This story takes place before Can't Run From Fate and The Sun and The Warrior. (And before Rise of the Fallen Moon. I have decided that Rise of The Fallen Moon, because of how successful it is, will be an Alternate Universe if CatNap turned good in The Sun and The Warrior.)

Before we begin, I want to thank everyone so much again for giving my stories a chance, and I hope I can make you happy again with this one.

"The beginning is always today."

- MARY SHELLEY

May 17th, 1995, 10:14 A.M.

"So, Miss Phillips, this would be your first job?" the man sitting at an office desk asked. A middle-aged, well-mannered Caucasian man with blonde, buzz-cut hair, and blue eyes.

Across the desk sat a young teenage half-Native American half-Caucasian girl with black hair, which was in two braids and an eagle feather at the left temple, and bottle green eyes. She wore casual clothes for the interview. Her father, a middle-aged Caucasian man with long black hair amd full facial beard and mustache, graying at the temples, and green eyes like his daughter, and his demeanor showed that he was well disciplined, and well-mannered. He wore his general's uniform, more for formality than for showing rank. The girl's mother, A Lakota Native American woman, thick black hair falling past her shoulders, dark eyes, and gentle features, sat at her daughter's left side. She was also dressed casual for the meeting as well. Both parents were there to support their daughter during her interview.

"Yes, sir," she responded politely and honestly.

"What made you want to work here? The most famous, most promising, toy factory in the world?" the man, Mr. Davis, asked in a rather challenging tone.

This didn't faze the teenager in the slightest.

"Well, what better way is there to start my future than by helping young children smile and bring joy to their lives?" She responded without missing a beat.

Mr. Davis was actually taken aback. Then chuckled with a lopsided smile.

"I must say, that answer reminds me of Mr. Ludwig, the founder of Playtime Co. May he rest in peace. He had the same drive you do," he answered honestly.

The girl's father, Preston, smiled proudly and placed his hand on her shoulder in pride. Her mother, Shenandoah, also smiled, her eyes glittered with emotion.

"I must say, I am impressed by your skills and all. But, you do live an hour away, and you are only 16. Won't this interfere with school?" Mr. Davis asked with concern in his voice.

"Oh, I'm homeschooled, sir," the young girl responded. "And I'm ahead in my studies. I'll actually graduate in less than a year."

"Oh, really?" Mr. Davis teased. "27th president of the United States?"

"William Howard Taft," she answered without needing to think.

"Oh!" Mr. Davis exclaimed. "I actually wasn't expecting any answer. Especially not that fast. You really are educated well, Miss Phillips."

"That's my girl," Preston praised, happy to see his daughter has taken her studies so seriously.

"Well, if it won't interfere with your impressive education, and you're doing it to help support your family, I say you have a promising future with us, Miss Phillips," Mr. Davis said with a smile. "We would be absolutely honored to have you among our family."

The Phillips family beamed with excitement. When Mr. Davis extended his hand for a shake, the young girl grabbed it gently but excitedly and shook it.

"Welcome to Playtime," Mr. Davis said with a beaming smile.

"Thank you so much, sir! You won't regret it!" The girl couldn't contain her excitement.

"I know I won't. We'll just need a few days to get everything together and set up for you to join the team. You may be just applying as a cashier in the gift shop, but we have to be sure we have everything right for the right position. It's a large factory with a lot of job opportunities here," Mr. Davis explained.

"Oh, no problem, sir," the teenager said in understanding.

"Once we have everything set up, we'll give you a call. But if you don't hear from us by Saturday, you can call us to see what's going on," Mr. Davis said.

"Okay, thank you," the girl said standing up with her parents.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Davis," Preston said, shaking hands with him.

"Truly, thank you for giving our daughter a chance," Shenandoah said, grateful that her daughter had gotten her first job.

"It's no trouble," Mr. Davis insisted. "Have a good day."

"You too," the girl said.

The family walked out of the office, then ventured out of the factory with their guide.

Once they were outside, Preston suddenly had his daughter in a bear hug.

"I'm so, so proud of you, Baby Girl."

"You're father and I, both." Shenandoah praised, joining the hug.

"Mom! Daddy! I can't breathe!" The girl wheezed out.

The parents hugged their daughter tighter briefly and released her, continuing their quest to their truck.

Once they were settled, Preston started the hour-long trip home to their cabin in the nearby woods.

"What say we celebrate tonight?" Shenandoah suggested.

"That's a wonderful idea," Preston said. "What do you think, Baby Girl?"

"Well, I mean it's not just my new job we should celebrate," she said.

"You're right! Noah! He's getting his MD!" Shenandoah said.

"Well then, we DEFINITELY have to celebrate tonight," Preston said, his voice full of pride. "First, my baby girl gets her first job, and my youngest son is a doctor. What more could a father want?"

"Grandchildren?" Shenandoah teased.

Preston actually chuckled. "Yeah. Dakota and his wife's beautiful little girl. It's so weird. We have five sons then a daughter, then our son's firstborn is a little girl."

"Life's full of surprises, love." Shenandoah said.

"You can say that again," Preston said, love flooding his voice.

The girl's attention turned to the scenery passing by as they drove. She couldn't believe how things were going. She could finally support her family financially. Especially since things weren't going so well for them this year.

Living in the woods, they hunted the wild game and grew their own gardens. They traded their crops and game with friends and local butcher shops. Living in the woods was great for the family. Not only to stay in touch with Shenandoah's routes as a Native American and to pass it all on to her children, but for Preston to provide training for his children in the arts of combat.

