come back?" Kenny asked before he could stop himself.
Candace sighed. "I don't know at the moment."
"He helped me a lot and I was hoping that if I pass my English class, I could get into his class next semester."
"Why would you not be able to?"
"I'm Dyslexic and I haven't had help for it until last year."
"Hmm. I have to think about it, alright?"
Kenny nodded. "Okay."
Kenny checked his email later that night to find that he had passed the English test and was able to join the sixth grade English class. He was about to shut down when he looked up and thought of something. He typed out an email and sent it as Candace called them down for dinner.
Private had been helping his dad with unpacking the inventory when he was called in for dinner. Kenny grinned, but refused to say why. The others just smiled and thought he was simply happy to be spending his break here.
Friday, Kenny spent just playing. First, Ginger and Private convinced him to go skating again. He fell on his butt twice, but got up with a grin. After they went skating, Ginger took him to get a new pair of shoes.
Kenny tried to protest, but Ginger's look was defiant. He gave in and let her buy him shoes.
The three of them started a snowball fight. It wasn't as insane as yesterday's, but Kenny was still excited.
They built the rest of the snow village and tried to play snow-baseball. Kenny found a stick and tried to whack the snowballs, which just burst apart upon contact.
They went to the mall and looked around. Ginger and Private insisted on buying Kenny and Kowalski some new clothes. Kenny gave in faster than before and let them indulge him in clothing. They then took him to their favorite restaurant and had a late lunch.
They walked around town for a bit and stopped to buy fish and chips. Kenny was surprised to see that there weren't actual chips, but he shared them anyway.
When they returned to the bakery, they discovered that Nigel would be supervising Kenny on the way back as he had business to do in New York. Allie's father had been told about this and was going to meet them at the airport.
The three of them played games and chatted until Ginger had to go home. The boys ate dinner and hung out for a while. Private helped Kenny pack a lot.
Kenny had a hard time sleeping that night. He had gotten so used to Private's house in a week; he didn't want to leave his friend. He was also worried that Private would be forced to stay while Kenny had to return home.
…
The boys were silent when they got up in the morning. Neither spoke much, just stared and kept going as if they were on autopilot.
Soon enough, too soon in their opinion, Kenny's bags were packed and loaded into Andrew's car. Ginger came by to give Kenny a hug and wish him well.
Kenny nodded, he felt too sad to say anything.
The ride to the airport felt painful, even though Andrew and Nigel were trying to lighten up the situation. Private and Kenny couldn't find it in their hearts to laugh.
Kenny felt as if time was speeding up and slowing down at the same time. Everything around him seemed to go by too fast, yet he felt his body moving in slow motion.
"This is it." Private said weakly.
Kenny snapped back to Earth with a painful bump. His eyes watered. Nigel and Andrew pretended to be in a serious conversation.
"I guess." Kenny said hoarsely.
"Kenny, I promise everything will be alright."
Kenny looked up, noticing that Private was on the verge of tears himself.
"Please come back." Kenny said.
"I'll try my best."
They stared at each other sadly until Nigel shook Kenny's shoulder lightly.
"Time to go."
"Private…" Kenny said, choking up.
"Good luck, Kenny." Private said.
Kenny swallowed. "You too."
…
Nigel smiled as he glanced at the younger boy who was intent on playing his game. A few hours into the flight, Kenny fell asleep. Nigel found himself remembering several trips where Private would fall asleep on either his dad or his Uncle Nigel. Kenny apologized when he woke up, but Nigel waved him off, saying that Private had fallen asleep tons of times before.
It seemed too soon when the plane landed in New York.
"This is where I leave you, Kenny." Uncle Nigel said. "Did Private give you my number?"
Kenny nodded. "He gave me Ginger's, Daniel's and his house phone. I also have Gran's phone number."
"Alright, you have plenty of people to call now." Nigel said, he patted Kenny on the head. "See you around, kiddo."
