Rose woke up the next morning, Bradley's bare back turned towards her. She rubbed her eyes and placed a quick kiss on his shoulder, before stretching and standing up from the bed, grabbing her sweatshirt and a pair of volleyball shorts she left over. Rose wandered out of his room, not aware that both of Bradley's adoptive parents were home.
"Rose?!" Bradley's adoptive mother asked, her jaw dropping at the sight of her.
Rose's eyes widened at the sight of her, her jaw dropping as well.
"Mr. and Mrs. Williams!" Rose said in shock. "Bradley didn't tell me..."
She trailed off as she stared at Bradley's parents. Bradley's adoptive mother was a tiny, skinny brunette woman in her late forties, who was wearing a business suit. Bradley's adoptive father was a taller man who was in his late forties, and dressed similarly to his wife. She realized how bad she looked, seeing it was early Sunday morning, and she was coming out of Bradley's room in what appeared to be only a sweatshirt.
"Bradley also didn't inform us.." Bradley's adoptive father began.
"Well, we can talk to Bradley about this later." Mrs. Williams said. "But for now, please tell me you and my son used protection when you..."
"Of course!" Rose said quickly. "I'm on the pill, Bradley has-"
"Good!" Mrs. Williams said quickly. "That's the important thing."
"Yeah." Rose agreed.
"So how have you been Rose?" Mr. Williams said.
"Um, good." Rose said. "I've been pretty good."
"That's good." Mrs. Williams said. "Have you also been talking to your, well, birth parents?"
"You know about that?" Rose asked.
"Hoagie and Abby gave us a call not too long ago, and Bradley told us the rest." Mr. Williams explained. "Melony, we shouldn't pry!"
"I was just curious." Mrs. Williams said. "Are they together as well?"
"Um, no." Rose said quickly. "I think they broke up after me and Chris were born."
"Oh." Mrs. Williams said. "Do they have any more kids? Hoagie and Abby have another daughter, and one on the way."
"Um, I have two half-sisters, one from each parent." Rose said. "And yeah, I know Jasmine."
"Oh." Mrs. Williams. "Have you or Bradley been talking to Hoagie or Abby?"
"Um, for the Next Door, we have been." Rose said. "What is this about?"
"Does Bradley understand that they abandoned him?" Mrs. Williams stated.
"Melony!" Mr. Williams yelled.
"Shut up, Keith!" She snapped back. "I'm just wondering if he's been seeing them. I know for a fact that they want to see him. But they don't understand that they gave up every right to be in his life after they gave him away. And now that the hard part is over, they can't just waltz back into his life and take him away from us! He is our son, not theirs!"
"Mom?" Bradley asked as he came out of his room, wearing just a t-shirt and boxers.
"Bradley." Mrs. Williams said. "Did you-?"
"Uh, Rose we got to go." Bradley said quickly. "Chris just called, they caught a board member. We're gonna meet up with Charlee, Will, and Alex at the Arctic Base."
Rose nodded, hurrying to get changed while Bradley talked to his parents. She grabbed a pair of her leggings, and quickly pulled on her bra underneath her sweatshirt before grabbing her shoes and throwing her hair into a ponytail. She walked out to the sound of Bradley arguing with his parents.
"Mom, for the love of god, I've said it a million times! They mean absolutely nothing to me! I'm not going to leave you guys, just because they're being annoying and trying to get me to talk to them!" Bradley yelled.
"Brads?" Rose asked. "Should we go?"
"Yeah." Bradley said, looking to his mother one last time. "Let's go." He then stormed out, not sparing his parents another glance.
As they left, Bradley's mother put her head in her hands, as her husband rubbed her back. Rose threw her a sympathetic glance before following Bradley out the door.
Once Bradley and Rose landed at the Arctic Base, they saw Will and Charlee waving them down at the entrance, both of them hopping and cheering. Once they got out of the C.O.O.L.B.U.S, Charlee grabbed both of their wrists as Charlee and Will began talking to them excitedly. They couldn't understand them as they rambled on, so Rose grabbed Charlee by her shoulders and stopped her.
"Charlee." Rose said. "Breathe."
Charlee took a breathe. "We caught Herbie."
"What?!" Rose and Bradley said together.
"So last night, after rehearsals and Alex's pouty fit, Maria had to leave for some AND meeting. Chris was over, because he thought you two were doing stuff at his house and didn't want to go back."
Chris, Will, Charlee, and Alex sat on their couch, a cloud of smoke around them. They were each either vaping or smoking cigarettes, while talking to each other.
"Thanks for letting me spend the night." Chris said, taking a hit from his vape. "Rose and Bradley are probably fucking all over the place."
"Not a problem." Charlee said. "But since you're here, I think it's a good time to finally watch Heathers." She then picked up the remote, smiling as Alex, Will, and Chris groaned.
"Char, we've seen this a million times." Will said. "Why do we have to watch this freak-show of a movie again?"
"Because it's the basis for the play that I'm putting on, you two are staring in, and Alex is designing the sets for." Charlee said, flicking through Netflix to find it. "And it's a cult classic, not a freak-show."
"Most cult-classics are." Chris replied darkly. "Rocky-Horror Picture, Psycho."
"Christopher Peters, you have absolutely no taste." Charlee said. "Now, I want you and Will to focus on your characters. Chris, watch how Kurt walks, speaks, acts. Notice how he tries to make everyone feel inferior to him. Why do you think that is, Chris? Will, focus on the way Kurt's dad mourns for him with Ram's dad. Do you think his son's repressed sexuality reminded him of his own? And Alex pay attention to the scenery. Try to replicate it, but as the play progresses, try to make it into something that represents the mood. I'll get the popcorn, start watching."
