Hello fans of fluffiness! This is a little idea I've had for a while. Now, I've got quite a few other projects that I'm working on right now (namely I'm a Monster and Just Another Girl) but I really wanted to write some fluffy family stuff, so I did. This will be a whole bunch of one-shots about the lab rats as kids. There will be a lot of Donald in it, but there will be plenty of stuff focusing on the kids as well.

The updates for this story will be sporadic and the waits between chapters will most likely be long. Honestly I wrote this chapter because I wanted to take a break from the more intense stuff I was writing in my other stories. So I'll update this every now and then when I get inspired to do so, but I can't tell you precisely when those updates will be. Most definitely not as often as my other stories.

Real quick I wanted to give a shout-out to scribbler123 and their awesome story "Because Family Matters." If you haven't read it yet you are missing out. Go check it out once you're done here!

Anyway, ENJOY! I don't own Lab Rats.

* * * Tears in the Night * * *

Crying. Screaming. Moaning.

The crying and screaming were coming from below. The moaning was coming from Donald Davenport. The young tech mogul rolled over in his bed and glanced at the clock. 3:23. In the morning.

Donald shoved a pillow over his face, hoping to drown out the noise. It didn't work. "How can they be this loud from two floors below me?" he mumbled sleepily as he got out of bed.

Somehow Donald managed to drag himself down the stairs and to the elevator. On the ride down to the lab he nearly fell asleep while leaning on the wall. But the screams and cries echoing through the elevator shaft quickly jerked him awake.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. The sounds of desperate sobbing coupled with terrified shrieks became immensely louder. Donald reflexively covered his ears and moaned again. He walked further into the lab and saw the source of all the noise.

A young toddler was on the floor, cuddling her baby brother. The girl was sobbing and screaming all at once. Another toddler – a male – was standing above them, attempting to make reassuring noises, which for him meant screaming over his siblings. The baby boy was wailing at the top of his lungs.

"QUIET!" Donald shouted. All but the youngest stopped their howling and looked up at him. Donald reached down and picked up the baby from the girl. He held the young bundle awkwardly in his arms, trying to remember everything his baby-care books had taught him.

"Shh, Chase," he mumbled quietly. The baby calmed down just a little. Donald stroked the little bit of hair that the thirteen-month-old had. Chase finally gulped and became silent. Donald sighed with relief and allowed a small smile to grace his lips. Chase gurgled happily and his eyelids began to droop.

Suddenly Donald felt someone tugging on his the leg of his pants. He looked down to see the oldest boy staring up at him. "Is 'e 'kay, Dee?" the three-year-old asked. Donald involuntarily quirked an eyebrow. The nickname "Dee" had come about since the young kids couldn't say "Donald" or "Davenport." It was taking Donald quite some time to get used to it.

"He's fine, Adam," Donald reassured the boy. The twenty-five year old dropped to his knees and showed Adam the sleeping baby in his arms.

"Why 'e cryin' den?" the girl asked, wiping tears out of her eyes.

"Because that's what babies do, Bree," Donald explained gently.

"So 'e's 'kay?" Bree asked quietly.

"Yes, don't worry," Donald assured her. "Look, he's even falling asleep."

Sure enough Chase let out a tiny yawn, eliciting an "aww!" from his sister. His eyelids closed and soon his breathing became a bit heavier. Adam and Bree both smiled, happy their younger brother was okay.

"Alright, everyone back in your capsules," Donald instructed. "Time to go back to sleep."

"Aww!" the toddlers groaned.

"Hey, if Chase can sleep, then you guys can too. Come on, get in." Donald herded the children to their capsules. Bree picked up her teddy bear off the floor of her capsule and Adam grabbed the green blanket off of his. They both leaned on the walls of their capsules a little and soon feel fast asleep.

Donald gently lay Chase down on the floor of his capsule. It was padded with many blankets and a few stuffed animals. Since Chase wasn't old enough to stay standing while he was asleep, he just slept on the ground. Donald patted the blankets and tried to make it as cozy as possible.

"Maybe it's not the best," Donald muttered. "But surely it's not that bad."

