Buck Rogers: Eden's End

Created & Written By: JS. Rogers

Based on Buck Rogers

Created By: Philip Francis Nowlan

Chapter One: I'm Here On Business, Or Am I

Wilma walked into the terminal on the paradise planet of Eden, Twiki right behind her. Their starfighters were getting fuel and checked as the other ships were that occupied the terminal. “Wilma, Why didn't we just bring a shuttle instead of two starfighters?”

“Because Twiki, Draconian attacks are high right now. They're more likely to attack a shuttle with prisoners than they are two starfighters.”

“I see.” The terminal was bustling with aliens from all over the universe, however, Wilma and Twiki were there for only two of them. Two humans that decided to brake the law. The two who just arrived from Earth, who stood out from the crowed walked outside to head to the law enforcement station to pick up the criminals. Not many humans visited Eden, due to the attitude that is usually given to them by the Edenites. Wilma took a deep breath pondering the air that now went through her lungs. She didn't know why, but she always felt that the air on foreign planets smelled fresher and was more crisp then the air on Earth. Raising a hand, Wilma called for a taxi and with in seconds, one had arrived.

The law enforcement building was far busier than Wilma would have thought for a paradise planet. “Hmm. I guess even paradise has it's problems.” She said to herself. Wilma wasn't sure what to expect but it definitely wasn't this. Looking around, Wilma attempted to find the Edenite that contacted her about the humans. The Edenites were a species of cats and on Eden, they evolved to look more humanoid thugh Enforcement Officer Odin, has purple fur with white in it.

It didn't take long for Wilma to find Odin and both she and Twiki walked towards her. As they were heading there, they heard someone yell, “Stop that man!!!” Twiki noticed that the man in question was about to run past him, so to help out, Twiki stretched out his arm and clothes lined him, knocking him to the ground and almost out. As two officers picked him up, the previous officer tipped his hat and simply said, “Thank-you.”

Wilma stopped at Officer Odin's desk, waited for a second, and spoke. “Officer Odin, I'm Colonel Deering of the Earth Defense Directorate. You have a couple of Humans for me to pick up?”

“Yes. Colonel Deering.” She said in an accent that sounded like a southern rich woman. “Thank you for coming so quickly. We caught them steeling food from one of the hotels.”

“Do you not have laws that handle theft?” Wilma asked.

“We do, but those laws are for civilized creatures, not low lives.” Odin waved to an officer to bring out the two humans.

Wilma slowly nodded her head. “Riiight.” As they waited, Wilma noticed the officer bringing out two children, roughly around the ages of six and nine, to them. “These are children.”

“Yes. Disgusting things if you ask me.”

Wilma sat on her heals to speak with the kids. “Are you two hungry?” The six year old girl nodded her head slowly as she leaned in to her brother. “Okay. Let's go get you guys something to eat. Would you like that?” With a slight smile, the girl nodded again. Wilma picked the little girl up and resting her on her hips, she turned to Officer Odin and said, “Thank you for returning them to us. Have a pleasant day.” She reached down and grabbed hold of the boys hand and walked out of the building, Twiki in tail.

At the restaurant, they all sat at a table outside, Twiki included, insisted by Wilma. Wilma's plate was cleared, her napkin folded on top of the plate, while both children still had food on their plates. Wilma smiled as the children ate, allowing them to get comfortable with her. “Is the food good?” She asked them. They both nodded as they chewed their food. “Good.” Wilma gave them a smile. “What are your names?”

“Lisa.” The girl said quietly.

“I'm Goffrey.” The boy said proudly in between smacks.

Wilma realized that she wasn't going to get any information from Lisa, so she started asking the boy questions. “Goffrey, where are your parents?”

“We don't know. We came here with them six month ago and they left us.” Goffrey took another bite of his food.

“Goffrey, are you telling me that you two have been roaming these streets alone, trying to get food for the last six months?”

Taking a sip of his drink, he replied. “Mmm Hmm.”

“You poor things. I am so sorry. We'll take care of you. We're not going anywhere, okay?” Both children nodded their heads. As the children finished eating, they felt a quake ravage the ground. People were being knocked to the ground, signs fell off buildings and tables danced around. Both children ran to Wilma and held on to her tight. “It's okay sweethearts.” Wilma turned to Twiki. “How big?”

