A/N: Hiiiii y'all!

What's up?

This fic is inspired by How It All Began by Hijabiwriter (on AO3)- {archive of ourown .c om /works/51383221/chapters/129844744} and a youtube video where a kid calls the police for help with his math - {you tube .c o m*/*watch?v=YoTIaRyGzac} Remove the spaces and remove "*" for the links

(This fic takes place around 10 years before HIAB starts.)

Just keep in mind that Jeff and his past (including his family) were created by Hijabiwriter (on AO3)

With this, ENJOY!

Lloyd Montgomery Garmadom needed help.

He didn't understand what was going on.

How were you supposed to take away from a number that was already given? Lloyd glanced up at his mom who was currently on the kitchen table 'adding up the taxes'. Whatever that was.

He glanced down at his homework with frustration.

He had two options. A) he could ask his mom for help... but she was so busy and tired that he didn't want to trouble her any more, or B) he could just try to figure out the problems himself.

None of those options seemed good enough.

Lloyd sighed and placed his head on his desk. Ugh... why couldn't Math just grow up and solve its own problems?

With his face squished against his desk, Lloyd glanced around. He froze as his eyes landed on his phone.

A smile slowly slithered across his face.

Looks like he found option C, after all.

XXX

Jeff was bored. And tired. And depressed. Oh did he already mention bored?

Lazily twirling a pencil, he glared at the phone waiting for someone to call.

Being the 911 Operator wasn't the easiest job. But they were low on operators so Jeff had decided to volunteer.

While the job didn't have the thrill and excitement his job as a police officer did, it was still interesting. Except for moments like this when no one called and there was nothing for Jeff to do.

He let out a tired sigh and got up from his chair, stretching. He wasn't exactly supposed to get up when he was not on shift, unless of course, it was for either number 1 or number 2.

He got up and walked over to the snack booth. He picked up a strawberry-sprinkled donut and took a bite, relishing the sweet taste that exploded in his mouth.

Memories flashed through his head.

"Daddy, I want that one!" the girl squealed pointing at the pink donuts on display.

"Do you want the plain or sprinkled one?" his wife, Rebecca, said, smiling down at their daughter.

"Sprinkles!" Rose exclaimed, jumping up in excitement.

Jeff shook himself out of the memories, trying to clear his mind. Trying to forget. But the memories kept on coming.

Walking back home only to smell the smoke.

Only to see the skeleton of the burned structure he had rented for their vacation.

Only to come back to learn that the fire was an act of arson.

Only to wonder why in the world would someone do this when there were people still in the building.

Only to have a funeral without the bodies of his wife and daughter.

Jeff shook his head, feeling tears slowly streaming down his face. He blinked, trying to get rid of the traitorous tears. Remembering the past did nothing to help him. He had lost both his wife and daughter and there was nothing he could do about it.

Now all that could be done was try to make sure that something like that never happened to anyone else. Which was the main reason he had become an officer in the first place. To help others.

Just before he could finish the pastry, the phone rang. Jeff scrambled to the phone, stumbling slightly as he ran to his chair. He answered the phone.

"911, what's your emergency?" he greeted, his voice slightly off due to the fact he was crying a couple of seconds ago.

"Hi Mr. Po'iceman... um, I need some help," a small high-pitched voice said through the phone.

Jeff blinked at the young voice. He had heard from other operators that youngsters did call at times, but never did it happen to him directly. Placing the donut down, he replied. "What's the matter?"

"With my m'th," the kid said, his words slightly lisped and missing a few syllables.

"With your mouth ?" Jeff asked, furrowing his brow as he tried to understand what the kid said.

"Nooo," the kid replied. "With my math. I hafta do it! Can you help me, ple'se?"

Jeff blinked.

The kid called 911 for help with his math homework?

Despite the previous emotions, he covered his mouth with his hand, trying to muffle his laughter. Jeff quickly assessed the situation.

Option A) was that he could just tell the kid to hang up or Option B) he could help the kid with his homework. If Jeff was going to be honest, he preferred option B.

"Sure kid. What kind of math do you need help with?"

"Ummm... I gotta do take aways, " the kid- Jeff was guessing he was a boy- answered.