"You alright back there?" Preston asked, gaining his daughter's attention.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Daddy. I'm just happy that things are looking up," she admitted.

Preston smiled.

"I'm proud of you, Koa. I'm so proud of you."

...

Later that night, Preston, Shenandoah, Koa, and Noah were all sitting together at dinner, enjoying a nice meal. Not only for Koa, but for her brother as well.

"Noah," Shenandoah said rather happily. "I see you smirking over there? You got something to share?"

Noah looked up, his smirk a full smile.

"Oh nothing," he said rather smugly.

"Noah?" Preston pressed.

"It's just…" Noah shifted in his seat, unable to contain his excitement. "The hospital I was working with, they offered me a full time job as a doctor!"

The room then filled with gasps and cheers of happiness and pride. Koa practically jumped from her seat and hugged her brother tightly.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" She yelled happily.

Preston and Shenandoah stood up from their seats and joined in the hug.

"We're so proud of you!" They shouted loudly simultaneously.

After a bit, they released Noah from their hug.

"Thanks, guys."

"Look at you, son," Preston said, pride flooding his voice. "First, Dakota joins the army. Then Joshua becomes a state trooper. Now, my youngest son is a doctor with a fulltime job, and my baby girl gets her first job helping children," he praised rubbing his children's heads affectionately.

"Dad!" They both complained.

Their father stopped with a chuckle, but then his face grew gloomy. His wife noticed immediately.

"Preston?"

He sighed sadly. "Sorry, it's just, I do wish Nathan and Tate were here."

Everyone in the room understood. Dakota, the second-born son, usually was the one to bring comfort better than the rest of them, but he was away overseas. And Joshua, Noah's older twin, was away on his shift in another county.

Nathan, their first-born son, took a job across the country and refused to stay connected to the family, too caught up in his work and not having a close relationship with any of them. Especially Preston.

Tate, the third-born in the family, unfortunately got sick and lost the battle to cancer only two years earlier. It was the biggest reason Noah wanted to become a doctor. To help others who were sick.

"Dad, Tate fought strong," Noah said in a comforting tone.

Preston sighed again. He smiled sadly and hugged his youngest children close. Shenandoah joined the hug as well.

Their family had gone through hard times, but they always pulled through.

...

March 17th, 1995, 11:09 P.M.

Playtime Co. was bathing in the moonlight of the moon. Below the factory, deep within the underground caverns, poorly lit with lanterns and cave lamps, a conference was being held.

"A Native American? And a teenager?" a masculine voice said.

"Well, she's half Native American," another voice said.

A group of men and women in white lab coats were sitting around a table in a office under the Playtime factory.

"That doesn't matter. Not only do we not have any teenagers in Playcare, but we don't have any children with Native American heritage. At least no closer relatives like a parent or grandparent." The same man said.

"But she's just applying for a cashier position," a female scientist spoke up.

"We can think of something. Like ask her to visit Playcare or help somewhere else in the factory that doesn't involve too much maintenance. I would love to conduct an experiment on a teenager. And one with this kind of heritage."

"She has a family. They'll notice if their daughter goes missing," another male said, concerned.

"Accidents happen all the time in factories. We could say it was some kind of equipment accident or something."

"Again, she's applying as a cashier," another scientist spoke up.

"Again, we could ask her to help somewhere else or something, then say an accident happened."

"I don't like this. As much as I too would love to conduct an experiment on a teenager, I think this one is too risky. Especially with her father being in the military."

At that, everyone shifted in their seats and murmured for a minute or two.

"Come on, guys," the first scientist said as the office door opened. "What could one man do to us. It's a factory. Accidents happen all the time in factories."

"Yeah, you might want to rethink those words," the newcomer said, placing a thick file on the table.

"Why," the scientist demanded.

"I did a little… background check… on General Preston Phillips," the newcomer said as he slid the file to the scientist that was the head of the meeting.

He opened the file, and flipped through the papers and photos, and shifted uneasy in his set.

"Woah," he whispered. "How did you get these?" He questioned.

"I have a friend in the Pentagon," the newcomer said simply.

Everyone looked at him with a surprised look. He saw this and grew uncomfortable.

"What?"

"Nothing," a few of them said before they turned their attention to the folder.

Some of them caught a glimpse of some of the photos and grimaced.

The head scientist noticed and then scoffed, and tried to make light of the situation by trying to joke, "so who is this guy? 007?"

Everyone except the newcomer laughed.

"He makes 007 look like a dime-a-dozen traffic cop," the newcomer said, cutting the laughter like a hot knife through butter.

The room got quiet. No one said anything.

"Well, um… good for him," another younger scientist said. Everyone looked to him with an expression that read 'are you serious?'

"Less good for us," he said quickly.

The newcomer nodded and said, "anything happens to this man's daughter, we'll have a military militia on our heads."

Everyone shared concerned looks and murmurs.

"Then maybe we shouldn't hire her at all," another scientist said.

"Come on guys," another female scientist said, trying to ease the tension. "She's going to be a cashier in the gift shop. She'll be out of the way like the others who are beneath us."

Everyone slowly nodded in realization and agreement.

"You're right. As long as she stays in her place, we shouldn't have to worry. Our research must stay hidden."

Everyone nodded again.

"Okay, well, that's a long-awaited experiment out the window. Well, we'll have to make do with what we have."

"Yeah. You're right."

"Alright. Meeting adjourned. Everyone get some rest."

Everyone stood up and left the office. Disappointment in their features.

I thought about how there are two types of secrets: the kind you want to keep in, and the kind you don't dare to let out.

- Ally Carter