It was about 4:15 AM. Holden was only half asleep, staring at the fluttering curtains on the window in their bedroom. He was dozing off to the sound of Diana's steady breathing. However, another sound disrupted his half sleep daze.

It was Joy. He slowly sat up as to not wake Diana and got out of bed. He slipped on some cotton pajama pants and walked out of the room. He went into another bedroom that was just down the hall. Inside was a crying baby. The entire room was pink and lined with little toys.

Holden went over to the crib and softly shushed the baby, speaking softly to her and reaching in to pick her up. He caressed her in his arms and continued to coo her softly. Gradually, the little girl's cries began to die down and she snuggled into her father's arms, feeling safe and secure again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Diana in the doorway. He turned to the blonde haired woman. She was smiling warmly at them as she walked over in her night gown. "Did she wake you?" Holden murmured after his wife gave him a peck on the lips.

"I got enough sleep." She responded with a voice that could calm anyone down no matter how angry or anxious they were. Diana ran her hand over her baby's head and she immediately reached up, feeling the touch of her mother.

Little hands wrapped around Diana's finger as Joy tried to bring the appendage down to her mouth so she could suck on it. Holden reached for her pacifier and offered her that instead.

Diana rested her head against his shoulder and stroked Joy's forehead. She glanced up at Holden and saw his heavy eyelids. "Babe, I can stay up with Joy until she falls asleep." She offered, but also telling him he should go to bed. In response, he shook his head. "I couldn't."

"Holden, it's okay. I'll be right back." Diana whispered, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion when he shook his head again, this time more firmly. "I don't want to miss a moment I can be here for." He sighed. Diana let her expression soften. "The Director knows about our marriage and our child and has agreed to send us on less missions. You don't need to hold on so tightly. You need rest." She told him, her voice like thyme, relaxing him almost immediately.

Holden reluctantly gave in, giving her one last kiss before passing the child into Diana's arms. Joy shifted a bit, but she was immediately still again in her mother's arms. Holden walked out of the room and to their bedroom, leaving just as the mother started to hum a soothing song to her child.

He went into their room and sat on the bed. It had been about two or three years since they'd been married. They met through Project Freelancer, but they grew closer as they began to share more of a personal life together. They butted heads with the Director and Counselor several times before they agreed to let them be married and still be agents.

Even so, Holden was now a father, and wished more than anything that he didn't have to leave little Joy for long periods of time. Thankfully Jessica, a family friend, was gracious enough to keep their secret and be with Joy whenever they needed her to. Still, he didn't want to miss a moment of his little girl's life.

He found himself laying down and he quit fighting the sleepiness that dragged his eyelids down. Now that his thoughts weren't clouding his mind, he was able to hear Diana singing in the other room. He guessed it didn't just work on babies as he was lolled off to sleep.

~~~

Joy woke up around 7:30 AM, immediately wanting to get out of her crib and play with her toys. Diana agreed to go make coffee while Holden went to get her. He ran his hand through his tossled hair as he approached the door of her room. She was squealing impatiently for one of her parents to come get her.

Holden poked his head out from the doorway, smiling widely at her. "Jo Jo!" He whispered and the little girl instantly gave a huge grin and tried to bounce up and down, but ended up falling over. Chuckling, he went over to her crib and reached in. Joy held on to his arms as he lifted her to sit on his hip. He bounced a little bit as she laughed. "Mornin, sunshine!" He cooed.

When Joy finished giggling, her wide eyes met her father's and she reached up to feel his cheek. Even just the feeling of his skin completely occupied her attention. Holden reached down and kissed her forehead, making an exaggerated smooching sound that made her laugh again.

He heard the coffee machine go off and he carried Joy out. When he got to the kitchen, he set her down in her high chair and went to get his cup of coffee. Diana took a sip of hers before going over to Joy and started feeding her. Joy would take a bite then amuse herself by slapping the tray with her hands, seeming to enjoy the sound. But once the spoon had more food on it, she'd freeze until she took another bite, then continued playing the drums on her tray.

Holden glanced at the clock. 7:39. He then saw the numbers change to 7:40 and almost that instant, his phone went off. He picked it up and frowned when it was a message from the Director. "Diana, call Jessica." He sighed before reading the message. They were needed asap for an extraction mission.

Diana also looked a little disappointed, but she contacted Jessica who responded she'd be there in about fifteen minutes. In that time, Diana dressed Joy and prepared with Holden for their mission. Jessica arrived promptly and wished them luck and they were off.

