She sat on the floor in the corner of the crowded room, clutching her violin case loosely to her chest. People who were way beyond her age had already taken out their instruments and begun to warm up. The girl didn't bother; she knew the material.

"Oh, how adorable, you must be the little genius," a gray haired woman had wondered over and was kneeling next to her. The sixteen year old flushed and held her case tighter.

"I'm not a genius, ma'am," she mumbled politely. She wasn't usually shy around other musicians, but something was different tonight. She was nervous, for the first time in her life, she was nervous. But it wasn't just nerves. She was afraid. Fear radiated from her stomach and flowed through her veins, causing every part of her to tremble. Why did she feel like this? The old woman must have noticed her shaking, for her kind smile slipped into a worried frown.

"Oh my dear, calm down, you're going to be just fine. You've played to crowds way bigger than this, yes?" The girl nodded numbly. She wanted to tell the woman something was wrong, she wanted to tell everyone to forget about that night's performance. Something horrible was going to happen, but she didn't know what. Before she knew what was happening everyone was gathering up their things, preparing to go on stage.

The happy chattering of the musicians seemed to be miles away as the girl stood up with weak knees and followed every one out. The curtain was still closed when they reached the stage, six long rows of chairs curved from one end to the other. As everyone found their appropriate seats, the girl made her way to the front of the stage where there was a lone music stand in the center. She uncased her violin and stood silently, her heart pounding away in her chest. Soon everyone behind as well as outside the curtain quieted down as the heavy read material began to seperate.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice announced over the intercom as the girl raised her violin to her shoulder, "soloist Jane Overton and the New Harmony Orchestra."

Jane let the silence ring dramatically for a few seconds before finally pulling her bow across the strings of her instrument. As she heard the rest of the orchestra join in, the let the song wash her worries away. This is where she belonged; nothing could hurt her here.

As the music swelled, she felt the fear return, worse than before. She wanted to stop playing, to scream for everyone to stop, to get out of the building. But her body seemed to know that there was nothing she could do but play, so she did. She continued to play even as the ear piercing screams reached her ears, even as red and orange blasts flashed before her, as the heat reached her face. Even after all the other performers had ran from the stage in fear, as the only sound that could be heard was the thundering booms of explosions, she continued her song. Even as the tears ran down her face, she finished her song.

Why, Daddy? Why?

Jane woke up to the obnoxious whirring of her alarm clock. She groaned, wiping the moisture from her face as she sat up; whether it was tears, or sweat, or both, she couldn't tell. She hissed as her head gave a nasty throb.

Just great, she thought as she slipped out of bed and made the short walk to her apartment's small kitchen. Her first day of teaching and she had a killer headache. She had been excited about this day for awhile now, however after a restless night of nightmares she was a little less than enthusiastic.

She tried not to think of the dream as she filled a glass with water and tossed a few pain relievers into her mouth. She had gone almost a year without reliving that night, why had it popped up all of a sudden?

She sighed, splashing some cold water into her face in an attempt to wake herself up further. It was probably just stress from worrying about the new job she was starting.

A teacher, she mused as she stepped into the bathroom and began to disrobe. She, Jane Harvey, was going to be teaching music to children. She cringed at the thought. She loved music and she adored kids as well, but handing noisemakers to youngsters with short attention spans and no idea had to use them was hardly a good idea. She shuddered at the thought of little boys and girls picking their noses, handling her equipment with sticky fingers.

"Oh god, let me have the older kids first," she muttered to herself as she stepped in the shower. Being a teacher had never crossed her mind until about a year ago. She had decided she didn't want to live off the money she had...borrowed from her father anymore. She knew she could have easily took up performing again. After a sample of her playing she knew any musical group in the world would hire her in a heartbeat...but at the same time she knew she couldn't. She'd barely performed since that night nearly twenty years ago; it had scarred her into a case of extreme performance anxiety that she couldn't overcome.

As she stepped out of the shower and began to towel off, her hand grazed over the thick scar on her abdomen and she flinched. There was always one reminder after another of her dear father, even after fifteen years of no communication with him.

She scurried around her room as she collected things that she needed for the day, trying to get relieve her mind of its dismal thoughts. As she was slipping her shoes on, her stomach gave a loud grumble, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since the previous morning.

She trudged back into the kitchen and opened her cabinet in search of something to eat.

"Okay, gurls, what will you be wanting for breakfast?" Gru asked, sifting through the contents of his cabinets. He turned to the booth where the three girls where sitting. Margo was busy helping Agnes button her overalls and Edith had her head down on the table, sleeping.

