Hey all readers of this story (I hope there are some!) this is my first fanfic, although I've been reading them for years, and so if you see anything that's wrong or something, or looks a bit weird, drop me a message, as I'm still finding my way around. Also, constructive criticism is most welcome. :) I hope you all enjoy this story, not sure how long it will be, or when I'm going to be able to update it, but I'll try my best. Disclaimer: I own nothing :(
"No. Not a chance. There is no way that is happening."
"Aww, come on dad, please!" begged Nicky. "It'll be fun! They really want to go!"
Nicky Daley had thought this speech through perfectly, right down to the last detail. Every word had been chosen with the utmost care, to present to his father the perfect argument to support his plan. However, Nicky had got no further than the second sentence when his father had quite firmly put his foot down on the subject.
It was the middle of January, and the last two weeks had brought nothing but cold, snow and ice. Although Nicky was supposed to be at school now, following the end of the Christmas holidays, it had been closed due to so many students having difficulty getting there because of the weather, and so Nicky had been able to spend more time with his father, Larry Daley, at his job at the Museum of Natural History. Which was, in Nicky's opinion, the most awesome job in existence, not in the least because every exhibit in the museum came alive every night, thanks to an ancient, magic Egyptian tablet.
Nicky's plan had been to sneak a few of the more inconspicuous exhibits out of the museum for a couple of hours in the middle of the night, so that they could enjoy the snow and have a breath of fresh air. After all, they hardly ever left the museum, and Nicky thought it only fair that they take advantage of a chance at some fun while the other inhabitants of New York huddled inside their homes, trying to keep out the biting cold. However, Larry was not proving to be as easy to convince as his son had previously thought.
"I said no, Nicky, I'm not gonna take the chance of someone finding out about them, not to mention the risks if one of them gets lost, or refuses to come back inside. I'd never be able to forgive myself if I let that happen," Larry replied firmly.
"But I wouldn't take anyone like Rexy or the Neanderthals," said Nicky, "only those who can be trusted to behave, and to not stand out. Besides, the city's not gonna be very busy, and the guys are just so bored in here!"
Larry glanced over towards the main entrance lobby, where the exhibits were currently in the midst of one of their great parties. Atilla was leading a group of Huns in a dance-off against the faceless civil war soldiers, Jed and Octavius were making circuits of the hall in their car, followed swiftly by Rexy, Teddy and Sacagawea were nowhere in sight, and Ahkmenrah was DJing with Dexter perched on his shoulder.
"Somehow I find that hard to believe," muttered Larry. Then he frowned. "Did you actually ask them? You said they really wanted to go." "Well..." Nicky trailed off. Larry sighed. "First of all, if you're going to try and organise something, make sure the others actually want to go before you ask, and secondly, duck!" Larry yelled suddenly, pulling Nicky down to the floor just in time to avoid being swatted by the dinosaur's huge tail.
"Sorry Gigantor!" Jedediah called from out the window of his car. "Apologies my liege!" came Octavius' voice. "We miscalculated the sharpness of that last corner!" Grunting, Larry clambered to his feet, and reached down a hand to help Nicky up. "Don't worry 'bout it," he said, "just be careful next time."
"Will do boyo! Giddy on now Octo!" And with that, the little car took off again.
Sighing again, the night guard tiredly ran a hand through his hair. "Listen, Nicky, I know it must be boring during the day at the moment, what with the school closed" Huh? Nicky thought, "but taking the exhibits out is just too risky, and I think they're happy enough in here. How about you call a couple of your friends tomorrow, and see if they want to go snowball fighting or something? You're not going back to your mum's for another few days, so you have a bit of time to kill."
Slightly downcast, Nicky agreed, nodding. "OK, dad," he sighed.
"Hey, c'mon, cheer up, you can still have fun tonight," Larry said. "Why don't you go and help Ahk? It looks as if he's about to lose his crown to Dexter."
Looking over at the young pharaoh, Nicky found it was true; the capuchin had taken an interest in his crown, and was now determinely trying to wrest it from Ahkmenrah's head, the Egyptian just as determinely keeping his hands firmly planted on it. Grinning, the night guard's son raced across the room, nimbly dodging the dancing Huns and soldiers, and plucking Dexter from Ahk's head. Smiling softly, Larry continued his rounds of the museum, hoping to find Teddy at some point, in order to tell him about a couple of minor changes to his exhibit that Dr. McPhee was talking about earlier. However, little did he know that Nicky had far from given up on his idea for an exciting night out.