Sometimes you just have to sit back and smell the roses. Work is important, but life is important as well.

Having worked hard the few months, Mystery Inc was due for a small bit of time off. It was a sudden outburst from Shaggy the second day they had gotten back, that he wanted everyone to be ready in the morning to go somewhere. No questions were allowed to be asked, and frankly the last mystery had drained even Velma, to the point that solving this mystery wasn't worth the effort and they would just have to get up and see where this was going.

"Rake r'up! Rake r'up!" Came the fuzzy butted alarm, running through the little house in Coolsville. Tromping paws made such a clatter as it had to cover both floors to wake the rest of the members of the gang. Several mutterings were best left unsaid what they were, but the desired effect happened and they were awake...

Well as well as some could be.

Fred was the first to arrive to the living room where a bouncy Shaggy and Scooby awaited. He was still shaking the sleep from his eyes as a yawn escaped. Shaking his head, he tried to head off any more that might try to come around when he heard a sound behind him. Normally one of the more morning people, Velma seemed worse for the wear. It was clear she had not gotten too much sleep with the raccoon mask she was sporting, her eyes squinting beyond it. She had not known they were leaving THAT early, so she had spent some time last night trying to properly write out her notes from the last mystery and had only fallen asleep a few hours before the Dane bullhorn had ripped through the house. But she was awake enough to get herself dressed properly. Though it was really hard to know if her sweater was backwards or not... So no one would have been the wiser had it been true. Well, maybe Daphne would.

Speaking of the devil, the last member shuffled down the stairs. Like something out of a cheesy horror film, the shambling corpse was well dressed but otherwise looking like a zombie. Eyes red and bleary, she squinted at them all with a hot glare, though it was mostly directed to Shaggy and Scooby for waking her up. Thoughts of a new brown fur coat had passed through her mind a few times as the Dane happily wagged his tail at her arrival.

"Do you know..." She said slowly, drawing out her words due to her sleepy nature. "... How freaking early it is in the morning? It's 7am! Why I ought to..."

Her words were cut off as Shaggy just grinned and offered a tall thermos. It was over a foot tall and rather thick around. He pressed it into the hands of the annoyed red head and it stalled her ranting as she looked down at the cylinder. Caught off guard with the sudden object in her hands. Still smiling, Shaggy nodded to Scooby who padded over enough to reach the top and twist it off. The little cup top popped off and the seal was unscrewed off and the smell of the contents hit Daphne. Her eyes snapped open all the way. Like a child given access to all the candy they wanted, Daphne chugged back the first swig like an Irishman. When her face returned from behind the thermos, her face was content as a kitten.

"So what are we waiting for?" She said in a dreamy voice. Fred and Velma looked over at each other and then sighed.

"Coffee." They replied to each other, knowing it was one of the main things needed to wake Daphne up in the morning and make her happy.

"Irish cream coffee... Mmmmmm..." A favorite of hers. Shaggy knew how to get her going. Well, when it wasn't part of a mystery. Usually the adrenaline was enough to wake them all, but there was something about behind home that usually made them more lethargic then being out and about for business.

"Now with that like' settled, it's time to get going." Shaggy waved to them all and opened the front door. Letting Scooby bound out of the front door, he then followed behind leaving the three in the living room. With lips locked on the thermos, Daphne followed contently. Fred and Velma were less enthusiastic, Velma behind last out and dragging. Closing the door behind her, she trailed wobbling to the Mystery Machine.

"R'after rou!" Scooby said with a flourished bow. His paws indicating the open door awaiting for Velma. Velma was offered shotgun as Scooby scrambled to fit in the middle seat in the front. With her climbing in, they were off.

-

"Where are we going?" Fred asked as they were on their way, but where he wasn't sure. It was something they had to get there early for though. Or why else would Shaggy have gotten them up to early.

"For all answers, please direct them to like' my secretary." Shaggy commented over his shoulder as he drove, keeping his eyes on the road. Popping up, Scooby's head bobbed with tongue rolled out waiting to answer anything they asked.

"R'ank rou R'ank rou. Refore re r'art, R'I rill r'only r'answering r'in rimple r'answers."

"Ugh, I'm not awake enough for this. Pass me the coffee Daphne." Velma moaned, reaching out to her friend, who growled in response. She was nursing the thermos like a baby with a bottle. Velma rolled her eyes but then noticed another thermos held out to her. It was Daphne offering one... yet she was still milking hers.

"I brought extra's." Came words from the driver, a grin on his face. At closer look, there was already a discarded bottle on the floor and several nestled next to her like a hen with her eggs. Even Fred was working on one. They seemed to have labels on them, saying what flavor had been contained inside. The one offered to Velma had a single word on it in bold capital letters. "BLACK" Which meant it was for her. One too many nights of late night research had gotten her into the habit.

Once everyone had enough coffee to make them coherent enough, the gang turned to asking the 'secretary' about where they were going.

"So, Mmmm Good coffee." Daphne said licking her lips as she swirled the bottom contents of her third thermos. "So you'll only answer in like yes or no answers for the most part?"

"Res!" Scooby yipped happily. He was enjoying the role at the front of the seat while his buddy focused on the Ohio roads and stupid drivers that came with it.

"Ok, so questions only. It feels like twenty questions without the limit. Ok. Is this far?" Daphne pondered. Scooby nodded his head and answered quickly.

"Res r'it r'is."

"Ok, so far away." Fred picked up the only answer they knew. "So we need to be awake early to go?"

"Res r'and ro."

"So, we do and don't need to be up early for it?" Velma tumbled over the Dane's answer. "So it's something we don't have to be up early, but we did anyway?"

"Rep."

"I'll give you this one." Spoke up Shaggy from behind the wheel. "We don't have to be there early, but I wanted to get us there when it opened so we had all day and could avoid some of the crowds."

