Alpha Squadron: Preparing for bed

[Karma]

"Come on you two, no more fighting. Chopper, it's not nice pulling a girl's hair, and Jenny hitting him won't solve anything and it's not very nice either," Karma said calmly to the two pouting kids that she held apart, one hand of hers holding one of the others as they walked to the large playroom/bedroom for the kids. She walked with them up the stairs with tiny Lily flying next to her head. "Remember what I said? I promised you all a story of your choice and maybe even watch some of a Disney movie if you keep the fighting to a minimal. Can we try and do that you two?" she asked biting back a smile as she opened the room to the playroom.

Karma would never raise her voice to her little darlings, and as bad as it was she had to admit it was almost cute how Chopper and Jenny would constantly fight, both physically and verbally. Lily wasn't nearly as troublesome as those two, usually the peacemaker between them. Karma switched on the light to the mostly clean room and let go of Chopper and Jenny's hands. "Alright you three go get washed up. Sooner that's done the sooner the story comes," she said with a wink to the trio as she sent them off to get ready.

She grabbed a pile of books and took a seat in her usual plush chair, keeping her eye on the little ones as they got ready, already getting ready to break up another fight. Children were just that and many were expected to fight adorably amongst themselves, nothing like the way the older kids did.

[Jenny]

Jenny glared at Chopper from over Karma's hip sticking her tongue out at him. "It's not my fault he's an icky boy! I tolds him not to pull my hair Karma, I did! And he did it anyways! S'not my fault he got hit in the head," she said pouting as they walked up to the room. Stupid boy. He's icky. I'm gonna push him in the ground tomorrow for making fun of Roger, Jenny thought sending the boy a glare.

Chopper's arrival made a stir in Jenny's life. She was still a huge sweetheart to just about anyone, but she and Chopper fought all the time. Several times, Stoney had to hold the both of them apart, one in each hand as they tried to get at each other. And of course, Jenny's very good friend Nightcrawler heard all her rantings about how Chopper is icky and dumb and a dirty trash can full of poop. The two together were impossible.

Making sure Karma was not looking, Jenny stuck her tongue out at Chopper and pushed him with her small hand before running off to get her pajama clothes and change in the girls bathroom. "C'mon Lily, we get the girl's bathroom thats nice and clean on the count that there no icky boys in it," she said pointedly and went to the bathroom to change and wash up. Jenny brushed her teeth and changed into her Pocahontas Pajamas, grabbing Roger as she ran out to join Karma. "See Karma, I gots ready and I'm first!" she said proudly, happy to beat Chopper at something. She grabbed her big princess pillow and went over to sit by Karma, a proud smile on her face.

[Lily]

"Coming coming comingggg!" Lily sang out as she zoomed by Karma's head and followed Jenny into the girls bathroom. She too quickly changed into her pajamas, a light blue pajama set that had little ruffles on the edges and little sparkles all around the fabric. She brushed her teeth quickly and gave herself a cheesy smile in the mirror before running out of the bathroom and waving her hand wildly in the air. "And I'm second cause girls are coolerer!" she said, plopping down next to Jenny and smiling widely.

She could only imagine what Chopper would do, seeing as he and Jenny almost always got into fights and she normally either made them have happy endings by covering them both in happy dust or sided with Jenny to promote the ultra super cool thing she heard about on tv when an older movie played- Girl Power. What she did during the fights sometimes depended on the subject.

"Yes! Let's hear a story! Chopper move your heiney! I wanna hear a story!" she said bouncing where she sat as she looked to Chopper and then back to Karma. "What story's it tonight?" she asked, looking up at her leader with her big eyes and her normal cute smile.

[Chopper]

Chopper walked out of the bathroom with a scowl on his face wearing his Batman pajamas. "Had to wash all the cooties off me, and that takes awhile cause you got alotta them!" he said indigently and stuck his tongue out at them. He grabbed his Speed Racer blanket and went to sit a bit away from the girls, though still ended up closest to Jenny. So what if the girl knew a thing or two about hitting and stuff, she was still dumb and had cooties according to Chopper.

