Don't ask about the title. I have no idea where that came from.

Disclaimer: (insert witty disclaimer saying I don't own KND here)

They always say the first day is the hardest. Somehow they believe that to be a comfort whenever a person is going through a hardship. They think that once the initial wave of pain wears off, they will begin to heal.

This was the mentality the remaining members of Sector V held when Nigel Uno, fellow operative, sector leader, and best friend, left them behind. But after they returned from seeing him off, the bombardment of grief and tears that they had expected never arrived. In its place, a dull, empty feeling descended over them like the final curtain at the end of a performance. They each went through the motions necessary for that thing called life, only they were no longer sure what to live for.

Yes, the first day is the hardest. But when all the days are meaninglessly blended together to the point where you cannot decipher one from the other, who's to say when that first day will end?

All this and more passed through Numbuh 5's mind as she absently sloshed her cereal around with her spoon. Rainbow Munchies. How dare they look so colorful and bright at a time like this.

Numbuh 3 sat across from her, and for once her favorite breakfast meal wasn't giving her the delight it usually did. In fact, the radiant joy that constantly emanated from the perky Asian had dimmed to almost nothing, threatening to flicker out entirely. And at times it did, though Numbuh 5 noted that those moment coincided with whenever she glanced at the blond boy sitting out on the deck, his knees pulled to his chest as he searched in vain for a rocket ship to come crashing down and return what he had lost.

It's times like these when the difference between boys and girls are most evident. Ever since he left Numbuhs 5 and 3 had been with each other almost constantly. Sometimes they would talk, but mostly they just needed the mere company of the other to make the mood a bit lighter.

For the boys, it was a different story entirely. They kept to themselves, not willing to speak or even be in so much as the same room as another. The girls had witnessed Numbuh 4 go from punching a wall to lying crumbled on the ground in a span of seconds, while Numbuh 2 hadn't been seen in days.

Numbuh 2. While she often trusted the boy enough to let him take care of himself, disappearing without even telling them where he would be wasn't like him. And if Numbuh 5 was honest with herself, she was worried about him.

And she knew for a fact that Numbuh 3 felt the same about Numbuh 4. When Numbuh 5 caught the girl shooting yet another look towards the Aussie's way, she said, "We've given them enough time by themselves. He needs you."

A blush crept onto Numbuh 3's features, but that was all she needed to get up and head outside. Numbuh 5 sat back and watched quietly as she timidly approached Numbuh 4 as if she'd never met him before. At first he tried to resist the girl's attempts to talk with him, but it wasn't long before the overwhelming amount of hurt caused him to collapse in her arms.

Having seen enough, Numbuh 5 left the two alone as she let her instincts guide her to the one person who was still in need. Somehow, despite the multiple stories of the Treehouse and the number of rooms on each one, she knew exactly where he'd be.

Eventually she arrived at the door of an underground bunker, unknown to anyone else but them two. Numbuh 5 had caught him once trying to sneak into his little hideout (she wasn't the sector spy for nothing), and he had made her promise not to tell a soul in order to protect his top secret inventions from fellow 2x4 tech geeks.

As expected, she found him halfway into the engine of his favorite prototype: a vehicle that could travel through, air, water, land, and space. Although the machine was his pride and joy, Numbuh 5 suspected the only reason he was working on it now was to take his mind off of the departure of his best friend.

Numbuh 5 leaned up against the vehicle. "Need a hand?"

As he glanced up, Numbuh 2 somehow seemed unsurprised at her arrival. She thought that he would simply turn her away, but after a brief pause he said, "Could you pass me my H.A.M.M.A.W.H.A.M.M.A.?"

For a while they continued this way in companionable silence. Numbuh 2 would work on his invention, and Numbuh 5 would try to think of a way to reach the uncomfortable topic of their former sector leader's leaving.

To her amazement, it was Numbuh 2 who got the ball rolling. "If you're here to offer some comfort, you're wasting your time. I'm fine."

Numbuh 5 wasn't really a people person, but even she knew that when someone says they're "fine", they're usually anything but.

"I can see that," she said, voice layered with sarcasm. "Especially the way that Numbuh 5 has been here ten minutes and you haven't cracked a single joke."

Numbuh 2's eyes narrowed behind his goggles. "You've always hated my jokes."

"Since when did that stop you?" she retorted. "The Numbuh 2 I know could care less about what other people thought of him!"

"Well that was before-" Numbuh 2 caught himself just in time. He instantly turned his attention back to the project at hand, sending a signal that he was done with the conversation.

Numbuh 5, however, was not. "Before what, Numbuh 2?"

But the pilot only lost himself even more in his invention. With a sigh of pure pity, the girl turned and began to walk away.

Five, four, three, two...

"Before he abandoned us."

Numbuh 5 was instantly by his side as he gave in and tossed his wrench aside, just as she knew he would. The two sat against the front bumper, and all she had to do was raise an eyebrow for Numbuh 2 to release all of the emotions that had been buried inside of him.

"We've all been a team together for nearly three years," he cried. "And I've been his best friend for even longer. But he just goes and throws all that away to chase some aliens a hundred lightyears away! Did we mean that little to him?"

The very air seemed to press down on them as an unbearable silence settled around them. Numbuh 5 felt the need to ease his worries, but she couldn't answer his questions when she had wondered the exact same things herself.

Whenever she had a problem like this, she used to go to Nigel. But now that he was gone, the best she could do was replay the words of their last conversation, as she had been doing constantly ever since he left.

But it won't be Sector V without you.

It was before, and it will be after.

"I think that what he would want is for us to move on," Numbuh 5 said. "Nigel understood the mission of the Kids Next Door more than any of us: to help kids.. He didn't leave because we weren't good enough, but he was willing to sacrifice us for the sake of the cause. It's okay to miss him, but the best way to honor his choice is not to let that get in the way of what we're fighting for."

Numbuh 2 remained silent for a excruciatingly long time, staring blankly ahead as he pondered the girl's words. But then he at last turned to face her, his mouth twitching slightly like he was holding something back.

"I think you should get your blood level checked, Numbuh 5," he said as a goofy grin sneaked onto his face. "Because you sure are being sweet!"

And that's how she knew everything would be alright.

Numbuh 5 rose to her feet, pulling her friend onto his own as well. "Come on," she said, acquiring a smirk to match Numbuh 2's."Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4 are upstairs having a moment. It's about time someone spoiled that."

Does it make sense that I'm bad at making bad jokes?

I'm not much of a hurt/comfort writer, so this was insanely difficult to write, but I hope you liked it. Anyways, there will be five chapters total, one update every Saturday if all goes well.