"So there are crowds? So people come here in groups?" Fred picked up the little bit of info they had been given. Scooby shook his head as an affirmative.

"So early is better. People go there. Beating crowds so that means there will be some type of lines?" Daphne mulled on the information they had been given. "So is this an amusement park."

"R'ope. R'ot r'an r'amusment rark." Scooby confirmed.

"Not an amusement park." Velma translated. Her mind bubbling with ideas of what it could be. There was only so many options that it could be.

"Will it be fun?"

"Res!"

"What kind of people go there?"

"Res." Scooby remarked smartly. Fred hung his head forgetting about the simple answers rule Scooby had said before. He had forgotten.

"Do kids go? Do old ladies visit there? Can adults have fun?"

"Res rep r'and rep." Scooby waved his tail and gave all positive answers.

"So everyone likes going..." The answer seemed obvious.

The questions went on for about an hour with little information actually gained. The drone of the car and the drawn out information gathering process from their fuzzy answering machine was not helping them get too far. But their agony was soon to be over.

"We're here!" Shaggy announced as he had pulled off the main road a while ago and took a few twists and turns arriving at their destination. Since the gang had been so focused on the question game, they did little to pay attention to the signs of the road. Which had been Shaggy's master plan the whole time. Also why he gave himself a better chance getting them more in the morning. Coffee was great at waking someone up, but the caffeine also give a burst of energy he focused on Scooby as a distraction. The van had pulled into a huge parking lot. A big sign they traveled under welcomed them.

'WELCOME to the Ohio Zoo!'

Eyes lit up as they read the sign. Who doesn't like going to the Zoo? All the run around with the Dane was worth it. Coffee forgotten, the excitement of the location had taken over. Sure it was just a Zoo, but after working so hard a nice stroll through a Zoo was just what the doctor had ordered. The smug grin on Shaggy and Scooby's face showed they were pleased with the results.

"Come on Gang. Let's go!" Fred took over the lead from the two grinning fools as they enjoyed taking a back seat. They had done the work getting them there, so they were more than content to let Fred take back his usual role.

"Though, hold on Fred." Shaggy commented as he paused the group from going around the corner to where the booths were to get in. Shaggy had been carrying something and only now that they had stopped was when the object came into play.

Standing up on his back paws, Scooby had padded over to hold out his front paws. Taking from his hands, Shaggy placed the trench coat he had been toting on the Dane. Topping it with a brown Fedora to match. Apparently no dogs were allowed and so Scooby was going under cover to get in. Shooting thumbs up from under the oversized coat, Scooby took up position behind the group to try to sneak in disguised.

Shaking his head, Fred continued to the booths with everyone else in tow. The line was non-existent since they had arrived early. It was clear as the lady behind the booth was almost snoozing on her propped up arm, obviously not a morning person either. As she sat dazed in a seat by the window, it was possible to see another lady working with a broom behind her, trying to stay active compared to her lazier companion. Fred wandered up and rapped on the glass lightly.

"Sorry to bother you, but five people for the Zoo."

Sliding off suddenly off her arm, the lady shook her head and looked up at them.

"Iwasn'tsleepin... Oh Customers." The lady had started to make an excuse before she noticed they were not her boss and just a group of people wanting to buy tickets. Her eyes grew wide as she noticed who in fact was at the window. Standing up, her seat she had been dozing in made a clatter that spooked her partner behind her.

"MARTHA!" The lady at the window hollered at her companion. She wiggled her finger at Fred and her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "Da...da...da..." She stammered.

Picking up the chair, the lady named Martha pushed up her glasses with one finger shaking her head.

"You know it's rude to stare." She commented off handily as she came over to where her partner was freaking out. Adjusting her glasses again, she looked out and her jaw dropped like her friend.

"Da...Da... You guys are Mystery Inc!" The ladies voices sounded familiar. They also looked familiar as Fred tried to remember where they might have seen them.

"You guys were at the carnival we went too!" Daphne added in, recalling the two ladies. The one called Martha had not realized who they were and didn't want to let Scooby in since he was a dog. But her younger associate had told her of whom they were. And since then, the two has become fans since they had actually seen them in person rather than in the news or in the papers. And now again fate had brought the gang to meet the two ladies.

"OhmygodDorthyit'sMysteryInc!" The excited older lady slurred all the words together, forgetting a bit of to breath in-between words. Dorthy, as her friend had called her nodded her head furiously. They both had a short fangirl freak out and then turned back to the patiently awaiting gang.

"Can we have your autographs?" They both burst out at once and tried to shove both papers they had grabbed randomly to have signed through the window.

Velma tried not to snicker to much. It was really hit or miss for their fans. Some were rather laid back about meeting the gang, and others tended to get a bit out of hand when they met a famous person. Not that the gang really considered themselves being all that famous, but in certain circles they even had fan clubs. Velma had once even found a website dedicated to her.

With the paper passed around, they all signed. Once the paper had gotten back, the two ladies gazed upon the various signatures. While Daphne's was all nice and flowing, Fred's signature was neat. Velma's loopy script looked like something a doctor might use, while Shaggy's signature was rather sloppy and lopsided. A colored in pawprint had been drawn by Scooby. It was his signature after all. Noticing the paw, the two ladies squinted at the trench coated dog. He was good, but the wet nose was easy to spot once you had an idea of what you were looking for. The two ladies grinned and moved to actually do their job.

"Alright. Four... er Five people right?" Martha gave them an obvious wink. Daphne rolled her eyes and Fred gave a nod.

"Yep. Five." Fred offered the money and the lady took it right away this time. She remembered last time fighting with them and losing the battle for letting them in for free. Happy with their autographs, they let the group in and wished them an enjoyable time.