"Karma you should tell her to wash up that moldy stupid Rabbit too. I might get sick from all the germs on that thing," Chopper said and stuck his tongue out at her. "Tell a good story, none of that sissy princess stuff. Something cool, like ninjas! Or Batman!" he exclaimed and swung his leg to kick at Jenny.

[Karma]

Karma shook her head with a smile on her face at her little ones. Chopper had it tough being the only boy among two girls, but he made sure that neither of her little girls forgot it. She loved all of them very much, and it was cute to watch them grow up so carefree and their biggest problem being that they didn't know what the other would do next. "Now come on you two, don't you want to hear the brand new story I got just for you guys today?" she asked the two children and smiled when they quieted, as they usually did whenever she mentioned that it was a new story.

She pulled out a new book and showed them the cover. "This used to be one of my favorites when I was growing up. McFeeglebee's Pond it's called," Karma said with a wink at the three. They were all very good readers, but sometimes they needed help with funny words. She opened the colorful book and sat it on her knee so she could look over to read it. "Out behind the big red barn at the edge of the walnut grove is a most magnificent pond shaded by an old oak tree. I'll tell you right now, before it's too late. It belongs to McFeeglebee," she began and gave them a moment to look at the pictures before she turned the page.

"And McFeeglebee absolutely forbids fishing in that pond. He's put up five signs to prove it. "Before I'll allow any little boys to fish in there," he says, "I'd rather remove it." "Little boys make too much noise. They'd scare the fish, being shouters and laughers and slappers. They'd muddy the water, and leave gum wrappers. No -- I'd be a fool to let them fish in my pool," Karma read, even making the voices for them as she pointed to McFeeglebee in the book.

[Jenny]

Jenny glared at Chopper, but went silent the moment that Karma showed them the brand new book that she got. Jenny loved to read and loved it when Karma got them new books. And she was the best at reading them. She's the best on the count of her doing the voices real neat, she thought with a giggle.

The story had her full attention and she giggled at the name McFeeglebee and the voice that Karma did of him. "Hey that's not fair, what about girls? They fish too! I caught a real big fish when I went with my daddy!" Jenny exclaimed pointing out how it was unfair to say how only boys went fishing in ponds.

[Lily]

Lily giggled quietly where she sat as Karma began reading, creating voices for the different characters and everything. Lily loved it and it made the stories all the more interesting. She looked at Jenny with a giggle as she spoke, and shook her head. "At leasts they don't say how girls makes the pond dirty and gum wrappery and slappy and shouty. I bet they would let girls there, cause we're better AND we can fish without all that icky boy stuff," she said confidently, giving Jenny a little nudge in the arm with her tiny elbow, and then stuck her tongue out at Chopper playfully.

"What happens next? I wanna hear what happens next! Does Mr. McFleeblegee never let 'em get fishes?" Lily asked Karma, wanting to hear more of the story. Wasn't it so funny to think that Karma was reading a storybook about how icky boys are?

[Chopper]

Chopper made a face and stuck his tongue out at the girls. "Girls don't fish stupids! That's a BOY sport! Even Mr. McFeeglebee knows it thats why he said no BOYS!" he pointed out with a scowl and looked back at Karma. "Okay Karma go on now that I told them what its like. Girls can't fish cause they scare them away with their cooties," Chopper added before turning back to hear the story that Karma told in the cool voices.

Girls are soooooooo Dumb.

[Karma]

Karma gave the three kids a small smile. "Jenny, I know girls can fish, just in this story only the boys really want to fish cause the girls got better things to do," she said with a wink. "Chopper no name calling please. Let's go on with the story," Karma added gentle and then went back to reading.

"So for a long time nobody dared to fish in that pool. That is, not until little Georgie P. Johnson decided to break the rule. "I'm gonna fish there," he said, "under the oak, where it's cool. I'm gonna lie down with my knees in the air and the pole through my toes and doze like a lazy catfish in summer. Nobody will catch me. I'm a fast runner. Everyone warned him. "A pool is not the sea. You can't fish for free, it's stealing. Besides, there's all sorts of surprises in McFeeglebee's pond. Nobody knows just what is in there besides fish and old shoes and the things people lose. You'll catch something dangerous so you'd better beware. Fish in that pond? I wouldn't dare!"
But little Georgie P. Johnson just wiggled his nose and pretended not to hear, as if he had molasses stuck in his ear. Of fishing he was very fond, why should he fear McFeeglebee's pond?" she read doing all the little voices and keeping their attention through this story.

