Sorry I'm so late with this. You could say for a while my attention had turned to Hatter Madigan (You don't want to know). I think something about secret agent people make me interested. Perry, Hatter Madigan, Skipper, Agent Gibbs, and so on.

If you know all these people or animals, you are my new best friend. (Gibbs is just awesome though. Even if you don't know him, you must agree with me.)

However, due to the new episodes of POM, I have been reminded of this story and I'm determined to write on it a little bit more.

Therefore, if you will accept my apology, I will be extremely happy!

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Marlene reached her arms out and accidently knocked her alarm clock over. Reaching down, she glanced up and screamed.

"Hello, neighbor! I just wanted to see if you were awake yet!" The offending perp had been about three inches away from her face, staring with all too creepy eyes.

"Julian! Get the heck out! Don't you know its creepy and rude and other weird things to stare at people while they sleep?"

"That vampire guy did it and yet all the girls swoon over him."

Slapping a hand to her forehead, she fell backwards, "That's a book, and it's not real! Get out!"

"Fine, fine, miss grouchy pants. I'll just get this month's rent and be out."

"I paid at the first of the month. You know that."

"Oh, you did? Well then, why am I here? Good bye, then!" The door slammed, reverberating in Marlene's head, this causing a huge headache. However, it did not help that not even five seconds later, her door exploded off the hinges and the all too familiar detective team burst into the apartment.

"We heard movement in this sector. Who was here?" Skipper raised a flashlight into her face, although the sun lit up the room plenty.

"Who else but Julian, again? It's been his weekly ritual."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say he has a crush on you." Kowalski folded his arms and observed the brunette closely, not noticing the strange look cross their leader's face.

"Yeah, right. He loves himself too much to have feelings for anybody else." Marlene shook her head and slid out of her bed, "Now if you guys would please leave and I hope that next time you come you have the guts to knock first."

"No promising." Skipper nodded to Rico who for some reason produced a small round ball.

"Bye Marlene!" Private waved excitedly as Rico tossed it down, creating a large puff of smoke, and once it cleared the penguins were gone, but not before the smoke causing the emergency water sprinklers on the ceiling to go off.

Marlene groaned as she pulled knots out of her for the tenth time. The unexpected indoor shower had drenched nearly her entire apartment and the humidity had attacked her hair. Throwing the brush on the counter in defeat, Marlene just grabbed a brown hat and started to walk out the door when Private appeared on the other side.

"Hello, Marlene. Skipper gave us the day off and I was wondering if I could go with you."

"As long as it's not another spy mission from Skipper, I guess. It's not like I have an office job or anything." Smiling at Private's excited dance, she waved for him to follow.

Marlene had been studying Private for a while. The boy couldn't have been more that fourteen years old but yet was treated as an adult by the rest of the team. At least, most of the team, Skipper seemed to be extremely overprotective of the boy, which led Marlene to wonder.

Soon as they rounded the corner leading to the gym that she worked at, she turned to the boy, "Private, I have a question. You don't have to answer though, I'm just wondering."

"Go ahead, Marlene. You're a friend."

"Okay, um, you're so young and you're in a dangerous job. What I mean to ask is… How are you on the team?"

Private's bright grin faded and he stared at the concrete walk for a moment, never answering the question.

Marlene couldn't think of a thing to say, that was, until she noticed a nearby stand, "Well, Private, to apologize for my asking a very personal and stupid question, how about a snow cone?"

The boy's smile instantly returned and he even beat her to the stand, "What are you waiting for?"

Skipper glanced around the apartment. It was quieter than usual with the team out. Kowalski had gone to see if he could get up the nerve to ask Doris out. Rico went who-knows-where and Private… Private had gone off with Marlene.

Who knows what that boy was thinking?

Skipper looked around to make sure Rico hadn't snuck back in before opening a box hidden under his desk. In it were a few items that he had swore he would have gotten rid of if not for his attachment to the woman the items were from. He sighed and shook his head, attempting to clear all thoughts out from his head. It worked until the box tumbled from his hand and landed on the floor, its contents spilling out.

Wincing, he started picking them all up, attempting not to allow himself to get any emotions from any of them. It didn't work as most of the objects brought on a fresh wave of tears.

It wasn't until the sound of a crash in the hallway brought him to his senses. Cleaning all the items back into the box and stuffing them back under the desk, he started to go survey the place of question when the door to the apartment opened. Marlene limped through, making Skipper glance to the clock. It was well past the time she got off, making him wonder how long he had been…incapacitated.

"Hey Skippy, I meant to return Private earlier but we got distracted by the zoo."

"They got a whole new penguin exhibit!" Private burst through, rushing to his fold up bed in the wall, "It was great!"

"I see. Umm, so how was your day?" Skipper winced as the small talk came out somewhat chokingly.

"Great!" Marlene grinned, looking around the way too clean apartment. Skipper, not failing to notice the penguin doll nestled in her arms. "Did you guys hire a maid or something? I'm not even sure hospitals are this clean!"

"What? Oh yeah, no. We clean this all ourselves."

"Skipper you okay? You don't seem like your normal self. In fact, your eyes look bloodshot." Marlene's gaze seemed excessively intense, even Archai couldn't hurt him as bad as Marlene's all to knowing stare.

"No, not really. Just stayed up late and got up early, typical day for me and good bye."

"Okay then," Marlene nodded and started to head out the door before turning back around, "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"Like I need a shrink, now get out." Skipper very nearly pushed the woman out the door before finally relaxing.

"Skipper, you should really go to a zoo. It was very relaxing. Oh and Marlene's job is so amazing, did you know she can teach water acrobatics? It was great." Private was sitting down on his bed, playing with a few dolls.

"You seem to like that word today." Skipper nodded to the boy, noticing the dolls lying in his lap. A hippo, a giraffe, a penguin, and a lemur, and for some reason a little toy plane from back when Private was a baby.

"Mind telling me why you're playing with dolls?"

Private's eyes widened and he reached in a little drawer. Smiling to Skipper, he pulled out a toy monster truck.

"Good boy."

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I couldn't resist, it was too much to ignore.

What's Private's secret as to why he is on the team? I gave you a hint to it. Let us see who finds it.

Yes, that was supposed to be a crack about Twilight up there. To all Twilight fans that may be reading this, do not kill me for it. It was a joke. It fit.

If you have any comments about my writing, please tell me. I implore you to look through the chapter and tell me if I did something wrong. I love constructive critisism, it makes better writers.