For gottalovealoser and JB: Here's what you've been waiting for, at least, here's one of the many you are waiting for.

Also, to Ash. A. Leah, now Ashley. X. Rose: Thank you for your continuing encouragement to upload again. Anything.

First of all, I have to apologize for the length of time between uploads. Real life has been kicking my butt lately and I haven't had the chance to upload as often as I would like. I'm gonna try to upload at least once a week but I hope to upload more often than that. We shall see.

As mentioned in The Other Sniper, Cougar tells Analicia bedtime stories about a brave cougar who always has to save a silly bunny from himself. (Please remember that these bedtime stories are geared towards the little girl so they won't be as in depth or as violent as they should be when it comes to the Losers.)

As also mentioned in The Other Sniper, Cougar and Analicia speak to each other in Spanish. It's 'their' thing that's just for them since in my world, the other's don't speak Spanish.

Because I don't want to have to worry about translating everything they say to each other, if it's italicized, it's spoken in Spanish.

This is the night of the afternoon that Analicia discovered that they were truly still alive.

~JP

Analicia stood at her bookshelf trying to decide which story she wanted her Uncle Cougar to tell her tonight. She ran her small hand along the books that stood prominently on her bookshelf. Her Uncle Cougar had hand-made both the set of books and the bookshelf on which they resided. The prized set of books contained her favorite bedtime stories about a certain Cougar and his Bunny mate. The brave cougar always had to save the silly bunny from himself.

Analicia fingered her pajama top as she smiled while remembering how shocked her Uncle Jake was when he first saw the books that Uncle Cougar had made.

Uncle Jake had said, "Now I know you're awesomely artistic with any type of weapon, but you never said you had mad drawing skills."

Uncle Cougar had just looked at Uncle Jake with a look as if to say, 'You never asked either.'

She was lost in her memories when her Uncle Cougar walked in saying, "Alright Ana-bug. Are you ready for our bedtime routine?"

Ana-bug turned to smile at her Uncle. He hadn't startled her with his entrance because he and her Uncle Jake have been teaching her how to be aware of her surroundings and to never let anyone sneak up on her. They've also been teaching her how to fight so that she can defend herself. Her mother even joins in to show her certain moves that females can do that are hard for males to do because of the way their bodies are.

Uncle Cougar's also been teaching her how to assemble, load, shoot, disassemble, clean and reassemble a gun. Neither of them have told either Uncle Jake or her mother because they'd probably both be highly upset. However, Uncle Cougar always says that it's a good thing for her to be able to do, just in case.

Analicia understands. She may be young, only eight years old, but she understands. She learned one night, when it was just her and Uncle Cougar at home, about the types of things that he saw in his nightmares. Since then, actually since always, if Uncle Cougar believes something to be important then so does Analicia.

"Ana-bug?" Cougar attempted to gain Analicia's attention once again. "Are you ready for our bedtime routine?"

Analicia jumped into her Uncle's waiting arms. "All set Uncle."

Cougar smiled at his niece as he walked her to her bed and set her down beside it. "Okay my beautiful niece, let's say our prayers first."

"Okay Uncle Cougar." She knelt down beside her bed and watched as her Uncle Cougar did the same.

Once they were both settled on their knees, with their hands in the prayer position and their heads bowed down, Analicia began her nightly prayers. "Dear God and all his angels in heaven and on earth. It's me, Analicia Bethany Jensen. And Uncle Cougar's here tonight too. Yay!"

Cougar smiled as Analicia almost screamed the 'Yay'. He knew the only reason she didn't scream it was the fact that it wouldn't have been appropriate for prayer. At least, that's what her mother always said. Cougar believed that if she felt something strongly enough, she should show it. He didn't want her to become like him. It bothered him that he could only show strong emotions when someone he loved was in danger or during sex with Jake.

"I just wanted to thank you for allowing my Uncles to come home again. Finally." Analicia continued on with her prayer. "I've missed them so much. I'm so grateful that they ARE alive like Mommy and Aunt Jolene believed. I remember that I disliked when they went on mission, since it's wrong to hate, but I knew that they had to go. They made the world safer for me and Mommy and all the other good people in the world."

