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“Ava.” Tim says sternly looking at his oldest daughter. “I expect your homework to be done and the house to still be standing when we get home.” Ava blows out a breath, and looks between Tim and Lucy.
“Dad. I’m 14. I’m not a baby anymore.” Ava says crossing her arms. “We will be fine. I will make sure they get their homework done.”
“And yours Ava Rose.” Lucy says sternly. “You might be in charge but you have your own responsibilities.”
Tim sighs and looks over at his three other kids who are waiting patiently. They had to go into the station again because there was a crisis. And it was all hands on deck, they picked the kids up from school and weren’t able to get anyone to come over to watch them. And so they only had one choice and that was to leave Ava in charge which could go either way.
“We will be back as soon as we can.” Tim says. “It’s all hands on deck and—”
“Dad!” Ava says raising her eyebrows at him. And she looks just like Lucy in that moment. “Dad, we will be fine.”
“Okay.” Lucy says tugging on his arm. “Let’s go Tim. Be good!” Tim lets her pull him out the door but before he gives the kids one last look. She pulls him to the porch and the door closes behind him.
“Hold on.” He says. He opens up the door and he sees the kids had scattered—Ava and Daisy are in the kitchen no doubt getting all the junk food and the twins are sitting in front of the TV.
“Hey!” He says loudly and he sees Ava turn to look at him. “At least wait until we have pulled out of the driveway.”
“Yes dad.” Daisy says. Tim rolls his eyes and pulls the door shut again.
“They are not slick.” He grumbles. Lucy laughs and leans up to press a kiss to his cheek.
“”No but we love them.” She says. Tim nods and follows Lucy to the car. They could do this— they could leave their kids home alone for a few hours.
Ava was responsible in her own way, and deep down Tim knows she can handle it.
“They will be fine.” Lucy says as Tim backs out of the driveway. “Okay?”
“Yeah.” He agrees. “They will be fine.”
***
Tim is in his office going through the paperwork when Lucy comes rushing in. She has a panicked look on her face and he jumps up immediately.
“Tim.” She says breathlessly holding onto the doorframe. “Dispatch just got a call that a house on our street is being robbed or invaded.”
“What?” Tim says grabbing his keys. “Where? What street?”
“They were trying to pinpoint it but the caller sounded like a teenage girl.” She says. Tim’s heart drops to his stomach and he hurries out of his office with Lucy on his heels.
“We have a teenage girl.” Tim says. Lucy looks back at him, and he feels a little sick to his stomach.
What if the intruders hurt the kids?
He knows Ava would protect her siblings no matter what. She took after him in that way, she wouldn’t hesitate to put herself in front of her brother and sisters.
“I’m sure everything is fine.” Lucy says though she doesn’t sound too confident herself. “You know our kids. They can handle anything.” Tim nods as they get to the car and get in. He grips the steering wheel so tightly that his fingers turn white.
“Tim.” Lucy says putting a hand on his arm. “You need to relax. I’m sure everything is fine.” Tim swallows but presses on the gas as he heads towards their house.
Tim pulls into the driveway and turns off the car and then he’s jumping out. He knows something is wrong—it’s quiet too quiet and there’s no way all four of his kids are doing their homework. He loos back at Lucy who already has her gun out as they step towards the front porch. The door is open wide and Tim can already see their house is somewhat destroyed. There are pieces of glass everywhere—some of the pictures are on the ground.
“Oh my god.” Lucy mutters. Tim pulls out his gun and steps inside the house. He sees their TV is missing, and Levi’s game consoles are also gone. Tim tiptoes forward—the hair on his neck standing up.
It’s cold and he’s not sure if it’s because the air is on or because he knows something is amiss. He hears some noise coming from the laundry and he points his gun towards it.
“Slowly.” He mutters to Lucy who nods her eyes sweeping their house. He hears her following him and he points his gun inside the laundry room but it’s pitch black.
“Oh thank god!” A voice says. Tim reaches over and turns the light on and he almost drops his gun.
Ava is kneeling next to a man with his hands behind his back. Levi is next to another man and is just zip tying his hands behind his back. Daisy and June are on top of the washer and dryer glaring down at the men.
“Oh my god.” Lucy says. “Are you guys alright?” Ava nods and stands up before she’s turning to Tim with a smile on her face.
“I took him down dad.” She says proudly puffing out her chest. “That black belt does come in handy.” Tim gapes at her, before he’s moving towards the first man and pulling him up. Lucy grabs the second one and they both lead them out of the house. Tim shoves the man on the ground and shakes his head.
“Your kids are vicious.” He says. “We weren’t going to hurt them.”
“I told you my parents would kick your ass.” Ava says. “You don’t mess with the Bradford kids.”
“Don’t say ass Aves.” Lucy says sternly but there’s a smile on her face. “She’s right though. You really picked the wrong house. My kids don’t mess around.”
“No shit.” The second guy mutters. “How old is that kid?”
“Ten.” Says Levi from behind Tim. He jumps a little and looks back at his son who looks proud of himself.
Tim sees a patrol car pull up and he gets the man off the grass and shoves him towards the shop. “Don’t ever mess with my kids or my home again.” Tim growls. “You are going to get a bill to clean up my house.”
Tim shoves him in the shop and then slams the door while Lucy loads the other man in the second shop.
Tim watches them drive off and then turns to his kids who are now all in the yard. “Are you guys okay?”
“Yeah.” Ava says. “They were idiots. Levi and I jumped then when they were taking the TV.” Tim looks over at Lucy who looks more amused than anything.
“Why were you guys in the laundry room?” Lucy asks. “How did you know to tackle them?”
“The laundry room was my idea.” Daisy says proudly puffing out her chest. “We were going to lock them in there.”
“Oh my god.” Lucy says shaking her head at the kids. “And where did you find the zip ties?”
“The drawer. Dad showed us one time.” June says. Tim’s eyes widen a little as Lucy turns to look at him.
“I wanted to make sure they knew where they were. You know survival skills. It came in handy.” He says trying to defend himself. He only showed his kids in case of an emergency. He never thought they would actually use them.
Lucy rolls her eyes and shakes her head and then gathers the kids in her arms. “I’m glad you guys are okay. You did good.”
“It would have been nice to use real cuffs.” Ava says pulling away from Lucy. “I know you have some mom.”
Lucy’s eyes widen and she looks over at Tim who just shakes his head at her. They did have cuffs just for them.
“Oh. The zip ties worked fine Aves.” Lucy says ruffling her hair. “And you did a great job protecting our house. Although they did knock some stuff down.”
Ava looks back at Daisy and the twins and then turns back to Lucy. “That wasn’t those idiots.” She says. “That was us.”
“Oh dear Lord.” Tim groans and he can’t wait for them to explain this but—
Intruders or not. It was just another chaotic day. And it probably would be another chaotic day tomorrow but—
“Hey dad.” Levi says. “Do you think I could practice tackling you so I could get them in one go?”
“No.” Tim says and Levi pouts a little. “Okay maybe once.” Levi’s face lights up and Lucy snorts.
“Go easy on your dad buddy.” She says. Levi just grins at them and Tim comes over and puts an arm around her pulling her in her.
“You good?” He asks. Lucy nods and he presses a kiss to the top of her head.
“Yeah. Our kids are safe and our house is mess but—” She pauses and looks up at him, her brown eyes sparkling.
“I love you Tim.”
“I love you too Luce.”