All Oceans Make Waves
by: Terra Rain
Danny knocked on a door from which Carmina Burana issued forth and pushed his way inside. A teenage girl of about seventeen with glasses and boy-cut mouse brown hair sat stretching in the middle of the floor. Danny stared at her in astonishment.
"It's three in the morning and you're listening to classical music." He stated, blinking his half-shut eyes.
"Nope, it's four." She said, leaning over to rest her forehead on her knees.
"Four in the morning…" Danny rubbed his eyes in frustration. "Don't you need sleep?"
"Not when I've been studying all night and now I'm too strung-out on caffeine to even think of sleep for, oh, another sixteen hours."
"What test? Who told me you'd be blaring classical music at three o'clock-"
"Four o'clock."
"-four o'clock in the morning and – What are you doing now? Dancing?"
"It takes my mind off things."
"I thought you were awake so you're mind would be busy studying." He retorted snarkily.
"It got bored." She said with the equivalent of a shrug in her voice.
"You got-" Danny glanced at the ceiling before blinking at his daughter. "Go to bed."
"Right-o pops." She said cheekily as he shut the door behind him.
Danny shuffled back down the hall to his and his wife's bedroom when a light under his son's door caught his eye.
"And what are you doing up?" Danny asked him, annoyance creeping into his usually calm voice. His son started with surprise, arms half raised from peeling a black sweater off.
"I was - cold...so I but on a sweater...and now I'm thirsty and gonna go get a drink." Danny gave him a pointed look.
"You always wear boots when you sleep?" His son grinned at him.
"No, this is why I'm awake."
"I bet."Danny muttered and rubbed a hand over his face. "You know, technically it's morning…" he said slowly.
"Four O seven." The boy replied. Danny blinked.
"Go to bed." He said finally, waving a hand.
"Yessir, right away sir!"The boy snapped a mock salute before shutting his bedroom door and turning off the light. Danny, now thoroughly frustrated and feeling even more tired than before, slipped back into bed. His wife rolled over to throw an arm over his waist and pull him tight against her.
"We're raising a right little house full of criminals, aren't we?" she whispered in his ear, voice laden with amusement.
"Considering I just caught my son coming home and my daughter's too geared up about her next mark to sleep, I'm guessing so." He said, smiling into the dark. "Are you sorry about it at all Tess?" he asked suddenly. The arm around his waist tightened.
"If you're proud of them, I'm prouder." She said. "Besides," she added after a comfortable pause, "It's a great way to meet people." Danny Ocean snorted and rolled over and onto his wife who laughed.