Story Name: Project Christmas

Chapter Name: One/Intro.

Category: Lab Rats, 2012

Characters: Donald Davenport

Rating: K

Song of the Chapter: Bad Blood - Sleeping at Last

Location: Davenport Mansion, Mission Creek, California

Date: December First, Two-Thousand Twenty-Five

A Message from the Author: Hey readers, welcome once again to a story that gives your brain the attention it deserves. This story idea had popped into my head about a year ago actually, and I'm just now getting the time to write it all down. I thought it would seem fitting now especially since we're nearing that special time of year. Nevertheless, this story is not on here for anyone else's enjoyment but mine and whoever decided they wanted to read an amazing story. Just kidding, you don't have to read it... but if you want to, I'm always wanting to read y'all's reviews (good or bad) so make sure to leave a review if you feel like it.

Anyway, the story begins under this line, if you couldn't tell. Enjoy.

One.

The date marked December 1st, the beginning of yet again another awful season for the once-world renown tech mogul. It's been five years since he's seen any sight of his family members, and just the thought of anyone coming back for him seems like an extreme impossibility. Ever since his family left, a pain has lingered in his chest. A pain he knew would never leave him until he saw them again. This was his grandest fear: that he would never fill that gap. That he would never see his family again. He contemplated his life thus far, and how much he's been given and how much he's lost, how much he would trade anything he could give to have another moment with his loved ones.

Another moment of Adam literally gobbling down 5 pounds of spaghetti. Another moment of Bree complaining about how stupid and idiotic her brothers were... all five of them. Another moment of Chase getting angry because he was "too morally superior to deal with these people." The list went on and on. A tear left his face at the thought of any of this ever happening again. He knew he messed up, and there was no possible way to fix it.

His family hates him, he knows that. They hate his ego, his imperfections, his mistakes.

So, like any other project he couldn't figure out how to fix, he waited for an answer. A knock on the door, possibly? No, that's too much. A phone call? A text message?

Impossible.

Five years passed on by, and here he was, in the same exact position as before... trying to wrap his finite mind around the fact that he had no one. After the divorce, people on Billionaire Butte started to ignore the household. In fact, he hasn't seen another human face he's recognized since that day. Making friends was a possible answer... but he knew that his family would have to come back eventually, right? Wishful thinking.

In spite of no one coming back, he "improved" himself. It's one of the many coping mechanisms used by many people, Chase would've known that. He became friends with the gym, pushing himself harder and harder with every visit. Adding ten more pounds every week seemed like wishful thinking to many, but to Donald, there was nothing stopping him from hitting the hard wall that is rest. He never knew what rest was, even when he was married. Donald begins to think that's another reason why everyone left.

Another way of improving himself was one quite interesting, to say the least. There was only one day in October where the sun was thirty-three (ninety-one) degrees and sunny, so his brain convinced himself to get outside and find some fresh air. So, what did he do? He made his way to the small shops in Mission Creek, waiting for the perfect present to get himself for Christmas.

The weather cooled down a few hours later, and Donald was still walking around, looking for that perfect present. It wasn't until he was about to turn around when out of a quick eye glance he saw the "perfect" location. A music shop stood out to the people eyeing the city closely, sitting in between a coffee shop and a large toy store. The music shop was small and quaint, but that didn't concern the customers, as the instruments were flawless and stayed that way for a long time. Donald walked in the door and noticed the quick temperature change, along with the Christmas scent lingering around the room. A shopping clerk waved as the door swerved open, smiling like he actually enjoyed working there. Other people roamed around, acting like they had an extra five to ten grand to buy a new instrument.

He roamed for what seemed like half an hour, waiting for something to catch his eye... but at last, he found his new hobby: a wooden acoustic guitar. It seemed like the instrument was a little large at first, but the comfort level was quickly adjusted to his needs. He imagined playing to his children around the fire, everyone singing those classic Christmas songs. Oh, how he longed for that to happen again. No distracting electronics, no complaining about the wait for food. Just a simple time of singing around the fire with your loved ones. He checked the price tag: $500. It was quite the purchase for someone who was just window shopping, who wasn't working at the time, and who had absolutely no idea how to play the guitar. However, he committed to himself that one day, he would have that moment with his family around the fireplace.

Part one was over, now for the even more difficult part of his impossible project: to find his family.

He had the old emails of when they were still living with him, so he took a large shot. An email to his ex-wife, an email to his brother, his children. Heck, even to Sebastian, Krane's kid. The feeling of disparity was too much for the man, he was going to take as much of a shot as he could. There was nothing that he wasn't going to try. There was nothing he wasn't going to do. His goal was this simple, yet impossible project. His lifeline and sanity depended upon it. This was his last shot, and he wasn't going to take it lightly.

So with the last few hours of the First of December, he poured out his heart into a simple group text. He didn't know if any responses would come. He wasn't sure if they'd accept him... but it wouldn't hurt to try.