A/N: Sorry it took so long! I have had an incredibly long list of events happening in life that have, unfortunately, been hindering my time to write much more than I would like. Anyway, chapter two is finally here! Hope you enjoy!

The quiet days that followed should have left Calhoun without concern, but something gnawed at her as time passed without any further incident. Why would this offender steal on a regular basis and then all of a sudden stop? She was sure that he must have found some other source of supplies. Her soldiers were tired of the constant worrying and waiting; she could tell. But she was positive that if they let their guard down this thief would return to make fools of them all.

She allowed herself to relax only in the presence of Felix. He could always tell when she was on edge about something and inevitably would try to transfer all worries from her shoulders to his own. She couldn't do that to him. Though he was more aware now of the dangers outside his own game he still remained endearingly oblivious to many things. And she wanted to keep him that way.

"Something wrong honey?"

She snapped out of her thoughts and smiled warmly at him. "Nothing at all, short stack. Just thinking about a few things I need to check out before game time tomorrow."

"You're still worried." His words hit her like ice. No one knew her like he did.

However, she allowed her facial expression to remain unchanging and shook her head. "Not about that. Just the game play. I had more than one soldier get out of line during game time yesterday and I'm really getting tired of it." She felt a bit bad, lying about her soldiers performance. They had actually been exemplary during game time recently. She needed some excuse though.

"I'm sorry to say that I don't fully believe you..." He chose his words carefully, studying her face as he said them. "But if you don't want to talk about it then I understand." He hopped down from where they were eating breakfast, gathering the empty dishes off the table as he did so. He walked over to the sink and hopped up on a stool, washing the dishes and placing them in the sink.

"Fix-It..." She stood and walked over, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "I love you."

He looked up at her with those big blue eyes and smiled, his cheeks flushed with honey-glow. "I love you too."

She hugged him and then glanced up at the clock. "It'll be opening time soon. We'd better get dressed."

"Alright soldiers, let's get into starting positions! A quarter alert could sound any minute!" She watched as her men slid easily into formation and couldn't help the bit of pride that surged through her at the sight of them. Guilt nipped at her heart again for lying about them, but some part of her felt that they would surely understand why she'd done it if they knew.

The quarter alert sounded and she tensed, preparing herself for a long day ahead. But as it turned out many of the gamers today were better than usual. It helped to improve her mood and, surprisingly enough, took her mind off her problems. Three gamers made it to the end and got awarded their medal.

She stood proudly alongside them as they received it and knew that hardly anything could ever compare to the way she felt when she saw the pride each child expressed upon winning the game. Perhaps the only thing that ever made her feel better than that was when she looked at Felix.

When the day was finally over she was left in a good enough mood that she gave most of her soldiers a break and let them horse around as she and a small squad did a final perimeter check for any stray Cy-bugs. Once she was sure that none remained she allowed her squad to join the remaining soldiers and eagerly left the game, leaving Kohut in charge just in case anything were to happen in her absence.

She crossed Game Central Station with her usual air of authority, causing the smaller and larger game characters alike to scurry out of her way when they saw her. If nearby characters watching didn't know any better they might think she was the bad guy of her game. This however didn't bother her in the slightest. Her mind was focused solely on getting home to Felix. She pulled out her Hoverboard and hopped on. Soon she was inside of the Fix-It Felix Jr. game and was making her way home. She was sure that her good mood absolutely couldn't be ruined until a familiar voice called out her name.

She turned to see Ralph walking over, looking deeply troubled. "Hey Wreck-It. What's going on?"

His expression assured her that whatever it was, it wasn't good. "It's Felix. Somethings real screwy with him today. He just wasn't playing the game right. Has he been acting normal with you?"

She frowned. "Yeah. He seemed fine this morning when I left. Where's he at?"

Ralph pointed with a large finger to a nearby hilltop, where a small silhouette of a figure could be made out. "He's been up there since the arcade closed. Won't say anything."

Her concern caused her to forget her usual harshness as she said, "Alright Wreck-It. Thanks."

She was about to make her way over to him when she heard a tiny voice cry out, "Sarge! It's been a while!" She turned to see Vanellope skipping over with her usual toothy grin plastered on her face.

"Sure has Pres." She glanced towards Felix, but decided that he could wait just a bit longer. She knelt and hugged Vanellope momentarily. "You haven't come around for that training just yet." Calhoun never regretted promising the young girl the chance to get some real training as a soldier. Of course the training wouldn't include handling dangerous weapons or anything of the sort. But she figured it'd be fun, especially for the soldiers, to have such an excitable little girl bouncing up and down the barracks trying to learn anything she could.

"Oh yeah." Vanellope kicked the ground sheepishly. "I kinda forgot. Being president is hard work! I hardly have time for anything anymore. Even seeing Ralph!" She jumped up to give Ralph a hug as she said this last part, which he gladly returned.

Calhoun hid a smile and found her gaze returning to the dark figure in the distance. "Don't worry about it kiddo. Just come around when you've got the free time."

Vanellope nodded vigorously and Calhoun promptly excused herself, beginning the short trek up the hill. As she neared him she stopped and stiffened a little. He looked completely different. His face, usually a bright sun of cheer, was dark with an oddly familiar sight of anger and disappointment. He hadn't noticed her yet, but when she began her stride again he looked up and the strange expression vanished. "Tammy! You're finally home!" He hopped over and jumped up, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"What's wrong Fix-It?" She asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Nothing's wrong sweetheart. I'm happy to see you!" No, something was definitely off. He was acting too cheery, even for himself.

"Bullshit Felix. I can tell you're trying to hide something. What is it?"

"I'm not hiding anything honey. Everything is perfectly alright." He beamed at her and for the first time ever she found the expression creepy. "I've been waiting for you! Let's go back home!" He took her hand and began leading her down the hill. She followed, but her gut told her that something unquestionably wasn't right.

As they passed Ralph and Vanellope she gave Ralph a look that she hoped made it obvious that she knew something was wrong. He eyed Felix, who waved at him and Vanellope before continuing to pull his wife towards the house. Ralph returned her knowing look and she turned her attention back to her husband. Now, with Ralph as backup, she had a bit more confidence in finding out just what in the hell was wrong with Fix-It Felix Jr.