A/N: Since everyone was begging for more MGP, I decided to make you happy…what, you weren't?…wow, boy is my face red…and no, it's not from too much Jager…this story was just a little bit of exercise…trying to write around a block I'm having on TRFW…we'll see if it works…this story is some more fluff from the 'Swimmerverse"…hope you like it…as always, your reviews(good or bad) are encouraged…this is another story in a long(ish) line of un-beta-ed stories…all of the mistakes, errors, gaffes and screw-ups are all mine…I don't own Chuck, I make no money doing this(surprise, surprise)…all that really matters is that I'm still having fun…thanks for the nudge, Jim. JT
Mr. Grumpy Pants On Mr. Toad's Wild Ride - (14 years PT)
John Casey was in the middle of one of his favorite kind of dreams, the kind that included lots of guns and explosions, when the sound of his former commanders voice, ordering him to his feet, woke him up. Instantly alert, he sat up while reaching a hand under his pillow, searching for his Colt. When his hand closed on nothing, he remembered that Brooklynn had borrowed the gun the previous day and had evidently forgotten to return it. Looking to his side, he found that the other half of the bed was empty and a quick touch to gauge the warmth told him that his bedmate had been up for at least an hour.
Throwing the cover off , he swung his legs over the side of the bed and was about to get to his feet when he caught sight of General Diane Beckman standing at the foot of the bed.
"Good morning, soldier. It's about time you got up. You have a very important day ahead of you. The mouse beckons" the general said and at that moment Casey noticed the mouse ears that sat atop the woman's head. Closing his eyes for a moment and then re-opening them, he noticed that there were now two generals standing at the foot of his bed. "Get up, Casey!" they both said simultaneously while their mouse ears began to grow.
"Brooklynn!" Casey bellowed after he realized what was happening. "The twins have hacked the house…again!"
"What?" a woman's voice yelled from somewhere in the house.
"The twins have hacked the house, again…" Casey yelled as one of the generals sprouted elephant ears and began flying around the room while the other one began waving a wand that had appeared in her hand while singing 'bippity boppity boo' as sparks began to shoot from the tip of the wand. "…and , they re-activated the holographic projectors" he added as the flying general dove towards him and then seemed to pass right through him.
"Casey", Brooklyn Mastersons voice called from the doorway, "why do you have two Diane Beckmans in our room? Is there something I should know?" she asked with a smile as the fireworks display intensified and 'Dumbo' Beckman continued to circle the room, her ears flapping wildly as she rolled and looped. Before she could say anything else, both Dianes suddenly moved to stand in front of her.
"Good morning, Aunt Brooklynn" the generals said, now sounding just like Jim and Nicky Bartowski. "Uncle Casey's awake. We'll see you soon" they added before blinking out of existence.
"Alright, John, go take your shower while I get our breakfast finished" she said as she turned to leave. "We have a big day ahead of us and the sooner we hit the road, the better" she added over her shoulder.
"I'm not feeling so good" Casey said, adding a very weak sounding cough. "Maybe I should just stay home". Faster than he would have believed possible, the force of nature that he'd net at a Chuck E. Cheese, had reversed her direction, crossed their room and latched onto his earlobe with her thumb and forefinger.
"You will go take your shower! You will get dressed! And, you will be on your best behavior all day long! This is El and Sam's birthday and you will not do anything that will make this day anything less than magical. Am I understood?" she finished with her mouth just inches from his ear.
"But I…" Casey started and then stopped when the pressure on his earlobe increased.
"John, do you remember that I borrowed your beloved Colt yesterday? Well, if you ever want to see that gun or…" she paused and, using his ear as a guide, directed his gaze to her chest, "…or my 'guns', ever again, the next thing out of your mouth better be 'yes, ma'am', am I understood?"
"Yes ma'am"
"Good" she answered and then released her hold on his ear. "Now, shower, shave, clothes, breakfast and then, Disneyland."
"Yes ma'am" he replied, sounding like the victim of a vicious whipping, and, he actually was.
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Just as Casey was reaching for the doorbell, the front door of the Bartowski house opened and two blonde bundles of energy leapt into his arms.
"Uncle…"
"…Casey" the little girls said as they hugged his neck. "We're so glad…"
"…that you're here"
Casey, like everyone else who met the girls, was always amazed at the way they would complete each other's sentences. It was strange at first but he now just accepted it as part of what made the twins so unique. "Happy birthday, girls" he said with what looked suspiciously like a smile. After returning the hug, he lowered them back to the ground.
"Good morning…"
"…Aunt Brooklynn" the girls said as they turned their attention to the woman at Casey's side. "You look really…"
"…pretty, today" they offered as they turned their 'hug attention' to her.