"Umm, just pancakes are fine," Margo said, shaking Edith, who in return just started snoring louder.

"Unicorn pancakes," Agnes added, kicking her legs back and forth happily.

"Very well," Gru chuckled as he began to happily pour materials into a mixing bowl. He contemplated this happiness as he began to mix. It rivaled the feeling he had after successfully completing a heist, or making elderly men cry. How making pancakes made him feel that way, he didn't know, and he didn't care. It was for his girls and that was all that mattered.

After completing the pancakes he placed a plate with a different shape in front of each of the girls; a unicorn for Agnes, a sun for Margo, and a ray gun for the still sleeping Edith. The villain placed his hand gently the blond's shoulder.

"Edith, it is time to wake up, you are geeting drool all over de table." The girl mumbled as she lifted her face off the table and removed the fork that was stuck to her face. Her father chuckled warmly. "Good morning, head dat is being sleepy."

"Yeah, yeah, mornin," she said, rubbing her eyes. She caught sight of the pancake in front of her and immediately brightened up. "Ohh, it looks just like the desintegrater!" She said before assaulting it with syrup.

After Margo finished her breakfast, she rinsed her plate off and turned to her father. "Dad, can I talk to you in the living room for a second?"

"Sure, Margo," he complied, although he looked confused. After they had left the kitchen, Agnes looked up at Edith with large eyes, but Edith was too absorbed in her breakfast to notice. After a few moments, the five year old finally spoke up.

"Um, Edith?"

"Yeah?" When it took Agnes a moment to answer, Edith looked up from her food to see that the girl had a concerned look on her face. "Whats wrong?" Once again, her little sister hesitated.

"I had a bad dream last night..." Edith looked at her blankly.

"So? It was just a dream." Agnes bit her lip nervously.

"Yeah but..." She leaned in and whispered, "I accidentally wet the bed." Edith took in her sisters fearful eyes and sighed, pulling the young girl closer to her. She knew why Agnes was afraid. Whenever she had an accident at the orphanage, Miss Hattie made her sleep in the box of shame every night for weeks and wouldn't let her back in her bed until she went so long with out having nightmares.

The older girl was quiet for a moment as she thought of what to say. Usually Margo was the reassuring sister; why Agnes had chosen to confide in her instead, Edith didn't know. But she would try her hardest.

"What're you worried about? This isn't the orphanage, Agnes. Dad won't get mad at you for having an accident." The black haired girl smiled in relief.

"You think so?" Edith couldn't hold back an eye roll.

"Duh, Dad loves you. He wouldn't make you sleep in a box," she said simply.

"Ahh," Agnes sighed contently and went back to eating her pancake. A few moments later Gru followed Margo back into the kitchen. Agnes, opened her mouth to talk but closed it seconds later. She nervously glanced at Edith, who gave her a firm nod.

"Daddy?" She said weakly as he sat down.

"Agnes, if dis is about de monkey, I told you I would be taking care of dat-"

"No, its about something different." She crawled over into his lap and motioned for him to lean down so she could whisper in his ear. His eyes widened as he listened.

"Oh! Oh, well um. I will just get some of de minions to clean it up while you are at school. Do not worry, your bed will be nice and clean for you tonight," he said, patting her head. She was still for a moment, as if taking in what he had said. He really wasn't mad at all. She suddenly threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug. He froze for only a second before returning the hug.

"Okay, okay," he said, placing her on the floor and standing up. "Let's go get in de tank, you will be late for de school if we don't leave." Gru lead the way to the front and held the door open for Agnes and Margo. As Edith went to pass him, he stopped her.

"If you skip any more classes I will have to be putting you on de ground from de video games. And dat is final," he said, sounding very rehearsed. Edith scowled.

"Margo put you up to this, didn't she?" She accused.

"Yes," Gru said simply as he stepped outside. Edith followed, mumbling under her breath.

"Okay, class, repeat after me: five times two is ten. Five times three is fifteen..."

Edith listened as the rest of her class echoed the information. She barely registered what was being said; she may have promised Margo she wouldn't skip but she didn't say anything about paying attention. She pulled her hat over her eyes and began to drum absentmindedly on the desk with her fingers.

"Miss Gru? Are you sleeping during my class?" She raised her hat over one eye.

"Amazingly, no," she answered honestly. Mr. Banhill strolled over to where was she sitting.

"It seems like this hat is preventing you from giving me your full attention." Edith's heart nearly stopped as she felt the comfortable weight of her hat leaving her head. She jumped out of her chair as the teacher turned to head back to his desk. A white hot rage filled her head as she began to run towards him. There was a collective gasp as the class watched Edith kick Mr. Banhill in the back of the leg.