Kenny watched as Nigel disappeared into the crowd. Nigel waited a few minutes, making sure Kenny was officially comfortable with Allie and her father. He remembered Kenny voicing a concern about Candace.
Nigel had sighed and told him not to worry.
"But technically the truce ended the moment I got on that plane. I sent an email to somebody for help." Kenny had said.
Nigel looked puzzled, but the boy didn't elaborate.
He heard Allie chastising Kenny about going out barefooted in the snow. Her voice grew fainter as they left the building.
Uncle Nigel contacted Private later to tell them that Kenny arrived safely. A few minutes after that, Private received a text message from Kenny saying that he was at Allie's house. Candace had sent Kenny with freshly made loaves of bread and a bunch of leftover cookies, and Allie's family was okay with him. Private wasn't worried about Kenny as much as he was worried about his teammate.
…
Kenny had been thinking about Kowalski when his cell phone rang.
"Kowalski!" The younger one said happily.
"Hey, little bro! How was England?" Kowalski asked.
"Great. How are you? I realized that I don't even know where you were staying this whole time."
"Ah, well Rocky caught me the morning after Christmas and Skipper basically made me come to his house. I've been subjected to several long lectures." Kowalski blushed even though Kenny couldn't see it.
"What have you been doing?"
"Eating, drinking, sleeping, bathroom, science, research…the list goes on. Basically, I kept myself occupied."
"I was worried about you."
"Don't be. I'll see you soon."
"I promised Private that I'd tell him."
"Tell him what?" Kowalski's voice sounded apprehensive.
Kenny hesitated. "E-everything."
"What does that mean?"
"If anything happens this summer, I'll tell him everything. I promised I'd tell him everything one day."
There was a slight pause before Kowalski spoke again.
"Kenny, why would you make that promise?" He asked calmly.
"B-because they're family."
"They're not ours."
"But-"
"Listen to me. How often have we tried?"
"More than three times." Kenny mumbled.
"How often have we felt the repercussions of our actions?"
"What?"
"We've been burned." Kowalski said flatly.
"More than we've tried." Kenny answered softly.
"Every time we thought we could put our trust in someone who could actually do something about it, they've ignored us."
Kenny inhaled sharply. "But they were nice. They're not like the others, they actually care. Why do you think Skipper's family took you in? They care about you. Gran said-"
"She's not your grandmother."
"She is too! She said she would be and you can be too!" Tears sprung up in Kenny's eyes.
"We have no family, we cannot trust anyone. You can't afford to-"
"STOP IT! JUST LET ME DO WHAT I WANT FOR A CHANGE! STOP TRYING TO MAKE YOURSELF SEEM LIKE NOTHING! I CARE ABOUT YOU SO WHY DON'T YOU JUST LET ME?!"
Kenny hung up the phone before Kowalski could respond.
…
Kowalski grimaced, trying not to show emotion. Skipper stood in the doorway with a questioning look.
Kowalski shrugged and said it was alright. He knew his brother was probably crying by now, but he couldn't help it.
"What's going on?" Skipper asked.
"Nothing. How's Rico?"
"Last time I checked he was fine, what about you?"
"We should talk about the team."
Skipper looked put out, but stopped trying to press the subject.
…
Meanwhile, Rico was having the most normal vacation out of the others…well, as normal as he could. It was better than Kowalski's in any case. If he had to pick out his favorite part of vacation, it would be that he saw his grandmother on Christmas.
He spent most of his time away from the house where his soon to be stepmother hovered everywhere. He and Rikki walked a familiar pathway while they chatted. Both of them had reached a mutual agreement that their stepmother was possibly insane.
At the beginning of the Blue siblings' vacation, they were treated to several lectures by her as to why violence was wrong. During those conversations, she looked over at Rico so much; he thought her eyes would pop out. Why she didn't just look at him during the whole lecture was beyond his comprehension. It wasn't like Rikki could see her and know who it was directed at…it was pretty obvious anyway.
Growing up, Rico never complained until she entered their lives. At first, she seemed nice and willing to work with Rico regardless of the lack of speech.
