Disclaimer: Still don't own this. Very sad.

Author's Note: Sorry! I had no idea where under the Earth the story was supposed to go after opened the door. But things should be moving a little quicker hopefully. Enjoy the chapter!

Replies:

Paul—Sorry it's taken me so long to get the chapter up! I really had trouble fingering out where to go. I knew who was going to be at the door, but beyond that, I was lost.

EE—Thanks. Shiny review buttons are fun. Sorry it's been so long since I updated.

Kali—I'm so sorry I've taken so long. I didn't know what to write.

Maiden Genisis—Thanks!

Texas—Sorry I haven't updated. Hope you didn't forget about me.

Who Cares—Thanks. :::insert evil laughter:::

Sam—"cliffy, sure"? Then I guess you've guessed whose behind door number one!

La Cramento—Aw, thanks. Sorry it's been so long since I updated.

Holly Rox—Thanks. I don't know yet. I haven't quite decided on an ending. I thought about them keeping the baby if it had been older like I was originally going to make her. But now I'm not sure. Maybe they will find her family. Maybe Holly will go crazy and kill her. Probably not that last one though. I'd hate to see Holly have to do time behind bars. Though it'd be an interesting story to see her and Mulch locked in a cell together…

Sweetdeath04—Thanks! Sorry I haven't updated in so long.

Jubily-Lollypops—Haha, you'll just have to see! :-)

Chapter 11: Knock-Knock

"Uh-oh." She shouldn't be here. If Root somehow found out she'd disobeyed orders again there'd be major trouble. He was always threatening her.

The buzzer buzzed again, long and loud.

Foaly said airily into the speaker, "Whoever you are, don't get your ears in a knot." Just as Foaly turned on the screen to see who was there, the intercom roared at him.

"Open the door, donkey, before I throw your hairy rear out on the street!"

Foaly hurried opened the door. "Didn't see you, boss. I thought you were working."

"Don't push any buttons today, Foaly. I'm not in the mood."

Foaly muttered, "Never are."

Root ignored him. "Short, what are you doing here?"

Holly felt like saying, "Well, what's the baby still doing with me?" But she knew better. Instead she said, "Sir, some of my colleagues saw me with the infant and wanted to know what was going on."

"Frond, Verbil, and Pern?"

"Sir?"

"They came in a little late, Frond asking why you were getting time off when you were supposed to be on the clock. I told her you weren't getting time off and that another officer's work was none of her business."

Holly waited for him to continue, knowing old Beetroot would get angrier if she asked any questions.

"She'll be spending the next half a decade on traffic duty if she doesn't keep her nose out of where it doesn't belong. Now what are you doing here? I told you the Police Plaza was no place for a baby." Root's voice had a menacing edge to it.

Holly planned her words carefully. "Sir, I don't believe I can continue to care for this infant."

"Why not?" He took out a cigar and started chewing viciously on the end of it. But in the presence of infantile lungs, he didn't light it.

"I haven't had the proper training. It would be bad publicity as well as horrible tragedy if something were to happen to her."

"Captain Short, I am more than confident in your skills to handle a single child."

"But, sir!" she protested, losing her composure. "I don't know anything about kids. She cried all morning!"

Willow started to cry.

"Look, she's crying now."

Root looked at her sharply. "She wouldn't cry if you didn't yell, Captain," he said curtly. He dropped his cigar on Foaly's keyboard (causing the centaur to give a whinny of indignation on behalf of his equipment) and took the elf-child in his arms. He rocked her, patted her, and she was quiet in no time.

"Sir, how did you know how to…?"

"Keep your voice down, Captain," he said, returning to his irritable self, but still holding the baby. "They don't come with instruction manuals like your Neutrino; you have to learn how to deal with them. It's not that hard. It's not something you can forget; no matter how long it's been." He stared fondly at Willow for about thirty seconds before snapping back to reality again and thrusting her into Holly's arms. "Take her home and keep her there. Bill the Police Plaza for any of her needs and the Council will reimburse you."

"Yessir," she said, trying not to sound too glum. "Any new leads on her family or what happened?" she asked hopefully.

"None yet."

Holly sighed and started out of the Ops Booth. She was nearly out of the Police Plaza when a voice like poisoned honey stopped her. "I'm going to find out what's going on, Short. I know you're hiding something. When I find out what it is, you'll be sorry." Lili Frond tossed her hair over her shoulder and stalked off like an angry cat.

Holly snorted. Frond had always been rather fond of Trouble, especially once Holly and Trouble had started dating. Holly's marrying Trouble hadn't really helped matters any; Lili was still jealous from time to time.

With Frond gone she put Willow into her stroller and left the Police Plaza. Holly wasn't more than a few yards out the door when Lieutenant Ash came out, panting. He'd obviously ran to catch up with her. That man was definitely out of shape if he was having trouble keeping up with a lady and a baby. "Root…sent…me. Said…you shouldn't…be walking…home alone."

"Why not? It's not even dark yet!" Come to think of it, down here it was all artificial light anyway.

"Maybe because you're walking with that baby," he suggested, finally having his breath back. "Whose is it, anyway?"

"Not mine."

"Obviously. But whose?"

"Doesn't matter." She started walking.

"Wait up!"

"I don't need an armed guard to walk me home. I grew up in the city, remember?"

"I know, but orders are orders and you need an escort."