“It's a six point five on the sizemo charts.”

“Six point five? If they have another....” The ground started shaking again. Tables were bouncing like crazy. Lisa began to wince and grabbed Wilma even harder. “Shhh. It's okay sweetie.” Wilma looked at Twiki.

“Seven point zero.”

“We need to go talk with Odin.” Once the quake ended, they walked over to Odin as fast as they could, Lisa on Wilma's hip. As they walked up to Odin's desk, they had another quake. What looked like dressers fell over, items bounced off the desks and chairs were knocked over.

Twiki didn't wait for a look this time. “Seven point four.”

“Odin. What's going on?”

“We get these quakes here and there. Usually they come in threes and then we don't get them for several moths.”

“Are they always this bad?”

“No, not usually. They seem to have been steadily getting worse.” Wilma started to say something when Odin interrupted. “In all honesty, Colonel, Edens government has it under control and is in no need of your help. Good day, Colonel.”

“Let's go.” Wilma and the kids went to the starfighters, followed by Twiki. “Elisk,” She said to her starfighter as they approached it. After the incident with Buck, the council decided that it was in the Directorates best interest to install a Sentient Computer Module into each starfighter. “Patch me through to Doctor Huer on Earth.”

The male's voice responded immediately. “Right away, Wilma.”

“Wilma, it's.....Wilma?”

“I'm here Doctor Huer. I have a situation here and need the help of the Directorate.”

“What's going on Wilma?” Wilma told him about the quakes and how they were getting worse. “And you're sure that if they have more quakes, the dormant volcano in the middle of town will erupt?”

“Yes Doctor Huer. As Buck would say, it won't be pretty.”

“Okay than. What can we do?”

“Have the Counsel send a cruiser here to help evacuate the population. A lot of people will be panicking once the volcano erupts. And tell them to go at full speed. The sooner they get here, the easier it will be.”

“Understood. Huer out.”

“Twiki, I need you to do something for me. I'm going to go get us a room. Take your fighter into orbit and I want you to chart any seismic activity on the entire planet. I have a horrible feeling that we're not the only place getting these quakes. If it appears to be really bad, tell Huer to send two cruise ships.”

“Understood, Wilma.”

It actually didn't take them long to get to the tallest hotel in the city. “And what room would you like?” The clerk asked.

“Is your hotel quake proof?” Wilma asked, still holding on to Lisa with Goffrey at her side.

“All of our hotels are designed to handle nearly every possible disaster that we might face, especially quakes.”

“Wonderful. Thank you. Do you have a room on the top floor?”

“We have three rooms left on the top floor. Will there be just three of you?”

“Yes. Uh No. There's a fourth.”

“How many nights?”

“Can I do it day by day? I'm not sure how many nights.”

“Well, we normally don't allow it, but since this is our slow season, we'll let it slide. It is 190ç per night.”

“That's fine. Thank you so much.”

“If you'll please put your chip to the reader, we'll get you in. Just a reminder that the chip in your hand opens your door as well. Thank you and have a beautiful stay.”

“Thank you.” Wilma looked down at Goffrey and then at Lisa. “Shall we go into our room?” The room was pretty big. Two full size beds a full bathroom and a window that stared at the city's attraction, the volcano. The volcano was probably as tall as the building, however, Wilma wasn't concerned about it harming the building with how far away it is. As she put Lisa on the bed they had another quake, worse than the last one. “Twiki, where are you?” She asked herself in a whisper. When the quake was over, Wilma sat on the bed. Clasping her hands, she asked, “So, what's the first thing you two want to do when we get back to Earth?”

“I don't know. What is there to do?” Goffrey asked.

“Well, there is a carnival there.” Goffrey gave her a disgusted look and shook his head. Lisa only gave her the disgusted look. Giggling, Wilma said, “Okay, that's out. Oh I know. Ice cream. We can get some ice cream.” While saying that, their faces perked up. “Ice cream it is.” Twiki walked into the room and if his face could show an emotion, it would not be a good one.. Wilma got up to go talk to him. “What did you find?”

“I think it's worse than you imagined. There are nine point and ten point quakes happening all around the globe. I witnessed a tsunami in one area and volcanoes erupting all over.”

“Please tell me you're joking.”

“I'm afraid not Colonel. Doctor Huer is going to be sending three cruisers.”