"Happy birthday, girls" she replied while pulling them close. After giving them each a quick peck on the cheek, she released them and smiled as they turned and ran towards the center of the house.
"Breakfast's…"
"…ready" they said over their shoulders before they disappeared from sight.
"We already had breakfast" he said as she looped her arm through his and began dragging him towards the dining room.
"And we'll have some more, John. It's going to be a long day so you better load up while you can."
When they stepped into the dining room, Casey froze in place, shocked by the number of people who were seated around the huge dining room table. "Mr. Grumpy Pants!" a chorus of voices offered. What had started as a joke all those years ago had become an unshakeable nickname which almost always got a growl in response. This morning was no different and his growl was greeted with the now customary round of laughter.
Looking at all of the people gathered around the table, Casey marveled at the group of people who he'd come to think of as family, 'weird family' he added to himself when he caught sight of Morgan and Carina at the far end of the table. Finishing his headcount, he realized that they hadn't had a gathering this big since the cruise they'd all taken almost six weeks before.
He noticed Jim and Nicky whispering between each other and then smiling in his direction. Making his way slowly around the table, he smiled when the twins 'decided' to get up from their seats and keep some space between themselves and the victim of their early morning wake up call. Casey tried to nonchalantly pick up his pace and wasn't surprised when the twins found their way to his girlfriend and then took refuge behind her back.
Chuck and Sarah had both been watching with smiles on their faces and Chuck finally decided to step in. "So, Casey, how's your day going?"
"Well, I'm so glad you asked. I woke up to find General Diane Beckmans in my bedroom."
"Beckmans?" Chuck asked, not sure that he'd correctly.
"Yes, plural. One had a magic wand that shot fireworks out of the tip. The other Beckman had 'Dumbo' ears and flew around our room. So as you might imagine, it was an interesting way to start the day".
Chuck struggled to keep a straight face as he sought out his two oldest children. "Did the two of you re-activate the holo-projectors in Casey's house?"
"Yes sir" they answered as they peered around Brooklynn, keeping an eye on both Casey and their father.
"Oh, ok then" Chuck answered and wasn't surprised when most of the people at the table started to chuckle.
"And now would be the perfect time to apologize" Sarah added as she shook her head while looking in Chuck's direction, knowing that he was secretly pleased that Jim and Nicky had gotten around his programming and hacked Casey's house…again.
"We're sorry, Uncle Casey" they both offered and knew they were forgiven when Casey grunted before turning back to the table and taking a seat.
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Brooklynn had volunteered to drive one of the mini-vans and, much to Casey's chagrin, all five of the children had insisted on riding with them. They spent the entire trip talking about their plans for the day at Disneyland, talking about the rides they wanted to go on first. The three older kids all planned to visit Space Mountain while El and Sam insisted that Casey and Brooklynn take them on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Casey tried to beg off but caved as soon as they girls both gave him the puppy dog eyes and reminded him that it was their birthday.
Casey grumbled and grunted but eventually agreed, also promising to take the two girls to see Cinderella's castle but refusing to budge on his refusal to wear a set of 'mouse ears'. He glanced to his side and saw the smile on his girlfriend's face. "What's so funny?" he asked.
"You. You're a big softie, John Casey. You know you'll be wearing the 'ears' as soon as I find a vendor to purchase a pair for you."
"Will not" he shot back and then listened as all of the kids started in, laughing and agreeing with Brooklynn when she said that she thought he'd look cute, once he had his 'ears' on. "You better not" he said quietly, refusing to meet her gaze. "Marines don't wear 'ears'" he added.
"Oh yes we do" she answered with a knowing smile and then returned her attention to the road in front of her.
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It was getting close to noon and Casey was slowly making his way towards the food court where everyone had agreed to meet for lunch. His hands were held tightly by the twin girls who seemed to have an endless supply of energy, dragging him along as they made their way down the boulevard, pointing out everything that caught their attention. Ellie, Sarah and Brooklynn brought up the rear, the three women having decided to avoid the more adventurous rides that everyone else had been so excited to experience. Looking back, he struggled to keep a smile from his face as he took in the three matching sets of pink 'mouse ears' that adorned the women's heads.
True to her word, Brooklynn had stopped at the first vendor she saw and insisted on getting the cute caps for everyone in their party. Casey fought against it but soon found himself wearing his own embroidered cap, the 'Mr. Grumpy Pants' in gold stitching easy to read. Casey had said that he really hoped he didn't lose the cap, clearly meaning the exact opposite. When his girlfriend reminded him of 'guns' he might not see if he lost his cap, he seemed to become very attached to his head covering, even resorting to an elastic string to keep it on his head when the twins had decided to take his hands and not give them back.