"Make yourself useful then and push the stroller without waking the kid. I think she's asleep."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know. You handle it." Holly closed her eyes and counted to ten, wishing she was out stopping criminals, rather than telling Ash how to keep Willow from waking up.

Ash did fairly well pushing the stroller until he ran into a hole just a block from Holly's house. The stroller lurched forward. Willow remained securely inside, but she was awake again, and crying.

"Now look what you did. She's never gonna shut-up!" screamed Holly.

"Me?" He screamed back, covering his ears. "How is it my fault?"

"Because you're the one who tripped!"

"Make her stop crying!"

"I don't know how! You do it!"

"Me? How am I supposed to make her stop?"

"I don't know!"

"You're the woman, you make her stop crying! She's killing my ears!"

By then, Holly had had enough. She was not going to take anymore of this you're-the-female-so-you-must-have-maternal-instincts-that-make-you-the-perfect-caretaker. She snapped back her arm and sent a powerful punch toward Ash. It hit him square in the jaw, and he went reeling backwards, stumbling. "Ouch, Short! What in Frond's name did you do that for?"

"Sexist troll," she spat.

"Did you just call me a troll?"

"Well, if the boot fits…"

Ash glared at her, deciding whether or not she'd try and hit him again if he stood up. It'd probably be best if he made no sudden movements of any kind.

"Come on, we're only a block away and I've got a medi-pak at home."

Ash got up slowly and took the stroller without another word. Short sure packed a heck of a punch.

The rest of the walk was short and uneventful. Holly opened the door to let Ash in with the stroller. "Take a seat at the table and I'll get you a medi-pak." She picked Willow up from the stroller and put her in front of the sofa on the floor, bundled up in blankets and with pillows around her so she didn't roll away. Seeing that Willow was secure and had stopped crying for the moment, she went and got a medi-pak out of the cupboard and cracked it. She gave it to him and stuck it on his face, perhaps a little harder than necessary, but he bit back the groan of pain he was feeling and she knew it. Male arrogance.

When the swelling had gone down in his jaw, he worked the muscles a little to get them moving again. "Uh, I won't mention this to anybody if you won't?"

She glowered at him.

"Root never gets happy when you hit a fellow officer," he reminded her.

Her glare intensified tenfold, but she nodded. "Tell him to find somebody else to baby-sit."

"I'll put the word in," he promised. He went to the door, and turned back briefly. "Any message for your husband?"

"Tell him I hate motherhood," she said vehemently.

"Will do," he said. Once the door was closed and he figured he was out of Holly's hearing range, he started running. He shuddered. He'd forgotten how violent Holly Short was. He remembered her from their training days. She always did feel like she had something to prove to everyone…

Holly was typically not one to take naps. If she felt tired, she exercised. But not now, not today. It'd been a long day and it was far from over. She saw that Willow couldn't move anywhere or get into any trouble and went to her room. She crawled under the covers and stayed there, falling asleep almost instantly.

She didn't wake up for hours. Not until she heard the sound of a door opening. Alertness and training took over. Someone was entering the house. She grabbed the nearest thing she could use as a weapon and quietly made her way out of the bedroom and into the living room. She waited by the doorway, and when they figure came through, punched him in the eye and twisted his arms behind his back. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" she asked grimly.

There was a cough. "I'm you're husband and I came home to eat dinner."

"Trouble?" Oops. It was her husband. "I'm sorry. I guess I was a little edgy. I just woke up…"

"That's alright. Do we have any medi-paks?"

"No. I had to give Lieutenant Ash the last one. Long story. Here," her voice softened on the last word and she put her fingertips on his eye. "Heal," she whispered. Blue sparks shot from the ends of her fingers and the swelling started to go down immediately.

Trouble grinned. "Thanks. Would have been awful to have to explain that black-eye at work."

"Sit down at the table and I'll make some dinner. I'm really starting to hate this Holly-the-happy-homemaker gig. I want to be back in my uniform patrolling the streets. Even traffic duty would be better than this," she grumbled. She let Trouble tell her all about his day while she prepared dinner, and they sat down to eat together.

But of course, just as she was sitting down, Willow started to cry. She wanted dinner too.

Trouble looked at Holly apologetically. "I'll take care of her." He went over and picked her up, rocking her in one arm, while he prepared formula for her in the kitchen with the other. He came back to table, and fed her on his lap while he and Holly ate their dinners too. One big happy family.

Holly had the distinct impression that Willow was definitely between her and Trouble. She didn't like this one bit. She just had to find some relative of Willow's to take the kid away and keep her in a proper household with a mother or an aunt or someone who liked taking care of kids. Otherwise she'd go crazy within a week. She watched Trouble and Willow. Trouble was already too attached to the girl. How was she ever going to be able to separate the two of them now?

"I'm going out for a jog, Trouble."

"Alright, Holls. I'll see you when you get back. Don't worry; Willow's in good hands."

Holly didn't reply. She was already gone.

Author's Note Continued: I don't know what Ash's rank is supposed to be; I just remembered the name from the books. If anybody knows the rank, it'd be appreciated. Hopefully I won't go so long between updates again. If you want to know something that really hasn't been updated, look at my Harry Potter and the Fortress of Shadows. Hasn't been updated since January 25th. That's before my fourth Artemis Fowl story was even finished. Yikes. If you're willing to forgive me for going so long without updating, please review. :::big sad puppy dog eyes:::