~~~

"Hello Agent Nevada and Agent Louisiana." FILSS greeted cheerfully. "Welcome back! The Director will see you in the briefing room now." She reported. "Thanks, FILSS." Louis said as they walked down the hallway to the briefing room.

The security system recognized them as they got to the door and it opened. "Agent Nevada, Agent Louisiana. Good morning." The Counselor greeted them while the Director nodded curtly. "Good morning." They both said.

"Sorry for such late notice, we were going to execute this mission later in the day, but conditions have... changed." The Counselor explained vaguely. The agents nodded dubiously.

"As you know, this is a standard infiltration and extraction mission. In the last mission, other agents were able to successfully complete their objectives, but gave away more information that we would've liked. So we would like to return the favor and prepare for any scenarios where we'll need to know how to fight them." The Counselor continued to explain. The Director seemed awfully quiet.

"So are we getting information out if a computer or out of people?" Louis asked. "A computer... but you might want to see if you can get anything out of some soldiers there if you can afford it." The Counselor responded. "479er will drop you off about a mile or two away from the base in order to avoid showing up on any radars. You can ride motorcycles as close as you can get but don't get too close on those. We would've liked to spend more time telling you about guard rounds and information on their security system, but time is running short."

"What do you mean?" Nev frowned. "I mean that they know that we know where they are, so they're planning to move to a different location. We had hoped they wouldn't be so prepared so soon, but that is the reality." The Counselor pulled up a holographic picture of the base.

Louis looked at the two men with concern. "So... they know we know where they are... and they're preparing to leave. Don't you thing they'll be expecting an attack?" She asked. "Probably a full scale attack with several agents is what they're expecting." He nodded.

"Probably?" Nev didn't sound convinced. "All you need to know, Agent Nevada, is that we've thought this through enough to be confident enough to send you out on his mission. Is that clear?" The Director finally spoke up. "Yes, sir."

"You'll enter the building through the South side. They'll probably expect us to go through the back door, but it's the quickest way to their computer room." The Counselor zoomed in on the South side door. "Agent Nevada will be responsible for making sure that nobody gets in their way or trips an alarm, and we want Agent Louisiana to focus on stealth and getting the information. Even if Agent Nevada gets caught, under no circumstances do you reveal yourself. If such a scenario like that happens, extraction has been ordered to fly in as soon as distress is broadcasted."

Nev and Louis exchanged quick glances. She didn't like that particular part of the plan, so Nev secretly promised himself he wouldn't get caught so she could focus on her objective. "Get into the computer room and put in the hard drive. It has been programmed to do all the work for you. We would like to get 100% of the data it was programmed to receive, but if situations call for immediate extraction, we would at least like over 50%, that would be the bare minimum." The Counselor finished. "Afterwards, our soldiers will go undercover and plant bombs around the perimeter to give you enough time to get to the jet and make it out. we'll pick you up and make sure you and the data get back promptly. Understood?" The Director eyed them carefully.

Nev and Louis straightened as chanted in unison. "Yes, sir!" The Counselor and Director look at each over before nodding slowly. "Very good, 479er is waiting for you in the jet bays. Dismissed." the two nodded and walked out. When the door closed behind them, the Director sighed. "What's on your mind, Director?" The Counselor asked.

The Director turned from the holographic image to the leader board. Virginia in first, Louisiana in second, and Nevada in third. His expression was emotionless, looking very deep in his thoughts and was silent for a while, but the Counselor waited patiently for an answer.

"Joy." "Pardon me?"

The Director turned to him. "Joy. Their child." He clarified. "What about her, Director?" He frowned in confusion. The Director looked down. "An agent... I wonder how well she'd do as an agent."

The Counselor looked concerned. "I don't understand, she's still an infant." He told him slowly. "I am aware of that, Counselor, what I mean is I'm wondering if Nevada and Louisiana would stay agents if their daughter was one."