Chapter Two: There She Blows

Wilma felt it was better to leave the children in the hotel room with Twiki while she talked with Odin. Wilma assured the kids that she will be back. The starfighters were ordered to land on the roof of the hotel and Twiki was ordered to take the children to the fighters, should the volcano erupt.

Wilma wasn't surprised that the law enforcement was bustling with people running around to get things situated for the city, possibly for a just in case situation. “Colonel Deering. As much as it pains me to say this, I'm glad you're still here. We could use your help.”

“I figured you could. We have three cruisers on their way and should be here in a couple of hours. Has your government said anything about what's going on?”

“Two cities are gone. One covered in lava and the other in water. They are evacuating all off worlders and advising all Edenites to get to higher ground or to the tallest buildings. Our people just aren't prepared for this, Colonel. We have no ships of our own.”

“Don't worry.” Wilma assured her.

“I'm not. It's my government that is.” Another quake, the largest that they have felt yet, destroyed several windows and brought several smaller structures crumbling to the ground. Wilma looked at her, ready to ask a question when Odin beat her to the punch. Shewing her away, she says, “Go be with those 'things' you call children.” Ignoring her, Wilma ran off to make sure the kids were alright.

As Wilma checked on the kids, she noticed, out the window, smoke coming from the volcano. “I do believe that with the next quake, it will erupt.” Twiki informed her.

Wilma was just about to say something when her comm went off. “Wilma, can you hear me?”

“Oh, Doctor Huer. I am so happy to hear your voice.”

“We're just coming into orbit now and sending shuttles your way.”

“That's wonderful news. Twiki is going to be coming up with the two children. No one is to separate them.”

“Children?”

“I'll explain when I get up there. Right now, I need to make sure someone gets off this planet.”

“Understood. Huer out.”

Wilma sat on the bed next to the kids. “Do you two trust me?” They both nodded. “I want you two to go with Twiki. Goffrey, I want you to get into my starfighter, Lisa, you will be with Twiki in his.

Twiki will take you to things and other kids to play with.” She paused and then looked at Twiki. “Do not let anyone separate you from them. Take them to the play room and stay there until I get there.”

“Understood.”

“Goffrey, Lisa, I will see you up there. Okay?” Goffrey nodded as Lisa gave her a tight hug. After hugging her back for a moment, she had them head out. Wilma stepped out into the street. She couldn't think of a time when there was so much panic in her life. She did remember reading in the journal that was passed down in her family that when the disasters hit Earth, the same thing was described in it. Wilma made her way to the Law enforcement building. There was no one there among the mess except for Odin. Walking up to her as she looked around at the mess, she asked, “Detective Odin, are you alright?”

Odin stared blankly out the window next to her desk. “You know Colonel Deering, it took me twenty of your years to make Detective. I was the first female on this planet to do so. It took me another fifteen of your years to become head of this department.”

“That is an amazing achievement.”

“And look at everything now. Wasted.”

“It's not wasted. In situations like this, you take that knowledge, you take that leadership that you earned and help those citizens out there who are scared and panicking. You attempt to bring calm to all of this chaos. They still need you.” It was then that another quake hit and as Twiki had forewarned, the volcano erupted, ash spread through the sky, causing it to go dark. “Come on Detective, we have to go.” Odin just sat there. “ODIN!! Come to reality. You're people still need you!”

Odin stood and looked at Wilma. “You are right, Colonel.” They ran outside and instantly felt the heat from the volcano. Off in the distance they could hear a few people yelling for help. They both ran towards the voices. Two adult Edenites were trapped under a couple of beams that fell as they were trying to run to the hotel. Wilma and Odin worked together to remove the beams off of their citizens.

“Thank-you so much.” They said to both of them and ran towards the hotel.

Wilma looked back noticing the lava creeping towards them. There was one citizen who was a ways behind that the lava caught up to, engulfing them. “Come on.” Wilma said, “We need to get to the hotel.” The two officers ran toward the hotel, rushing inside and headed up the stairs. Though the lifts were working, Wilma didn't want to be caught in one as the lava hit, having the lift come to a halt halfway up.

Once in the stairwell Wilma looked up. Taking a deep breath she came to the conclusion that she can climb the twenty-one flights to the roof. “Are you sure the shuttle will be there?”