As she got up, all three boys looked to each other.
"What the fuck did she say?" Alex asked, smoke coming out of his mouth as he spoke.
"Something about analyzing our characters and shit." Will said, taking another drag on his vape.
They watched on Charlee hanging onto every scene eagerly, while Chris, Will, and Alex watched, almost falling asleep by the final scene. It wasn't until Charlee's beloved cat, Jughead, crawled in and sunk his claws into Alex's leg, did they awake from there daze.
"Fuck!" Alex screamed as he smacked Jughead. "Charlee! Your fucking cat just fucking scratched me!"
"Jughead." Charlee said softly, collecting Jughead into her arms. "What did I say about scratching Alex."
"Charlee, I'm telling you. If you can't get that cat to stop attacking me..." Alex said as he walked to the bathroom to get bandages.
"You'll what?" Charlee sneered as she let Jughead out of her arms. "Alex I'm the main breadwinner in this household. You and Will have absolutely no say in the Jughead argument."
Jughead then ran off to the door to Will and Alex's bedroom, and started scratching at it rapidly. Alex noticed immediately, and swatted the cat away.
"He's scratching our door now!" Alex yelled. "Honestly, Char, when are we getting rid of this thing."
"Maybe he just wants in." Charlee said.
"Over my dead body." Alex said. "I'm not letting that thing into my room."
Charlee rolled her eyes and scooped Jughead up again, holding him for a few minutes before letting him down. Once again, he ran off to Alex and Will's door, and started scratching at it again.
"Jughead!" Charlee cried. "What is the matter with-"
Charlee trailed off as she leaned down next to the door to pick up Jughead. In the small crack between the door and the floor, she saw what appeared to be a pair of feet, leaned up against the door. She immediately picked up Jughead, and started shaking Chris and Will.
"Chris! Will! I think there's someone in your room." She whispered as they roused from their half-sleep. Alex came out of the bathroom to the three of them whispering.
"What's going on?" Alex asked as he leaned down to their level.
"Charlee saw feet on the other side of our door." Will explained. "Someone may have broken in."
"It's probably nothing." Alex shrugged.
"Yeah, well I'm not taking any chances." Chris said. "Grab a weapon, we'll see who's there."
The four of them grabbed a weapon and stood by Alex and Will's door. Chris held up three fingers and began counting down. Once he was done, Will kicked down the door, and the four of them stormed in.
"TND, WHO THE HELL IS THERE!" Chris yelled.
"Herbie?" Charlee, Will, and Alex said in shock as they saw Herbie cowering in fear.
"So that cat was actually helping us, again?" Bradley asked as the two of them finished explaining their story.
"Hey, he helps us all the time." Charlee said. "Have any of you seen a single rodent in our apartment since last Valentine's Day?"
"I've seen him eat them, and trust me, that's more disturbing." Will said. "Now, I suggest we do a BAU style interrogation. Brads, you're Reid, go in there and bore him with statistics and math. Rosie, you're Hotch, go be a stone-faced hardass with no mercy. Alex is already in their yelling at him, so he's obviously Morgan. Char and Chris can go in together, and be Prentiss and JJ. They can flirt with him and make him feel insecure. And me, I'm Rossi. I'll just be my naturally cool and professional self and save the day. Any questions?"
"How much Criminal Minds have you watched this week?" Rose asked.
"Six seasons." Will answered. "Let's go!"
Rose rolled her eyes, but followed Will into the interrogation room. Chris was leaned up against the double-sided glass, listening to Alex scream at Herbie. Alex was nearly red in the face, while Herbie was cringing in his seat. Rose almost laughed at the sight of the once powerful Herbie cringing as an eighteen year old boy (who wasn't that scary in her opinion) yelled at him.
"I swear Numbuh 74, I have no idea where the rest are!" Herbie pleaded.
"I know you're lying Herbie." Alex said as he got closer to his face. "I know you know where the rest if you sickos are. And I will stay on your ass until you crack. I don't care if it takes me all day, all week, hell, even all month. I will break you and find the rest of you assholes and destroy each and everyone of you, like you tried to do to me. So, do you think you can escape me? Do you? You may have gotten lucky with my idiots for parents, but you won't get that far with me. So let me ask you, Herbie? Do you feel lucky, punk?"
"Oh god he's quoting Clint Eastwood." Bradley said as he watched Alex.
"Get him out of there, send Charlee in." Rose ordered.
Will got up and pulled Alex out of the room, whacking him across the head as Charlee went in, not before adjusting her scoop neck top to show more cleavage.
"Why the fuck did you think it would be a good idea to quote Clint Eastwood?" Chris asked.
"I was feeling it." Alex shrugged, before turning to the window. "What's Charlee doing?"
"Something disturbing, gross, and outright wrong. Something only a woman with guts of steel can do. Something brave, yet scarring." Will said.
"She's going to flirt with Herbie." Chris said.
"So, Herbie, tell me." Charlee said as she paced in front of the desk Herbie. "What have you been up to in the past few months?" As she said that, she leaned down, giving Herbie a good view of her cleavage.
"Yeah, I'm not allowing this." Rose said, marching towards the interrogation room.
She grabbed Charlee by her shoulders, and pushed her out of the room.
