A/N- Alright, I've been watching Bicentennial Man, and ta-da, new Tallulah and Carl plots have been coming to me. Although The First Date is my current baby, I also thought I'd work on this one and another one to be posted hopefully soon in the future on the side. Or in other words...I'm multitasking again :P Anyways, if you don't like Tallulah and Carl as a potential and eventual couple, well then you're not obligated to read or review. I don't read and hate review slash, so don't read and hate review Human(??)/Robot. And even though this is mainly a T/C story, just can't deny Corny/Franny the attention from time to time XD Also, in this fiction and well most of mine involving Tallulah, I've taken the liberty of having one of her dreams to be an actual fashion designer...not just a fashion wearer. Also, thought since in the movie the poor old orphanage is dilapidated (yet not in the video game...hmm...) I figured that Cornelius would want to make it a project of his. And the thought of Petunia taking a shower...scary.

Rated T- a possible mild innuendo with Franny and Cornelius in this chapter. Depending on how you read into Franny's final comment. I've seen much worse on K+ but I like to abide by the rules. Also, rated for those uncomfortable with a Human/Robot pairing should you choose to read.

Camp Cornelius

Tallulah hummed to herself as she made her way to the dining room for dinner. She twirled and spun every now and then as she went, proving that her head was somewhere in the clouds. As she turned a corner, she ran smack into Carl.

"I'm so sorry, Tallulah. I shouldn't have been coming around that corner so fast. I was just, uh, looking for Wilbur…are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. And it's my fault for not paying attention to where I was going. Just got a lot on my mind I guess," she sighed a happy sigh.

"Oh well, everything's okay right?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, everything's perfect," she skipped on past. "See you at dinner, Carl."

Carl cocked his head slightly as he watched her go on. However, he didn't have time to ponder her curious behavior since he was in a hurry to find Wilbur before anyone noticed he was gone. "Little buddy where are you!?" he said into his receiver.

"I'm right here," Wilbur answered.

"And where exactly is 'here'?" Carl asked sarcastically.

"Dad's lab, and it's a good thing he's not in here right now or I would have totally blown my cover."

Carl sighed and hurried to the lab. "Wilbur, did you take your dad's invisi-belt again?"

"No," Wilbur pushed the button on his belt and appeared in front of Carl. "Dad, finally made one for me to have."

"He probably wouldn't have if he had known you were going to use it to sneak around his lab."

"Not my problem. He should have thought of that."

"It's called trust, Wilbur!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I found out which one's the top secret invention dad's been working on all month."

"Why didn't you just ask me? I already knew which one it was."

"I did ask you, Carl. Remember, you said it wasn't your place to tell me."

"And you just couldn't live with that answer?!" Carl was becoming frustrated with Wilbur.

"It's like you don't know me at all. I still don't know what it does though. He added a microcelluloniuminducer so I know it has to do something with people."

"Well that narrows it down," Carl rolled his eyes and suddenly remembered why he had been looking for Wilbur. "You need to get to dinner now."

"Why? I'll just say I wasn't hungry when they ask me later," Wilbur waved him off.

"I don't think you understand. Your dad has an important announcement and if you're not there to hear it, he's going to send someone looking for you. And if I'm not there to be sent, then he'll probably do it himself…and you know where he'll look first."

"Well, that is a bit of a hitch. Fine. At least now I know which one it is. I can test it out later."

"You know, if your dad wanted a 13 year old invention tester, I'm sure he would ask you," Carl huffed as he followed Wilbur to the dining room.

"There you are, son," Cornelius greeted him heartily as they came into the dining room. "You're just in time for the announcement," he said standing to his feet, Franny right beside him. "Alright, everyone, what I'm about to say is something I'm very excited about," he smiled at Franny who smiled back.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Wilbur suddenly let out a cry.

"Wilbur, what's the matter?" Cornelius asked suddenly.

"I like being an only child!" Everyone gasped and looked at Franny.

"What are you talking about, son?" Cornelius looked at Franny for a little assistance.

"Wilbur, sweetie, I'm not pregnant," Franny assured him.

"Oh, phew, that's a relief. Proceed."

Cornelius chuckled before continuing. "Alright, now that that's settled, as you all know the Old Town orphanage has been something near and dear to my heart for many years. And now that the renovation of it is almost complete, I have invited the orphans to stay with us for a few days until the grand re-opening on Saturday. I know it's a lot to ask, but there will be a good forty kids running around here over the next few days."

"Great…" Wilbur rolled his eyes.

"Wilbur, some of them might be your classmates, so be nice," Franny warned.

"Classmates? I didn't know any of them were orphans."

"I said might be, now let your father finish."

"In order for this to run smoothly, I will be locking down parts of the house, such as the lab and the basement and anyone else who asks that their room be off limits. At meal times, the kids will be dining in the music room. Basically, we want this to be a camp like experience for them so perhaps Gaston, you could show them your cannon room, Art maybe rides in the spaceship when you're off duty? Any other suggestions?"