"So early one morning with his pole in his hand, he crept past the red barn on McFeeglebee's land out to the edge of the grove to the pond, where he baited his hook, sinking it deep. Then Georgie P. Johnson fell asleep. All of a sudden with a bob and a jerk, the fishing line woke him. Grabbing the pole and holding on tight he used every muscle to fight what was without doubt the biggest of trout.
He pulled ten minutes before seeing that what he had caught was not a trout, but a huge grisly catfish. How could he have been so wrong? Its whiskers alone were a foot long!
He dug in his heels, held on even tighter, nobody could say he wasn't a fighter. The water seething and boiling, turned bright red then dark as that grisly catfish became a shark!" Karma said in a voice of astonishment. She had been turning the pages and showed them the pictures of Georgie and the fish that changed.

"A shark twenty feet long with a mouth like a barrel and teeth that could bite. That was a sight! But with a splash of its tail it turned into a whale. Now a whale in McFeeglebee's pond, that's really something! As big as three houses with breath like a gale, it looked rather hungry which made Georgie pale," Karma pointed to the picture of a big whale.

"When the question becomes who's catching who, little Georgie knew what to do. It's silly to fish when fishing's no fun, so he dropped his pole and started to run. But it was too late! That whale became a sea dragon. It sloshed out of that pond with its slimy scales, reaching for Georgie with crooked nails. Now he wished he'd taken his friends' advice. At any price it was better than this. Just as the dragon was about to sup, little Georgie P. Johnson woke up."

"It was after all only a dream though there was a fish on his line. But catching it was a cinch. It was only a goldfish, barely an inch. And after that dream it hardly seemed worth it. So releasing the hook he threw it back where it belonged, in McFeeglebee's pond. Now when friends ask him what happened out there, he wiggles his nose and gives them a stare. "Of fishing I'm particularly fond. But there's just too many surprises in McFeeglebee's pond"," Karma said and turned to the last page of the book.

" Out behind the big red barn at the edge of the walnut grove is a most magnificent pond shaded by an old oak tree. I'll remind you right now, before it's too late. It belongs to McFeeglebee," she finished the story, pausing to allow them to look at the picture of McFeeglebee's pond.

She looked at her little group, the small group that she held so dear and would protect from anything. "So how did you all like that story?" Karma asked setting the book on her lap and looking at their faces, some already looking a bit sleepy.

[Jenny]

Jenny stayed quiet for the rest of the story, snuggling up on her Princess pillow and clutching Roger close to her. She liked the story a lot, the pictures were neat and it was funny to see what happened to Little Georgie at Mr. McFeeglebee's pond. I knew I boys were dummies, she thought as a yawn escaped from her little mouth. It was a big day for Jenny since she spent her morning in the garden with Colossus who helped her with her flowers, then it was classes with Karma where they learned the planets.

She snuggled deeper into the pillow and her cornflower blue eyes got a little sleepy looking even though she wasn't ready to sleep yet. The story was so neat and Karma read it so nicely that Jenny wasn't ready to call it a night after just one story. "That was a neat story Karma, Little Georgie learned his lesson huh? Silly boOOOYYy," Jenny said yawning at the last word, blinking her large blue eyes and looked right back at her beloved caretaker.

"Can we read another man? Or watch a movie? You promised we can watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame next. I wanna see Quasimodo again and his gargoyle friends. I'd be his friend if I could," Jenny added as an afterthought to her questions. She loved all Disney movies, but really loved some more than others, and that was one of them. She wished that she had known Quasimodo, Jenny would have been his friend and not let anyone be mean to him. He was neat and cool and she was strongly against all the people in the movie that were mean to him. That's why she liked Esmeralda and Phoebus and of course, Phoebus's horse Achilles.

Jenny sat up and rubbed her eyes, blinking up at Karma pleadingly. "Please Karma? It's not that late and we always wakes up for breakfast?" she asked and hugged Roger and her pillow to her.