“They know I'm still down here and that I'd be trying to get to the roof of this building. They won't leave without me.”

“Okay. We need to hurry, before the lava gets here.” They continued up the stares, Wilma trying to keep up with Odin. In may ways, Wilma wished she was as fit as she was when she went through the academy. Stopping to catch her breath, Wilma asked, “Odin, how old are you?”

“In human years, 75 years old. In Edenite years, 316.”

“You're 316 years old and you're not even breaking a sweat. It must be nice.”

“It has it's moments. I am, however almost to retirement age.”

“What age is that? 350?”

“450. It's just around the corner.”

The building began shifting which caused the two officers to grab hold of the railing. They both looked down only to see the lava flow under them. Wilma began to run up the stairs. “Let's go so we can get you to that retirement.” As they reached the roof, the building had already begun melting into the lava. Little by little, the building collapsed leaving the two to wonder where the shuttle was.

“Wilma,” Odin began. “That shuttle needs to get here before this ash suffocates us.”

As she said that, a shuttle slowly came into view. “Colonel, Detective!” The officer shouted waving his hands for them to come. As the building sank into the lava, the shuttle kept with them.

Odin ran to the shuttle on all four, jumping off of pieces of the building as she ran. She jumped into the shuttle, ash falling off of her. “Colonel, run faster.” Wilma ran as fast as she could and just as she jumped for the shuttle, the rest of the building fell into the lava. As Wilma flew to the shuttle, she realized that she was just short of it and as her fingers barely touched the shuttle, Odin grabbed hold of her hands, leaving Wilma to dangle over the lava. “Hold on Colonel.” Odin said as she pulled Wilma up. As Wilma crawled in, with Odin pulling her up and once in, they fell to the ground, breathing hard. Ash fluttered to the ground around them and as they attempted to catch their breath, Odin remarked. “You know Colonel. ...... For a lowlife, …... you sure do weigh a lot.” Wilma looked at Odin and began laughing uncontrollably. It wasn't long before Odin joined her in the laughter, leaving the other officers in confusion.

Odin wanted to go check on her people rather than freshen up. There were many who were terrified about what just happen and what's to come for them. She wanted to make sure that her people were okay and help them understand what will happen. Wilma went with her, at least to the first hall that her people were gathered in. When there, she spotted a Major and asked her to escort Odin to her people when she's ready to do so. Wilma introduced the two and turned to leave, however, before she could do so, Odin stopped her. “Colonel Deering.” Wilma turned around. In a loud voice Odin continued. The group of Edenites became calm and listened. “Colonel Deering. You and your people came to our rescue, even when we had not asked you to. For that, we are in your debt. In our culture I give you the highest honor one can receive.” With that, Odin gave the humans a deep bow. With in seconds, those who were sitting stood up and one by one, they each bowed deeply. In return, Wilma bowed almost as deep. As they stood strait up, Wilma could hear Odin purring. Letting it be, she gave Odin a smile, nodded her head and left to freshen up and check on her own people.

Wilma walked up to the playroom and was stopped by Doctor Huer at the window. “Twiki brought me up to date. Those poor kids.”

“Doctor Huer, with your permission, when Buck and Sarah get back from their honeymoon, I'd like to ask them to watch the kids while I investigate to find their family.”

“I think that's a splendid idea.”

“Let me go in to say hi to the kids and then we should talk with the Edenite government.” Doctor Huer nodded. With a scanning device in her right hand, Wilma walked into the playroom to see the kids. When they saw her walk in, their faces lit up and they ran to her to give her a hug. Wilma sat down on the ground to hug them. “I'm so glad to see you.” Wilma said to them as she hugged them. “Are you enjoying it here?” They only nodded. “Good. We're going to play a game. I'm going to tell you about me. Okay? Let's see, I love to go for walks. I LOVE birds. Oh,” As she said this next thing, she made a scrunchy face, sticking her tongue out. “I absolutely hate peas. Yuk!” The kids laughed at what she said, giving her a smile. “It's your turn. I need both of you to put your hand up, so I can scan them. Just your right hand.” Goffrey went first and Wilma scanned it. Then Lisa put up her hand to be scanned. After scanning, Wilma spoke again. “There we are. This will tell me a lot about you.” She smiled at them. “I have to go talk to some people for a little bit. Twiki will stay here with you until I come back. Okay?” They nodded their heads and gave her another hug.