"Oh god thank you, Rose!" Charlee said happily. "I felt like vomiting."
"As did the rest of us." Rose admitted. "Alright I'm going in."
Rose then entered the interrogation room where Herbie was handcuffed. He looked small (despite his large size) and worried. Rose took a seat in front of him and cleared her throat.
"Hello, Herbie." She said calmly.
Herbie only glared at her and sat back into his seat "Yell at me all you want, I already told Carter, I have no clue where the others are. We split up when you took down Father and the rest and haven't been in contact since."
"I really don't care about that." Rose said. "I'm sure that my friends and I will have no problem finding them, if they're as stupid as you were to go into three highly trained operatives' apartment. I just want to know two things.
"For one, I want to know why you thought it was a good idea to break into Will, Charlee, and Alex's apartment? You know that one of them alone can take you down, not to mention all three and Chris."
Herbie sighed and placed his head in his handcuffed hands. "I thought that Alex and Charlee would be at work, and Will would be somewhere else, and that I could hack into their weapon's vault. I was there for about half an hour before they got home, trying to get in. They built a tight system."
Rose nodded. "What were your plans with the vault?"
"I was going to take the code module and take my finger out. The Next Door can't decommission me if I'm not in the system, which I assumed would happen when they found me." He said.
"Understandable." Rose said. "Now, for my second question. Where have you been for the past few months? I hate to compliment a traitor, but it has been impossible to find you. I mean, sure we had our hunches, and we thought that we had some intel on you, but it turned out to be false."
Herbie glared at her. "I'm not saying a thing."
Rose leaned in. "Herbie, I was hoping that I could reason with you. We don't need to decommission you necessarily, because despite the fact that you turned out to be a traitor, you have aided the organization for several years. I was planning on removing you from the system after a few weeks in the Artic Prison, but allowing you to keep your memories if you cooperated."
Herbie snorted. "I 'aided the organization'. You're about as pompous as your parents, if not more."
"That was meant to be a compliment." Rose said.
"You act like I wasn't leading the Next Door. You act like I wasn't apart of it! Guess what Numbuh 71, you don't own the Next Door, and neither did your parents. It's not your birthright to be Supreme Leader." Herbie said.
"It's not my birthright, I worked hard and became a successful operative." Rose stated as her face grew red.
"Please, if it wasn't for your parents, Maria, Mateo, and Lindsay you wouldn't have even heard of the KND, not to mention the TND and AND. You and the rest only rose to power because all the higher ups knew your precious mommies and daddies, even though you had no idea who they were."
Rose was steaming in her chair, but was too mad to say anything.
"It was the same way with your parents. 'Oh Numbuh 1's father was Numbuh 0, lets make him our GKND rep even though he'll give it up in a year.' 'Ooh Numbuh 86's dad was a big bad villian, let's give her a moonbase position at 7 and use her as a spy.' 'Numbuh 5's sister was a great spy, let's have her lead a sector at 7, and the TND at 13.' And with the rest being friends, they got these amazing benefits. While I was working my ass off to get into the TND, they got everything handed to them. And you six didn't have to work one bit. The AND basically gave you everything!" He spat at her.
Rose then stood up and yanked Herbie up by his shirt collar. "I have never used who my parents are to my advantage. I have worked for everything since I was seven years old, even though you and the rest of the board tried to hold me back. I ask you a simple question, and as an answer I get a whine about my parents, who worked so much harder than you ever did. I am going to ask you one more time Herbie. Where. The. Fuck. Were. You?"
"Decommission me, because I will never tell." Herbie grinned.
Rose released his collar and let him shrink back down, only to slap him as hard as she could. At this, Mateo, who had arrived minutes earlier, burst into the door, followed quickly by Bradley, Chris, Will, Alex, and Charlee.
"Numbuh 71, back down!" Mateo said, grabbing her by her shoulders.
"Charlee I want him decommissioned! I want him decommissioned now!"
"Rose we have to-" Charlee started.
"I don't care Charlee, go and get the decommissioner started at the moonbase, Bradley take her, the rest of you-"
"This needs to be thought through, I mean it's-"
"I don't care I'm the Supreme Leader, I earned the right to make this decision."
"Rose you know-"
"WHY AREN'T YOU FUCKING LISTENING, CHARLEE I WANT HIM GONE-"
"ROSE!" Charlee nearly screamed. Rose finally shut up and turned to Charlee.
"What Numbuh 76?" She said.
"You don't make this decision Rose." Charlee stated. "I do."
Rose scoffed "No you don't."
"Yes she does." Mateo said. "In special cases of decommissioning, the decommissioner of the organization decides. Charlee is the decommissioner of the entire Next Door. She decides if Herbie gets decommissioned or not."
Rose's face hardened as Charlee then stood in front of them.
"Right. I want to have a meeting with Mateo and Jasmine. Will, Chris, and Alex will be there to since they were the ones that caught him, along with me. Rose, since your the TND Supreme Leader, you will be there to state your opinion, but you will not be telling me what to do. Until then, Herbie will be kept at the Artic Prison, with at least a dozen guards surrounding him. Are we good?" Charlee said.
"Wait, Char, what about me?" Bradley asked.
"Bradley, I'm sorry, but this meeting is meant for leaders and witnesses. Since you are neither, you'll have to sit this one out. And I promise, once Will, Alex, and Chris are done giving their input, they will be asked to leave so the rest of us can make a decision."
