Code Red

Life duties

For the first time in what felt like ages, it was just Georgie and Alex alone together in a packed McDonald's. Luckily, their buddies from 2 section were on hand to help out with the child care duties so they could enjoy a day together buying all the baby essentials. Captain James had agreed to look after Jacob and take him on a play date with his daughter Charlotte, whilst Ryan and Fletcher were off on a tour around the army base for the day.

Alex was in the middle of eating when he looked down at his phone and smiled. "Look how happy they are!" He turned the phone to face Georgie, showing her a photo that Kingy had just sent him of his boys dressed up like little soldiers.

Georgie awed as she tried to mask her burning question. "So.." she hesitated after much deliberation.

"Why did your ex-wife give them up?"

Alex paused for a moment and shifted all of his rubbish into the bin. He then lent behind him to grab his coat and proceeded to walk out the restaurant. At first Georgie thought he was deliberately ignoring her.

"Walk and talk!" He finally called after Georgie as they left their table and starting walking over to Toys-R-Us. By the time Alex had finished answering Georgie's question, they were halfway around the store with a trolley full of baby grows, nappies and toys.

"Right. So let me get this straight. She worked for an intelligence company, found stuff out about very bad people, now they are after her, so the boys are safer with us?"

Alex looked around the aisle as he spotted 2 other people who could have easily just overheard their conversation.

"Well... Don't talk too loudly!" Alex pointed out as he quickly put down the object he had picked up and walked towards the checkout.

"But you are right. That's the short of it. You don't mind do you?"

***

As they arrived back home, Alex began unpacking the car as Georgie unlocked the front door. Walking into the front room to dump all of the stuff they had just brought, Georgie sighed. The floor was littered with little toy figurines that the boys didn't put away after playing with them this morning. Both her and Alex carefully stepped between them, like they were negotiating a minefield.

Once the car was unloaded Georgie threw the toys into the small wooden crate behind the sofa and began to hoover up the bits of crushed biscuit that had been trodden into the carpet.

Having completed the housework Georgie laid down and put her feet up on the sofa for a rest. Minutes later, Alex strolled in dressed head to toe in his army combats. "One of the lads have gone off sick. I'm going to have to take his shift." He announced as he placed a kiss on Georgie's forehead and gently covered her with a blanket after noticing how she was fighting to stay awake.

She must have dozed off for quite awhile because she was woken up by the loud chimes of the doorbell.

"Ah. Charlie. Good to see you again." She leant in for a hug as Charlie smiled. It had been quite a while since she last saw him as Molly had arrived on her own this morning to pick Jacob up. Georgie noticed he looked different to how she remembered him, he was more aged, probably from the stress of his family life and all the worry as Molly was still serving as an operational medic.

Immediately, Georgie knew that the peace and quiet she had enjoyed for the past few hours was about to be destroyed - Alex's 2 sons bundled past her. Molly then stepped out of the car that was parked across the driveway, holding a small black car seat with a sleeping baby inside. Charlie tucked a little blanket over the top of him to keep him warm as he handed Jacob back to his mother.

"He dozed off on the car ride here. It should give you a few minutes peace and quiet!" Charlie joked as he stepped in at Georgie's offer of a brew.

"That's considerate of you." She winked. "But that's not possible with the other two!" She laughed as Ryan walked into the kitchen and held up a plastic cup for her to fill with his favourite juice.

***

As night drew in, it was just Georgie alone in the house with the 3 kids. She couldn't help but smile as she saw Fletcher and Ryan playing with Jacob. They were blowing raspberries at him, in the same way that Alex always does to them.

After dinner, Georgie did the washing up and glanced over at the clock beside her.

20:00

Alex should be on his way home by now. He usually arrived back home at 19:30, but it wasn't unusual for him to get caught up with handing over to the night shift, so Georgie was used to him being late. Nevertheless, She sighed at the idea of battling the kids at bedtime on her own.

"Come on boys! Bedtime! Get your teeth brushed and in your PJs!" She hollered from upstairs where she had just finished lining up their school uniforms in the cupboard ready for school in the morning.

*An hour later*

Exhausted and with Alex's sons finally tucked up in bed, Georgie curled up on the sofa in her fluffy dressing gown with Jacob laying peacefully across her chest. As her eyes caught another glance of the clock she began to fill with worry.

21:00

An hour had passed since she last looked. Alex was still not home.

What if he was involved in a car accident?
What if he was injured at work?
What if he had been kidnapped?

Hundreds of horrifying possibilities whizzed around Georgie's mind like a pigeon stuck in a house. She needed to know where he was, so she picked up the phone and dialled his office number. No reply. So she phoned his boss instead.

"What do you mean he never turned up to work?"

She sobbed aggressively. Hearing that her beloved husband didn't even turn up to work today and he hadn't come home either sent Georgie into a state of panic. She last saw him that afternoon.

Now he was missing.

************************************
A/N: Thank you to everyone who continues to read this :) I know I have been really bad at updating lately, I have had a lot going on and I had bad writers block. Anyway I hope you still enjoy reading and I will try and be more active.