Jeff pulled the phone away so the kid couldn't hear his laughter. After quickly composing himself, he started talking into the phone again. "Ohhh, you have the take aways."

"Mhmm," the boy replied, clearly unhappy.

"Alright," Jeff said. "What the problem kid?"

"Uhhh... I need help with my math," the kid repeated, confused.

"Okay, I got that. What's the math?"

"Um, okay. Sixteen..." the boy started.

"Yeah?"

"... take away eight..."

"Uh huh," Jeff said.

"... is what?" the boy finished.

"You tell me. How much do you think it is?"

"I dunno... one?" Jeff moved the phone away and burst into a quiet laughter. Oh FSM, why were children so cute? "No," he said after quickly regaining control of his mirth.

"Aww..." the boy sadly whined. "Why's this so hard?"

"Yeah, kid. That does sound hard. How about you give me another problem?" Jeff said encouragingly.

"Ummm, oh here's one. Five take away five,"

"Five take away five," Jeff repeated. He paused for a second, pretending to think. "How much do you think that is?"

"Five," the kid replied confidently. Jeff bit his lips, trying to contain his laughter. Before he could utter a sound, a female voice called out. "Lloyd? What are you doing!?"

"The po'iceman is helping me with my math!" the kid- Lloyd- replied cheerfully.

"What did I tell you about taking the phone?" The woman- presumably the mother- asked. She didn't sound mad, but tired.

"You said that if I need help then call somebody,"

"Not the police!" the mother replied. Jeff couldn't help but chuckle at that. She then let out a tired sigh. "Gimme the phone, Lloyd," There were sounds of shuffling as Lloyd handed his mother the phone. "Why didn't you just call me, sweetie?"

"Well... you were busy," the boy replied. The woman sighed. "Lloyd, sweetie... next time call me okay? Not the poli-"

She cut off abruptly as if she just remembered that the phone was still connected. "Oh First Master, I'm so sorry sir!" the mother apologized. Her voice was sweet and had that motherly loving tone Rebecca always had.

"It's fine, ma'am," Jeff replied reassuringly, unable to stop the smile from falling on his lips.

"I'm sorry about taking so much time from you," the woman continued as if she hadn't heard a thing Jeff had said.

"It's fine ma'am," he responded. "I don't mind. Your son is one adorable kid. And not to mention brilliantly smart,"

The woman behind the call laughed. "Thank you so much, officer,"

"You're welcome," Jeff replied. "Have a good day, ma'am." The woman said goodbye and then the call was cut.

There was a moment of silence as Jeff leaned back into his chair. No matter what he did, he was unable to stop the growing smile on his face. With his previous emotions forgotten, Jeff couldn't help himself as he thought about that kid.

Jeff gazed around his desk, his eyes falling on the unfinished donut. He picked it up, examining the sprinkles.

Instead of the wave of sadness that had rolled over him previously, Jeff felt a relaxing numbing feeling wash over him.

He had unexpectedly lost his family to an act of arson. He had lost people who were entirely innocent. There were thousands of innocent people out there.

Jeff paused, the weight of his job finally settling on his shoulders. His mind flashed back to his daughter. Innocent little Rose. Always bubbly and happy. Then he thought of that kid- Lloyd. He was slightly younger than Rose had been before the fire.

Jeff glanced down at the sprinkles on his donut.

There were so many of them. All of them different sizes, shapes, and colors. There were so many people out there. All of them different ages, personalities, and stories. And many of them needed help. And that was what Jeff would do. Help those who needed help.

Jeff bit into the donut, taking a deep breath. Just then the phone rang. He picked the call up, a slow, confident smile falling on his lips.

"911, What's your emergency?"

A/N: Welp! This is what I got, loll!

I had finished this story a while back but I was stuck on how to end it. Today I sat down and thought of a buncha ways to end this fic. I liked how this ending came out.

Anyways, all of the fanart was done by me on (magma. c o m) (Remove the spaces) It's FREE and really easy to use once you get a hang of it!

Anyways, this is all I have for now! For those of you who celebrate a holiday(s), Happy Holidays! Wow... can y'all believe it? 2023 is almost done.

Feel free to comment but please use CLEAN and APPROPRIATE language!

Remember that God loves you, I love you, and JESUS IS LORD!

Byeeeee, have a good day/night! 33