"Charlee, Bradley is as much as a leader as you." Rose said, crossing her arms. "Not to mention the fact that you were there too."
"He actually is not." Charlee stated. "He's a tech officer at the TND moonbase. I'm the decommissioner of the entire Next Door. If anything, I'm more of a leader than you. And this is what protocol dictates. Unlike you, I'm not play favorites, I'm just following the rules."
With that Charlee stomped out, yelling for Oliver to come take Herbie away. Rose's jaw dropped to the ground and her expression turned even more sour than when Herbie was taunting her.
Bradley was working alone in his office as the meeting began, feeling a little embarrassed that everyone was at the meeting, except for him. He understood that Will, Alex, and Chris were only in their because they were witnesses, and Charlee wasn't much of a rule breaker.
He scribbled on a blueprint as knock rang through the room.
"It's open." He yelled, assuming it was Jason coming to pick up the new Spud-Gun prototype.
"Hey Bradley." Hoagie said as he walked into the room.
Bradley immediately looked up, surprised to see his biological father there.
"Um, Numbuh 2." Bradley said. "What's up?"
"The AND wanted me to come pick up some blueprints you have for a replacement treehouse in New York." He said. "They said that they were going to start working on it soon."
"Right." Bradley said, getting up from his chair and grabbing one of the many blueprints on his wall. "This treehouse includes a back-up defense system incase the original fails, has a facial recognition system that I'm trying to find a way to link to the code module, and a weapons safe that's a lot like the one in Charlee, Alex, and Will's apartment. Hopefully the AND will like it."
"This is really impressive." Hoagie said, examining the blueprint. "Hopefully we can make this as great as the original."
"Thanks." Bradley said, pushing his hands in his pockets. He stood their awkwardly as Hoagie examined the blueprint.
Hoagie then rolled up the blueprint and put it in his pocket. He faced Bradley, who wanted to be anywhere but there.
"So, I heard about Herbie." Hoagie said. "Great job on that."
"I actually had noting to do with it." Bradley said. "He snuck into Will, Charlee, and Alex's apartment last night and the three of them and Chris caught him. They're actually having a meeting right now to decide his fate."
"Oh." Hoagie said. "Why aren't you there?"
"Because, I wasn't involved, and Charlee's either being her normal, rule-following self, or she's trying to get back at Rose." Bradley shrugged.
Hoagie couldn't help but laugh. "That is exactly what Fanny would have done. In fact, she used to do shit like that all the time. Did you ever hear about the "mission" she once had for "girls only". Wally disguised himself rather horribly as a girl, and went on the mission, only for it to be a slumber party. Really the whole thing was a part of a plot for the Teen Ninjas to get the code module. It was really a huge mess, a Rachel still blames Fanny today."
"Yeah, I've heard of it." Bradley said. "They both get a huge power kick from being decommissioner. I really hate to be rude, but I really have to finish up on this spud gun-"
"Oh, sorry!" Hoagie said as he began to back out of the room. "I better be getting back anyways. Hey, if you ever want to hear more stories about us, you can always come to me. I swear, your friends act exactly like us though, not to mention-"
As he backed out of the room, Hoagie tripped on a wire hanging outside of a machine Bradley was working on. When he tripped over the wire, the machine fell backwards, causing a shelf with several heavy contents to fall. The contents (including the shelf) then fell, right on top of Hoagie's legs, which let out an distinguishable crack.
"FUCK!"
"It's gonna be okay, it's gonna be okay." Bradley said as he pushed Hoagie down the hall and to a C.O.O.L.B.U.S.
Right after everything fell on Hoagie's legs, Bradley had helped him into his swirly chair and used it as an improvised wheelchair. He was currently wheeling his father, who was losing a considerable amount of blood, while trying to talk to him to keep him conscious.
"Okay, we'll get to a ship, take you down to a hospital, call Abby, and everything will be okay." Bradley said as they entered the room with plenty of ships.
Jason was standing guard of the ship room as he watched Bradley come in with Hoagie. He ran to help them into a ship while asking what happened to Hoagie's legs.
"He accidently tripped a wire, and a bunch of my shit fell down on him." Bradley explained running a hand through his hair. "Can you find a way to get the others, tell them what happened?"
"I'll try, but Charlee made everyone leave their phones for the meeting. And I don't think anyone's coming in or out." Jason said.
"Just try to get to her." Bradley pleaded. "We need to get to a hospital."
Jason then nodded and left the ship in search of the meeting, while Bradley started up the ship. He noticed Hoagie starting to drift off, and began to talk to him.
"So, how's Abby?" Bradley asked in an attempt to keep him awake.
"Hot." Hoagie said. "She's so fucking hot. And she's gonna be so pissed when she sees what happened."
"I'm sure she'll understand." Bradley said. "Do you want me to go ahead and call her?"
"No need." Hoagie said. "She can sense when I'm hurt. She'll probably be at the hospital waiting for us. We just have that connection, y'know?"
"Sure." Bradley said. "How about you call her though, just to be safe?"
Hoagie nodded and reached for his phone. As he opened it, he saw Abby was calling. "See, she can sense it."
"Hey babygirl, what's happening?" Hoagie answered.
"Hoagie I need you to come home." Abby answered quickly.
"On my way sugar plum." Hoagie nearly slurred. "But can you meet us at the hospital, I think my legs are broken."
"WHAT?!" Bradley could hear Abby shout.
"It's not a problem, Bradley is taking care of me." Hoagie said. "He's such a great kid. Why didn't we keep him?"
