Title: Alex's First Social

Summary: Alex's first party with his parents, and it's a long one. Find out what happens when a four-year-old becomes preoccupied.

Rating: G

Author: Jean

E-mail: [email protected]

Disclaimer: They're not mine!

 

 

"Please Alex, hold still!" Evie begged her son as she tried to straighten the boy's tie.

"No mum! Don't wanna go!" he pushed her away as Rick walked into the room.

"Evie, I'm telling you. I just can't do it right!" he growled and threw his tie onto the table. Alex saw this and did the same, giggling up at is father.

"Oooh Rick, I almost had that thing on him!"

"Well...like father like son. We just won't wear our ties."

"More like monkey see monkey do." She grumbled and stood up, her dress making a whooshing sound around her.

"You look beautiful." He commented, and his hand stole out to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. It popped out again and she sighed.

"no matter what I do, my hair refuses to go up anymore." She grabbed their jackets, and looked at the dainty watch on her wrist.

"We're going to be late." She handed him his jacket and lifted Alex up into her arms.

The ride to the large, ornate house was a long one, and Alex dosed on the way.

Evie looked into the back seat and saw him slumped over. She smiled and brushed a piece of hair out of his forehead, and looked up at Rick.

"You don't know how much it means to me to have you and Alex along. The Bembridge Scholars are going to be there tonight as well as several others from the museum." She explained and he smiled, taking her small hand in his.

"Don't worry love, I'm sure that any day now they're to accept you into their tight-necked group."

"Well when you put it like that," she laughed and they pulled up. "I hate waking him up, he always sleeps so sound in the car." Evie said as she lifted Alex into her arms. The sudden movement made him wake, and he instinctively called for her. "Mum's got you baby, don't worry." She smiled and kissed his cheek as he laid his head on her shoulder.

The social went along at a snails pace for Alex, and by the time dinner was served, he was ready to go home.

"Mum, when can we leave?" he asked lightly, not wanting to appear impolite.

"Soon love, we have to stay until the end." She smiled lightly and rubbed her hand softly through his hair. He smiled and lightly, and looked up at his father who sighed and peered down at him. We winked and ruffled his hair as well as he finished his conversation with a young man next to him.

It was social time for the next while, and Alex was bored to death. He sat in a chair away from everyone as his mum and dad talked to various people throughout the night. He pushed his hand into his pocket and encountered his army men he had stuffed in there before he left. He grinned widely and rushed over to Rick.

"Dad, may I have my army tank?" he asked, lightly tugging on Rick's pant leg.

"Sure son, it's in my coat pocket. You remember where I laid it?" at his sons shake he knelt down next to him. "In the large suite upstairs, first room on the right. Your planes are in mum's purse which is up there too." He smiled and Alex rushed off, leaving his parents to their conversations.

Running up the large spiral staircase, he came to the top.

"First room on the right..." he smiled and looked in, seeing the coats of all the guests laying neatly on the bed. The O'Connell's were the last ones to arrive to the party, so their jackets were on top. He grinned and rushed over, reaching inside his father's pocket and pulled out a large gray tank. He searched through Evie's purse and found four airplanes, and set out to playing on the floor with his five green army men.

Half an hour later he was still playing when he heard Evie calling him. Not wanting to have to go back to that dumb party, he shoved his toys under the bed and hid in the large walk in closet.

"Alex? Alex are you in here?" Evelyn opened the door and looked around as Rick walked up behind her.

"Evie, I'm sure he'll turn up. He wouldn't leave without us, and he wouldn't go with any one he doesn't know, so I'm sure he's just hiding from the party." Rick smiled and she agreed, following him back downstairs.

"Phew, that was close." He grinned and came back out of the closet. He decided to look around upstairs, and noticed a connecting door on the far wall. He opened it lightly, walking into the room as he turned on a light. He took his army men and jumped up onto the fluffy bed. The clock on the far wall read 10:54, what ever that meant, and Alex felt tired. He laid back on the bed and decided to take a nap. His parents would wake him up before they left, he was

sure of it, so he found no problem with it. Closing his eyes, he drifted off into a blissful slumber.

 

 

"Thank you for coming, you can pick up your jackets in the lobby." The social was adjourned, and Evie and Rick set to the task of finding Alex. It was way past his bedtime, and they were sure he was sleepy.

An hour later, the butler was waiting to lock up the mansion. No one lived there, it was used exclusively for socials and special events.

"We've checked everywhere, I don't have a clue to where he might be." Evie sighed and the elderly gentleman walked over to the upset couple.

