Disclaimer- I do not own any of the Treasure Planet characters I refer to in this story. If I did, I would not bother writing fan fiction, as my ideas would already be movies. I do own the Doppler kids' names and personalities and that's about it.

Author's Note- Wow! I never expected to get so many reviews on my first chapter. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. In honor of getting my driving temps yesterday, everyone who left a review can have a cookie! Here's the update I promised.

On With the Story,

Jim grinned to himself in triumph. It had taken nearly fifteen minutes of round about questioning, but he'd finally figured out what the kids needed; food. He thought it a bit odd that Amelia and Delbert hadn't fed them earlier, but decided not to question it. It had been an easy task to ask Sarah to make breakfast and the kids were now happy.

And quiet. Jim added silently.

He sat back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. This baby sitting business wasn't as hard as he thought it would be.

Maybe I should start a child sitting service. He mused confidently.

Indeed, for the moment, everything was going well.

Nikki chatted away happily, scooping scrambled eggs into her mouth between sentences. It was obvious that she was the more outgoing of the four and wasn't afraid to talk about anything and everything. She swung her legs back and forth as she spoke, oblivious to the fact that Jim had tuned her out a while ago.

Melody ate with her head down, still too shy to say anything to Uncle Jim. She occasionally sent nervous, sidelong glances at her brother, who was eating fairly quickly and occasionally commenting on Nikki's story. A small smile graced the blond felinid's face, as though this scene repeated itself every morning.

Jim congratulated himself once more. The kids weren't complaining and seemed content.

All except for one.

The twenty-one-year-old resisted the urge to groan as he watched Elina stare at her food. The red head still wore her half smirk and glanced around every now and then. Jim wasn't sure what she was thinking about, but he had to get to the bottom of what was wrong.

I should've known I'd have problems with this one. She's a mini version of Admiral Amelia, so of course she'd inherit all those annoying traits. Jim complained to himself.

"Hey, what's wrong? Don't like mom's cooking?" He asked, frowning slightly.

Elina shook her head.

"I'm not hungry," she replied, her British accented voice showing little emotion.

Cadet Hawkins sighed.

Great, the kid's anorexic. What was I told to do in this situation? Oh yeah.

"You know, you're not overweight. You're only, what, five, so a little baby fat is natural."

The oldest Doppler girl stared at him blankly.

Nice going, Hawkins, you probably made things worse with that last comment. He berated himself mentally.

"Not that you have any fat. You look great," Jim quickly added.

Elina still looked confused.

Jim decided that things were rapidly going downhill. Melody and Todd had stopped eating and were staring at him. Nikki had even ceased talking. He had to cut to the chase and quick.

"Starving yourself is not the answer. If you're that concerned about your weight, get some counseling and create a healthy diet and exercise plan. You'll only hurt yourself by doing this." The young man nodded at the end of his speech to show that he meant business.

The kids looked at each other and then back at him.

I wonder if they can read each other's minds? Jim wondered absently. It was a scary thought, but he'd read somewhere that twins, or in this case, quadruplets had a stronger connection than most siblings.

"Uncle Jim, she isn't anores…anex…whatever you said," Todd informed, staring at Jim with confusion. The small canid wasn't sure what the word meant, but he understood the words starving, diet, and exercise.

"I'm just not hungry. We ate earlier this morning," Elina explained, her smirk still in place. It seemed as though she were taking silent amusement in Jim's blunder. Of course, that was impossible, she was too young to understand such things.

There were a few moments of awkward silence as this information was processed.

"If you already ate, then why did you want more food," Jim ground out. He was becoming frustrated with the situation and a bit embarrassed for his well thought out speech.

And everything was going so well.

"Well, dad and mom always say that children need a lot to eat because they're still growing. So, we figured that by eating more, we'd grow up faster and please mom and dad at the same time. It's like killing two birds with one stone, if you know what I mean. I guess Elina just doesn't want to get big," Nikki said with self-confidence. She was obviously pleased with her knowledge, despite the fact that it was incorrect.

"Well, it was close enough," Todd murmured to Melody, who giggled softly and blushed.

Jim was struck silent. These kids were going to drive him insane, he knew it.

"Uncle Jim, are you alright?" Melody asked timidly.

Cadet Hawkins could only nod, not fully trusting his sanity.

xxxxx

"So, uh, what do you guys do for fun?" Jim asked as he cleared away the dirty dishes.

A half an hour had passed since he had last spoken to the kids. In this time, they had exchanged looks and finished their second breakfast.

"Normal stuff," Todd answered tersely, as though the answer should be obvious.

"And that would be…?" Jim prodded for more. As he expected, Nikki spoke up.

"You know, coloring, drawing, playing outside, reading-yes, we can read-, playing games…"

"Ok, games. What kind of games?" The twenty-one-year-old knew he shouldn't have interrupted, but he was afraid that if he hadn't, she would've gone on for hours. A couple of the pastimes seemed advanced for five-year-olds; but then again, their parents were practically geniuses.

"Tag, blind man's bluff, monopoly-that game is given such a bad rep-, tiddly winks," she stopped for a moment to add that they'd made the last one up. "Oh, and hide and seek."

"Hide and seek, you can play hide and seek," Jim decided.

"But Uncle Jim, don't you want to play too?" Todd asked.

Jim sighed.

"Sure, if it makes you happy and shuts you up, I'll play." He was glad his mother wasn't around to hear him.

Nikki frowned.

"Uncle Jim, maybe not everyone wants to play hide and seek."

"Fine is that game alright with you?"

"Yep."

"Then why complain?"

"Dad said I needed to be more considerate of others and I'm trying to, but you're making it hard."

Jim scowled at nothing in particular. He then turned to Melody.

