I do now own.
"I wonder when Beverly is going to get here." Dr. Holiday said out loud when a sudden sonic boom shook the house.
"Rex is here!" The twins cheered and ran to the door trailed by their sister.
"Wait, kids! You don't know…" Aunt Ruth tried to stop them.
As the kids flung open the door, they were greeted by Rex who had his Smack Hands ladened with gifts.
"Rex, can you take us flying? No, let's ride on your bike. Can you build a snow castle?" Each child clamored for his attention.
Circe snuck in and stood in the corner awkwardly.
"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" Beverly demanded as she walked in with arms folded and a pretend scowl on her face.
"Rex is more fun." Luke said.
"Luke!" His mother scolded him. " Don't be rude!"
"Hi Beverly." Sarah said tackling her.
"Oof, hey, munchkin… although you're almost as tall as me." Beverly laughed.
Sarah looked up at her. "Mom says I'm growing like a weed."
Caesar appeared holding all the luggage. "Where should I put these?"
"You can leave them in the hallway." Aunt Ruth told him as Caesar released his load onto the floor with relief. He rubbed his arms. Uncle Ben and Dr. Holiday picked up some of the luggage and moved them upstairs.
Rex had placed the gifts under the tree as the boys swarmed around him.
"Ok, kids ask your parents first." Rex said.
"Awww," The boys groaned. They knew their parents would not allow them to do the fun activities.
"You can go build a snowman." Aunt Ruth suggested.
The boys groaned again. "No, a castle!" Sarah interjected.
"I think we can do that." Rex grinned. "We might need a building permit once we are done." He walked to the door. "Wanna come, Circ?"
"Nah, I think I'll just stay in the warm house." she said nervously eyeing the children.
"Suit yourself." Rex shrugged. "Come on." He beckoned the kids.
"Not without your coats." Ben said sternly to his children.
The children grabbed their jackets and haphazardly threw them on. Once their boots were on, they were outside with Rex.
"Ah Beverly's young man." Nanna addressed Caesar.
Caesar gulped before turning around. "Yes, ma'am."
"Well, come my boy. We didn't have a chance to properly talk." Caesar looked helplessly at Beverly as Nanna led him away.
"Thank goodness you're here." Rebecca sighed. "She's driving me nuts."
"Nanna?" Beverly grinned. "You just have to know how to handle her."
"And how do you handle her?" Rebecca asked.
"I just let Caesar take the brunt." She replied.
"That's cold." Rebecca smirked.
"Oh, don't worry. I'll let her grill him a little before I go rescue him. I'm sure there's some cookies she needs to go bake." Beverly waved her hand dismissively.
A loud crash and yelling from outside caught their attention. The family quickly gathered on the porch to see what was going on.
Rex was on the ground as squirrels swarmed around him. Rex was trying to brush them off. The kids were screaming instructions on what to do. Circe was laughing hysterically.
"Goodness, what's going on?" Mrs. Holiday gaped.
"Rex, has an interesting relationship with animals." Six said wryly.
"Should we help him?" Uncle Ben asked uncertainly.
Before anyone answered, they heard a low hum. The squirrels stopped their scratching and looked up before running to Circe. She had finally quelled her laughter and was emitting a low frequency sound. The squirrels stood around her looking at her mesmerized. Finally, she stopped, and the squirrels calmly scampered away. The kids looked at her in awe. Then they surrounded her asking her questions. "How did you do that? What else can you do? Can you call kittens?"
"I'm ok. No need to worry about me." Rex said brushing himself off.
"You're fine Rex." Six called to him barely containing a smirk.
"Come in. And let me look at those cuts." Dr. Holiday said kindly.
"Why are we all standing outside with the door wide open? We're not trying to heat the whole neighborhood." Nanna said sternly. "Dinner's ready. How about some of you come help me set up the table?"
The group sheepishly turned to go back inside.
Nanna looked outside. "Children, come in and wash your hands. How on earth you can all stand outside in the cold building a silly snowman is beyond me."
"It's not a snowman, Nanna. It's supposed to be a snow castle." Sarah protested.
"With snow cannons!" Matthew added.
"Come on, let's go." Circe said leading the children in. The children continued peppering her with questions about her powers.
"Like I said, I'm ok. Just a couple of scratches and bruises. No big deal." Rex said.
"You coming?" Circe turned to look at him. "Or are you going to stand there in the snow?"
"Yeah, yeah coming." Rex grumbled.
0o0
Calan sat uncomfortably between two large burly men. When he arrived at the house from the airport, he and Valentina were greeted by a man almost a head taller than him. He hugged Valentina enthusiastically. When Valentina introduced him as her brother Jorge, Calan offered him a hand. Jorge's countenance immediately changed to a scowl. He just turned to motion for him to come in. As Valentina's family welcomed her, they ignored him. Some glared at him. Even the dog growled at him. Now they sat around the table. He was separated from Valentina. She was seated next to her Abuela while he was stuck between her brother and a cousin.
"So, Senor Calan." A dimunitive elderly woman glared at Calan. "What do you do?"
"I work for Providence." He answered hoping his voice did not betray the nervousness he felt.
Her eyes narrowed. "You work for those monsters?"
"Some people think we are heroes." He said evenly.
"Bah, what heroes sell their services to governments." She retorted.
Calan glanced at Valentina. Her eyes were twinkled mischievously, and a small smirk played on her lips. He resisted the urge to scowl at her. Clearly, she was amused by his predicament.
"As an international consultant company, we are willing to help any country with situations ranging from medical to national security that they are unable to handle in a and humane manner." Calan answered carefully. "I'm sure you would agree that it is necessary to compensate people for their work."
"Humph." It was clear that she had no answer. "I believe it's dinner time." She got up from her seat and moved toward the kitchen. When she was gone one of the burly men next to him laughed and slapped him so hard that he jerked forward. "Haha, I've never seen Abuela have no come back. Good job gringo."
Valentina raised an eyebrow. Calan could tell she was impressed. He smirked. It wasn't going as badly as he thought it would. He hoped Tuck was doing well.
I had fully expected this would have been done by the end of December. Sorry, I lost my computer for two weeks because my son needed it for his classes. His laptop was in the shop. So, I'm back and boy, do I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm still working on this and Once Upon a Story. Pinky Promise.