Chapter Twenty-Eight: Call Her Before You Fall Asleep

To Emma: There's a character in here based off a very… interesting person we know ;) You'll recognize her once you read her nickname :)

To Everyone else: This chapter takes place in the future. And even though this is What A Boyfriend should do, I had this idea nagging at me for a while, so I decided to write it, even though Eddie and Pat are married during it. Still, I hope you like it :)

Disclaimer: I don't own House of Anubis

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Call her before you fall sleep...

"Daddy!"

"Hi pumpkin." Eddie grinned. "What are you doing?"

"Mommy and I are at McDonalds! We've been eating at restaurants this whole week! Did you know mommy doesn't like them? That's why the places we've gone aren't too fancy. She says it because it's expensive and I'm too young, but I really know she wants to save them for when you two go out on dates!" The seven year shouted excitedly into the phone

"You weren't supposed to tell him that!" Eddie heard Patricia in the background. "Give me the phone Kate." After some obvious struggling, between the two most hot-headed, determined girls he knew –his wife and their daughter- Patricia finally won. "She meant we're in the kitchen. I've been cooking a lot recently."

"Right." Eddie smiled. "As long as you have left overs in the fridge I don't care."

"Why would you want two week old leftovers?" Patricia asked in disgust.

"Have you seen me eat?"

"Unfortunately." Patricia sighed. "So, what's up?"

"I just wanted to say good night."

"Which is secret code for don't disturb me while I'm watching movies that Patricia doesn't want me to watch, in my fancy hotel room?"

"Haha Yacker." Eddie rolled his eyes. "It's actually ten o'clock here."

"So?"

"I have a meeting tomorrow morning, I need to be awake for it!"

"So this call was really to let us know to not call you for the next twelve hours, as to not disturb your sleep or this so called important meeting?"

"Maybe Kate will be more fun to talk to?"

"I'll cooperate." Patricia groaned. "How's Australia been?"

"Awesome! We should take a trip here; I really think Katie-Kate would like it."

"I would!" Kate pulled the phone from her mom's ear. "Did you know that Nickelodeon has been putting on re-runs of a show called H20? There are mermaids in Australia daddy! But you can't know that 'cause you already love mommy so you can't go swimming with them. Okay?"

"Okay." Eddie laughed.

"But if you see them tell them hi from me!"

"Of course sweetie. Are there any other shows that you like? Maybe… less mermaidish?"

"Yes!" Kate smiled. "I only like re-runs though. Mommy says that's cause they've ruined children's television, so now kids only want to watch shows made fifteen years ago. That's why I like Australia. 'Cause there's this other show called Alien Surf Girls. It's about Aliens that disguised themselves as really pretty teenagers and now they surf in Australia. That's why I want to go there. And can you get me surfing lessons?"

"We'll see Katie-Kate. You're going to have to ask your mother."

"She said yes!" Kate quickly shrieked.

"Did not!" Patricia interjected in the background.

"Don't listen to her daddy. I think the hamburgers are making her loopy." Kate attempted.

"Yeah," Eddie drew in a breath. "I learned a long time ago that not listening to her is a very big mistake."

"Why?" Kate perked up. "What happened?" She glanced over at Patricia, who was smiling proudly at Eddie's last words.

"I'll tell you later, k?"

"Okay." The little girl sighed disappointedly.

"I'll talk to you later angel. I love you."

"Love you too daddy!"

"Okay tell mommy I love her too. I 'll see you both soon!"

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Patricia yawned as the actors on TV continued to droan on about stuff she didn't understand. Maybe she was paranoid about what Kate had said earlier, but still, even she knew that wasn't enough of an excuse for watching H2O, her seven year old daughter's favorite show. As she rolled her eyes at the cheesiness of the show, she twirled the stirrer in her tea around. Honestly, she shouldn't be drinking a caffeinated drink before she fell asleep, because actually drifting off had proved difficult the past week, and would be for the remaining six days of Eddie's business trip.

She jumped when her cell phone's ringtone blared through their house. Careful not to wake Kate up, Patricia put down her tea and ran into the kitchen where she had last left it. "Hi." She whispered into the phone, looking over her shoulder to be positive Kate wasn't going to come running down.

"Hey." Eddie sounded fully awake, which surprised Patricia because she was in the opposite state every morning. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." She quickly answered, running for the TV remote and switching channels.

"You're watching home improvement shows?" He laughed. Patricia turned her head back towards the screen, where she found two men banging away stupidly at a piece of wood, while attempting to explain what they were doing in the process.

"Sure?"

"Well," By the sounds of Eddie's rushed voice he was either changing, or eating. Two tasks that took him longer than most men. "I wanted to call and say good morning, because you seemed genuinely pissed to hear that I had a meeting and couldn't be disturbed."

"I wasn't" Patricia defended. "I just, I don't know, I just miss you okay?"

"I know." Eddie sighed. "I miss you guys so much. You really need to start coming with me to these things."

"I can't pull Kate out of school for two weeks two to three times in the school year. Maybe summer ones. Of course even then, I have work."

"So, you can bring your laptop, it won't be that big of deal for you."

"We'll figured it out later." Patricia shook her head. "Unless you just stop going."

"Pfft. I wish."

"When's your meeting?"

"Forty five minutes."

"And what are you doing now?" Patricia smiled at his lack of responsibility. That just happened to be the Eddie she missed.

"Attempting a tie."

"Forget the tie!" She coached in between a laugh. "Have you eaten?"

"I'll grab a muffin."

"You can't function until lunch on five muffins on a normal day." Patricia giggled. "I'm going to get off the phone, and you're going to promise me you'll head right down to breakfast and then get to that meeting a.s.a.p. Got it?"

"Yes dear." Eddie sighed, throwing his tie in a messy pile on the floor. Regardless of how far away Patricia was, he knew she had a way of ordering him around, and finding out if he didn't listen.

"Okay, I love you, I'll call you when I wake up, yeah?"

"Yeah. Love you."

"Miss you."

"Miss you too. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Okay, see you later."

"Bye Yacker."

She pressed the end call button and then letting out a sigh, fell back onto the couch. For a few seconds, she fumbled for the remote, and once it was finally in her grasp, she pressed the 'last channel' button.

…and after you wake up.

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A/N: There was absolutely no offense meant to any of you H2O or Alien Surf Girls watchers… because I watch those shows too! :) Tell me what you thought about the chapter and Kate! (P.S. Emma, couldn't you see Kate being like this when she was younger?)

~Grace