Chase stretched a little and clutched a small stuffed rabbit in his hands. He yawned again and curled up into a little ball. Donald couldn't help but smile at this as he closed the door to the capsule.

It had only been a month since Donald had stumbled upon three young children in his brother's lab. It had only been a month since Donald kicked his brother out of Davenport Industries for conducting illegal and immoral experiments. It had only been one month since Donald had last seen his brother. And he already missed him.

"Why'd he have to do this at all?" Donald muttered quietly. "I mean, putting our bionic research into humans? Who does that?"

His own mention of the bionic research reminded Donald of his current plight. He knew that the kids had bionics, controlled by a microchip implant in their necks. He just couldn't figure out how they worked.

Donald pulled up more scans of the children on his cyberdesk. He could clearly see how the bionics were integrated into their nervous systems, but how they could be activated and what they did was still a mystery to him. So far none of the kids had shown any signs of possessing super-human powers. Perhaps when they got a little older Donald would know.

Suddenly Donald heard a small sigh. He turned to see Bree pressing her nose against the glass of her capsule. Her gaze was fixed on her younger brother.

"You sure 'e's 'kay, Dee?" she asked worriedly.

"Yes, Bree, he's completely okay," Donald said.

"'Omise?" the girl said.

"What?"

Bree pushed open her capsule and approached the man. She looked up at him confidently and held out her pinky. "'Omise?" she repeated.

Donald gave a slight grin and kneeled down next to the girl. He intertwined his pinky with hers. "Promise," he assured her. "Why are you so worried about Chase?"

Bree pondered this for a moment before answering, "Well, I dunno. It jus' 'cares me. Ma-ks me tink 'ometing's 'ong." The two year old placed her hand on Donald's knee and looked up at him with sad eyes.

"Have you ever cried?" Donald asked quietly. He couldn't think of a better way to explain it to her.

Bree nodded her head vigorously. "Yeah, lot's 'fore," Bree said. "'Ack in our old 'ome too."

Donald bit his lip and wondered if the kids would ever forget about their "old home." Only time would tell. "Yes, you have cried," Donald continued. "Why?"

"Well, uh," Bree said slowly. She put a finger in her mouth and squinted. "'Cause I didn't 'ow what ta do!"

"Exactly," the young man said. "Chase doesn't know how to talk yet, so the only way he can 'talk' is by crying. He was tired, that's all."

"So 'e's 'kay?" Bree repeated once more.

"Perfectly fine," Donald said. He patted the young girl on the head and she giggled.

"And you ma-k sure 'e's always 'ine, 'ight Dee?"

"Yes," Donald said quietly. "I'll take care of all of you."

"Good!" Bree exclaimed before heading back into her capsule. As she shut the door she added, "And don't 'orget, you 'omised." With that she drifted off to sleep.

In spite of himself, Donald smiled. He glanced at the three sleeping children in their capsules. Their innocent expressions, their tired faces, their youthful features . . . Donald wondered how Douglas could've even considered making them into cybersoldiers. These children were so naïve and blameless, yet Douglas's plans would've quickly destroyed all of that.

The young man sighed and decided it was best not to think about what his brother would have done. Adam, Bree, and Chase were here now. Donald would figure out how their bionics worked. Perhaps when he did, maybe then he would be able to make them into heroes. Maybe they could save the world, not jeopardize it.

For now, however, all Donald wanted to do was sleep. He headed back upstairs and collapsed onto his bed, falling asleep almost instantaneously. For one hour he slept in perfect peace.

Suddenly a wail resounded through the house. Donald opened his eyes and groaned.

How'd you guys like it? I know how much we Lab Rats fans love the family fluff. :3 Surely I'm not the only one! I hope you guys could understand what Bree was saying. She's only two, so it was a bit difficult writing her speech.

If you guys have any ideas for something you want to see, go ahead and tell me! Leave any ideas in the reviews or PM me if you'd like. My only stipulation (love that word!) is that it has to be before Leo discovered them. So sometime when they're younger. If I use your idea I will most definitely credit you.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review/follow/favorite if you liked it! See you all again whenever I update. Bye!