CHAPTER 1

AN: Disclaimer : I do not own NATM: BOTS.

Two years had passed since she began her internship at the Museum of Natural History. So much has passed since then. Avery and Ahk had grown closer during this time. She still got butterflies in her stomach whenever she saw him and blushed madly when he called her beautiful. She felt wonderfully carefree. Until she had taken over Larry's night guard duties on account of his leaving. Why had she taken up the night guard position? Well for starters she wanted to keep the tablet's powers a secret. She certainly didn't want another person like Cecil trying to steal it for their own gain. Secondly, she had a feeling that the museum was beginning to struggle and she thought that she could help them out. So the day after Larry's untimely departure, she had requested to meet with McPhee.

"Dr McPhee, if I could have a moment of your time please?"

"Yes Ms Daniels, what is the matter?" McPhee was at his desk sorting through different documents with a stern look on his face.

"Well, it's about Larry leaving. I wondered if I could take on the role of night guard? I know it might be a lot to handle on top of my regular daytime job so that's why I am asking to be bumped down to part time to accommodate being a night guard. I believe that this will help save the museum a salary. Plus, I know what to do, I've shadowed Larry many times before. And it'll save you the hassle of having to interview and hire a new person." She watched him massage his temples as he let out a sigh.

"Yes, fine. Do that. Actually that is very practical thinking Ms Daniels. You can start your new role tonight." He shooed her out of his office.

She initially found the role to be quite fun and somewhat easy as a result of watching Larry handle situations. She knew what needed to be done and had learned from his past mistakes. Though she wasn't too keen on wearing the bulky uniform. She tried to keep things light and happy whenever possible. She created mini tournaments that the exhibits could participate in and show off their strengths. Attila and his men enjoyed the relay races. Even Dexter and his friends joined in on the fun. Though she was fairly sure he cheated a couple times.

She held dance parties with different themes of music to entertain everyone. She loved watching the exhibits try and pick up certain dance moves. She couldn't help but add in a few slow, love songs to dance to with Ahk. Smiling as they swayed together she looked around and saw Teddy and Sac in a similar position. Avery reminisced about the time when she and Larry had orchestrated a whole plot for Teddy to propose to his beloved. It was also the night that she had agreed to begin a relationship with her own beloved, Ahk.

"You know, I'm starting to think you pick out these songs just so that we can dance in each other's arms. Not that I mind it at all."

"Mm, you catch on quick, Ahk." She smiled sweetly and kissed his cheek.

She held Friday movie nights for everyone, bringing in a projector and some of her favorite animated movies. The miniatures were partial to Toy Story since their stories were weirdly aligned, Teddy and Sac enjoyed Up, Attila enjoyed Shrek, while the Neanderthals of course enjoyed Ice Age. Though she spent most of the movies making a mental checklist of the things she needed to do that night, the next day, even the next week. Ahk had caught her several times not paying attention to the movies. But he brushed it off.

She didn't want to cause alarm that anything was amiss. She thought that the more events she created, the less anyone would worry. But she couldn't keep it to herself any longer and had shared the news with Ahk and Teddy. She pulled them into the archives room for some privacy.

"Thanks for meeting with me guys. I'm not quite sure how to say this but I think the museum is on a downward slope. McPhee has started icing me out again like I'm an intern. But as such with my assistant role, I file paperwork. I came across some troubling financial documents. I think it's a bigger deal than he's letting on. I'm not sure how long this stormcloud will last but I wanted to let you both know in case things go south."

For a while, it seemed like her efforts of taking on the two roles simultaneously had tipped the scale into neutral territory. She was doing her best to keep the exhibits safe and maintain composure during the days she was an assistant. So she could breathe easily, right? Not quite. The more focused she became on this goal of keeping the museum safe and running, she neglected herself both mentally and physically. She became obsessed over doing things that she thought could help the museum. As much as she loved everyone, they were exhibits and they couldn't help run interference with the museum. She felt like she was the only one to save them and that was a responsibility she took very seriously.

Teddy, Ahk, and the rest of their motley crew become quite concerned about her. The bags under her eyes and her fatigued manner were obvious clues that something was wrong. Ahk had urged her to take breaks numerous times before he actually got her to take some naps on the security office couch while he and Teddy took over patrolling the museum. They had each taken responsibility for her night guard duties in an effort to ease her load.

Keeping her mind occupied with tasks helped her feel important and busy. When she wasn't busy she could feel a swirling storm of negativity cloud her mind. Avery hated being forced to stop working. Her mind called her lazy but her body was grateful for a chance to rest for a few hours. She always told Ahk to wake her in an hour but being the compassionate boyfriend he is, he let her sleep for hours. It was clear that she needed it, she was already doing too much work alone as is. But even her dreams weren't forgiving. They played before her her worst case scenarios of the museum shutting down and it being her fault.

As a result of not sleeping properly, her sense of time was distorted. She had nearly fallen asleep at her desk countless times and even wore her night guard uniform during the daytime. She hadn't bothered to change out of it because she knew she needed it that night anyways. She had gotten a few disapproving, side eye glances from McPhee but she was enveloped in a brain fog so she didn't catch on. She hadn't been a coffee fan before but it proved to be a great way to wake her up. Though it did provoke her anxiety to flare, as well as her temper. She hadn't found her appetite as of late because of the anxiety surging through her body. Ahk was gravely concerned about her. She kept snapping at him, and everyone else, brushing off their concerns saying that she was fine and had everything under control. She had to have everything under control. Her mind only focused on one objective: save the museum. She was practically ignoring everyone's pleas, she was stubborn that way.

"I'm fine! Why doesn't anyone believe me that I'm fine!"

"Well missy, you see that is the kinda thing that people say when they are not in fact okay." Jed added his opinion in. They were all gathered around the reception desk with Avery in the middle. She felt trapped and her fight or flight instinct was kicking in. She chose to fight with her words.

"Guys, I have like a million things left to do tonight, I can't take a break!"

"Perhaps I may be of assistance here my dear?" Teddy offered.

"No, I got this. I can handle it. Go about the rest of your night."

She was lying to herself and her friends who were only trying to help. She could not, in fact, handle it.

Finally one day, as he couldn't hold it in any longer, Ahk broke down.