However, she did find his habits to be worrisome and used a bit of money seeking therapists. The therapists only confirmed what a school counselor could have said for free, that he was just a regular teenage boy who had conflicted feelings about being raised without his birth mother.
The Blue siblings had begun to wonder in recent months if she really loved them and their father. It was no mystery to the kids that she was afraid of Rico whether she would ever admit that or not. She constantly worried over Rikki, saying that the poor young girl was just going to get hurt. Rikki often countered by saying that her little brother would never let that happen, which fueled the older woman's belief that Rico may be violent.
The two of them walked through the snow. Ordinarily, Rico wouldn't have to help Rikki at all even in the snow. Today was different because Rikki had been deemed 'too fragile' to be going out in what Rico thought was sufficient snow gear and was made to look like she was a giant marshmallow.
She wobbled in the many layers she was given. Most of them had been Stella's which were too small in the shoulders and restricted Rikki's movements. As soon as they reached their destination, Rico helped Rikki out of several layers. Soon, she was warm and comfortable having taken off an extra sweater, a warm hoodie, and a coat. All three items had been their mother's, but Rikki was always fine with a long sleeved shirt, a sweater over it, a thin hoodie, and a winter coat. Sometimes she didn't even need the hoodie. Rico just had a sweater over a long sleeved shirt and a winter coat on top of all that.
Rikki removed the earmuffs and scarf, having never needed those in all her seventeen years. Both of them were good with warm hats and gloves. Rikki had been given very thick gloves that looked like she was about to carry birds with very sharp talons. Rico traded those for her normal gloves which he had snuck into his pocket.
They knew they were going to get told off later, but they didn't care. They put the extra items near a tree which was in their line of sight. They moved around, searching.
Rikki had been there plenty of times and knew where she was going. Most of the time she would be in the correct area and had to take off her gloves to feel where she was going.
The search was merely a formality as they knew that what they were looking for was exactly where it was and precisely how to get there. Once they had stopped trying to make a game out of it, they stood together at their destination.
Rikki extended a bare hand and felt a stone object.
"Hi Mom." Rikki whispered. She knelt down at the tombstone. Rico did the same, staring at the words engraved in stone. The words that made it seem so…finite.
She found herself unable to speak, feeling a lump in her throat as her eyes and nose burned. She sniffed, allowing hot tears to spill out.
Rico touched the stone. "Merry Christmas." He croaked. He put an arm around his sister.
"Flowers?" Rikki asked hoarsely.
Rico nodded. "Here." He pulled out some squished looking flowers he had picked from the garden before the snowfall. They'd already begun to dry, but the siblings didn't care. They knew their mother would appreciate flowers from her garden. What their soon to be stepmother didn't know was that Rico had protected and kept watch over his mother's garden. He was fiercely loyal to her, even if he had very distant memories that seemed like a blur.
After sitting in silence for a while, Rikki managed a small 'Merry Christmas' before standing up. The two of them gathered the discarded clothes and somberly made their way out of the cemetery. Rico stopped to drop a flower on another grave. He didn't remember Talia, but he knew that she had been one of his mom's best friends.
Once they got back into the house, they were met by a flurry of movement and voice.
"Why did you take all those layers off? You could have frozen to death. And where is your glove?"
Rico looked at Rikki's hands. She had forgotten to put her right glove back on and instead had shoved it in her pocket.
"I-"
"Rikki, are you okay? Why do you look like you've been crying?"
"I'm fine." Rikki said with a tone of annoyance.
"Rico, what happened? Tell me the truth."
Rico felt a little offended. He didn't remember talking to her very much, let alone lying to her. As far as he knew, he hadn't told a lie to her since they met.
"What's going on?" Rex asked as he came down the hall.
"These two were up to something. Look at her, she doesn't have her glove on or her earmuffs and scarf. She's probably already getting sick. Look at her red eyes…she just sniffled. Goodness, it's a cold."
Rikki rubbed her nose.