"You're worried that they'll quit because of parenting?" The Counselor asked calmly. The Director continued to gaze at the leader board. "They would be critical losses." He murmured, to which the Counselor gravely nodded.

~~~

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"You ever wonder why we're here?"

"Seriously?"

"I was just asking."

"Yeah, well maybe you should keep your thoughts to yourself." The guards bickered as Nev and Louis snuck up behind them. When one of the guards turned his head, Nev made his move. "Besides, we're supposed to be focused." Nev wrapped his hand around the other guy's mouth and quickly stabbed him. "And chit chatting like this is just distracting." Nev set the dead guy down quietly and snuck up on the other one.

"What if somebody comes to attack? Like those annoying agents-" he turned to his right, expecting to see his companion, but instead was face to face with Nevada. "Oh.." Nev swiftly snapped his neck and caught him as he fell limp and carefully set him down as to not make too much noise.

Louis came up behind him in her grey armor. It had the power to has short bursts of speed, making it look like she was teleporting. She appeared next to him. "Level up." She joked as she zapped up to the next level. Nevada followed her more slowly as he went up the stairs.

"Get the door, I'll prepare for any company." Louis whispered. "Copy." Nevada pryed off the hinges and pulled the door away from the frame. He set it down carefully as Louis shot the stunned soldiers. They all collapsed and everything was silent again. "Easy enough." She muttered, zapping inside.

Louis went to the computer and immediately inserted the hard drive. While it was doing its thing, she worked on over riding the systems that locked down the information they were after. Nev peeked in and strolled through the bare entrance. However, as soon as he about about a yard from the doorway, another stone door slid down, covering trapping them in.

Nev quickly dashed over to try and hold it up, but he was too late. "The other door. It was a fake. This was the real door all along." He growled angrily. "Status, Louis." "Only 15%!" Nev cursed as the alarm went off.

"Command! Come in command!" Nev started but Louis shook her head vigorously. "It has to be at least 50%! They won't send extraction yet!"

Nev grabbed his guns and awaited any company. "20%!" Suddenly a tile from the ceiling collapsed on the floor and from it came a wave of soldiers, shooting at the two freelancers.  Nev stood in front of Louisiana and fired, hitting a good hand full of them.

They just kept coming and coming, but the worst they did was hit his suit with a few bullets. He winced, but kept firing. "30%!" Louis shouted.

Most of the soldiers were dead, lying in the ground, but all of a sudden, a grenade was dropped. Acting quickly, Nev grabbed it and threw it up to the hole in the ceiling, but it didn't make it completely out of the room before it exploded, sending him flying. He hit the wall and his head spun.

Black dots clouded his vision and he couldn't see what was going on. His ears rang and he shook his head to clear his mind. He then heard Louis scream. He snapped out of his daze to see a buff looking soldier fist fighting with her.

He stood up with a rush of adrenaline and threw himself at his wife's assailant. They both landed on the ground, trying to get some punches in. Louis stumbled over to the computer. "F-forty percent." She gasped.

Nevada finally managed to get the guy off of him and he stumbled to his feet, getting into a fighting position again. The man did the same, but also pulled out a dagger. Nev cursed again as the attacker lunged at him.

He caught the man's hand mid-strike and bent it back painfully. The man twisted his hip to kick Nev in the hip several times, but r he armor was too tough. Nev flung him across the room and advanced in him threateningly. The man took one of the deceased soldier's guns and started firing. Nev dived for cover and tried to shoot back at him.

"Louis! Status!"

"Not right now!"

"Is it 50%?!"

"Hold him off for a little longer!"

Nevada turned to look but suddenly the guy was standing over him. He quickly rolled out of the way of his bullets and stood up, knocking the gun out of his hands. Once again they were fist fighting, but Nev obviously had the upper hand.

