THE BOSS AGENT

WE ARE HOME

Emma's POV:

I feel someone slightly shake my shoulders. I wrinkle my nose and wrap my arms around myself to find a comfortable position to sleep.

"Emma, wake up."

"Thirty more minutes please," I mumble in the headrest. I hear a chuckle.

"We're home. Come on," I hear Edward say. My eyes quickly snap open. I notice we are in the driveway right in front of our home. A delightful smile forms on my face, all exhaustion washed away.

"I can't wait to meet them," I gush jovially as I unbuckle my seatbelt and get out of the car.

"There are probably asleep," Edward states locking the car.

My eyes narrow on its own as I notice the lights in the living room are still on. "I don't think so."

I quickly run up the stairs towards the large door and type the password. Soon the robotic lady asks for voice confirmation.

"Venti double cup decaf caramel macchiato, whole milk, six pump vanilla, extra caramel drizzle, caramel brûlée topping, please?" The device shows a green light reading confirmed.

"Em, you really need to reset your password," Ed mumbles beside me before confirming his own voice with a set of numbers.

"Why? Mine sounds like a pro," I say with a smirk. Ed chuckles and shakes his head, nonetheless, stays quiet.

I hear a small ping as the door opens. Now I am having a second thought if this is my house.

The fire alarm is blaring. The vase is broken. The once white crystal clear floor has paint on it. The couch is unkempt. The curtains are messed up. I see agents running around the house chasing my little boy who is crying hysterically. He has yellow paint smeared on his tiny spiderman onesie. I notice Elena sitting on the kitchen counter with a bowl, probably soup.

"We are home," Ed announces happily drawing everyone's attention to us.

I notice Elena's eyes widen as she snaps her head towards the voice of her father. She quickly jumps off the counter, almost tripping as she dashes towards Ed beaming happily. She wraps her hands around her father's neck, hugging him tight.

I hear a happy screech as once a crying toddler ran as fast as possible with his little legs towards me with a goofy smile. He stumbles a little and stops to regain his balance before running again. I chuckle and walk towards him. I pick him up and spin around as he laughs in merriment.

"Hi," I say sweetly. He giggles before patting my face.

"Yeah Benjamin. It's me," I say and brush my fingers through his hair to fix it. He shows off his little teeth.

"So, you plan on speaking to me anytime soon?" I tilt my head with a permanent smile. He speaks gibberish placing his fingers in his mouth and starts chewing.

"Aye aye, we don't chew our hands. Now come on, try saying mama," I wait for him to repeat after me but he doesn't.

"Mommy? Mom?" I wait for him to repeat. He opens his mouth but closes it.

Looks like he isn't gonna speak anytime soon.

I feel someone wrap their hands around my leg. I smile at Elena. Ben tries to reach towards his dad and I pass him to Ed.

"Hi princess," I smile at her. She beams happily.

"Hey mama. I thought your mission isn't gonna complete till tomorrow," I notice a pinch of sorrow in her tone. I knew Elena hates the thought of her parents leaving for a mission. It hurts me to see when she tries to hide her sadness when we tell her that we are leaving on a mission. It's not her age to worry about her parent's whereabouts. She was supposed to study and play, not keep hoping and praying for her parents safety.

"I wrapped it up quickly so I can surprise you."

"That was a great surprise. Thank- wait, what happened to your lip?" she queries with her eyebrows pinched together.

"It's nothing. Don't worry, just a little scratch," I say tugging her towards the kitchen.

"Did you have dinner?"

"Yeah, but Ben didn't," she says with frustration coating her voice.

I turn around to look at Ben. He was patting his father's head like he was proud that he made it out alive from the mission. I chuckle.

I grab the bowl of soup before passing it to Edward, "You're on duty."

He looks at the bowl, then at Ben who has a lopsided smile, then at me.

"Great, I just completed my job and now I am on duty again," he mumbles before walking towards the messed up couch. Only then I realise how untidy my home is. The oven is open which is spilling out smoke everywhere. The fire alarm has stopped. I sigh under my breath.

"I would have to make a call to your grandpa asking for a favor. Come on, let me tuck you in first," I say trying to grab hold of her hand. She pulls away.

"No, it's alright. I can wait," she says slowly. I shrug and pull out my phone. Within two rings, he picks up the call.

"Hi, I-um can you send your clean up crew to my house?" I ask him slowly.

I know what he is going to say. This happens every time. We leave for the mission, kids make sure the house looks like an attic, I ask for dad's help and he gracefully declines.

"Are there dead bodies lying around?" he teases. I look around the house to see the fish tank is also broken.

"There is a dead golden fish. Would that count?" I ask scratching the back of my neck. He laughs loudly.

"Take good rest Emma," he skillfully dodges my question. Before I can explain my situation in a dramatic manner, he hangs up the call.

I turn towards Elena to see her eyebrows pinched together as she waited for me to say something.

"I guess we are on our own now," I shrug before placing the phone on the counter. Elena kept looking at me, as if anytime I will get disintegrated.

"What's wrong?" I question softly. She quickly realises that her body language is revealing a lot of stress she is having. She tries her best to put on a smile but she should know that I was the one who thought her to read people and she can't outrun her Mother's instinct.

"Nothing. I am fine," she says with a light smile. If it was anyone else, they would have believe her acting. Well, not me.

I turn around towards the living room. Both Edward and Ben were missing. Probably he took Ben upstairs to bathe him.

I walk alongside with Elena towards her room. She gets on her bed as I tuck her in. Just as I was about to turn off her bedside lamp, she grabs hold of my hand.

"Will you stay until I fall asleep, please?"

I smile at her, "Sure princess."

I get on the bed with her and run my hand along her hair, smoothing it down. The exhaustion of the whole day makes me drowsy.

The last thing I remember is someone shut the light.