When the group reached the edge of the food court, Casey paused and looked down at El and Sam. "Alright, girls, where's your dad?" he asked and then waited when they dropped his hands and then closed their eyes. Moments later they both opened their eyes and pointed towards the northwest corner of the huge food court. "Ok" he said and then offered his hands again and then fell into step behind his two 'guides', knowing that they were headed in the right direction.
Years before, Casey had been dumbfounded when he discovered that the twins seemed to know, at all times, what direction would lead them to either Chuck or Sarah. The first few times he'd thought were just luck but when they kept being able to give the right direction, Casey just decided to chalk it up to whatever it was that made the girls so truly unique. He'd shared the discovery with Sarah and Chuck and they'd both just smiled, having given up being surprised by anything their little girls could do.
Within two minutes, the twins had lead them to the table were Chuck and the rest of his party were waiting for them. When they were within thirty feet, Casey had released his grip and the girls raced towards their father, practically flying the last few feet to land with their arms around his neck. Chuck and Sarah had both become accustomed to the twin's displays of acrobatic affection and he barely moved from the impact, merely wrapping an arm around each of the girls as they nuzzled against his neck.
Casey stepped up to the table and was greeted with disbelieving looks that were quickly followed with laughter as everyone scrambled for their cel-phone, wanting digital documentation of the sight before them. It took a few moments before he realized what had everyone scrambling to take photographic proof of.
"Alright, knock it off" he growled and wasn't surprised when no one moved to follow his demand. Just as he was about to rip the ears from his head, he felt his girlfriend wrap her arms around him from behind and pull him close.
"Remember, no 'guns' if you lose the ears" she whispered into his ear as she rubbed the 'guns' into his back and was happy when he dropped his hand, evidently deciding that he liked the ears after all.
"Thanks Casey" Chuck said with a smile. "You just helped me win a bet" he added as he spent about a minute, busily tapping away at his touch screen.
"What did you do, Chuck?" he growled and before he could get an answer, he phone beeped, letting him know of an incoming text. Glancing art the display, he almost choked when he read the message.
Thanks a lot, John. You just cost me $200.00. DB
Brooklynn had been looking at the display and simply whispered a 'not worth it' into his ear and followed up with a quick nip to his earlobe.
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The lunch went smoothly, with everyone talking about what they'd seen so far and where they wanted to go next. Once the tables had been cleared and everyone was ready to get back to the exploration, Morgan cleared his throat, twice, and once he'd gotten everyone's attention, he grabbed Carina's hand .
"We have an announcement. We've finally set a date and we wanted all of you to be the first to know" Morgan said after wrapping an arm around his fiancé's waist. "We're getting married in six weeks"
"What's the rush?" Ellie asked, already throwing herself into planning mode.
"Well, I don't want to be showing when I walk down the aisle" Carina said and waited. Ellie didn't disappoint, her squeal frightened small children all around the food court. Once the 'congratulations' had finished, Carina asked Sarah to stand for her and asked both Ellie and Brooklynn to be bridesmaids. All of the women nodded their acceptance and Ellie was the first to speak.
"That's great Carina. That means you won't be the only one who's not showing" Ellie said and then threw her arms around Devon's neck.
"Another kid? That's awesome, babe" Devon replied.
"Wow, what are the odds of having three women in the bridal party all knocked up?" Sarah said and watched as her husband slowly sat back down. "Well, at least you didn't faint this time" she said as she sat in her husband's lap. "You better hope it's not twins again, or else I'll do the vasectomy myself" she added with a smile.
"When?" was all Chuck could say.
"Near as I can figure, the cruise" Sarah answered.
"Me too" both Ellie and Carina said at almost the same time.
"But we used…"
"I know, I guess one didn't work" Sarah replied.
"Same with us" Ellie and Carina both added.
"What, was it some sort of fertility cruise?" Casey asked with a snort. He was grateful that he and Brooklynn had been very careful
Chuck then pulled out his phone and after thirty seconds, looked up at the people gathered around the table. "It seems that there are several lawsuits pending against the cruise line for selling sub-standard condoms through their on board drug stores"
Chuck's announcement stunned the whole table into silence and then, one by one, everyone turned to look at Casey and his girlfriend.
"What?" Casey said, noticing everyone's sudden interest in their end of the table. "We were careful…right honey?"
"Well, we were, that's right" Brooklynn Masterson replied, "however, you know how we've been talking about the 'guns' all day? Well, you can expect the caliber to increase in the next few months" she finished with a shy smile.
Johnathon Marion Casey allowed the knew knowledge to sink in and after connecting the dots, Mr. Grumpy Pants fainted.
A/N: Hope you like it. Fluffy stuff. Maybe I'll tell the Mr. Grumpy Pants and The Love Boat story somewhere down the road. JT