It relieved Cougar greatly that she did understand why they used to have to leave them. Why he and Jake had to always leave without telling them exactly where they were going and when (he refused to even think the work 'if') they would be back.

Analicia took a deep breath before finishing her prayer. "They still do. But please, God, please keep them safe. Please keep all of my family safe. I need them all God. I couldn't handle losing them again, any of them. I already know this to be true. Amen."

Keeping her head bowed down, Analicia waited for Uncle Cougar to say his prayers. He always waited until she was done with hers, before he would say his.

Cougar took a deep breath before saying his prayers. It hurt him to hear the pain and anguish in Analicia's voice as she finished her prayers. He never wanted her to feel that type of pain again. But he knew that until Max was found and dealt with, he couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't have to deal with one or all of their deaths in the very near future.

After Max was taken care of, she'd never have to worry about it again. At least she wouldn't with Jake, Pooch or him. They have decided that once their Max problem is solved, they will retire and spend the rest of their lives with their family.

Cougar couldn't speak for Clay or Aisha though. There was no telling what would happen with those two. Cougar just hoped, for Analicia's sake, that Clay wouldn't do anything foolish and would hopefully retire with them. Hell, Clay could even take one of the guest rooms for his own. Just so that he was close by for Ana.

However, if Clay and Aisha decided to stay together, they would need to get their own place. There was no way they could be doing the shit that they do anywhere near Ana-bug.

Cougar smirked as he spoke to God. "Father, thank you for my wonderful and amazing family. Please keep all of us safe. Amen."

Both Cougar and Analicia got up off of their knees. Cougar lifted Analicia and tucked her into her bed. He walked over to the bookshelf and perused the books he had made for her. They were in great condition, but he could still see that they had been read over and over again. Smiling, he turned to her. "Well Ana-bug, have you decided which story you would like to hear tonight?"

Analicia looked at Uncle Cougar nervously as she bit her bottom lip. She knew which story she wanted to hear, but she didn't know if he would be willing to tell it or if he even remembered the story. It has been quite a while.

Cougar's smile grew wider as he watched Analicia bite her lower lip. Her Uncle Jake did the same thing when he was having a hard time figuring something out. Whether it was the key to some bad guy's encryption code or one of Pooch's jokes, it always brought warmth to Cougar's heart as he watched Jake chew on his full bottom lip. It also turned him on a little. Then again, almost everything Jake did turned Cougar on.

Analicia lowered her eyes to some imaginary fleck of dirt on her blanket. She wiped at the imaginary fleck as she asked, "I don't want one of the books tonight Uncle Cougar. I…I want the last one Uncle Cougar. The one you said you would make for me as soon as you got back from Bo…"

She forced herself to look up into her Uncle's eyes. "I want you to tell me the story from the last time you were home. I want to hear the story about the unnecessary pool cleaners."

Cougar smiled sadly as he went to sit on the bed beside Analicia. He propped himself on her pillow and then cradled her against his side. As Analicia snuggled into him he thought of the last night he was here with her. He had told her a new story that he hadn't yet made into a book for her. She had loved it. Cougar had promised to make the book as soon as they got back from Bolivia.

"Well, then that is the story that you will hear." Cougar smiled down at his Ana-bug. When she looked up at him, he continued, "Ana, why were you nervous to ask me for this story?"

Analicia kept direct eye contact with her uncle. "Well…" she started hesitantly, even though she knew she could say anything to Cougar and never have to worry about how he would react. "You told me this story the last night you were here, before…and it's been a while so I just thought that you might not have remembered it. Or would want to remember it."

Cougar heard the last sentence, even though Analicia had whispered it so low that it could have been the wind whispering if the bedroom window had been opened. "Ana, why would you think that I wouldn't want to remember one of the stories I've told you little one?"

Analicia shrugged before giving her reasoning. "Well Uncle. It was the last one before you all went away and die-" Ana cut herself off from saying the horrible lie and slipped a more suitable word in its place, "disappeared. I didn't know if you would want to be reminded of the pain of the last few months by thinking of our last night before this nightmare started."