"Ouch! You kicked me!" He cried, clutching his leg dramatically. Edith picked up her hat and as she slipped it back on her head she immediately calmed down. She looked from the shocked faces of her classmates to her the angry face of her teacher.

"Uh oh...um, five times two equals ten?" She said with a nervous laugh.

"Out. In the hallway. Now." Mr. Banhill's face seemed to be getting redder by the second.

"But, but-ouch!" Banhill had grabbed her by the ear and proceeded to drag her out of the room. "What're you doing, let me go!"

"I'm taking you to the principal's office. Every day, you come into my class acting like a stupid brat. You don't pay attention, you don't participate, I can't stand it anymore. I don't even know how you made it to third grade-"

"Excuse me, what is going on here?" A cold voice came from behind them. Edith finally wriggled out of the teacher's grasp and spun around.

"Miss Jane!" She said excitedly. The dark haired woman was standing with crossed arms, a blank look on her face. Edith made to walk over to her when Banhill grabbed the back of her shirt.

"Oh, Ms. Harvey. Edith here was sleeping in my class. I disciplined her and she attacked me. I'm taking her to see the principal."

"He took my hat," Edith grumbled as she tried to break free. She noticed that the blank expression on Miss Jane's face had turned to anger, but it wasn't directed at her.

"Mr. Banhill, I heard the way you were talking to Edith all the way down the hall. Its not appropriate to speak to an eight year old like that." Banhill seemed to be at a loss for words.

"You can't-who-she's my student!" He spluttered, once again turning red with anger. Jane didn't back down.

"Your anger is clouding your judgment. Let me take Edith to the office, before you say something you'll regret, okay?" The man looked baffled.

"Well, my class is being left unattended right now... I suppose it would be okay for you to escort her..." He released the back of Edith's shirt and she marched over to the woman indignantly.

"Come with me, Ms. Gru.," Jane said, turning and beginning in the other direction without another word. She heard the clip clop of the girl's boots behind her and didn't have to look
to see if she was following.

"Um, Miss Jane?" The girl spoke up nervously. The woman stopped walking and glanced around to make sure there weren't any random faculty members hanging around. She removed the false severe expression from her face as she turned to look at the blond.

"You alright, kiddo?" She said, moving so Edith could walk beside her. The girl gave her ear a little rub and shrugged.

"Yeah. I wasn't even sleeping though... I didn't mean to kick him, but he took my hat," she mumbled, giving said hat a tug.
Jane chuckled warmly.

"Don't worry about it, Blondie. He probably would have done the same thing to you if you tried to take his toupee." Edith looked up with a triumphant smile.

"I knew it was fake!" She said happily as they walked past the office. She slowed her steps slightly, confused. "Aren't you taking me to see the principal?" Jane didn't stop walking.

"Pfft, no. We're going to my class. Unless you want to see her?" Edith quickly shook her head, smiling ear to ear.

"You must be the coolest teacher ever!" The woman shrugged.

"Coolest, worst, I guess they mean the same to different people," she answered absently. If anyone found out about this she would be so fired. But she wasn't able to help herself. She had been in the bathroom when she'd heard the yelling. Stupid brat, it had said. God, those words alone were enough to make her blood boil, then after seeing who the words were directed at she just about blew her top. If it had been any other child, she probably would've just told the teacher to watch his mouth and then continued to let him handle the situation. But it had been the blond girl she'd met the day before, and she would be damned if she let anyone treat her that way. She didn't know where this odd protectiveness came from, but she knew better than to fight it. Once her subconscious decided something, there was no going back.

She smiled down at the girl, who returned it enthusiastically.

.

"Bread, check. Eggs, check. Flour, check. Little Debbie snacks, check. Plutonium, oops, wrong list." Gru paused in the middle of the aisle as he matched the items in his cart to the words on the paper in his hand. He sighed in relief when he saw he was nearing the end of the list.

Of all the mundane activities he had to participate in, grocery shopping was by far his least favorite. Although he missed his girls while they were at school, a part of him was relieved that they there and not at the grocery store with him. It seemed that every time he brought them to the market he ended up with the whole store in his cart.

"Dad, this looks good, we should try it."

"Dad, can I have this?"

"Daddy, I need this!"

Cookie Crisp cereal, the last item on the list read. As he made his way to the cereal aisle, a ringing sounded from his pocket. He pulled his phone out and recognized the number immediately.

"Dr. Nefario. What have you found out?"

"The rarest monkey in the world is the Tonkin snub-nosed. There are only five in the world."

