A/N: This is just a little blast of something…ygbsm mentioned that Mr. Grumpy Pants Comes To Breakfast sounded like it might be a great, although weird, children's story. For some reason I couldn't let go of MGP and decided to let this story write itself…it's in the 'Swimmerverse' but you don't 'have' to read Swimmer to follow…although it helps a little…hopefully this isn't terrible…if enough people like it, I have at least two more MGP stories in mind…so, on to the other stuff…I don't own Chuck or anything else mentioned, implied or hinted at in this story…I once again typed without a net so all errors are mine…ah, I have to say that, sadly, I'm not making any money doing this…just having fun…long weekend coming up so, fingers crossed, some BLDBAL, some Swimmer , some TRFW are all possibilities…please, if you have the time(and inclination) reviews are greatly appreciated…plus, any ideas for Future Mr. Grumpy Pants will be consider and, if used, the source will receive a huge thank you and half of all money earned…so basically, a huge thank you. Still having fun, Thanks Jim. JT
Mr. Grumpy Pants Comes To Breakfast - (7 years PT)
"Hey Mickey, you're so fine, you're so fine you…"
"Alarm off! God damn Bartowski" Colonel John Casey, USMC ret., growled as he came instantly awake. Rolling to his side he brought his fist smashing down on the end table that sat next to his bed, murderously intent on destroying the alarm clock sitting there. Instead of hearing a satisfying crunch of an alarm clock meeting it's untimely end, the only sound was a sharp crack. Pulling his fist back and sitting up, Casey stared at the end table while he shook his head. The hologram that looked just like an alarm clock seemed to shimmer slightly and Casey marveled again at the amazing invention that Bartowski had come up with after his wife had 'murdered' his beloved Star Wars alarm clock figurine. The interactive hologram functioned just like a real, physical alarm clock but was, in actuality, a small projector that mounted on the wall and could be aimed where ever the owner wanted the 'alarm clock' to sit.
Reaching into the hologram, Casey picked up his watch and after seeing the shattered display, tossed the broken watch into the waste basket that sat in the corner of the room. "Great, now I've gotta but another watch" Casey mumbled to himself as he got to his feet.
"Good morning, Casey" Chuck's voice announced, seemingly coming from every corner of the room, "time to get up. Remember, you promised Sarah that you'd watch the twins so I could go with her for her first ultra sound ."
"Yeah, yeah" he muttered as he stumbled towards the bathroom. He would never admit it to anybody but he was very impressed with the system that Chuck had designed and installed in the house. The entire place was controlled by a central computer and normally the 'house' spoke with Ronald Reagan's voice unless Chuck or Sarah needed to talk to him or unless one of the twins had hacked the system and then he never knew who would be speaking. The 'house hacks' had been happening with increasing regularity and Chuck was the first to admit, usually with a touch of pride in his voice, that the kids were off the scale smart and he was struggling to keep ahead of their burgeoning computer skills.
Just as Casey was about to step out of his room, the sound of giggles brought him up short and he almost cringed. Whipping around and assuming a defensive posture, he waited for the 'attack' to commence. Ever since Chuck had introduced the twins to the original Pink Panther movies, they had taken it upon themselves to become his personal 'Kato' and 'attack' him when he was least expecting it. When the attack failed to happen, he remembered that they'd agreed that his bedroom and bathroom were off limits. "Alright you little weasels, what do you want/" he asked, not sure where they were hiding.
"Good morning, Mr. Grumpypants" the kids said in unison.
"Yeah, yeah" Casey answered once he'd realized that they were using the intercom to annoy him, "what do you two want?"
"Hurry up, Uncle Casey" Jim said.
"Yeah, mom's making pancakes and she says you better get here soon or…" Nicky added.