Cougar studied his niece. She really was highly intelligent and intuitive. Man, would they have to keep all eyes on her as she grows up. He could see her getting herself into all types of trouble. Just like her Uncle Jake. Cougar shook his head slightly before bringing Analicia onto his lap so that she was cradled in his arms. He raised her chin so that he could make sure that she knew how serious he was and how much he meant what he was about to say.

"Analicia Bethany Jensen. Firstly, remember what you learned from Rosalie and the others? Just because a memory is painful, doesn't mean it isn't also happy. Secondly, no matter what happens-to any of us-I always want you to remember these stories with happiness and love. Because, the third and final reason, all these stories are true. They are our history and should be remembered with honor and fondness. I know you already know this Ana."

Analicia looked at her Uncle and saw the truth on his face. She smiled brightly. "I knew it." She nodded with such conviction she looked like Pooch's bobble head puppy, Mojito. "I knew that Jensen Bunny sounded way too much like Uncle Jake and that Cougar Cat sounded way too much like you. You didn't just use your names for the characters. You are the characters. The characters are you."

Analicia paused in her revelation and tilted her head as she pondered something. "I knew it when I first heard the pool-cleaner story. That was what gave you away fully, because it included all of us. But, why didn't you tell me the whole truth Uncle Cougar? Why keep from me the fact that these were actually stories of yours and Uncle Jake's missions?"

Cougar nodded at Analicia. He had expected this question. He knew she would wonder why he had kept that from her. Ever since he had first met her all those years ago, he had never lied to her. Oh, he hated lying to begin with but knew that it was a necessity when it came to their job. But from the moment he had first met Ana, the moment she had taken her first look at him and then had launched herself into his arms-kind of like her Uncle had when they had first met-Cougar knew that he would never be able to lie to her. Never! Not even if it was for her own good. He just wouldn't be able to do it.

"Ana-bug," Cougar began, "when I first started telling you your bedtime stories, I never actually said whether they were true stories or not. But when your mother heard the stories I was telling you, she thought it might be better for you if you truly believed they were just made up stories about a cougar and a bunny who were roommates and that the brave cougar always ended up having to save the silly bunny from himself."

Before Cougar had even finished the sentence Analicia was shaking her head.

Cougar looked at his niece quizzically.

Seeing the confusion on Uncle Cougar's face, Analicia explained. "The brave cougar doesn't always save his silly bunny from himself. There was the time the angry bunny saved the sad cougar from himself."

Cougar smiled fondly as he remembered telling Ana that story. Cougar holds that story as his favorite. However, what she wants to hear is the story of the unnecessary pool cleaners.

Before he could start the story, Ana continued with something else she knew that was a revelation to him. "And besides, even before the pool-cleaner story, I could tell that the bunny and the cougar were more than just roommates. It was so obvious how in love with each other they were."

"You are right my Ana-banana." Cougar tightened his arms around Analicia as she giggled at the nickname her Uncle had called her. No one else knew of the nickname for he only called her it during their nightly time together. It was another 'thing' that was just theirs and theirs alone. Both of them loved having their special connections.

"So," Cougar looked down at her to make sure, "you want the pool cleaners tonight, yes?"

Analicia smiled up at her loving Uncle. She nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yes Uncle. I want to hear about the pool cleaners that are after Uncle Ja-I mean, the pool cleaners that are after the silly bunny."

Cougar nodded and smiled at Ana's almost slip. He tucked Analicia even closer to his body than she already was, if that was even possible.

Analicia snuggled as close to her Uncle as she could get and laid her head on his shoulder as she prepared to listen to the story. After five long, horrible months, she finally had almost everything that she had wanted. She had four of her five uncles back with her, and she quite possibly now had a new Aunt. She wasn't sure yet, it all depended upon Uncle Clay whether Aisha was there to stay or not.

But what Analicia had wanted most of all, even though she wouldn't say it out loud-she didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, was her Uncle Jake and her Uncle Cougar back with her. And now that she had them she was going to spend as much time as possible with them, before they had to go get the bad man who was trying to hurt them.

Analicia eagerly waited for her Uncle Cougar to begin the story. Even though she's only heard it the one time, that night before they left for Bolivia, she knew the story by heart. She knew all her Uncle's stories by heart. But she loved listening to him tell them. Or read them to her as sometimes that was the case when she wanted to look at the pictures in the books along with the words of the story.

