Hey guys! I'm alive! I'm sorry I haven't had that chance to update (to be honest I'm working on a few chapters for this fic but since they are connected it's been a bit of a struggle trying to put it all together, but you guys will love it I promise!) This chapter is inspired by some actual babysitting I've done as well as the comicstrip Baby Blues if you guys are parents or like the humor between parents and small children definitely check it out I've loved the comics since I was a kid. I also kind of went overboard with shoptalk in this one but it's sort of in Naru's perspective so I suppose that makes sense. Hope you enjoy!

30-Scream

It had been a long day at the office for Oliver Davis. Several very interesting cases had made their way through his door, three requiring rather immediate attention. He was debating splitting his team up amongst the most critical cases, but that would cut down on manpower for each case and potentially cause the cases to take too much time. His company in Tokyo had grown enough for him to feel confident enough to split his team in two, but three?

He decided that he needed to go home, sleep on it, probably ask his wife for her input. (Though he very much knew she would demand to help in any way she could. Which would actually be beneficial on the research aspect of each case). He also had requests from several universities to hold lectures on all sorts of topics. That was a job he knew Mai would have fun organizing.

Amongst his thoughts, a high pitched scream tore him from them as he climbed the stairs of his apartment complex. Something about the scream put all of his senses on high alert as he stopped in his tracks. What the hell is that? He wondered as the scream ceased and he continued up the stairs to his floor.

Taking his time, he returned to figuring out how to best go about splitting up his team. He was sure that he and Lin could each run a case and if he partnered Monk and Yasuhara together for the third, he could ask John to come with him. Ayami would probably be best with Lin since she was still learning how to use warding magic. Now that would leave-

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

With a jolt, Oliver Davis was thrown out of his own head to the same shriek as before. It was louder now and somewhat familiar…

"Shit!" he cursed under his breath as he ran to the door of the apartment he shared with his family. He tried to turn the knob, but of course it was locked. Where did he put his key? Should he break down the door? Could he break down the door? Could he afford to fix the door if he broke it?

But something had to be wrong, why else would there be screaming coming from his home? Was someone hurt? Had someone broken in? Why did the screaming stop?

The ominous silence in the walkway in front of the apartment did not make him feel any better. Just as he found his key in his coat pocket-

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Now there was something else in the scream. Something Oliver wasn't sure he could place. He turned the knob and…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A twenty month old Midori went zipping by the front door with her arms in the hair and her feet pounding the ground as though she weighed so much more than the twenty pounds that he did.

The pounding of her feet stopped as did her shrieking, only to start up again as she ran past the front door again. Confused, Naru walked in and removed his shoes. He shut the door behind him and looking into the living room he could see his nearly five year old son sitting on the couch with his hands clasped over his ears. "Papa, can you make her stop?" he pleaded with big blue eyes gazing up at his father.

Midori paid no mind to her father being home, no she was having way too much fun shrieking and probably making the neighbors think that she was being murdered. Gene, on the other hand, realizing that there was nothing more he could do, shoved a pillow over his head and smushed his face in the cushions. Now the question remained, where was Mai?

Upon further investigation, (not that much was needed, once he could see where the baby gate was up, he knew where Mai had gone), Naru found his wife in the kitchen. He placed his briefcase against the walkway and gingerly stepped over the gate, which had taken quite a bit of practice and several failed attempts landing him on the floor in the past.

"Oh good, you're home," she greeted, replacing the lid on her pot and giving her husband a kiss on the cheek. "Is Midori still screaming?"

"What do you mean is she?" Naru raised a brow.

"She's been at it since she woke up from her nap and I managed to tune it out," she said with a shrug as she grabbed the vegetables she had cut and slid them into the pan.

"You can tune that out?"

Mai looked sheepishly at her husband. "Is that bad?"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Little feet stamped by the baby gate, while the dark chocolate haired boy dramatically leaned against the gate with his head and arms hanging on the kitchen side.

"And we haven't gotten any complaints from the neighbors?" Naru asked, looking from his son to his wife.

"We might soon, but it's Wednesday so most people are at work," Mai answered, returning to stir-frying the veggies.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" At that scream, Gene slid to the ground, rubbing his face into the fencing of the gate.

"Once we have her sit down for dinner, she should stop," Mai said confidently, before letting her face fall and pout. "I hope."

Well, Oliver Davis was never a fan of noise, always preferring to work in quiet, and he needed to discuss work with Mai. So quiet he would get, but how?

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Naru carefully stepped over the gate, making sure to go around his son who hadn't moved. Now how could he get Midori to be quiet?

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" A distraction was what he needed. But what could he use that would be more fun or important than screaming around the apartment?

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Seeing a baby doll lying on the floor near the television in the living room, Naru picked it up. Perhaps he could use this.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH-hi Papa!" Midori stopped mid scream and looked up with pride at her father. "I skeam."

"Hi Midori," Naru said kneeling down to his toddler daughter. She immediately jumped into him and wrapped her little arms around his neck. "Did you have fun today?"

"I skeam, AAAAAAAAAHHH-" Midori had pulled her head back to scream as her father pressed a finger to his lips.

"Shhhhhh!" Naru held the doll the same way he held his own children when they were that small in his other arm. "Baby Chocho is sleeping, Midori."

The little girl's hazel eyes grew wide as she clasped her hands over her mouth. "Sowy, Chocho, I too woud."

"It's okay, see?" Naru gave the girl a soft smile and presented the doll to her. "She's still asleep, can you make sure she stays asleep until after dinner?"

"Yeah!" she shouted excitedly before smacking her hand to her mouth and whispering, "yeah!"