Bradley had to remind himself that Hoagie was very injured, and that he had to drive, to resist punching him.
"Hoagie, I'm in labor." Abby said.
"What?!" Hoagie nearly screamed. He almost stood up, but resisted. Bradley's head whipped around to see his father nearly having a panic attack.
"Why? How? Why?! How?!" Hoagie stuttered.
"Just get here!" Abby said. "Please!"
"Oh, fuck! Not again! Babe, just hold it in, I'll be there this time!" Hoagie said. Abby then hung up on him and he threw his head back.
"Fuck!" Hoagie said. "I'm gonna miss it again!"
Bradley didn't ask as he strapped him in the COOLBUS, and started it up.
"I missed yours and Jas's births." Hoagie lamented. "When you were born, Wally convinced me getting stoned in the parking lot during a pep rally was a good idea. Your mom called me from the hospital, and her mom and dad wouldn't let me in. I met you when I got sober."
Bradley didn't look at him, but his grip on the wheel grew stronger.
"And then with Jas, Wally was in town to visit his parents, so we got stoned again. Fanny called me when your mom went into labor and screamed at me for a good twenty minutes. I had to take the bus, and it took forever, so by the time I finally got to the hospital, Jas was already there." He continued. "I swore this time she wouldn't be alone. I swore I was gonna see one of my kids."
"Hey, we'll get you there." Bradley said trying to comfort him. "We'll get you looked at in the ER, and we'll take you to Abby and you'll get to see the baby."
"Isabella." Hoagie said. "Her name is Isabella Elizabeth Gilligan."
Bradley smiled. "That's really pretty."
"Do you think it goes with Bradley and Jasmine?" Hoagie slurred. Bradley blanked. "We wanted names that go together. Bradley, Jasmine, and Isabella. I mean, I know that you don't like us, but we still love you. And if you ever wanna like, hang out with us and your sisters Abby would be cool with it. And I mean, if your ever wanna come smoke a joint with me and your Uncle Wally, I'm sure that your mom wouldn't care."
Bradley took a look at Hoagie, his eyes were starting to droop and he looked out of it. Bradley knew he had to at least keep him conscious until they got to the hospital.
"Um, I don't know about that, but why don't you tell me more about mom?' Bradley suggested.
"She's so strong." Hoagie said. "She's been my rock since elementary school. She's also so freaking smart. She's a motherfucking civil rights lawyer. She does so much, and she's done it all while being the best mom in the world to Jassy. And honestly, she would've been the best mom in the world to you."
Bradley's grip only grew stronger as they came closer and closer to earth.
"When I first saw you, I was like 18. I was coming down from my high, and you were this little tiny baby in that plastic crib thing. I couldn't stop looking at you for like an hour. Keith and Melony let me hold you once I was completely down, and oh my god, I fucking sobbed. I wanted you so bad, man." Hoagie said, tears forming in his eyes.
A tear dropped down Bradley's cheek as they continued to drive towards the hospital.
Abby sat in a hospital bed as six people panicked around her.
Kuki sat by Abby and continuously asked her if she was having any contractions, recalling her labor with Mindy over a decade ago. Rachel was attempting to call Rose, in order to get Jasmine out of the meeting. Nigel and Patton were keeping a look out for Hoagie and Bradley, ready to help Bradley once they arrived. Fanny and Wally were the only ones being slightly helpful, Fanny being a nurse, and Wally trying to page the doctor.
"I wish we still had COVID protocol." Abby muttered before she decided to speak up.
"Alright!" Abby said, her voice slightly louder than the rest. "I get that you guys are worried, but I need everyone to calm the fuck down! Kuki, I understand that you are trying to be helpful, but it's been fourteen years since you've had a baby. Rachel, I don't really need Jasmine here. She'll honestly just cause more stress. Let her finish the meeting. Patton, Nigel, why don't you two wait for my idiot of a husband outside? And Wally where the hell is the doctor, and Fanny can you please get me some drugs?"
Everyone nodded and filed out of the room, save for Wally and Fanny.
"The doctor should be here soon." Wally said, taking the spot where Kuki previously was. "Since it's a Sunday, it'll probably be the on-call doctor."
"I know." Abby grimaced as a contraction came over her.
"Anesthesiologist is here." Fanny said, leading a woman into the room.
The anesthesiologist helped Abby into position as Fanny and Wally turned away.
"Do either of you have any idea who the on-call doctor is?" Abby asked as the anesthesiologist injected the epidural.
"A new grad." Fanny said. "That's all they told us at least."
"They said he was really good though." Wally said. "Top marks throughout school."
"As long as it's not my dad, or you, I'm fine." Abby said as the anesthesiologist finished with the epidural. "You guys can turn around again."
Fanny and Wally turned around, worry etched on both of their faces.
"Would you both stop worrying?" Abby said. "Do you forget that I've done this twice, once while I was a teenager, both while my husband was high out of his mind? I can do this, I have you two, drugs, and a competent doctor. I will be perfectly fine, Hoagie or no Hoagie."
A knock rang throughout the room, and the last person Abby wanted to see walked in.
"Oh fuck." Wally muttered.
"Maurice?"
Bradley landed in the hospital parking lot and wheeled Hoagie into the ER, only to meet both Patton and Nigel.
"Why are you guys here?" Bradley asked.
"We're here for your mom." Patton said. "And your dumbass of a dad."
"There not my parents." Bradley muttered as nurses led Hoagie away.