He was finally able to get him tired enough to deal a fatal blow to the head. Whether he knocked him out or killed him, he didn't know, and didn't have time to stop and check.

He glanced at the computer. 60%. "Louis! Come on!" Louis didn't move. "Wait! We still have time!" "We have over 50%!" Nev yelled. "Just wait!"

Nev ran over to her. "Louis, I get that this is your objective, but we've been made. They're probably sending reinforcements as we speak, we have to get to extraction before they set the bombs!" He told her urgently. Louis shook her head. "We still have time!" She replied stubbornly.

He gritted his teeth and stomped away, picking up a gun and preparing for another wave of soldiers. "65%." She announced. He heard footsteps approaching. "70%." Soldiers started filing in and Nevada held the trigger, shooting every soldier that came through. "80%." He ran out of ammo. He picked up another gun and continued to shoot. "90%!" He heard more footsteps. "95%!"

Nev expected more soldiers to jump down, but none came through. Her frowned. "99%!" Suddenly, a large steel plate was put over the hole. "NO!" He jumped up to punch the steel as they drilled it down onto the ceiling. He made a dent. He punched it again, another dent. "100%!" She yanked out the hard drive just as a vent opened. A gas came through.

They both took enormous breaths and Nev went over to the stone door. He punched it repeatedly, using every ounce of strength he had left. He finally managed to punch through. He reached through the hole to the panel and broke it. The door opened and the two stumbled out, gasping.

"Come on!" Nev helped her up and they made a run for it. Without anymore guns, they had to find cover and hope they got lucky. However, since they were expected, almost all the escape routes were closed or guarded by soldiers. It took them a while before they found glass. Nevada held on tightly to Louis and busted out the window. They landed painfully on the cement beneath them, their armor absorbing some of the impact, but it was sill incredibly painful.

They both groaned as they laid on the ground. Nev glanced up to see undercover soldiers planting bombs. "Louis! Louis we gotta go!" Nev yelled, pushing himself up and pulling her to her feet as well. They both ran for their lives down the many levels of the building.

"Come in! Agent Nevada! Agent Louisiana! Where are you?!" 479er yelled through comms. "479er we need extraction NOW! They're going to set off the bombs!" Louis cried. "I'll be there as soon as I can!" The engine starting up could be heard over comms as they ran away from people shooting at them.

They ran towards the bombs, hoping they would get past them well before they blew up. Not looking back, the two raced the timers of the bombs, running as fast as they could. 479er's jet came into view, but with so many soldiers shooting bullets and even rocket launchers and other weapons, she couldn't get real close. She opened the hatch where Virginia was and she lowered a rope for them.

Nev and Louis ran safely past the bombs and jumped for the rope. The soldiers were advancing on them. "COME ON!" Virginia yelled urgently, frantically waving them to grab the rope. Nev was able to grab on but Louis had a harder time. Nev eventually grabbed her hand and pulled her up so she could grab the rope. "Get us our of here!" Gin ordered 479er. Just as she finished her sentence, the bombs went off. Things get real hot real quick.

479er punched it. Nevada quickly attempted to climb the rope but for some reason he looked down. He did so just in time to hear several gunshots. Louis's eyes widened as she stared at Nev with fear and pain, but soon, her eyes became dull. "Louis?!" Her body relaxed as life left her and her grip on the rope loosened. "NO!" Nev lunged to grab her but he missed. "DIANA!" He screamed.

He watched as his wife plummeted towards the explosions, soon disappearing in the fire. "DIANA! NO!" He hollered as 479er took off, flying him away from Diana. From his wife.

"NEVADA! GET UP HERE!" Gin sounded shocked as well, but she urged him to climb up. Trembling, Nev pulled himself up the rope. As soon as he made it in, 479er closed the hatch and they left.

Nevada spent the entire trip sobbing. Virginia stayed with him for a little while before it became too hard for her and she went up to 479er.

"Diana..."