Standing up and turning around, Wilma noticed a huge smile on Doctor Huer's face. “What?” She said as she walked out the door.

“You're so adorable with them.”

“They have been through a lot in the last six months.”

“Still.” They left the area to where the Edenite leadership stayed. As they walked in, they noticed the group of Edenites here were calm. Three male Edenites in robes walked over to them. “Doctor Huer, Colonel Deering,” The middle one started, “we appreciate your help in our desperate situation. Without your help we surely would have been dead.”

Doctor Huer spoke, “You're very welcomed. Chancellor, I think we should discuss where you wish for us to take your people. Now Earth's Counsel has offered your people to settle on Earth. They...”

The Chancellor held up a paw, “Doctor Huer, we appreciate the offer, however, there is an uninhabited planet in our system that would be perfect for settling. It's the fourth planet.”

“Alright. I'll let Command know. Chancellor, Have a good day.”

Doctor Huer and Wilma left the room and just outside the door, Wilma asked. “Is there anything you need from me, Doctor Huer?”

“No, no. Those kids need you more right now. I'll let you know when we've reached Earth.”

“Yes Doctor Huer.” Wilma walked into the playroom and noticed Goffrey playing with some toys. Lisa, however, was sound asleep. Wilma put up a finger, saying shhhh. Whispering to Twiki, “Thank-you Twiki for watching them. Why don't you go charge up.” Twiki only nodded. Wilma picked up Lisa, laying her against her own chest and resting Lisa's head on her shoulder. Wilma reached her hand out to Goffrey and as he grabbed it, they left to one of the crew quarters. Inside the quarters, Wilma placed Lisa on the bed and covered her. Leaning in to Goffrey, she whispered, “It's time to sleep sweetheart.” With a yawn, he crawled in next to his sister and closed his eyes.

Wilma watched them for a moment, realizing that this is probably the best sleep they've gotten in quite a while. The quarters only had one bed, so Wilma grabbed a blanket from the closet and snuggled up on the couch. It had been a long day for all of them and tomorrow will most likely be just as long. Although Wilma knew she needed to find their family, she wasn't looking forward to leaving them and possibly never seeing them again. She had to admit that she had grown attached to them, but they needed to be with family, if they had any.

Chapter Three: A New Home

Wilma was happy to be back on Earth and as for the kids, well, this was the first time they had been to Earth. Wilma left Doctor Huer and brought the kids to the playroom. They both ran to play with the other kids expecting to have fun. Wilma then called Buck and Sarah to there. As they arrived, she gave them a big hug. “How was your …... honeymoon?” She asked, not sure if she said the correct term. Married couples going on a honeymoon was one of the things that Earth lost in the disasters.

“Yes.” Buck said, with a smile on her face, looking at her new bride. “It was amazing, thank you. But I'm sure you didn't call us here to get the dirty details.”

Wilma had no idea what she meant, but went on to explain the situation. “I need you two to do me a huge favor.”

“Okay.” Buck said.

“While you were away, I had to go to Eden and ended up picking these two children up.” She pointed to them through the window. “They were caught steeling food from a hotel. Their parents left them on the planet to fend for themselves six months ago”

Sarah looked at them through the window, “The poor things, that's awful. They can't be more than what, six and eight?”

“Nine. She's six and he's nine. They are the sweetest things. I was wondering if you two would watch them today while I search for their parents and family.”

“Of coarse we will.” Buck replied.

“If I find their parents, I'm sending them to prison. All we know of them are their names and the names of their parents. He is Goffrey Stevens and she is Lisa Stevens. Oh, also. I promised them ice cream when we got here and we haven't been able to go get it.”

Buck looked at them and smiled. “Don't worry. We'll take care of that.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Believe me,” Buck said, “It is our pleasure.”

They walked in to the room and sat at some chairs. “Goffrey, Lisa.” Wilma said. “Come here please.” They both stood and stopped what they were doing. “I want you to meet some very good friends of mine. This is Buck and Sarah Rogers.” They both waved.

“Are you two sisters?” Goffrey asked. “This is my sister.”

Buck spoke up with a smile on her face. “No sweetheart.” She said very sweetly. “Sarah is my wife.”

“Okay.”