"So what exactly happened?" Nigel said as they led Bradley to the waiting room.
"He tripped over something, a bunch of shit fell on him, and he broke his leg, or legs, or other, limbs, I'm not exactly sure, but he's bleeding a lot." Bradley said, sitting down. "How did you two know something happened?"
"Jason texted me." Patton said.
Bradley raised an eyebrow. "Why does Jason have your number?"
Patton turned bright red. "Fanny and I may occasionally ask how Charlee and Will are, and since he's Charlee's boyfriend, maybe he'd want to share how they're doing."
"Are you spying on your daughter and son through your daughter's boyfriend?" Bradley asked. "That's a new kind of low."
"It is a new kind of low." Nigel agreed.
"C'mon, they're my kids." Patton said. "And I know you would do the same if you were in the same position as me. And hey, because of my connection-"
"With Charlee's boyfriend." Bradley said.
"I was able to get us all here for both Hoagie and Abby." Patton said.
"Hey." Rachel said as she, Kuki, Fanny, and Wally entered the waiting room. "How's Hoagie?"
"Hopefully regaining consciousness." Nigel said. "Why aren't you two with Abby?" He pointed to Fanny and Wally.
"So, funny story." Wally said nervously. "You guys remember Maurice, the guy Abby dated when she was like 15. Turns out, he became a doctor!"
"Oh fuck." Nigel said.
"She kicked us out after yelling us for not knowing that the doctor was Maurice. We tried to get a replacement, but it turns out the replacement was her dad." Fanny said. "She says she doesn't want any of us in there except for Maurice and the nurse."
"She's alone?" Bradley asked.
"Hey, your mom's really strong." Kuki said. "She'll be great."
"She's not really my mom." Bradley muttered. "And she shouldn't be alone when she's in labor."
"She wants to be alone." Rachel said sadly. "And I'm afraid she will be unless Jasmine can answer her phone."
"Charlee won't let them. Maybe try Chris in about half an hour." Bradley said. "I know Lindsay gave you his number."
"I mean if it'll get Jasmine here." Rachel said, leaving to call.
"Can she really do that alone?" Bradley said.
"She did it with you." Kuki said with a small smile. "But, I'm sure if you wanted to see her, she wouldn't mind."
"I don't want her to be alone." Bradley said. "Are you sure that she won't let any of you guys in?"
"She wrote a detailed list, which had all of our names, her parents' names, and her siblings' names on it. She also said that Hoagie is only allowed in if he is fully sober." Wally said. "But your name wasn't on it."
"Alright." Bradley said. "Only because I feel bad that she was alone the first time."
"Room 305." Fanny said with a small smile.
"So, Abby, how've you been since high school?" Maurice asked.
"Do you really want to ask that question as your staring up my vagina?" Abby said, glaring him.
"Just trying to lighten the mood." Maurice said, pulling back. "It looks like your about 8 1/2cm dilated. It won't be too much longer."
"Thank god." Abby said, plopping back into the uncomfortable hospital bed.
"So, baby number 3?" Maurice asked as he looked through her file. "And with Hoagie Gilligan."
"The one and only." Abby muttered. "He's a little busy right now."
"Beatles told me." Maurice said. "So how are the other two?"
"Look at the age I had the first one." Abby groaned as another contraction hit.
"Oh." Maurice said. "Um.."
"Hoagie and I chose to put him up for adoption." Abby explained as she worked through the contraction. "We just couldn't do it that young. It's something that we regret-OH FUCK!"
Abby fell back and groaned into the bed. Maurice rushed to her side and took her hand, as a knock rang out through the room.
"WHO THE FUCK IS IT?" Abby screamed.
"Um, Bradley Williams." Bradley said on the other side of the door.
"Bradley?" Abby cried out.
"Who is Bradley Williams?" Maurice asked.
"The son I put up for adoption." Abby said softly, releasing Maurice's hand. "He can come in."
Maurice opened the door to Bradley, who gave him an awkward smile.
"Hey Abby." Bradley said, taking the seat next to her.
"What are you doing here?" Abby asked.
"I took Hoagie to the ER." Bradley said. "And Wally and Fanny told me you threw them out. I just thought you might like some company."
Abby smiled graciously at him. "Thank you. But if this is too uncomfortable for you, you don't have to stay."
"I can't do that to you." Bradley said. "You need someone other than you ex."
"How do you know about that?" Abby asked. Maurice also raised an eyebrow.
"Wally." Bradley said.
"Typical." Abby said.
Maurice then continued with his exam, Bradley looking away as Abby wished that she could be anywhere else.
"Well Abby, it's time."
As Hoagie began to regain consciousness, he thought he was surrounded by angels, who were leading him into the glorious, bright light. In reality, the light was the lamp, and the angels were his friends and father-in-law.
"Honestly boy, it's always something- with the drugs, and the alcohol, and the dangerous activity- you know what I mean!" Dr. Lincoln ranted.
"Will he be okay?" Rachel asked as Dr. Lincoln took off his gloves.
"He'll be fine- with the morphine, and the saline, and enough rest, you know what I mean." Dr. Lincoln said. "I'm going to check on the Abigail, make sure she's okay with the contractions, and the pain, and the kid." He then left, leaving Hoagie with his friends.
"What the fuck happened?" Hoagie asked.
"From what we gathered from Bradley, your clumsy ass tripped and got yourself hurt." Wally said.
"Fuck." Hoagie groaned. "Where's Abby?"
"In labor." Fanny said.