"There is a playground out back. He might have gone there. I need to lock the mansion, so I must insist that you take your leave."

The O'Connell's nodded, grabbing their jackets as they watched the butler lock the huge house up, and get into his car, driving off. The playground was deserted, and they found a constable standing on a nearby street corner.

"Sir, have you seen a little boy about this high? Sandy blonde hair, and a small black suit on? He's missing from the party down the street."

Rick and Evie gave the description of everything they could remember about their son, and when they had last seen him. The officer took notes of it and promised they would search ever place around the mansion that they could think of. There had been an outbreak of missing children from this neighborhood, and they would do everything possible to find their son.

 

 

The drive home was silent, and that night O'Connell Manor seemed unusually quiet. Even Jonathan had refused to go out that night and used the excuse of not feeling well.

"Rick...are you awake?" Evie asked her husband as she lay restless in bed later that night.

"No. I can't sleep either." He grumbled and wrapped his arms tighter around her.

"Rick, what if something happened to him? What if he's injured and we're lying here in bed?" She sobbed, and buried her face into his shoulder.

"We just can't think like that Evie. We have to think that he wandered off and the constable found him. That's how we have to think." He ordered and felt her nod.

"I love him so much Rick, I can't lose him."

"I know. And he knows that. He'll be fine."

 

 

Alex awoke with a start, and found himself still in the mansion.

"I'd better go find mum and dad so they don't worry." He said out loud and walked out of the bedroom, into the dark hallway. He found a lit lantern, and carried it downstairs with him.

"Mum? Dad?" He called out, but the house was empty. "Mum, mum where are you? You have to be here, I want to go home!" He called out and turned the switch to the large ballroom where the social had taken place.

"Momma!" he called out and flopped down in a nearby chair. "I want to go home."

He sobbed, and his stomach growled. "I'm tired and I'm hungry, and I want my mum and dad!" he called out to anyone who would listen, which was the small soldier that was being imbedded into his fist as his hand tightened around it.

He made his way to the kitchen, and flipped on the lights. The room was spotless, and everything was white. He walked over to the large refridgerator and pulled as hard as he could, but the door wouldn't budge. He sighed and saw a loaf of dry bread sitting on the counter. Breaking off the two opened and crisp ends, he ate the middle of it as he walked back up stairs and into the bedroom.

He curled up onto the bed, pulling the covers up to his nose as he cried himself to sleep.

 

 

"Mr. O'Connell, there is no news. We know that your upset about Alex missing, but there is nothing more we can do." Captain Anderson announced as Rick and Evie sat in front of his desk the day after Alex's disappearance.

"We would like to search the house again. Maybe he fell asleep in one of the bedrooms and didn't hear us calling him."

"The house has been searched, and he wasn't in there. We're doing everything we can, and it's just not going to unfold like that. Please be patient." He growled, and escorted them out of the police office.

"I can't just sit here Rick. It's been two days, and I can't stand it." Evie grumbled, and Rick pulled up to the mansion's double doors.

"I'm going to take a look around." He announced, and Evie looked at him suspiciously.

"How?"

"Trust me." He winked and walked up to the doors, finding them locked. "Go figure." He grumbled and walked around the house.

Inside, Alex was looking out of the bedroom window. His stomach growled loudly, and he hadn't eaten in about twelve hours. He could see his home from there, and he sobbed. Movement caught his eye, and he looked down to the driveway. He saw his car, and his mum inside yelling at something.

"MUM!" he called, but with the window closed no sound went through. "DAD, I'm up here!" he screamed, but they didn't hear him. He watched his father walk back to the car and ran down the steps.

"DAD!" he cried as he banged his little fists on the door.

"Alex?" Rick questioned, as he was about to close the door to his car. He jumped out and walked over, hearing his sons crying.

"Alex, it's okay pal, we'll have you out in a second." He promised and walked back to the car.

"He's in the house Evie, he's been there the whole time." He grinned and grabbed his keys.

Evie scrambled out of the car, and up to the door. "Baby, I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm really hungry momma, the fridge was locked, so I couldn't eat anything."

"Watch out Evie..." Rick called, and had his pistol cocked. He yelled at Alex to step away from the door, and he fired one shot into the lock. The door swung open as Alex peered out.

"Hi." He smiled and ran into Evie's arms. "I wanna go home momma."

"Me too Alex. Me too."

 

 

The End

 

Authors note: I just love Alex stories! Feel free to criticize, but be gentle!