"…or no pancakes for you!" Jim finished in some odd accent that Casey didn't recognize but was sure came from some old movie or TV show that they had discovered. Ignoring the sound of the two kids as they laughed about Jim's accent, Casey wandered into his bathroom. As he got the shower started, he found himself struggling to remember why 'no pancakes for you' and the odd accent seemed to be so familiar to him.
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Casey smelled the pancakes as soon as he walked into the Bartowski house and couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. 'Chocolate chip and banana' he said to himself as his step quickened just a little. He still couldn't believe how adept Walker had become in the kitchen and he often said it, usually whenever he was sure it would embarrass his former partner. He'd never doubted that Chuck would become a great parent but he'd been shocked by the change in Sarah. He knew that the nerd had 'ruined' on of the best agents the CIA ever produced but when she first held the 'nerdspawn', she'd been well and truly lost. He remembered seeing it in her eyes and that was the first time he began toying with the idea of retiring.
Casey told himself that he'd been lost in thought and that was why he hadn't heard the twins when they decided to 'Kato' him. Jim attached himself to his left leg and Nicky jumped onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck, obviously going for a choke hold that he was now regretting ever showing them. He remembered that he'd made them promise to never use any of the things he taught them outside of the house unless they were in a situation that absolutely called for it. He'd spent several hours going over many possible instances that might require what he'd been teaching them but he never told them that he was off limits. He'd been teaching them various forms of self defense since their fifth birthday and it was not until he felt Nicky's hold begin to take affect that he realized that they weren't 'little kids' anymore.
"Pineapple…pineapple" Casey managed to gasp out and was relieved when Nicky and Jim both remembered the safe word and released their holds on him. He felt a weight slide down his back and he had to smile when his two god-children gave each other a high-five, turned and both stuck their tongues out at him and then ran off towards the kitchen, their laughter floating back to him. Chuckling to himself, he followed the sound of laughter and walked into the kitchen just in time to her Nicky bragging of her total domination of 'Mr. Grumpy Pants' and Jim chiming in with his explanation of how his leg lock was about to topple Uncle Casey until he begged them for mercy by using the safe word.
"Oh really?" Casey said as he stepped up behind the twins and wrapped his arms around their waists and threw them over his shoulders like matching sacks of potatoes and then headed towards the door that opened out into the back yard. "Maybe I should through you two weasels into the pool, just to cool you off"
"Pineapple, pineapple" both of children yelled as they tried to squirm out of the big man's hold. "Mom! Help!" Jim yelled as Nicky yelled for help from her dad.
"Casey" Sarah called out and he turned to see the smile on her face. "Put them down. They used your safe word so, put them down or, no pancakes for you" she finished, adding the same silly accent that Jim had been using earlier.
"Yeah, Uncle Casey, no pancakes for you" Jim said as the big man gently put he and his sister down. After shrugging free from his hold, the twins ran back into the safety of the kitchen and after putting their mom between them and their former captor, they both turned and shot Casey the raspberry before disappearing down the back hallway towards their bedrooms.
Stepping up to the breakfast bar, Casey gladly took the plate of pancakes that Sarah held out to him, a gruff 'thanks, Walker' earning him a glare from his former partner. Choosing to ignore the look, he sat down and attacked his stack of pancakes with a gusto that always put a smile on Sarah's face.
"So, you and the nerd are gonna get your first look at the latest batch, huh?" Casey asked when he finally took a break between forkfuls of pancake.
"Yes, Casey" Sarah answered using her 'stern mom' voice, "Chuck and I are going to get our first look at your newest god kids. Would you like us to bring you a copy of the ultra sound so you can keep it in your wallet…with the other one?" she finished with a knowing smile.
"How did you know…oh, the rugrats went through my wallet, didn't they? Have they learned how to pick pockets now as well as hack my house and make the computer talk like that Sponge Bob thingie?"
"I refuse to answer that on the grounds that it might incriminate their grandfather but they think it's cool that their Uncle Casey has so many of their pictures in his wallet…and on his phone" Sarah replied as she put the last of the pancakes on his plate and then set about cleaning up the kitchen.