"WHAT?" Hoagie asked. "What-why? Is she okay? Is that why her dad is so mad? Did you call my mom? And Jas, where is she? Is she far along? Who's the doctor? Is she okay? Why isn't anyone answering me?!"
"Okay," Kuki started. "She should be fine, Bradley's with her right now. Dr. Lincoln is understandably pissed at you for missing another birth, and we'll call your mom now. Jasmine is at a meeting with the TND, and they won't let her out. I'm not sure how far along she is, but the doctor is-"
"Kuki," Hoagie said as calmly as he could. "Please tell me your idiot of a boyfriend, who is standing right here, is not the doctor."
"It's actually a bit better than that." Kuki said. "Did you know that Maurice went to medical school?"
Chris, Will, and Alex sat in a haze of smoke in Chris's moonbase office, dopey smiles on their faces.
"Told you this would relieve the stress from that meeting." Chris laughed, staring at the ceiling. "Your sister is fucking crazy."
"Dude when you said that, I totally thought you meant porn." Will laughed. "Porn would be so good right now."
"I would so have sex with Charlee dude." Alex laughed. "She has amazing tits."
"Who?" Will laughed.
"Oh look!" Chris laughed as he pointed to his screen. Rachel was calling. "It's my mom!"
"What's up mama bear?" Chris laughed as he answered the phone.
"Are you high?" Rachel asked immediately asked.
"Mayyybee." Chris slurred. "But I'm legally high."
"How? You know what, I don't want to know. Now, I know this is a long shot, but is there anyway you can get Jasmine out of that meeting?" Rachel asked.
"No can do, Rachie." Chris said. "Charlee is fucking scary."
"She's so hot when she's pissed." Alex said dreamily.
"Who?" Will asked again.
"Just try Chris." Rachel pleaded. "Abby is in labor, and we really need Jasmine here."
"You know what Rach, even though you gave me up and left me, I'm gonna do this. Because people don't give up on others." Chris said, hanging up.
"C'mon." Chris yelled at Will and Alex. "Let's get Jasmine!"
"Who?" Will giggled.
"Well?" Nigel asked as Rachel got off the phone.
"Chris is stoned right now, so our chances of getting Jasmine here just dropped considerably." She said.
"Well, shit." Nigel said.
Chris, Alex, and Will stumbled down the hallway, giggling as they walked. They came to a door that had a sign that read
STOP: AUTORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
Chris then went up to the door and started banging loudly. "CHARLEE!" He moaned.
"So, while Herbie was instrumental in designing the new time machine, I still think that it is merely a replica of the one built, and later modified, by Numbuh 2. So, we can disregard that." Charlee said. She was standing in front of a white board that read "Pros and Cons of Decommissioning Herbie". The rpos were mainly negative attributes to Herbie, such as the fact he was a traitor and sold out the organization. The Cons were the positive attributes to Herbie, such as the fact that he can be easily manipulated into telling them where the rest of the board members are. There were far more pros than cons.
Rose, Jasmine, and Mateo were all sitting around the table, barely focused on Charlee. Mateo was drooping into sleep, Jasmine was picking at her nails, and Rose was staring blankly at the whiteboard.
"CHARLEE!" Chris moaned through the door.
"What do those three idiots want now?" Charlee said as she made her way to the door.
She opened to find her brother and Alex stumbling over each other while giggling, and Chris nearly knocking on her forehead.
"Charlee!" They all exclaimed, making their way toward her.
"Chris, did you let them smoke your medical pot?" Charlee asked, placing her hands on her hips.
"Maybe." Chris said. "Listen Charlee, there is something incredibly important that I need to tell you."
"What?" Charlee demanded.
"Um." Chris laughed. "Hold on, I remember. That one chick, I forget her name. I think it's Angie, is having a baby."
"WHAT?!" Charlee exclaimed.
"No dude, I fucked Angie." Will laughed. "It's not her. It's someone else who's name starts with an A."
At this, Jasmine perked up and ran towards them. "Abby?" She asked.
"Yes!" Chris said. "You know her?"
"Oh crap!" Jasmine exclaimed. "Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!"
"Jasmine calm down." Rose said, leading Jasmine back to her chair as she began breathing heavily. "What's happening?"
"Well..." Chris started as he laughed.
"Never mind." Rose said. "We need to get Jas to Cleveland ASAP."
"Yeah, we'll finish the meeting later." Charlee said, helping lead Jasmine to the garage.
"Oh, isn't it obvious!" Jasmine said. "We let Herbie keep his memories until we can locate the board. If he in anyway helps us, we let him keep them. If he keeps on being a stubborn ass, we remove them. Case closed lets go."
She then ran to the garage, leaving Rose and Charlee shocked as Alex, Will, and Chris began laughing for no apparent reason.
"Alright Abby, the next contraction, I need you to push!" Maurice said.
"Abby knows that!" Abby grunted. Sweat was trickling down her face, and her teeth were clenched together. Bradley was holding her hand tightly as she pushed, and dabbing her with a washcloth.
Abby pushed as another contraction hit, holding on tightly to Bradley's hand. She cried as the contraction ended, falling back into the hospital bed.
"Hey, you can do this." Bradley said.
"Abby knows she can!" Abby breathed out. "She did it twice before. It just fucking hurts!"
"Is there anything I can do to distract you from the pain?" Bradley asked.
Abby looked up to him. "Tell me about yourself." She said. Bradley looked down. "Please, I only know your name and birth day."