But she didn't want a book tonight. Not because he hadn't made the book of this story for her yet. She didn't care if he ever made the book because she just wanted to cuddle with him and listen closely as he told the story so that she could just experience and savor everything. So that she could commit everything to memory. Who knew how soon it would be before they had to go away again and how long it would be before they could come back home again. And they would come home again. They had to.

Cougar snuggled his niece further into his arms as he began the story. She wouldn't say a word until the story was completed. She never spoke during any of the stories, she just listened intently.

"It was Saturday morning. As usual, the neighborhood where Cougar Cat and Jensen Bunny lived was quiet and peaceful. (This was when they lived near the base, before moving in with their family.) The birds were singing softly. The crickets were chirping cheerfully. Everyone was sleeping in late. Everyone that is, except for Cougar Cat. He was sitting outside on the porch, enjoying the silence.

"As Cougar relaxed on the porch, he watched a van pass by on the street. 'Hmmm'. He thought to himself. 'Why would pool cleaners be in our neighborhood? No one around here has a pool.'

"What bothered Cougar even more was the fact that the van, clearly labeled as a pool cleaning business, parked in a neighbor's driveway down the street. He knew for a fact that they did not have a pool.

"Cougar observed the van to see if pool cleaners were really inside it, but no one ever came out of it. The van just sat there. Cougar had a bad feeling about this.

"Cougar Cat went inside the house. He had to speak with Jensen Bunny. He walked upstairs to their bedroom. He entered their bedroom to see Jensen had thrown off the sheets again. Jensen lay sprawled across the bed with his floppy ears going in two different directions. Cougar smiled at the sight.

"He walked over to the bed and sat along the side. He knew he had to wake Jensen up softly otherwise his little bunny would wake up swinging. He gently shook Jensen's shoulder. 'Jensen, wake up love. We may have a problem.'

"Jensen groaned a little and barely opened one eye to peer at Cougar. He smiled at Cougar and then turned his head in the other direction to go back to sleep.

"Cougar shook his head as he watched his bunny trying to go back to sleep. 'Jensen, you need to wake up mi amor. We may have a problem.'

"Cougar's serious tone is what woke Jensen more than Cougar's words. Jensen shook his head to try and clear it a little of the sleep fogginess. He sat up against the headboard and looked inquiringly at his companion. 'Cougs, what's wrong?'

"Cougar looked at his bleary-eyed bunny. He reached across the bed and took a pair of glasses off the nightstand. He popped them onto his bunny's head. 'There is a van parked in the driveway of one of our neighbors a few houses down.'

"Jensen raised his eyebrow at that. As if to say, and this is important how?

"Cougar continued as if Jensen hadn't made any reaction. 'It is a pool-cleaners van. No one around here has a pool. And when they pulled into the driveway this morning, no one exited the van. From that driveway they have a perfect view of our entire house.'

"Jensen's eyebrows rose at that. Then he lowered his face into his chest. Cougar could tell that Jensen was keeping something from him. 'Jensen? What is it? Do you know something about the pool-cleaners?'

"Jensen looked guiltily at Cougar. 'They aren't pool-cleaners. You know that. Why would they be needed around here? No one has a pool.' Poor Jensen took a deep breath before he continued. 'They're probably here for me.'

"Cougar bit his lip to stop himself from rushing Jensen. Jensen could talk for days on end at a million miles a minute, but if he wasn't ready to tell you something, nothing in the world could drag it out of him. 'Amor, who are they and why are they here for you?'

"Jensen tugged at his floppy ears as he spoke in barely a whisper. 'I did something that I shouldn't have. I'm sorry. I know I should have listened to you. But I couldn't help myself. I just had to do it.'

"Cougar took a deep breath before addressing his worried little bunny once again. 'Jensen,' Cougar took Jensen's paw in his own. 'What did you do that you shouldn't have amor?'

