Disclaimer: Darn it, I still can't say that I own them.
Busy Morning
In the peacefulness of the early morning hours, a little boy set about his preparations that would make the day more entertaining. He'd learned early on which brother almost never seemed to sleep, which brother was a somewhat of a light sleeper, and of course the brother who could sleep through just about anything and usually did. It was with that knowledge he had made a mental note that John had been up late the night before star-gazing and well, Scott being the ever protective older brother hadn't gone to bed until John had. Grinning to himself, he knew that to get three brothers in one morning was a record for him.
"GORDON COOPER TRACY!" The cries of a couple of angry older brothers reverberated throughout the two-story house followed closely by the sound of running feet. The guilty party slid to a stop inside the kitchen where his mom and dad had been enjoying their morning coffee while his younger brother sat next to their mom eating a bowl of cereal.
"Hi, Daddy, Mommy," he said, eyes lit up with obvious mischief. Seeking safety, he clambered up on a chair next to his dad. "Can I have some juice, Daddy?" Lucy heard his request and poured him some orange juice and sat it in front of him. "Thank you, Mommy."
"What did you do, Gordon?" Jeff asked. Gordon smiled innocently and met the gaze of his father.
"I came down here to sit with you and Mommy," he replied, casting a glance at the doorway.
"Gordon," Jeff said in warning.
"I may have addedsomethingtoVirgil'sartworkandtapedanotetoScotty'sforehead," he admitted in a rush.
"Anything else?" Years of deciphering baby and toddler gibberish had enabled both parents to quickly translate his words. Pretending to think for a moment, he slowly nodded his head just as another angry cry echoed down the stairs. Sighing, Jeff could easily discern from the stomping on the stairs that three of his sons were rapidly heading this way in their search for the one sitting next to him. Lucy had her hands covering her face but he could see her shoulders shaking in laughter.
"Come on, Allie, let's go play outside," Gordon said, sliding out of his chair and making a dash for the backdoor. His older brothers missed them by mere seconds which gave them time to get to their hiding place, a place that only they knew about and were small enough to crawl into.
"GORDON!" Scott's angry voice caused us to look up as he, Virgil, and John all skidded into the kitchen. A piece of paper was scrunched in Scott's hand while Virgil held a small canvas in his hands. However, it was John that drew Jeff's attention. A dark ring of shoe polish was rimmed around his right eye, just where he'd have a mark if someone were to coat the eyepiece of his telescope.
"Mom, he ruined my painting," Virgil cried out, angrily. He took the painting to Lucy, who immediately started choking on her laughter. "MOM! It's not funny." (A/N: I have no idea what Gordon did to the painting).
"I'm sorry, Sweetie…" Handing Jeff the canvas, she hurried out of the kitchen and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Looking at the canvas, Jeff was better able to keep from laughing and turned his attention to Scott.
"Scott, what's the note say?" Jeff asked. Embarrassed, Scott shook his head.
"Not a note, Dad," he muttered. Reaching out, his father took the paper from him and then had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. The paper was actually a picture of Scott asleep with a teddy bear firmly held in his arms and what appeared to be one of Alan's old pacifiers in his mouth. Jeff sat back in his chair and looked at each of his older sons and shook his head.
"Seems to me that Gordon had a busy morning," he said, casually. "And beat his record as well."