"Luann, it's fine." Rex said. "I'm sure my kids are not sick. Do you feel sick?"
The teens shook their heads.
"Why are your eyes red?" Luann asked.
"Mom." Rico said, looking at his dad.
Rex nodded in understanding. "They just went to pay respects to their mother."
Luann pursed her lips as the teenagers began taking off their layers, leaving only the shirts and pants. Their dog came bounding into the room, nearly knocking Rico down. Luann shook her head and left the room.
The service dog hadn't come with Rikki because of health problems, yet he never seemed to run out of energy. This was the same dog that had been a puppy when they had Gracie. Rico had been watching too much Scooby Doo when it came time to name the puppy and went around calling all the dogs Scooby. Gracie, knowing her name, never responded to 'Scooby', but the puppy somehow got it into his mind that his name was Scooby. By the time Rico was done with Scooby Doo, the dog had already accepted the name and it stuck.
"Hey Scooby, hey boy!" Rikki said, scratching the dog behind the ears. "Gee, I wonder what I would have named you."
Rico grinned sheepishly. "Kaboom?"
"I was NOT going to name a dog 'Kaboom' you weirdo!" She shoved him playfully. "Remember, it's only okay if I call you weirdo."
"Mm-hm."
That had been their agreement since they were six and five; no one was allowed to pick on Rico except for his older sister.
Rikki stood up and went to take a shower as she always did after she visited her mom. Rico poured some food in the dog's bowl and pretended to eat it. Scooby playfully growled and pushed Rico away.
"Rico, that's not sanitary!"
Rico grinned. "Fun." He said.
Luann shook her head. "Could you put the dog outside please?"
Rico whipped his head towards the window, then back at Luann with a puzzled expression.
"I'm having friends over who aren't fond of dogs."
"Cold." Rico said, pointing towards the frosty window.
"Rico, I asked you to do something."
"My room."
"I don't want to get your room messed up. What if it has to use the bathroom? Besides, Rikki will need to change."
"Dog don't judge."
"Rico."
Rico waved his hand carelessly.
"Rico, this behavior is not acceptable. Doesn't it have a dog house?"
Rico shook his head. They hadn't had a dog house since the old one had become so rusted and unstable that it nearly crushed Scooby two years ago if he hadn't been called by Rikki two seconds before it collapsed. He was sure that Gracie would probably have been killed by it if she'd been alive at the time.
"Can't it go outside for an hour or two?"
"No." Rico said. Scooby's health started declining in the summer. The vet said he'd live if they made sure he wasn't exposed to heat or cold for long periods of time, meaning more than an hour.
The two of them stared at each other until Luann sighed in defeat.
"Just make sure it doesn't get out."
"He." Rico said.
"What?"
"He. Not it."
"I don't know what that means."
Rico thought he had been perfectly clear. He didn't want Scooby referred to as 'it' and clearly stated that.
The doorbell rang at that moment and Luann jumped.
"Get it out of here!" She hissed.
Rico rolled his eyes and picked up the food and water bowls. Scooby made a noise of complaint as he followed the teen to his room. The dog didn't care about being closed in a room as long as he was reunited with his food.
Rico rubbed the dog's head and left the room.
He stopped by the bathroom door, hearing Rikki's voice. She wasn't the best singer, but he always liked listening to songs that she said their mother always sang them.
He heard his name called. He sighed and went into the living room. A group of people had arrived in formal clothing. There were three teenagers chatting on the couch.
"Rico, please change your clothes." Luann said. "Didn't you see that nice outfit I had for you on your bed?"
Rico made a noise of complaint that sounded exactly like the dog.
"Is there a dog here?" One of the guests said nervously.
"Yes, but don't worry. It's been put away." Luann turned to Rico. "Please don't do that again. I know it's hard but you need to try to socialize."
Rico shook his head as he headed into his room. He took off his sweater and shirt, flexing his muscles. The dog looked uninterested. Rico laughed and changed his pants. He had just pulled up his pants when he heard a high pitched scream.