"So, what's happening with the rest of the day? How long are you going to need me?" Casey asked and then nodded to Chuck when he joined them.
"Well, after the ultra sound, I plan to take my beautiful wife out to lunch and then we're going to meet Carina and Morgan so we can take in a Dodger game" Chuck said and then stepped up behind Sarah and wrapped his arms around her, kissed her gently on the neck and then deftly grabbed the keys to the Porsche out of her pocket and beat a hasty retreat towards the garage. "I'll get her warmed up for you" he said over his shoulder before closing the door to the garage behind him.
"You're going to a Dodger game? with the gnome and the gnome chaser? You're already married to the moron, isn't that torture enough?" and then flinched when a knife appeared in the cutting board that sat next to him. "C'mon, Sarah, you know I was only joking…a little."
"I know that, Casey. That's why I didn't throw this one" she answered as she slowly twirled the second knife that had appeared in her hand without Casey catching the movement.
"Ok. So, why a Dodgers game? I didn't know that you or Chuck liked baseball"
"It was Carina's idea, actually" Sarah answered. She saw Casey take note of the fact that the knife was no longer in her hand, having been replaced by a damp rag that she was using to clean the counter.
"Oh crap. You think she's going to propose…again?"
Sarah paused and then started to chuckle. "Well, it has been a couple of months and she hasn't tried it with a jumbo-tron yet."
"You know that those two have gone way past you and the nerd on my list of 'strange and unexplainable couples', hell, I think they may even have Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett beat. I just don't get it" he said before finishing off the last of his pancakes.
"Neither do I, Casey, neither do I. Well, make sure you clean up after your self and, remember, no rough housing with the twins. I will not come home and find another one of my snow-globes broken, understood?"
"No rough housing? What? Listen Walker, they started that, I was just defending myself…"
"Casey, they are seven years old. I don't care who started it. You were the one who volunteered to 'show' them a few things, remember? NO ROUGH HOUSING!" Sarah said as she took Casey's plate from in front of him and turned her back, leaving no doubt that the conversation was over and she didn't want to hear anything more about the subject.
"Yes ma'am" he said quietly and then looked around when he could have sworn he heard the sound of giggling from somewhere behind him. Spinning around in the bar stool where he been enjoying his breakfast, he got to his feet and started to take a step and then fell forward onto his face. He waited a moment for the shock to clear and then rolled over and looked at his feet. Someone had managed to sneak up on him and had tied his shoes together. Sitting up, he started to untie his shoes when he noticed that he now had an audience. Looking up, he wasn't surprised to find Sarah standing three feet away, looking down at him and shaking her head, a sad look on her face but a sparkle of mirth in her eyes.
"I told you, John, no rough housing! Chuck and I are leaving now and when we get back this afternoon, there had better not be any damage…to anything!". Without waiting for an answer, Sarah turned and walked towards the door that lead to the garage and Casey could see her shoulders shaking and that told him where the giggling was coming from…this time.
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It was almost seven o'clock when Casey's eyes popped open when he heard the automatic garage door opener come to life. He thought about getting up so he could make a hasty retreat once Chuck and Sarah made their way inside but decided against the idea when he looked down and noticed that the twins were fast asleep, one on each side of him with their heads resting on his thighs. They'd evidently fallen asleep mid-movie and, after looking at the clock on the wall, he realized that he had as well.
Sarah walked into the entertainment room, followed closely by Chuck. Behind them, their hands tightly linked, were Morgan and Carina. As soon as the four people caught sight of the occupants of the couch, four huge smiles burst forth and Chuck pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. Casey was about to signal for silence when Nicky suddenly opened her eyes, followed moments later by her brother. Rubbing their eyes, they both sat up and Jim was the first to speak.
"Uncle Morgan, did you get a new ring? With a diamond on it?"
A/N: Just a quickie. Review if you'd like…they're always nice to get. JT