"Jensen looked at Cougar and admitted, 'On our last mission I hacked into one of NASA's satellites and rerouted it so that I could make sure that our family was alright.' (You know that when Jensen says family, he was speaking of you and your mom. Since you do know the truth, I'll continue to use your names in the stories.) 'After last time, when Ana-bug broke her leg, I just couldn't help myself. I had to be sure that nothing was wrong.'

"Cougar nodded at his companion. He understood how Jensen felt. After all, they were his family too. 'I understand amor. My silly little bunny. But now, we have to figure out who's in the van and what they want.'

"For the next few days the van remained in the driveway, never moving. No one ever entering or exiting the van. Jensen had remarked that he hoped they were sneaking shift changes in at night otherwise that van would be reeking very soon, if it wasn't already.

"Cougar Cat and Jensen Bunny went about their lives as usual. Well, not as usual, but they tried to live like normal beings did. They didn't have a mission anytime soon and so were just enjoying spending their time together without being in a life-or-death crisis situation. They also spent time visiting their family.

"They had just come back home from such a trip. Their sister and niece had invited them over for their anniversary brunch. It was a wonderful few hours but the guys were happy to be home so that they could spend some alone time together. They had just gotten out of the car when they noticed that something was wrong. Their back door stood ajar. The door did not look like it had been forced open.

"Both Cougar Cat and Jensen Bunny cautiously entered their home. Jensen was surprised that his alarm system hadn't been triggered. He took great pride in all the one-of-a-kind safety precautions that he had included in his system, such as the pressure trigger that when activated, released scalding hot cocoa onto the intruder who had stepped on it. Jensen always did love hot chocolate. Being able to turn it into a weapon thrilled him to no end. It even caused him to giggle at times.

"Upon entrance into their home, Jensen noticed that his system hadn't been triggered because it has been shut off. He didn't know how. The only way to disengage the alarm was with the code. Jensen even had the system on a back-up generator in case intruders tried to shut it off by cutting the power.

"They could hear noises coming from the second floor. Cautiously and quietly they made their way to the staircase. The noises were actually voices speaking to each other. They couldn't make out what the voices were saying, but they did seem slightly familiar.

"Cautiously they both climbed up the stairs. Neither of them had made a sound but the voices abruptly cut off anyway. The intruders had somehow been alerted to their presence.

"They finished making their way to the room where the noise had come from-their bedroom. Cougar and Jensen exchanged looks once before bursting into the room-and were brought up short. There, in the room where they spent their nights when they weren't on a mission, were everyone who mattered to them: their sister, their niece, their friends and compatriots Clay, Pooch, Pooch's wife Jolene…and…Roque." Cougar had a hard time saying the name of the friend who had betrayed them. But because they didn't want Analicia to know of the defection, he forced himself to say the cursed name.

"And all around the room were photos, mementos and knickknacks. Above the bed was a giant banner that said, 'Happy Anniversary Jensen and Cougar'. They continued looking around at all the new belongings in the room and at the people who had obviously put them there.

"Sarah watched as the two most important men in her life looked at everything questioningly. Before they could even utter a peep of confusion, she enlightened them, 'You two live like such Spartans. I was tired of visiting you guys and always feeling like I was looking at a barely furnished house I was thinking about renting. So, we,' she indicated all of them, 'got together and decided to help you decorate.'

"Jensen and Cougar continued looking around the room in awed amazement. Their eyes took in all the family photographs that were now lining the walls and shelves. Also on the shelves were little odds and ends that constituted knickknacks. They consisted of crafts that Analicia had made, things that showed them as military men, such as Cougar's sniper medals and Jensen's illegally hacked satellite photos that he liked to collect, as well as things Sarah had bought that she thought would look cute while still conveying meaning, such as the glass paper weight with the carved bunny on it or the hand painted cougar sculptures. There were even a stuffed cougar and bunny pair on the bed. That had to be the work of their niece.

"The others looked at Jensen in awed amazement. He hadn't said a word since his arrival two minutes ago. That just didn't normally happen. A quiet Jensen was a scary Jensen.

"Cougar was the first to respond with actual words. He tilted his head down in a nod, tipped up his hat and said, 'Gracias a nuestra familia.' (Thank you our family.) 'This is a wonderful surprise.' He didn't remark on the fact that Sarah and Analicia were here sooner than they after their visit, but if Pooch had been driving he wasn't surprised.