Instincts kicked in as he bolted out of the room, followed by Scooby. The bathroom door was open and a man was stuttering apologies. Rico growled, pushed the man away and ran inside the bathroom, shutting the door.
"Rikki."
He found her curled up in a ball on the shower floor. The water had turned off, but she was still soaking wet. He wrapped a towel around her and helped her out. She was shaking like a leaf as Rico helped her adjust the towel securely. He put his arms around her, pulling her into a hug.
"Okay." He said softly.
"W-where's your shirt?"
"Dunno."
He helped her pull on her sweater and sweatpants and gathered the rest of her clothes. He made sure it was clear before they headed to their room. He helped the still shaking Rikki into clothes that were laid out for her.
"What happen?"
Rikki explained that she was about to get out of the shower when she heard a startled yell and freaked out. The voice was unfamiliar and she was scared.
Luann came into the room, dragging the dog with her.
"Rico, I told you to keep the dog in here."
Rico glared at her.
"Rikki, I am so sorry about that." She sat on the bed and tried to hug Rikki. The teen jerked away, leaning into Rico.
She sighed and told Rico to put on a shirt before leaving the room.
Rex came in.
"Are you okay, honey?" He asked. He sat on the bed and held Rikki's hand.
Rikki shook her head. "No. Some random guy saw me naked because no one told me guests were coming."
"I'm sorry sweetie, she said she'd tell you when you got back. I thought you knew."
"I should have locked the door."
Rex inhaled, but Rikki interrupted him.
"I know, it's dangerous, but…I would have showered in your bathroom if I knew…"
"I'm sorry, baby." He hugged her. "Kids, I want to ask you something. Do you like Luann?"
"Do you?"
"Yes, but you two are my whole world. I respect your opinions. Do you like her?"
"Yes." Rico said
"Are you sure?"
Rico smiled and nodded.
"Alright, come out when you're ready."
Rex left the room.
"Why did you lie?" Rikki asked.
Rico sighed. "Dad."
"I know, but he was asking our opinion. She seems to be worse this year."
Rico grunted in agreement.
The siblings waited a few minutes before leaving. Rikki tried to act as if nothing had happened. The man was apologizing and Rikki kept saying she was fine. She almost screamed at him when he apologized for the tenth time.
People politely said hello to Rico, but mainly avoided him. He approached the three teens and was shocked to recognize two of them. The third, a teen girl, was on her phone and ignoring everyone.
"Hey Rico."
"What's up?"
The two boys had identical devious grins.
"What are you two doing here?" Rikki asked.
"Our mom said we had to come."
"We didn't know you lived in this hovel."
Rico instantly became angered.
"But then again, what do you expect?"
"Especially when you have a murderer."
Rikki kept a hand on Rico's arm, preventing him from mauling the Vesuvius twins. The girl didn't seem to notice an obvious fight about to happen.
"What's this?" One of the boys picked up a frame. "Aww, she looks nice."
"Yeah, why'd you kill her?"
Rikki's eyes widened as she realized what they might have. "PUT IT DOWN!" She screamed, drawing the attention of every person. The girl actually looked up from her phone.
"Why?" The boy tossed it to his brother who tossed it back.
"GIVE IT." Rico said in a low, dangerous voice.
"Oh no, the murderer wants to see his victim."
"Too bad she's-"
"Don't you dare finish that." Rikki growled.
"Dead."
Rico snapped. He lunged towards the boy as a few people screamed. Rikki found the other twin and attempted to tug the picture from him. She tugged the picture as Rico punched the other twin.
The adults tried to stop it, but a loud smashing noise caused everyone to be silent and still. Rikki blinked.
Rico had a hold on one of the twins, but let go. He picked up the frame, not caring that the broken glass was puncturing his skin. He held it out for Rikki to feel.
"What, are you going to cry?" One twin sneered.
SMACK!
Rikki punched him in the face before turning on her heel and bursting out of the house.