[Lily]

Lily giggled quietly as the story progressed, thinking it hilarious that the dream Little Georgie had that ultimately scared him off from the pond. "I likeded it! It was funny," she giggled, and then gave a cute little yawn along with Jenny. "Let's watch a movie! I wants a movieee," she cheered while bouncing a little in her seat. Sometimes she preferred movies to stories and this was one of those nights. Plus it was easier to fall asleep while watching a movie rather than hearing a story. With a movie it seemed a little nicer, as her mother had made sure to tell her it was respectful to listen to someone even when reading a story. Because of it, Lily sometimes rathered fall asleep watching a movie than fall asleep while being read to. She tried to be respectful when she remembered to.

"I wants to see Hunchback of Notre Dame, please please pleeeeease Karma?" she asked her leader with a big cheesy but slightly tired smile. "Like Jenny said we do gets up for breakfast on time," she said for effect, especially since it was true. Besides, breakfast was always a fun time. Lily had her favoritest cereal in the world, Lucky Charms mixed with Cinnamon Toast Crunch with chocolate milk on the side. She wouldn't miss that for the world.

[Chopper]

Chopper let out a yawn and set up. "That was a good story Karma. How come ya never got us that one before? It's way better than that silly Snow White stuff or that stupid princess stuff with some silly prince and all that," he commented and stuck his tongue out at the girls. Chopper scrambled to his feet, grabbing his blanket and going over to his bed at the corner of the room away from the silly giggling girls with cooties.

He loved his little area of the room, which he liked to hang bed sheets and make his private fort in the room of his section. It had all his movies and his fishing rod and the pictures that he took with his camera that his dad got him. There were pictures of him and Stoney from last year when they went fishing to a lake that was almost an hour away from them with Colossus and Kitty. Chopper caught a HUGE fish and Stoney had to help him reel it in the 3 foot long catfish. One of Chopper's favorite picture was Stoney holding up the fish and he was next to it in his favorite baseball cap looking proud as ever since he just caught the biggest fish he EVER caught.

His other favorite picture was one from two weeks ago when Chopper convinced Aideen to come fishing with him and Stoney. She didn't really fish, but she watched them and made a cool fire ninja knife to cut the line whenever a fish swallowed the hook. Chopper thought it was cool how Aideen didn't get squeamish at all around the fish and even helped them in gutting them since Emma said they could catch some good ones for dinner. The picture was one that Nightcrawler took of the three of them around the pile of fish and Aideen and Stoney were starting to clean them while Chopper had a fish in his hand ready to hand it to them. It was a cool looking picture and Chopper had it right by his bedside.

"I don't mind that movie Karma so I'll be okay. That girl in it isn't THAT bad cause she kicked all those guys butts!" he said while climbing into bed and under the Batman Covers. "Put it on Karma, pretty please!"

[Karma]

Karma smiled at the three children placing her book away neatly in the pile, reminding herself that tomorrow was clean up time in the morning. "Alright you three, I'll let you watch it till you fall asleep. Let's get you all in bed first," she said reaching down and picking up the sleepy Jenny in her arms; pillow, Roger and all. She carried the little girl to her bed, placing her under the covers and pulling her Pocahontas covers over her and tucking her in sweetly. Karma smiled at her and nestled Roger next to her before moving to tuck in Lily. "You three are lucky that you've been good today, and so adorable that I just can't say no," Karma teased as she tucked Lily in snuggly.

She loved her two little girls who were still welcome to hugs and letting Karma spoil them slightly, but not her little man. Chopper was too old for 'sissy stuff' like getting hugs and cuddles he claimed. Karma knew better though, as tough as the little guy liked to act she'd caught him once or twice in the rec room watching a movie with Stoney and Ember snuggled in between them looking quite content and happy.

"Okay guys I'm putting in the movie, and turning off the lights except for my little corner light," Karma said pointing to her chair. She turned on the movie and turned off the main lights sitting in her chair to watch the Disney Favorites. The group watched it quietly, only having to be quieted once by Karma. The three watched the movie till they were all sound asleep. At the end of the movie, she turned off the TV and the light and tiptoed out of the room, leaving the three children to their dreams filled with gypsy dancers and a sweet Hunchback.