~~~

"Agent Nevada! Look at me!" The Director snapped. Nev slowly lifted his head. "That mission was a complete and utter failure! A disappointment! You're job was a simple extraction! Something you've done a thousand times! And on top of that you've done many more missions more difficult that this!" Nevada stayed silent while, off to the side, the Counselor and Gin swallowed hard, silently disagreeing with the Director's scolding.

"You knew they'd been alerted of you and Louisiana, yet you barely tried to stop her from waiting for too long! And because of that, you gave the enemy more than enough time to prepare for your escape!" More silence from Nevada.

"You didn't bother to call for extraction earlier, you didn't bother to contact us to let the soldiers know you weren't ready for the bombs, and you didn't think to get the intel to Agent Virginia on the ship immediately. I would've gone with 50% of their information rather than none of it!" The Director ranted. "What we're you thinking this was?! A drill?! Going to a red and blue base with untrained rookies?!"

Nevada slowly reached up and pulled off his helmet. He let it drop and it clattered on the floor. His eyes were puffy and red and even though his hair was soaked from sweat, his face was drenched from tears.

"I want her back." He choked out. The Director shook his head. "Agent Nevada we don't have time for your-" Nev cut him off. "No I mean I want her back. As an A.I." He growled. "Excuse me? You are not authorized to have such a request!" The Director scoffed. "But you can do it! I know you can!" Nevada yelled. "You have her DNA and personal information somewhere." He paused to stifle another sob. "Just... get her back!"

"Agent Nevada, what the Director is trying to say is-" the Counselor stepped forward, but again Nev didn't let him finish. "SHUT UP! JUST GET HER BACK!" He shouted, slamming his hand on the table.

"Agent Nevada, calm down." Virginia told him warily. "I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT DIRECTOR!" He faced the stone cold man again. "Make her from scratch if you have to!" The two men stared at each other angrily. "No." The Director said firmly. Nevada fumed, spinning around and punching the wall enough to put a huge dent in it. "I WANT HER BACK!"

"Counselor"

Nev turned to face him again.

"Yes, Director?" "Take Agent Nevada to the medical wing and take care of his memories of Agent Louisiana." He ordered. Nevada froze. "No!" "Pardon me, Director?" The Counselor asked in surprise. "Now!"

"NO!" Nevada took a threatening step towards the Counselor who glared at him. "Security report to the briefing room right away. Bring sedatives." The Counselor contacted the soldiers.

Nevada panicked and threw a punch at the Counselor, but Virginia was on him immediately. "Nev, stop, you're not thinking straight!" Nev cursed her repeatedly, struggling to get the upper hand as he fought her, but she was more skilled and calm than he was.

Soldiers filed into the room and aimed guns at Nev. Gin forced Nev on his knees as a soldier brought a sedative needle towards him. "Sorry Nev, this is for your own good." Gin told him sincerely. Nev began to relax as the sedatives were injected into him.

"No! Diana..."

~~~

"Director..." the Counselor addressed him cautiously. He got no response. The Director was staring at the updated leaderboard. Virginia in first, Agent North Dakota in second, Agent New York in third, then Agent Wyoming, Agent South Dakota, and then Agent Nevada. The Director shook his head. "How's Nevada?" He asked.

"He's still under and doesn't seem to be having any abnormal responses to being wiped." He reported. There was more silence for a while. The two knew the seriousness of the situation. There was unrest amongst the other agents, but Virginia told them only what the Director let her. Which was not much.

"Sir... what about Joy?" "Excuse me?" "Joy. Their child, sir."

The Director closed his eyes in thought then opened them again. "FILSS." "Hello, Director! How may I be of assistance?" "Contact Agent Maryland." "Affirmative."

There was a pause. "Director?" "Agent Maryland, I need you to report here immediately, bring Joy if you need to." He ordered. "Bring Joy? But, sir, Nevada and Louisiana haven't-"

"Louisiana is dead. Nevada doesn't look good. Report here, now." There was silence. "O-okay. I'm on my way." The Director nodded. "Very good. See you when you arrive, Jessica." He murmured then told FILSS to end the call.

"Director, I still don't understand was is to become of Joy." The Counselor frowned. The Director turned to him. "Nevada must not know. Ever. Agents Maryland and Minnesota will train under strict and secret supervision until further notice."

"Agent... Minnesota, sir?" The Counselor asked in confusion. "We have a new agent?"

"We will." He glanced at a picture of Holden, Diana, Jessica, and little Joy. "FILSS. Pull up information about Joy Marie Fynn Kelly." "Affirmative."

"Give her the title 'Agent Minnesota'."

"Affirmative."

Written by Annie-ArtKitty

Agent Nevada/Holden, Agent Louisiana/Diana, Agent Minnesota/Joy belongs to me

The Director, The Counselor, 479er, Agent Wyoming, Agent North Dakota, Agent South Dakota, Agent New York, Reds and Blues, Project Freelancer belongs to Rooster Teeth

Agent Virginia belongs to Minor_Nerd_24601

As ocs, North Dakota and South Dakota belong to ThatHawaiianPerson
Agent New York belongs to LullabySongs

Hope you enjoyed!

I haven't checked for spelling mistakes or stuff like that so I apologize XD