Rico was about to hurt one of the twins when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked at his dad who whispered something to him. Rico ran to get their coats. He shoved his on as Rikki's coat trailed behind him. He flew out the door and saw her retreating back. He followed her slowly, the picture still in his hand.
He found her in a very familiar place. Instead of light sniffles, Rikki was crying. He sat next to her, draping her coat over her. The picture frame was set in front of the tombstone. He held her tight, not caring that a small amount of blood got onto her coat. The two of them stayed in silence. They only moved when Rikki put her coat on.
"I want Mom." Rikki mumbled.
"Mama…" Rico said.
Two hours later, Rico realized that he had not brought his phone and neither had Rikki. She was half asleep in his arms. He grunted as he helped her up. She was much heavier than Kenny, but Rico lifter her up on his back anyway. He grunted again and took a deep breath, exiting the cemetery for the second time that day. He walked a different route and found himself at the home of a friend. He kicked the front door as his hands were occupied.
The door opened and Rikki's friend gasped. He helped the two inside the house.
"Thanks." Rico said.
"No problem."
"Alan." Rico put out his hand.
"Hang on." Alan exited the room and came back with his dad and a first aid kit. "Gee, when I said come back and visit, I didn't mean like this."
Rico's hand was wrapped up. Alan took the jacket and offered to clean it. Rico replaced Rikki's jacket with his own. Alan's father called Rex to explain that the teens were there.
Alan called one of their other friends who came over in five minutes to give Rikki a spare change of clothes. She couldn't stay long, but managed to say hi to Rico. When Rikki woke up, Rico gave her the clothes and she changed in the bathroom. She finished and came out to explain what happened.
"Don't listen to them." Alan said. "They don't know ANYTHING about you guys."
Alan's mother arrived and was given a quick explanation to why his friends were there. She gave them cookies and listened to Rikki talk. She expressed conflicted feelings. She didn't want to hurt her dad by saying anything, but she didn't particularly like Luann either. She knew that the woman didn't like Rico that much.
They waited until Rikki's clothes were clean before sending the siblings on their way. Both had politely refused to be driven back home.
Once they got back, they discovered that the house was empty except for their father. Luann had gone to talk to the Vesuvius twins' parents.
"Are you okay?" Rex asked, embracing his kids. He examined them top to bottom. "I was worried about you. It took me an hour to realize you didn't have your phones."
He made hot chocolate for everyone. Rikki finished her drink and went to her room. Rex watched his son, trying to see what he was thinking.
"Rico, are you okay?" He asked. "Son, I need you to be honest." He added when Rico nodded. "Is this about your mother?"
Rico sighed heavily.
"Do you two like Luann? I promise I won't be hurt if you don't. I mean it, your opinions are important. If she isn't alright by you, then I'll break up with her. Don't ever feel bad alright? I need to know what's going on."
Rico looked his dad in the eye.
"Rico."
"Dad…I-"
"I loved your mother, you know that right? I still love her."
Rico nodded.
"Do you and Rikki feel comfortable with Luann?"
"N-…no. She think…I'm crazy…"
"Did she ever say that?" Rex asked.
Rico shook his head. Rex understood that to mean that it was implied.
…
Towards the end of the vacation, Rex and Luann split up. It was an incident that could be laughed at if the police hadn't been involved.
Before the start of vacation, Marlene had asked Rico to make some inspirational posters. She gave him a bunch of ideas that he was happy to use. He required posters, scissors, paint, a bunch of random objects, and a special knife used for carving thick cardboard. He also borrowed a kitchen knife in case he wanted to make indents in some objects, which was a suggestion of Marlene's.
Post-Christmas, Rikki was helping him with this project as long as she wore protective goggles to avoid anything dropping into her eyes. Both of them worked in the kitchen so it would be easier to clean up than if they worked on the carpet. They wore old clothes that they were okay with getting dirty.
