Val was frustrated. She had crashed at her siblings' house for the weekend as they partied it up but had found it disappointing. The daytime had been great as they went out sightseeing and playing around but the nighttime had been lacking.

She had found acceptable partners for the night at the clubs, but it had been boring. The first one had been technically proficient but there had been no spark. The second one had been intriguing initially but fell short in performance.

She was feeling restless and was tired of being cooped up in the penthouse with the children. Granted it was a large penthouse but her body was agitated and wanted to get out. She wanted to stretch her muscles, feel the burn from exertion.

"Are you going to teach me how to storm a castle?" AJ asked.

His question drew Val from her reverie as she focused on the present. Focusing on him, it took a minute for the memory to come back to her. She had forgotten her promise and had not thought of what to do with them today beyond the basics.

They had already completed their math lesson for the day and both kids were looking at her expectantly. They hardly ever left the penthouse other than to go to their father's office at the end of the day. They could use some time out of here as well.

"I am," Val said, suddenly sure of herself. "What is your weapon of choice, Sir AJ?"

He pondered the question a moment before he suddenly squared off with her and raised little fists.

"My hands," AJ declared.

"And you Lady Lily?" Val asked.

Val was packing a bag with spare clothes and snacks for them.

"My brain," Lily said proudly.

"One has bronze, one has brains, together they are unstoppable," Val proclaimed. "Get your jackets munchkins, time for an adventure."

Both kids tore off to the entryway to don their jackets and shoes. It was not raining but there was a chill in the air, and she did not want them to catch a cold. They hopped in the elevator and rode it down to the gym on the thirty first floor.

"Welcome in, I'm Zack Feather, how may I help you?" asked the man at the desk.

He was cute, Val thought. His short blond hair was spiked up and his blue eyes were friendly. His muscles bulged under his tight shirt, looking like they were barely contained by the fabric. She was going to need to come here more often.

"Hi, I'm Val, I'm the nanny for Alexander Smith's children," Val introduced herself.

She reached out a hand and as his warm one enveloped hers, she felt a pleasant tingle. It wasn't anything compared to the jolt she received at contact with Alexander, but it was enjoyable. Definitely was going to need to come more.

"Nice to meet you," Zack said as he shook her hand. "I haven't seen you here before, are you coming to activate your membership?"

"I don't have one, I was coming to register the kids for classes," Val explained.

Zack looked down at them and smiled warmly.

"Well that is exciting, we've never had the pleasure of your company here before. What classes are you wanting to take?" Zack asked them as he leaned on the counter.

Val was really warming up to Zack. So many people just talked over the kids but he was taking the time to include them in the conversation. AJ shrugged his shoulders and both kids looked up at Val expectantly.

"What do you offer for four year olds?" Val asked him.

A big smile overtook Zack's face as he looked up at her. He reached under the desk and pulled out some flyers.

"We have a little bit of everything depending on what you're interested in," Zack said to the kids. "We have Tiny Toes if you want to learn dancing like ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop. We have Grasshoppers if you want to learn martial arts. There is Teensy Tumblers if you want to try gymnastics. But my favorite, and not just because I teach it, is Ninja Nuggets. We do a little bit of everything."

Lily was jumping up and down and clapping her hands with excitement. AJ was looking excited too.

"I have a class starting in 15 minutes if you want to do a trial run," Zack suggested.

Both Lily and AJ looked at her with big pleading eyes.

"I'm not going to say no, that's why we're here munchkins," Val said to them. "What do you need from me?"

Zack smiled broadly as he pulled out some forms and slid them to her.

"I just need you to sign these waivers for a free trial. If they want to come back, I can add the classes to their accounts," Zack said.

Val had not been aware the children had accounts here but that made things easier. Smiling back at Zack, she filled out the necessary forms.

"Did one of their previous nannies bring them here?" Val asked him.

"No, it is the first time they've been here, but all residents of Black Flag Tower have an account here. You have free use of the gym and can sign up for as many classes as you want, free of charge. The only thing that costs residents extra is personal training sessions," Zack informed her.

"Interesting, I think I would like to activate my membership then. I need to get back in my exercise routine," Val said.

"Excellent, would you like to do a Ninja Nugget trial too?" Zack suggested. "Parents, or in your case, awesome nannies, are allowed to do the class with the children. We find it engages them more."

"I think I might need something a little more advanced," Val said smugly.

"Is that so," Zack purred.

"Definitely, but I'll give it a try so you can assess for yourself," Val said suggestively.

"I look forward to it," Zack said, a promise in his voice.

"Where can we change?" Val asked.

Zack blinked, pulling himself back as he remembered where they were. He looked around and shouted to another employee and waved them over. The woman that came over was a sinewy offering that looked like she could break Val over a knee if she wanted to.