"Well, we'll be going out of town thank goodness!" Petunia screeched.

"We're going to a happy marriage seminar and retreat for the next two days," Fritz filled in the blanks.

"That's okay. Thanks for the heads up."

"I could give the kids art lessons!" Laszlo suggested.

"I could give them rides on my choo-choos," Aunt Billie said excitedly.

"And I could give the girls makeovers and do their hair and…" Tallulah started but then gasped. "Oh my, I forgot! I've got a lunch date with Johnny Vantino on Friday! And then he agreed to come to the house and look at some of my designs. He never looks at designs over a meal."

"That's wonderful news," they applauded.

"He's one of the best in the business. His uncle owns the biggest fashion line in this hemisphere. If he approves, it could mean something big."

"Wait, Johnny Vantino…isn't he the one with the 'dreamy eyes'?" Laszlo teased.

"Lasz!" Tallulah was horrified by her brother's betrayal.

"And don't forget that beautiful golden hair that just…" Laszlo was cut short when he felt a piece of salisbury steak hit him on the forehead with a plop.

"Oh so that's how it is, hey!?" Laszlo began firing peas one by one, laughing as they landed in his sister's hair.

"Oh, yes, a food fight! That would also be an excellent activity for the kids," Cornelius said to himself.

"Laszlo, Tallulah! You stop it this instance! I just took a shower and I don't want to have to take another one!" Petunia put an end to her children's food fight before everyone else got the notion to join in.

"Sorry, ma," they both said at the same time, while Laszlo managed one more pea to be flung at Tallulah.

"Don't worry, Tallulah," Franny spoke up. "We'll all make sure things run smoothly for you. Isn't that right everyone?"

"Right," they all said in unison, even Laszlo, although he did so with a roll of his eyes.

"Alright, now I need some help after dinner setting up the many bunking areas, and decorating the house and all for their arrival," Cornelius continued. "Wilbur and Carl, do you think you could come with me to the Hardware store? I have several cots on hold, but I'll need a couple of hands to help me with them. Tallulah, Laszlo, would it be too much to ask that the both of you put your creative minds together and decorate this place? As for everyone else…"

"I'll just do it myself, cous," Laszlo offered, not really wanting to work with his sister.

"Hey! He asked me too, and I wanna help," Tallulah protested.

"Honey, maybe those two working together…" Franny whispered to her husband.

"Hmm…new plan. Laszlo, you decorate the music room, and the four guest rooms and Tallulah you can decorate the entry area, the halls and anywhere else you deem appropriate. How does that sound?"

"Sweetie, you can't let Tallulah decorate the entry area. I can't even decorate the entry area without a ladder the size of a skyscraper," Franny pointed out, although exaggerating slightly.

Cornelius sighed, "Alright, you make another good point. And since Wilbur broke the ladder," he eyed his son who only responded with a nervous chuckle.

"How about I help?" Carl suggested. "I can extend to any height."

"Excellent idea."

"And Gaston and I can give you a hand with those cots," Art offered, Gaston nodding his head in agreement.

"Wonderful!" Cornelius was becoming excited. He wanted this experience to be as magical for the orphans as his own experience had been when he was twelve. "And as for you Wilbur, I have a different idea. As punishment, you'll be helping out anyone who needs you around here. Whether it's your mom and grandma in the kitchen working on the welcome cake and other desserts, or whether it's Laszlo, Tallulah or Carl, or whatever it is. Whatever they ask you do, is that understood?"

"Hold up? Punishment for what?" Wilbur challenged.

"Did you really think I didn't know you were in the lab?"

"How'd you know?" Wilbur slightly glanced at Carl, wondering if he had ratted him out.

"Because a mouse your not."

"Yeah, but,"

"Wilbur, don't argue with your father," Franny stepped in.

"Fine," Wilbur sunk down in his seat.

"Alright, let's finish dinner and get started. We don't want to get to sleep too late tonight," Cornelius urged everyone to hurry with their meal.

Franny reached over and gently laid her hand on her husband's. "I know how important this is for you," she said so that only they could hear.

"I just want these kids to be happy. Make them feel as special as I did when I spent that first day here with everyone," he sighed, taking her hand into his.

"Don't worry. You know how it is around this house. No matter what happens, I'm sure it will be an experience those kids will never forget," she smiled reassuringly.

"I know I never forgot," he let out a small half-laugh. He then smiled coyly, "I especially never forgot you," he raised her hand to his face and kissed it.

"Hey! Some of us are still trying to eat," Wilbur said upon seeing his dad do so.

"You just had to have a kid," Cornelius said playfully, the comment directed to Franny.

"Hey, I'm not the only one responsible and you know it. So don't even go there with me, buddy."