Naru gave her the doll and watched as she tiptoed to where the doll's crib was. She placed it in there and tiptoed back before lifting her arms up in the air and running again.

"aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh," her breathy attempt of a scream-slash-whisper nearly sent her mother into a fit of laughter when she ran by. Naru had pretty much accepted the fact that he would never understand children, but was content to just go with it because this was normal for their family.

"Impressive," Mai said with her arms crossed against her chest. Naru stood up only to have Gene clutch his leg.

"Thank you…" the boy whimpered, earning a chuckle out of both his parents.

"How long until dinner?" Naru asked, walking toward his wife with Gene still on his leg.

"I have nuggets in the oven for them and a veggie stir-fry for us that I'm really just waiting for the rice to cook, so about fifteen minutes, give or take? What's up?" she replied as her husband reached for his briefcase.

He pulled out several folders and handed them to her. "Mind going over these and I'll make sure dinner doesn't burn?"

"That many urgent cases? You weren't kidding when you said you guys had been busy, and it wasn't even lunch when I called you!" Mai's eyes grew wide as she took the pile of folders and Naru pried his son off of his leg and climbed into the kitchen.

"Only the top three require immediate action, however, I'm not sure how to split up the team, or to only tackle the first two and hope they end quickly enough." He took over stirring the vegetables as his wife opened the first three files on the counter.

Mai let out a whistle. "This one's all the way out in Suzu? The house has two kids and they say the water turns to blood whenever they turn on a faucet?" Naru simply nodded, though he knew she was still reading through the first file. "Imaginary friends telling the children rather dark stories, well, I see why this one is at the top of the pile."

She closed that file and went to the next one. "Ichikawa, this one is much closer, hmm…" Her eyes scanned the file. "A theater where the lead actress is being targeted. Don't tell me they're performing Yotsuya Kaidan?"

"They're not, however I did se the similarities to the theater case with Monk's sister." Naru turned the stove on low and continued stirring.

"You really are going to have to split everyone up into three teams," Mai said blowing out a breath and she thought. "Kiko and I can help with the researching aspect, but a lot of what you can do is going to depend on whether or not Ayako can come on one of these cases. Either way I would ask her to make as many charms as possible for each team. Hmm…" She reached for the pad of paper and a pen that were by the phone.

"Which case were you planning to go on?" she asked as she scribbled down some options. When he didn't answer, she poked her head back up. "You're thinking you're gonna be needed in Suzu, aren't you?"

"It's a serious case," was his answer, but he still glanced over his shoulder. "I'd rather not have to be eight hours away, however-"

"I get it, and to be honest, that case alone could really use the whole team or at least half of it. So…" She continued scribbling as the timer went off. "That would be the chicken nuggets, mind getting them?"

Naru did so and placed the tray on the side of the stove that didn't have pots and pans cooking. Meanwhile, Mai seemed to have finished her list. "The case in Tokyo is pretty simple, it looks like someone is just placing a hex on the construction crew. You, Monk, and Madoka should be able to handle that since Chao will be in school most of the day. Monk can also help reverse whatever the hex may be or exorcise the spirit if there is one involved." She came over to the stove and check the pot with the rice and deemed it finished after fluffing it. She then turned off the stove and went to grab plates.

"The theater case I think John and Masako will be good with Setsuko and Ayako if she can make it. That leaves Lin with Yasuhara, Arata, and Ayami, like I said get Ayako to make a ton of charms. Lin can do a survey of the activity while the rest research the property. He can make the judgment call to bring in John or Monk, but since the construction case and theater case are not that far from each other, even if one isn't finished one of them can bounce back and forth." Before long the food was served and the table was set.

Mai was opening the baby gate as she looked back at Naru. "And with kids being involved Ayami will definitely be a help in figuring out what's going on with their imaginary friends. Anyway, that's just how I would break up the team, if you wanted to just do two, I say the Suzu case and the construction case should be at the same time and then the team still home will go over to Ichikawa for the theater-"

"DIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEERRRRRRRR!" Gene shouted as he came running into the kitchen followed by a not so happy Midori.

"Ji-Nii! Chocho's sweeping!" The girl stomped her foot much to the amusement of her parents.

"We'll continue this later," Mai decided with a wink at her husband as she picked up her daughter. "Come here, Mi-chan, Chocho can sleep while we have dinner."

"Okay," Midori reluctantly agreed as she was strapped into her highchair.

"You definitely make some good points," Naru commented as he sat down with the list Mai had made. "I'll discuss it with Lin and see if we can make this happen or at least try. We also have been asked to speak about possession, psychometry, clairvoyance, and how to gather credible evidence at several universities."

Mai sat down as Gene climbed into his chair and dug into his food. "We haven't done a lecture since Midori was born," she said as she stirred her vegetables and rice together. "If you give me the info I'm sure I could get that set up and figure who would be best to take with us."

"I was hoping you would," Naru said with a smile as he took a bite.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream startled everyone at the table as they all turned to the toddler. "Midori! What's wrong!" Mai exclaimed, her heart in her throat.

"Chocho awake, I skeam now-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The couple looked at each other and then to their son who clasped his hands over his ears and put his head on his plate of nuggets. He came up with one in his mouth. "I'm hungry," he said with his mouth full.

The couple didn't know whether to laugh or groan.

I occasionally babysit in the mornings for a family of twins and keep in mind it was 8 in the morning and the little girl decides she needs to run back and forth from the play room through the living room while screaming at the top of her lungs. Luckily, I actually found it hilarious and started recording her to show their parents. It only went on for like twenty minutes not like Midori in this case where she was going on hours lol. Hopefully I will have Dangerous Souls updated soon and have a case for the Haunt Continues as well. Hope you guys enjoyed and please leave a review! :D