"You wanna play anything else?" he asked.

Melody twisted a strand of hair around her finger and shook her head. She was ok with the idea of hide and seek.

"How about you?" he turned to Todd.

"No, Uncle Jim, I'm fine."

Without a word, Jim looked at Elina. He didn't feel that he needed to repeat the question. The redhead nodded once in an affirmative answer and it was set.

"So, who's it?" Todd asked.

"One, two, three, not it!" Nikki cried. Todd and Melody followed suit (even though Melody's was more of a whisper).

Jim looked at Elina, who had yet to say anything. He wasn't going to let a little kid make him be it.

"Not it." He would admit that he felt foolish saying it, but it was necessary.

"You're it, Elina," Nikki informed needlessly.

The mini Amelia shrugged and turned around. The count had begun.

Jim looked around in panic. He'd never been very good at this game and always managed to get found first.

Hey, they're only five. They'll probably hide behind the potted plants. And there's no way they'll be very good at seeking. He assured himself.

He had around fifty seconds to find a good hiding spot and began to rack his brain.

Under the table? Nah, too obvious. Behind a plant? What am I, six? In the kitchen? Yeah, sure, that'll work. Just gotta hide.

Quietly, Jim tiptoed past the counting felinid and towards the kitchen. The door creaked a bit when he opened it, but he didn't think Elina had heard it.

Warm air and scent of spices assaulted him as he stepped into the cooking room. Sarah stood in front of the stove, stirring the contents of a large pot. Jim wasn't sure what she was cooking, but it smelled good.

Maybe I'll have some later. No! Keep your mind on the current task, Hawkins.

"Hi sweetie, how's everything going?" Sarah asked, not looking up.
"Mom, be quiet," Jim whispered in exasperation. He desperately wanted to win the game.

"Don't tell me to be quiet James Hawkins!" At this, she turned from her cooking and placed her hands on her hips.

He hated it when she stepped into strict mother mode.

"I'm playing hide and go seek with the kids and I don't want to be found. I need a place to hide…and fast."

The stern expression left Sarah's face and was replaced with a huge grin.

"Oh, it's great that you're getting along so well. Have fun."

Jim frowned a bit at his mother's lack of help.

He looked around the room, beginning to panic.

How much time did he have left, anyway?

"Ready or not, here I come," Elina shouted from the main room, almost as if on cue.

Heart pounding, Cadet Hawkins just went towards the first thing he saw: the pantry. He knew it wasn't the best place, but it would have to suffice.

The small, closet like room was filled almost to capacity with packets and cans of food, leaving very little space for a young adult like Jim. However, despite the lack of room, he managed to find a snug little spot to settle into.

Now all I have to do is wait until they all find each other.

He grinned at the thought of actually winning the tedious game. This was almost too easy.

His joy suddenly ceased to exist when the pantry door slowly opened. He hoped it was his mother coming in to get a forgotten ingredient.

"You aren't very good at this, are you?" a young British voice inquired from the doorway.

Jim resisted the urge to swear as he stood up and glared at the five-year-old. How had she found him so quickly?

"You're too loud," she said simply, once again shocking him.

These kids just love to creep me out, don't they?

"Whatever."

The redhead headed out of the kitchen and into the main room. Jim followed, feeling his cheeks get hot when he realized a five year old had found him before anyone else.

"I found Uncle Jim," the oldest Doppler kid called loudly. She looked around the empty dining room and waited until her siblings emerged from their places.

"Are you sure you've played this before, Uncle Jim?" Nikki asked with a slight frown.

Jim said nothing. The children's nickname for him was really beginning to get on his nerves.

"You're it, now," Todd said.

"Fine."

The twenty-one-year-old put a hand over his eyes and began to count to sixty. He felt like a moron standing in the middle of the room and counting like a small child.

"Twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five…"

He was getting bored.

"Twenty-nine, Sixty!"

He uncovered his eyes and scanned the room. He figured the five-year-olds would be easy to find, especially since he'd cut the count short by thirty seconds.

Yet, they were no where in sight.

A frown of irritation crossed the young man's face as he proceeded to look under the table, behind the potted plants, and behind the curtains.

Maybe this'll be harder than I originally thought.

xxxxx

Two hours later, Jim was still looking for the four Doppler kids. He hadn't seen nor heard a single one of them since he'd started counting. The annoyance he had originally felt was turning into panic.

I've lost them. I've misplaced the admiral's children. She's going to kill me. His mind cried.

Author's Note- Please review and let me know what you think of this chapter. I may not be able to update next week as I'm going to my grandparents' house for Thanksgiving and will have no Internet access. Happy early Thanksgiving to those in America. Now for the review responses…

Spellcaster Hikaru- Thank you for being the first reviewer. I'm glad you liked the kids' personalities and the humor (this is my first time with any kind of humor). Ah yes, Treasure Island. I've read that book about seven times and it never gets old.

Kaptain Kitty- Thanks for the review. I love the Doppler family (obviously); they're so much fun to work with because you can do whatever you please with them (until Disney says otherwise). I like Melody, too.

jla2snoopy- Thank you for reviewing. I'm glad you think it's cute. Here's your update.

Jackie99- Thank you so much for the review. Haven't seen you in a while. I hoped that quote would be remotely humorous. Hehehe, you may be on to something with the kids. I'm glad you like it so far.

Muriel Candytuft- Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you liked the kids and the quotes you mentioned. You gotta love Delbert; he's just…loveable.

xHazelEyesx- Thank you for the review. I'm pleased that you loved it. Here's the new chapter.

CrimsonCrome- Thanks for the review. I have both read and reviewed your wonderful stories. You're a great friend, too. Here is the continuation.