"Where is de closest one?"

"There's one in an animal sanctuary a few towns over. But I'm a bit confused here about what the plan is."

"I'm going to keednap one of de monkeys for Agnes and then sell it to whoever offers me de most money."

"...thats it? Thats hardly the crime of the century, Gru." The villain rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes, I am knowing dis. I'm going to stick to small crimes until I finish planning de next big heist. Dat way we'll have enough money for anyting we might need and de world will not know what hit dem." He paused as he scanned the cereal aisle for the brand on his list. He finally found it on the top row a few feet down from him. A small boy was standing on his tiptoes, trying and failing miserably to reach it. "I will call you later," Gru said before hanging up.

He watched in amusement as the boy began to climb the shelves like a ladder. He grabbed the box with a triumphant smile and began to shimmy his way back to the ground. Gru noticed the spot where the cereal had been was now empty and frowned thoughtfully. That was the girls' favorite cereal. Oh well, he thought as he made to walk past the still celebrating boy. Then suddenly the box disappeared from his small hands.

Looking up, he saw a large man putting his cereal in a cart and thought he felt himself pee his pants a little. He must have made a sound for the man looked down at him with icy blue eyes. His pants got a little wetter as a cold voice spoke to him.

"Sucks for you, keed," Gru said before casually strolling away. He walked past the cashier towards the parking lot, cursing to himself after a glance at his watch told him he was running late.

"E-excuse me sir," the greasy haired clerk squeaked, "you have to p-"

"Freeze-ray!"

"Its fine, Dad, really. We'll be fine," Margo spoke into her watch. Her father had just called to tell her that he was going to be a little late. She didn't mind; it was the first time it had ever happened, so it wasn't a big deal.

"Do not leave de school building, alright? Do you have your taser with you?" Margo sighed, although secretly she was enjoying his protectiveness.

"Yes, Dad. Alright, see you soon," she ended the conversation with her father before setting off to find her sisters. Agnes was still in her kindergarten class, drawing in a bean bag chair. She smiled happily when she saw her older sister.

"Hi Margo!" She chirped sweetly, setting down her notepad and popping out of the chair. "Where's Daddy?"

"He's gonna be a little late. We're going to play at school for awhile." Agnes agreed and went back to drawing while Margo called Edith on her wristwatch. When she answered music was audible in the background.

"Hello?"

"Edith, where are you? Dad's gonna be late."

"Oh! You have to come meet Miss Jane, she is soo cool!" Margo hesitated.

"Um, are you sure you don't want to come and wait in Agnes' class instead?" Edith scoffed.

"No way, come on Margo!" The older sister sighed.

"Alright, alright. We'll be right there." Margo pressed the button on the side of her watch. Agnes sat her notepad down again and took the older girl's hand.

It didn't take them long to find the music room; all they had to do was follow their ears. Margo opened the door to the sight of her sister and a dark haired woman sitting side by side in front of a piano, wrapped up in a duet. Agnes squeezed her and and looked up at her, wide eyed.

"Edith is doing that?" She said in an amazed voice. Margo didn't answer immediately; she was just as shocked. The song was beautiful, and if there was any mistakes being made, she couldn't tell. The song ended quicker than the two observing sisters wanted it to and it took Margo a minute to find her voice.

"Wow, Edith, that was amazing!" The middle sister spun around on the bench, a huge smile on her face as she bounced over two where the two girls were standing.

"Wasn't it? Its from Beauty and the Beast, Miss Jane just taught me. Come and meet her, she's the best!" The woman observed the children from her seat in front of the piano, a small smile on her face. Although the Gru sisters looked nothing alike, they had one thing in common: they were all absolutely adorable. She watched as the two unfamiliar children sauntered towards her, shy smiles pulling at their lips. The youngest girl stuck her tiny little hand out.

"Hello. I'm Agnes Gru," she said, the shy smile quickly replaced with a delighted grin. Jane was sure a part of her had died from a cuteness overload as she took the small hand in her own. The oldest one offered hers as well.

"And I'm Margo Gru." Jane took the girl's hand as well.

"Its nice to meet you, Agnes and Margo. Edith's told me a lot about you." Agnes flinched.

"She didn't tell you I wet the bed last night did she?" Margo's eyes widened in embarrassment but the woman just chuckled.

"Nope. I know nothing about that." Edith elbowed her older sister.

"I told you she was awesome," she whispered. Agnes giggled innocently.

"I like you, you're pretty." Jane tried her hardest to stay in a solid state as she felt her heart turning to goo. What was it with these sisters? It was like they had some kind of super power that could turn adults into mush.

