Family Bonds

The Babysitter

It was almost the kids' birthday, when Zarc made the worst mistake of his entire life. He was planning on going to the store to buy some birthday presents for his little ones, but he wanted the presents to be a surprise. He was off work at the time, so he couldn't leave the kids in the daycare at the moment. So, he decided that just this once, he would hire a babysitter. The dragons would be there to keep an eye on things, but they couldn't be seen by anyone other than Zarc and the kids, so he needed a regular person just to make sure no nosy neighbors called the cops on him for leaving his babies home "alone". So he hired a babysitter through a very highly rated babysitting agency.

A horrible mistake that he would soon regret.

His gut kept telling him to go back home and check on the kids. But he chalked it off to being so used to having his kids around him. He hadn't gone anywhere without them since they'd arrived on his doorstep nearly a year ago. He had to accept that he couldn't be around them 24/7. Sure he left them at the Crystal daycare when he was working, but they were still on the premises where he could easily reach them if something happened.

But he knew he had to let go eventually. He couldn't be there constantly. That was the first step in becoming a helicopter parent, and he didn't want to be that kind of parent. His children had to have some time away from him if they were to live healthy lives.

He forced himself to ignore the feeling of dread he was experiencing. Every instinct was telling him that he had to go home. He wanted to see his kids. But he tried to focus on the birthday shopping. He had to let go every now and then. It was for the good of his children!

But as he was pulling into the driveway of his house after his shopping, his heart sank. Starve Venom was waiting for him, and he looked incredibly distraught. Zarc immediately knew that something was wrong. He got out of the car, and Starve Venom spoke.

"That awful... horrible... she can't be human... Oh my Ra, she's just...!" Starve Venom was so agitated that he could hardly speak.

"What happened?" Zarc asked, starting to panic. Starve Venom managed to explain, "She... the babies... they were hungry... she told them to eff off... She said they weren't children... she said they were just clones... she said you weren't their father... she said they shouldn't exist!"

Zarc was absolutely pissed. He had stopped thinking of the babies as clones a very long time ago. They were his precious children! But before Zarc could respond to the information that Starve Venom had shared with him, Odd-Eyes burst out of the house. "ZARC! SHE'S SHAKING THE BABIES!"

Zarc rushed into the house in time to see the babysitter shaking a crying Yugo violently. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!" he roared, startling the babysitter. "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

The babysitter dropped Yugo on the couch and fled the house. Clear Wing and Dark Rebellion were desperately trying to comfort the babies. The dragons couldn't do anything about the babysitter's words or actions because they couldn't interact with anyone other than Zarc or the babies outside of duels. They were all furious that the babysitter had treated the kids so horribly.

"Which ones did she shake?" Zarc asked frantically.

"Yugo and Yuya!" Clear Wing replied, trying to calm the babies.

"We have to get them to the hospital, NOW!" Zarc said. "Babies can die from being shaken!"

* * *

Zarc swore he would never hire a babysitter from that agency ever again. His poor babies... The doctors said that Yuya and Yugo would survive, but they had both suffered a bit of brain damage. The doctors said that they would probably have learning disabilities from the damage. Yugo especially. It seemed his brain damage was slightly worse than Yuya's.

Zarc, of course, was pissed. As soon as he had the chance, he called the babysitting agency and yelled at them. The agency apologized profusely and offered him immense financial compensation in exchange for him not suing them. They promised that the babysitter they had sent would be fired and reported to the police. Zarc was reluctant to accept the deal, but the agency seemed genuinely apologetic. So eventually he decided to accept.

That was the first, and last, time he ever hired a babysitter for the kids.