It's a normal day. Stuart is working quietly, the rest of the kids are playing either with each other or by themselves and I'm typing away on my laptop. Outside the sun is shining and there is hardly a cloud in the sky. I stop typing, look out the window and stare out at the wonderful day. Maybe later on in the day I can take the kids out to one of the piers and maybe spot the supposed sea creature that the marine bio staff calls "Squishy". I hear footsteps running down the hallway and put it out of my mind. There are always people running around here. But then a few minutes later I hear yelling and then the Lanitan alarm goes off. Ok, now I know something's up. I stand and head towards the door.

"What's going on?" Jason asks as I walk past him.

"I don't know. I'm just going out to the hallway to find out. You guys stay here, ok?" I say smiling. No matter what's going on I have to keep calm for the kids. I then head towards the doors and open them, stepping into the hallway. People are running every which way with bags and equipment. What the hell is going on?

"Max!" I hear someone shout my name. I look around and see that it's Marc and he's heading towards me.

"What's going on?" I ask once he's closer.

"They found some unexploded bombs." He says, slightly out of breath. "We're evacuating all non-essential personnel to the mainland."

"Oh my-when do we leave?" I say, pushing my fear aside for the moment.

"How fast can you get the kids ready?"

"Won't take long, but what about our stuff?"

Marc shakes his head and says, "We already got stuff together. It's waiting for you down in the Bay."

I nod my head and move towards the door while saying, "Ok, we'll head down to the Jumper bay right away." I turn my back to him and take a deep breath. I have to stay calm for the kids, reassure them that everything's gonna be ok. I put on one of those plastic smiles and walk back into the room. "Who's up for a trip?" I ask in what might seem an overly cheerful voice.

"Where to?" Patrick asks me.

"Oh I don't know, what do you think about the mainland?"

Before they can respond Marc pops his head in and says, "Max, you guys gotta leave now if you want to make to the Bay."

"Daddy!" Maria says, jumping up and running over to him before I can stop her.

"Hey kiddo." Marc says, kneeling down embracing her.

"We're gonna take a trip to the mainland, wanna come?" she asks.

Marc smiles softly and says, "Can't sweetheart, I have to stay here."

"Oh." She says, slightly disappointed.

Marc then releases her and says, "I have to go back to work now, why don't let Max take you guys to the jumper bay so you can go to the mainland?"

" 'K." Maria says giving Marc a big hug. "I love you Daddy."

Marc returns the hug, somewhat hesitantly, and says, "I love you too, sweetheart." He then lets go and stands. "Can you handle them by yourself?" he asks me.

I nod my head and say, "I got it." He then turns to leave and before he exits the room I say, "Stay safe."

He turns around and smiles at me. "Don't worry, I will." He then walks out of the room and into hallway.

I quickly gather up my stuff, make sure that the kids have their stuff as well, and we head on out to the Bay. The hallways are crowded with people carrying equipment or just rushing around. More than a few times I hear the word 'bomb' uttered and hope that the kids don't overhear it as well. We make it down to the Bay where I see Lydia and Crysta there as well as Alex. "You guys leaving as well?" I ask, coming up to them.

"We are, Alex is staying here." Crysta says.

"Why? That's insane." I say.

Alex dismisses my comment with a wave of her hand and says, "I'm used to bombs. Grew up on the South Coast of England and old WW2 bombs are always being found in the harbor and around the dockyard so exploding devices are nothing new, see one seen 'em all."

"Bombs?" Jason squeaks out.

Crap. And here I was thinking that they would remain blissfully ignorant. I get down and look each of them in the eye. "They found some unexploded bombs here so they're having us go to the mainland so we'll be safe while they get rid of them."

"Are mommy and daddy gonna come?" Jamie asks in a worried tone.

I sigh, this isn't easy. "I don't know that any of your parents are coming. They might have to stay here to make sure everything goes ok. Don't worry, everything will be all right." I say, hoping to calm their fears as well as mine. But they still look like they are going to cry and I don't know what to do other than to keep reassuring them that everything will be fine. It's times like these that I get that helpless feeling and no matter what I do to get rid of it, it's still there.

"Would you look at what I have here." Alex says, pulling out a bag. I look and see that it's filled with cookies.

"Ooooo, cookies." I say standing. "What kind?"

"Double chocolate chip."

"Don't you guys like that?" I ask. They nod their heads in agreement and Alex hands them the bag.

"How about when you all get back I'll make you each something special for lunch?" Alex says.

They brighten up at the comment and I smile at Alex, silently thanking her. I put my hand on Patrick's shoulder and gently push him forward. "Come on, we need to leave now." They reluctantly head towards the waiting Jumper with Lydia, Crysta, and I behind them. Once they're all settled, I dash outside to give Alex a last good bye hug. "Stay safe." I say.

"Will do, doll. Make sure you and Logan don't become friendly with each other."

I roll my eyes at the comment and don't reply. By now I've given up trying to convince them that things are completely plutonic between us. "See you later." I say, heading back into the Jumper. The hatch closes and it starts to take off. As we head towards the mainland, I can't help but feel like I was saying good bye to family. It's strange, I know, but that's how I've come to view them, they've become sort of a surrogate family for me. After getting dinner for everyone and then tucking them in for the night, I exit the tent and head away from the encampment. I walk for awhile, thinking. My shoes hit sand and I realize that I had walked all the way to the beach. I take my shoes and socks off and move farther onto the beach. I let the waves lap onto my feet and shiver, the water's cold. But it feels good and I gaze out into the distance. I see lights far off on the horizon and wonder if they're from Atlantis. I can't help but wonder what's going on at the city, if everything's going to turn out all right, if everyone's going to be all right. My thoughts turn to Marc and I hope that he's going to be ok.

A/N: This chapter was inspired by the latest chapter in Reefgirl's story 'Cooking with a Blue MarySue'. So credit goes to her for the idea and Alex's lines (Reefgirl also own Alex and Maria). Also 'Squishy' is from Cammy's 'The Atlantis Handbook' (Chapter 6). There might be more time inbetween updates because I'm having less and less time to write the chapters as they come to me. I guess that I'm also suffering from slight writers block. -shrugs- meh, what can you do? I own Max and the kids, if you want to use them go ahead; just ask first. MGM owns all cannon characters, BiteMeTechie owns Lydia, and Nenya owns Crysta. Click the little button to your left and tell me what you thought of the chapter.