Wilma continued, “I have some things that I need to get done. Very important things. Buck and Sarah has said that they wanted to be with you two today. Is that okay?”

Lisa looked at Sarah for a moment and gave her a huge hug. “Your pretty.”

“Awww, thank you. I think you are very pretty too.”

“Alright then.” Wilma stood. “After I find the information, I will find you and let you know.”

“Thank you Wilma.” Buck said. As Wilma left, she could hear Buck say. “We heard that you two were wanting some ice cream.” Wilma stopped and watched as their faces lit up. “I say we go get some.”

Wilma walked into doctor Huer's office to use his system. Doctor Huer had connections that she otherwise wouldn't have. “ How did the kids take to Buck and Sarah?” He asked her.

“Like honey to a slice of bread.” She still had a smile on her face.

“Good. Shall we see if we can figure this all out?” Doctor Huer suggested.

“Definitely. Thank you for letting me use your system, Doctor Huer.” Wilma searched for hours for any relatives that they could go to. The search was getting tiresome. Wilma stood for a moment to stretch. She paced back and forth trying think of anything and all things to find any kind of relative. Sitting back down, she continued her search. “There's nothing. I can't find a single bit of information on any relatives.” She said.

“What about their parents?” Doctor Huer passed Wilma a sandwich.

“Well,” She said taking a bite of her lunch. “The only thing I can find on them is a ticket for the Trans-Universal Shuttle Company. A Jack and Mary Stevens boarded a shuttle about six months ago. The shuttle was headed for Gallus Prime but never made it.” Wilma kept chewing her sandwich and swallowed.

“What happened?”

“It was attacked by Draconians and destroyed. They have no living family. What do we do now?”

“Well, now they unfortunately become custody of New Chicago. They will be put in an orphanage until they are adopted. It's out of our hands.”

“There's nothing we can do?” Wilma asked emotionally.

“I'm afraid not.”

“That's a shame. I suppose I better let Buck and Sarah know.”

“Not yet. Let those kids have at least one amazing day.” Doctor Huer said as he put his hands behind his back.

Wilma waited until the end of her shift before going to talk to Buck and Sarah. After ringing their chime, she was let in and noticed a bunch of toys on the floor. The children had smiles on their faces and as Wilma walked in, she saw Sarah tickle Lisa, laughing and then let her go. Both Buck and Sarah walked up to her. “What did you find?” Buck asked.

“It's not good. We found no trace of any relatives and we discovered that their parents were killed by Draconians.”

As they spoke, Sarah turned to look at the kids. Bucked asked. “So what happens now?”

“We have to turn them over to the city of New Chicago.”

“We'll take them.” Sarah abruptly said.

“I'm sorry?” Wilma asked.

Looking back at Wilma, Sarah repeated what she said. “We'll take them. We'll adopt them.”

“Are you sure?” Wilma asked.

“Yes. Buck, I can quit my job. We can live off of what you make. We'll need to move into a bigger place, but that wouldn't matter. Buck, with what they have been through, they need a loving home. We can provide that. I don't want to leave them.”

“What would we need to do?” Buck asked.

“Well, you'd need to talk to a judge first. Only a judge can grant you permission to foster them without them going into an orphanage first.”

“I know just the judge.” Buck and Sarah walked back to the kids with smiles on their faces. They didn't want them knowing what was going on yet. They did inform them that Buck was going to be going to do something important. As Buck stood the kids gave her a hug. “We'll be back.”

It didn't take them long to get to the court house. Wilma had called ahead to make the appointment with Judge Johnson and though he was busy, he made time for them. As they entered his office, he stood to greet them. “Thank you for seeing us on such a short notice, Your Honor.”

“Captain Rogers, or I should say Mrs Rogers. Congratulations on your wedding.” he said as he offered them a seat.

“Thank you Your Honor.” Buck said as they sat.

“So tell me Captain Rogers, What brings you to my office today?”

“Your Honor,” Wilma spoke up. “I'm Colonel Wilma Deering of the Defense Directorate,.....” Wilma explained to him about the kids and what happened with them. She explained that they had no relatives alive and that Buck and Sarah wish to adopt the kids.”

“Where are the children now?” He asked.

Wilma allowed Buck to answer this one. “They are at Sarah's and my place with Sarah.

“How much time have you spent with the kids?”