"This is Tina," Zack introduced. "Tina, this is Lily and AJ Smith and their nanny Val. Can you give them a quick tour?"

"Sure thing boss," Tina said in a surprisingly feminine voice.

Val should not have been surprised; she was obviously a woman but she had expected a different voice. She had expected something harsher, more guttural. If she wasn't looking at the bundle of highly toned muscles, she would think the voice belonged to a friendly lady sipping tea, pinky out.

Tina was very friendly as she guided them away to show them the equipment. Val peeked over her shoulder at Zack as they walked away and was bolstered by him quickly jerking up his eyes and looking away with a blush. Cute, Val thought. She wondered if he would have that same blush at the moment of his release.

Tina showed them where the family locker room was and said she would wait outside for them to change. Val took them in, and they quickly swapped clothes to get ready for the class. She was glad she had decided to throw appropriate attire in the bag as the spares in case they had an accident. She made sure they both used the potty before they went back out to Tina.

Tina escorted them up some stairs and showed them various studios and rooms along one side of the long hall. Reaching the end of the hall, they rounded the corner and entered a room that had Val doing a double take. She could see beams and bars for gymnastics, a bouncy padded floor, and foam blocks of various shapes and sizes running down the middle of the room. On the wall that ran the hallway, there were multicolored protrusions for hand and foot holds for climbing as well as ropes and bars in all sorts of configurations. On the other side, the wall was floor to ceiling windows next to a long trampoline and a foam pit.

They were standing in a small seating area where participants could leave their belongings and spectators could watch people tumble about. Val's muscles began to sing with excitement at the sight. This was her type of set up.

Several kids were already tearing up and down the floor and hopping around in excitement, followed more sedately by a few adults. Val looked over to a few women sitting closely together and appraising her with venomous looks. Val disregarded them as she helped Lily and AJ take off their shoes and shove their belongings in a cubby.

Lily grabbed her hand, suddenly shy, as they stepped onto the springy floor. AJ stepped out tentatively before grinning wide and jumping to the group of other kids now clustering around Zack. Lily and Val followed at a slower pace while Lily accustomed herself to the wobbly sensation.

"Great," Zack said as he beamed at his audience. "Let's start with a few stretches, everyone find and x to stand on."

Val looked at the floor and saw various colored tape marking the floor and guided her charges to spots on either side of her. Both kids were bursting at the seams as they followed along with Zack's instructions and movements. Val was pleasantly surprised at the familiar motions as they moved through some basic Tai Chi moves.

"What ears do we have on?" Zack asked the class as they balanced on one leg.

The kids all put their thumbs to their ears and held up their index fingers as they shouted back "listening ears."

"That's right," Zack announced proudly. "Who's ready to run?"

Kids and parents alike scrambled to form two lines on either side of him and face the back of the room. Val decided AJ was looking good on his own, so she stood next to Lily at the back of the line. It was adorable chaos as little legs started pumping at Zack's commands and tumbling to the finish line.

At their turn, they took off down the room, Val half skipping next to Lily as they held hands. Val was impressed by how quickly AJ took off considering how slowly he moved around the penthouse. More confident in her decision, she decided this was just what the three of them needed.

"Great job my little ninjas in training," Zack congratulated. "Okay now, this line goes with Tina over to the trampoline and this line comes with me to the tumbling course."

Val watched AJ excitedly chase after the group with Tina as she went with Lily and the rest of the group. There were only ten kids in the class but the parents on the floor were just as actively engaged as they laughingly somersaulted down the foam triangle or jumped like exploding stars down the trampoline. Val found herself smiling widely as she spun around and met Zack's beaming face.

"This is fun," she said to him.

"This is only the beginning," Zack told her with a wink.

They spent the rest of the hour enjoying tumbling, balancing, and jumping all around. By the end, the kids were tuckered out and ready for a break, but Val had just warmed up. It was with reluctance that she helped them get their shoes back on and get ready to leave.

Val noticed the women who had been sitting and observing were suddenly adjusting themselves like preening birds. She turned and saw Zack leaning against the half wall separating the observation area from the rest of the floor. He was smiling at her, completely oblivious to the other woman. Val liked that, she decided.

"So, what did you think?" Zack asked Lily and AJ.

"It was awesome!" AJ shouted.

Lily resorted to hiding behind Val's leg and sucking a thumb but gave him a thumbs up with her free hand.

"Sounds like you have two new students," Val agreed.

"Let us go back downstairs and we can get you added to the schedule," Zack said.

To her surprise, AJ clutched her hand and practically dragged her down to the desk. Zack also convinced Val to sign up for his beginner Ninja Warrior course that was starting that night. Not that it had taken much prodding, Val was thankful for the excuse to see him again without the children present.