The scene of the incident was something like this. Two posters were spread on the table. One of them was upside down because Rikki was laying across two chairs to work on it. Rico had spilled dark red paint a while ago, getting it onto Rikki and the floor. She had tried to block the chairs because they would be harder to clean than her body. Rico had managed to save the posters, but their tools had gotten covered in paint. He managed to get a little off so they could continue working. They took a couple of breaks every now and then.
This is what Luann walked in on. Rikki's arm was hanging off the chair while she rested. Her arm, hair, face, neck, and torso were covered in patches of dark red paint. Her face was blocked by Rico's body. He was chuckling at a joke that had been told five seconds previously. His hands were covered in paint, mostly red from trying to stop the spill. He had a red paint stained knife in his hand when he heard a scream behind him.
He twisted wildly, heart pounding from shock. Luann squeaked and screamed again, bolting from the house. She hadn't noticed Rikki's arm move at the scream and she had already left when the blind girl sat up.
Rex, who had been giving the dog flea medicine at the time, ran into the kitchen to see his kids looking confused.
"What just happened?" He asked.
"Was that Luann?" Rikki asked.
"Yeah." Rico said.
Rikki thought for a moment before piecing together the explanation. She laughed slightly as she explained that there was a paint spill. The buckets had been put aside, and not in plain view, until they were ready to use them again.
Rex relaxed at the explanation when he heard sirens.
It took ten minutes to explain exactly what happened to the police officers. The evidence supported Rikki's explanation. She even allowed one of them to sniff her arm to detect that it was paint.
After the officers left, Rikki finally confessed that they didn't want Luann in their lives. Rex nodded and proceeded to call her. He explained the situation and asked to see her. They spoke and reached an agreement to break up. Luann seemed distraught with everything and was gone within twenty-four hours, not saying where she was going. Rex had tried to say that they could still be friends, but she appeared not to have heard him. Later, he confessed that things had been strained for a while and he thought that his kids were alright with her.
The teens were visibly happier and Rico couldn't wait to have a laugh with his team when he told them what happened.
Rico wondered how it was going with Private. Kenny had hurriedly sent a text before Christmas saying 'he's talking to his mom' and Rico knew what that meant. He hoped that his teammate would come back, he was sure that Private would get a good laugh about what happened. Marlene found the whole thing hilarious when Rico emailed the story. She had laughed so hard, she had to get her sister to send a reply for her.
Rico grinned as he packed up. The end of vacation seemed to go by so fast for them, but he thought it turned out to be a good one after all. He wondered what his team was doing. The last he heard, Kowalski had apparently gone AWOL and Skipper was looking for him. Private had contacted Rico a few times, but not much within the last week. Skipper had sent emails to Rico on different fighting techniques that the latter might find interesting. Kowalski didn't contact them until Kenny brought him up, and Private sent a few funny texts every couple of days that Rico found amusing.
A/N: Hey! HEY! THIS IS MORT! Hi people! Hi!
Skipper: Huh? Mort? Where'd TK go?
Mort: She put me in charge!
Kowalski: ALL LIES! She put me in charge…you're not even in this chapter.
Mort: Aww, when do I come in?
Kowalski: The chapter after next.
Mort: Huh?
Skipper: You appear in chapter 27.
Kenny: what about Private?
Skipper: Let's see…he-sfj-sdkje-some-ssji-wrong-aveveag-keyboa-ancdknvia-Private-avjeaiv-come back…
Kenny: Huh? He does or doesn't come back? I have to know!
Kowalski: So do they. *points to you*
Kenny *turns to screen* Oh. Hi there!
Skipper: Wait! I found something…Hmm…let's see…apparently it's official that Private-
ERROR! Dfjdsavvnaveaifhahdpikachuwwqnapvenajefepfjfa-4gr8tu45747890574875849754875BOOM!
…
…
Rico: Hey…*looks around empty room* Aww…*begins cleaning broken fourth wall*
Skipper: Seriously? Still here? There's nothing to see…literally… it's an empty room with a shattered fourth wall…that'll happen sometimes…see you next chapter!