"Sarah looked relieved. 'So you were surprised? We were so afraid you knew what we were up to when Pooch said that you kept staring at the van.'

"Both Cougar and Jensen looked at Sarah and the others in surprise. 'The van?' Jensen questioned. He finally had his voice back. 'You mean the pool-cleaner van down the block, that was you?'

"As Sarah nodded her head in confusion, Jensen fell upon the bed and burst into relieved laughter.

"Sarah looked confused as she explained, 'Yeah. We needed the van to keep all this stuff in until we were ready. We didn't know when a good time would be to get this all done. Frank said Vince's house would allow us the best vantage of your house and Vince gave us permission to keep the van there until we could unload it here. When we still hadn't been able to set this up by yesterday, Ana and I decided to have you over this morning for an anniversary brunch so that Jolene would have the time to tell the guys how to display it all. When it got close to the time you were ready to leave, I called Pooch to make sure that everything was ready and for him to come get us. He said he knew a faster way to your place than what we normally went.' She shook her head and said, 'Allow me to suggest you never take Pooch's shortcut.'

"Pooch looked at Sarah. 'What? It got us here faster didn't it?'

"Sarah just looked at Pooch in a mixture of shock and fear for her and Ana's life, even though the ride was over and they had gotten there relatively safely. Jensen continued to laugh his ass off and was rolling around on the bed.

"Cougar just smiled and shook his head. He could see the confusion and somewhat looks of hurt on the others' faces and hurried to explain. 'We didn't know who were in the van but we thought they were here because Jensen had hacked into a NASA satellite on our last mission.'

"Clay was the first to respond with, 'What? No he didn't.'

"Jensen looked at Clay guiltily. 'It wasn't for the actual mission. I just had to make sure they were okay. That there weren't any more broken legs.'

"Clay bit off the disapproving rebuke he was about to yell and instead just nodded. He understood. However, he had to be sure say, 'Jensen, this is what we've talked about. Remember? Caution. It's very important in our line of work. Caution.'

"The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the occasion of Cougar Cat's and Jensen Bunny's anniversary. Everyone ate and laughed and shared stories. Sarah, Jolene and Analicia made suggestions of how to decorate the rest of the house. However, Sarah asked them to consider moving in with her and Ana-bug. With the huge house that her brother had helped her to buy, they had so much space that they would love to have their guys closer to them while off-mission.

"Jensen and Cougar didn't respond then, but they both knew with just one look, that they would start moving the next day. They both knew that they would be so much happier being near their girls."

Cougar kissed Analicia on the top of her head before carefully getting up and tucking her in snugly. "And Jensen Bunny and Cougar Cat were right. They were happier living with their girls. And no matter what, they will always return to them, no matter what."

Analicia smiled up at her Uncle. Before she could thank him for the story, he reached under her bed. When he brought his hand back out, it contained a book. One of his books. She took it into her hands and stared at it.

It was the book of the story he had just told her. Since he had only been home for a few hours, he must have done it while he was…away. A single tear streaked down her cheek as she smiled brightly at her Uncle and wrapped her arms around his neck.

As soon as Cougar saw Analicia move towards him he leaned down to meet her. He didn't want her to disrupt herself too much. He could tell she was tired after such an exhausting day and she needed all the sleep she could get before her championship soccer game tomorrow.

As soon as they pulled apart from each other, Analicia looked deeply into her Uncle's eyes and said in a commanding voice, "You can never leave us like that again."

This story has already given me at least three other plot bunnies that I will be making into fics of their own-not bedtime stories, but other scenes that were mentioned in this story.

However, I do have other bedtime stories that Cougar tells to Analicia-as I've said, she has a whole bookshelf full of Cougar's hand-made books. If you'd like to read them, just let me know. I can make each story a new chapter for this fic.

If you do want to read the other bedtime stories, please tell me how you'd like to read them. If you want just the stories without the interaction between Cougar and Analicia, I can do that. If you like the interaction between Cougar and Analicia, I can leave that in as well. I could probably do both if my readers are torn between the two choices.

As always, thank you for reading and reviewing.

~JP