“Just today, Your Honor.”

“So, you've only been with these children for, oh, …. eight hours and you want to adopt them already?”

“Yes Your Honor. We all felt an immediate connection with one another.”

“I have to admit, Captain Rogers, I do have some concerns. You're a fighter pilot for the Directorate, are you not?”

“Yes Your Honor.”

“And didn't you just have a situation where one of your missions nearly caused your death? Being a fighter pilot is a dangerous occupation.”

“Yes Your Honor, I did and yes it is a dangerous occupation, however, I don't believe you'll find a better setting for them.”

“How so?”

“Sarah will be quitting her job. What I make is more than sufficient to support us, so they will always have a parent with them.”

“That doesn't change the fact that your occupation is dangerous.”

“Your Honor, your occupation is dangerous. Someone could bust in here right now and attempt to kill you. Ground Control is a dangerous occupation. In both of these occupations, they are allowed to adopt. If a child is born to someone of one of these occupations, they would be permitted to have and love these children. Goffrey and Lisa already know us and honestly, Your Honor, Sarah and I have fallen in love with them. We want them to have a loving home and that is something we can provide for them.”

“You bring up some very valid points, Captain Rogers. This is what I am going to do. I will approve you and Sarah to foster, .. Goffrey and Lisa.”

With a smile, Buck said, “Thank you Your Honor.”

“Hold on, there will be stipulations. I will approve fostering for the next six months. However, you must move into a suitable place for a family of four. You will get random visits from one of my court appointees without warning. This appointee will observe you with or without your knowledge twice a month. Once during this six month period, this appointee will accompany you on one of your less dangerous and local missions and if you choose to vacation anywhere with in the next six months, you will inform the court where you are going and how long you will be gone. At the end of the six months, you, Sarah and the children with come to my court where I will give you my decision. Is all of this understood?”

“Yes Your Honor.”

“I have no doubt, Captain Rogers, that you and Sarah will be perfect parents for these children.”

“Thank you Your Honor.” Buck said with a smile.

As Buck and Wilma stood, the Judge added, “One more thing. How is Miss Tara doing?”

“She's doing amazing. She's top of her class and even taking classes outside the Academy to improve her life.”

“Thank you. Captain Rogers. Unless something else brings you my way, I'll see you in six months.”

“Yes, Your Honor”

As Buck and Wilma left the room, Buck could hear Judge Johnson say in a quiet voice. “Way to go, Tara.”

Buck smiled and said aloud, “I'll tell her you said that.” And shut the door.

As Buck and Wilma entered Bucks place, they noticed Sarah and the kids eating diner. Sarah looked at Buck with a “well” look. Buck sat down across from the children while Wilma sat next to Sarah. “I want to talk with you all.” Buck began. “Where I went was to talk to a judge about the two of you living with Sarah and I. Sarah and I want you to be our children. What do you think about that?”

“Does that mean that you and Sarah will become our mommies?” Goffrey asked.

Buck nodded. “Yes it does.”

Lisa perked up a little. “You mean we will get stay here with you? Yaaaaaaaay!”

Buck, Sarah and Wilma laughed a little. Lisa went to crawl in Sarah's lap while Goffrey sat on Bucks lap. Buck put her arms around Goffrey and continued. “Now there are some things that we will have to do. This week, we will be moving into a bigger home where you will each get your own bedroom.” Goffrey liked the sound of that. “And once and a while a person will be coming here to visit with us.”

“What does one and a while mean?” Lisa asked.

Sarah took that one. “It means that sometimes we will see them.”

“Yes, and when that person is here, we are to be normal. Like they aren't even here.”

“Otay.” Lisa said.

“Now,” Buck started. “It's been a log day, so it's time for you two to go to sleep. Go get into the bed.” After Goffrey and Lisa gave all three of them a hug, the three ladies watched as the kids ran into the bedroom and climbed into bed. After a moment, Buck and Sarah saw Wilma to the door. “Wilma, thank you for everything.”

“I'm excited for you all. Tomorrow we will get everything arranged. We'll also get some clothes for the kids.”

“Thank you.”Sarah replied.” They gave each other hugs and shut the door after Wilma left. Buck and Sarah looked at each other with excitement. Their lives have changed a lot in the last two weeks and they were both excited for the changes to come.