"Alright," Bradley said as Abby geared up for another contraction. "I joined the Next Door when I was 8, and I was in Sector W. That's how I meet Tommy."
Abby scrunched her face as she pushed through the contraction, her hand gripping Bradley's tighter.
"I want to major in Computer Sciences, and I want to focus on cybercrimes." He continued. "I'm a really good hacker, even though the TND uses me for my 2x4 technology designs more."
Abby cried as the contraction came over her. Maurice encouraged her, saying he could see the head.
"I started dating Rose about a year ago." Bradley said. "And she makes me really happy. I hope I make her that happy."
Abby nodded along with him as she pushed. Bradley then gripped her hand even harder, noticing how close she was.
"One more push Abby, and we can get the head." Maurice said.
Then, there was a crash from outside.
"I'm gonna see my fucking kid ,Wally, I don't care that my leg is broken." Hoagie said as he crutched into the room, Wally right behind him.
"Babe." Hoagie said. "And Bradley."
"Hoagie come on-" Wally groaned. "You just woke up."
"Wally, Abby's a minute from having this fucking kid, so get the FUCK out of her delivery room!" Abby yelled. Wally immediately left.
"Hey." Hoagie said as he took a seat by her. "I'm so sorry."
"It doesn't matter." Abby said. "You're here. And Bradley's been wonderful."
"Abby, I need you to push." Maurice said.
"Can't you see we're having a moment, you homewrecking OB." Hoagie said.
"Lay off him, dad." Bradley said.
Hoagie perked up. "Did you just call me 'dad'?" Hoagie gasped.
"Guys, not now!" Abby said. "Incase you didn't notice, Abby's got a kid coming out of her!"
The COOLBUS landed and Jasmine, Rose, and Charlee ran out, followed by a stumbling Chris, Will, and Alex, and a disgruntled Jason.
"Seriously bro." Will said, wrapping his arm around Jason. "I don't give a fuck about you fucking my sister. Just make her happy. And if that means knocking her up, then do it. Being an uncle would be dope."
"I know Will." Jason said, leading them away from the hospital. "You made that very clear."
Rose, Jasmine, and Charlee entered the waiting room, where their parents were sat, waiting on news.
"Hey." Jasmine breathed out as they reached them. "Any news?"
"Nothing yet." Fanny said. "Hoagie went in about a half an hour ago, and Bradley's been with her for awhile. Sit down love, you'll give yourself an asthma attack."
"Where's Chris?" Rachel asked.
"Jason's taking him, Will, and Alex back to our place." Charlee explained. "They're-"
"High?" Rachel asked.
"Oh yeah." Rose said.
They sat for awhile until a door opened, revealing Bradley holding his newborn sister. Everyone gasped and awed at the sight of her, and Bradley smiled widely.
"Hey guys, since neither Abby or Hoagie can walk right now, they asked me to introduce her." Bradley said. "This is Isabella Elizabeth Gilligan."
"Oh my god!" Jasmine said, looking at her. "She's perfect."
"They're gonna take her to the maternity ward in a minute, so they can rest, but once Abby is rested, everyone can come see her." Bradley said.
"She looks just like Abby." Kuki cooed over the baby.
"And thank go for that." Wally snorted.
"I better take her back." Bradley said. "Jas, do you wanna see mom?" Jasmine nodded, following Bradley back to Abby's room.
"Did he just call Abby 'mom'?"
Abby's delivery room was full of excitement an hour later, with all six of their friends, both Jasmine and Bradley, and Charlee and Rose. However, Abby and Hoagie were lost in time with Isabella, stroking her hair sweetly as Hoagie traced her features with his thumb.
"I told you I'd be there for you." Hoagie said, placing a small kiss on Abby's forehead.
"And I'm so happy you were." Abby said.
"Labor wasn't too bad, was it?" Hoagie asked. Abby looked up to him.
"Fuck you."
"Alright, let's get a family picture." Kuki said, positioning her phone.
"Kuki, when I asked you to take her newborn photos, I meant when we were back home." Abby said.
"But you guys look so cute right now!" Kuki said. "C'mon, Jas, Bradley, go by your parents."
"Bradley doesn't have to if he doesn't want to." Hoagie said, turning to Kuki.
"Actually, I wouldn't mind." Bradley said.
Abby and Hoagie turned to each other, shocked. "Well, I mean, if you don't mind-"
Bradley and Jasmine got on either side of their parents, who were both on the bed.
"Alright, everyone say, "KND Rules!"
"KND Rules!"
Hoagie sat alone in the Arctic Prison, staring up at the wall. He thought about how he went from being an under-appreciated tech officer, to the head of the TND, back to an under-appreciated tech officer, then to the head of the entire Next Door organization, and then to the enemy of the organization. All thanks to sector V and their stupid kids.
As he was having his internal argument, the door to his cell creaked open.
"What-?" He said, sitting up. "Wait, no!"
There was a flash of a bright light.
And Herbie completely forgot why he was there.
And what that place was.
And why he was so mad.
A/N: Soooooooooo, how's everyone been?
I don't really have an excuse on why this is so late, other than work and college both suck. I have actually been working on this chapter on and off for the past year, and I'm sorta proud of how it turned out, even though the relevance to the whole plot is low. But, the pandemic has fried my mental health and writing skills , so I don't really care.
I really hope I can update soon, but honestly, who knows. But I will finish this! Maybe.
Constructive criticism is welcomed, please review, you know the usual stuff.