"I like you too," she said, delighted. Edith had reclaimed her seat next to Jane on the piano bench and Margo was looking around at her vast array of instruments.

"You can really play all of these?" She asked curiously. She opened her mouth to answer but the blond on her right beat her to it.

"Yup. Its awesome." Jane chuckled.

"I'm beginning to think that everything's awesome to you, Blondie."

"You have noo idea," Margo said, running her hand over some bongo drums. Jane watched her for a moment, an idea forming in her head.

"Would you guys like to play a song together?" A chorus of eager consent rang out as all three girls gathered around her. She left the bench and went to her shelves, studying her instruments thoughtfully. She picked out a tambourine and handed to Agnes, who squealed in delight as she gave it an excited shake. She told Margo to go to the bongos, and Edith to the piano. She kneeled next to the youngest sister and showed her how to shake a steady rhythm with the tambourine. After showing Margo a simple beat on the bongos, she moved on to Edith, showing her a series of different chords and licks, most of which she picked up immediately.

After all three sisters had begun to play, Jane stood back and listened; even though Margo and Agnes made occasional mistakes, it sounded really good. Jane picked her violin from her desk and joined in, playing in a very staccato style that matched the song very well. Soon she found their tempo had doubled, then tripled, and soon the girls where giggling madly as the speed kept growing and growing, and Jane couldn't help but join in on their laughter.

Soon the speed was too much to keep up and the music came to a crashing halt. The sound of laughter carried on past the end of the song and buried underneath it was applause. Jane looked towards the door to find the source of the clapping and was greeted by the sight of a tall man with skinny arms and legs, dressed in dark clothes and a striped scarf. He would have been rather intimidating, had it not been for the tender look he was directing at the three little girls in the room.

"Daddy!" Little Agnes ran towards the man, who automatically bent down to scoop the giggling girl into his arms.

"Dat was very impressive," he said, no evidence of a lie anywhere on his features. Margo went over to join her father and sister at the door.

"Did you really like it? I think the only ones who knew what they were doing were Edith and Miss Jane." Gru's eyes flicked to the dark haired woman standing next to his middle daughter at the piano and immediately took on a colder expression.

"You're the Miss Jane Edith told me about?" He asked with an air of indifference. The woman nodded, not phased by his attitude.

"Yes, Mr. Gru. I'm Jane Harvey." She introduced herself but showed no intention of coming any closer. Gru was both relieved that she wasn't going to get any closer and disappointed that he wasn't going to make a show of rejecting her handshake. "I have to say, you have gorgeous daughters," she continued, looking fondly around the room at the three girls, who beamed at her in return.

"I know dis," Gru responded shortly in an attempt to be stuffy but he knew his icy demeanor had melted just a little bit at her praise of his girls.

"And Edith has amazing raw musical talent..." Jane took a steadying breath. Yes, she was now sure this was a good idea. "Actually, Mr. Gru, if Edith wants to and you're okay with it, I would love to give her private music lessons." Edith practically jumped out of her skin.

"Are you crazy? I would love to!" A second later she was wrapped around her fathers thin legs. "Oh, please, Dad, please please please please!" Gru hesitated, feeling very uncomfortable. He didn't even know anything about this woman. The thought of her coming into his home and spending hours with his daughter was certainly rubbing him the wrong way. But his Edith seemed to love her, and judging by the pleading expression on their faces, Margo and Agnes did too. He sighed; there was no way he could say no to those faces. But once his daughters weren't around to see he would make his rules very clear to the music teacher. But for now, he just said,

"Okay, okay. If Edith wants to." Everyone in the room cringed as the normally tough middle sister let out a very Agnes like squeal.

"Alright! Thanks, Dad!" Jane smiled, obviously pleased.

"Edith tells me you have an organ. I would like to come take a look at it sometime, if that's okay." Gru raised an eyebrow, regaining the cold attitude.

"You may come on Saturday," he said simply, before turning away. "Come on, gurls." The sisters followed their father out the door, each of them giving a last "Bye, Miss Jane!"

Once they were gone, Jane wrapped her arms around her abdomen. What a creeper... Where had she seen him before?

Authors note.. Hey you guys. So here's the dealio. I'm getting a ton of favorites and alerts for this story buy barely anyone leaves reviews. Its kind of a bummer because I really want to hear what you guys are thinking. So if you favorite the story or add it to your alerts, please take two seconds to leave a review.I would love to have at least fifteen before the next update (which will take longer because I'll actually be at school instead of at home having a snow day.) But please review, kay puddin pops?