Hey again! I hope you all like this chapter, and I'm sorry if you noticed some mistakes that were pointed out to me in the last one. Hey, I try :)
Anyways, on with the story
Also, Stargazer128 wrote half of this and I wrote half of it, but the dinner scene we did together!
Once everyone had arrived they began taking seats around the huge table that had been set out. Kowalski and Skipper brought it from the back room set it for dinner. It was a long wooden table made of oak that had been polished until it was perfectly smooth. Mackenzie and Jesse had started to cook up a few things such as scallops, mackerel soup, poached trout, and for the main dish, the biggest fattest most delicious looking salmon Marshal had ever seen. The table was set and everyone was seated. Private had even apologized to Marshal for not believing him.
"Could you pass the soup, Marshal?" Skipper asked. He sighed when he didn't answer. "Marshal!" Marshal was however oblivious to his father's yelling. He was lost in the smell of the salmon. Skipper could even see a bit of drool leaking from the side of his beak.
"What?" he said. He was still hazy at first but then coming to attention. "Huh!?" he said coming back into reality.
"I said can you pass the soup" Skipper repeated himself rolling his eyes a bit.
"Oh right here." Marshal replied, moving the soup to the side of him and closer to Skipper, but he didn't take his eyes off of the salmon. "Don't forget to pass me the salmon!" Marshal said drooling all over again
"So what's my little grandson like?" Brooke asked, directing her attention towards Skipper placing her flippers under her beak looking interested.
"Too much, annoying, disobedient, self centered... but nice to be around" Skipper said challenging marshal to what they called a word off. They usually did it when they were bored or when Skipper wanted to make a point, and one time, right in front of Eggy and Peanut.
"Yeah, and my dad's so nice with his military ways and making me clean the bathrooms for fun." Marshal replied smiling, and taking Skipper's challenge. Mackenzie glared at Skipper knowing she was right about him taking this military stuff too seriously.
"It's called punishment." Skipper mumbled, trying to defend himself.
"Really, I thought that it was just one of my hundred million chores." Marshal said, not looking up as he put some fish on his plate.
"You think that getting up in the morning is a chore Marshal." Athena said looking at him with a small glare knowing how difficult it was to get him up in the morning. Elli and Buttons giggled.
"And your point is…?" Marshal asked taking a bite of his fish being the usual smart-aleck he knew he was.
"Okay? Uh...what do you do around here as a family?" Brooke asked trying to change the subject.
"Does lecturing count?" Marshal asked hiding his small smile. He was still trying to win his and Skipper's little game of course. They really didn't have a prize for it, but it was just good to say he beat his dad at something. It was a pride thing.
"In your mind maybe, you seem to want to do it every day!" Skipper exclaimed.
"You just don't respect my hobby." Marshal said crossing his flippers and turning away from Skipper.
"Hobby? Hobby! I had a pink butt for a week because of you when you did your little hobby! Then, you call me baboon booty for a week!" Athena yelled starting to stand up angrily.
"Athena, that's not very good dinner table conversation." Kowalski told his daughter making her sit back down. He then leaned to her ear. "Especially in front of guest." He whispered pointing to the even more disturbed and confused guest.
"So any missions lately..." Jesse asked starting to feel uncomfortable knowing that her little brother, the little brother she used to fight with, was now fighting with his son.
"Well, we did have to save ringtail from the gorillas again." Skipper answered in a sort of gloating tone.
"And was that fun Marshal?" Jesse asked facing her new nephew.
"Pft! If I know my dad, then anything he's involved in, he'll find a way to take the fun out!"
"Hey I'm fun!" Skipper said jumping up a bit.
"Skipper please we don't want to go through that again!" Kowalski called out dreading the thought, and Rico nodded his head in agreement.
"What do you mean? My baby lost his fun! Oh, I knew he'd get too serious with all that military training!" his mom called out almost reaching out to hug her second youngest baby.
"Brooke, you're over reacting." Skipper's father, Humphrey, said stopping her from squeezing Skipper again.
"Well, you can't lose something you never had..." Derek said trying to choke back a laugh.
"You know dude, I like you ten times better now!" Marshal said patting his back trying to hold back chuckle as well. Skipper noticed this and tried not to show the anger and jealousy that poured inside of him as he saw his son take a liking to his annoying brother.
"I try my best." Derek said with a nod, getting full of himself again.
"Hardly" Skipper said not looking up at his brother.
"Isn't it just great to be a family again?" Mackenzie asked sarcastically. She was starting feel like this whole idea to get together again was just a stupid waste of time. All they did was squabble and bicker, not that it was that different from the old days, but you'd think that they'd stop since they haven't seen each other in so long. Nine years to be exact.
"Whatever you say sis." Skipper said glaring at Derek.
"Kaboom!" Rico randomly blurted out hacking up a lit stick of dynamite.
Skipper's mom gasped as well as the other penguins at the table besides Kowalski, Private, Skipper, Marshal, Athena, Elli, and Buttons. They were used to it.
"Not at the table Rico!" Skipper scolded making the explosive expert put it back in his stomach grossing out Mackenzie and her mom.
"So he does this AWAY from the table too!" Brooke said holding her flippers up to her beak in shock and disgust.
"Cool!" Jesse said not grossed out at all, she gasped just because his stomach didn't explode.
"That's not good for the children to live with Skipper." Skipper's mom said shaking her head.
"One fourth of the children do it too it's not that bad, mom." Skipper said.
"Kaboom Kaboom!" Buttons said happily spitting out a ton of fire crackers against the concrete, which was one of his favorite hobbies. Rico lowered his flippers and made him stop. "Sorry" he grunted out with a small smile facing the shocked guests.
"Okay then." Derek said wondering if what he just witnessed was real. "Could you pass me the trout fluffy?" he asked making Skipper very angry, but he handed it to him anyway.
Private giggled. "How do you give a name like fluffy to someone like Skippa?" he asked still giggling at the thought. He stopped when Skipper glared daggers at him. "Sorry." he mumbled, but that didn't stop Derek from telling the story.
Derek leaned back getting ready to tell one of his favorite stories. "Well, back when Skipper was little." He started.
Skipper groaned. "Thank you Private!" he said.
"Come on, it's an interesting question, I think I better tell it. Sons need to know their fathers." Derek said motioning towards Marshal. Skipper stopped and let him tell the story, but he knew he was going to dread the moments ahead of him already. "Well, it started when Skipper was little. His down feathers were always longer that the other penguins and he kept them that way too, so the other kids called him fluffy. The name just stuck even when he was out of the down feathers. I'm glad it did though, cause I wasn't around to actually see it!" he said making Marshal laugh out loud. Skipper blushed and thanked mama nature that Marlene wasn't here to hear the story like everyone else was.
Marshal laughed. "So my dad had long down feathers?" he rolled on the cement floor forgetting the word off immediately. "That's hilarious!" he said before laughing again. He smiled at his dad calming down as he got back up in his seat at the table. "I can't wait to hear more." He said with a small trouble grin.
Skipper blushed, but then he got an idea and smiled. "Okay, now that that's over, who wants to hear the time Derek broke his wing while trying to remember spelling words?" Skipper laughed finally Derek was getting the payback he deserved. This was obviously too much for Derek because he jumped up on the table and dove at Skipper.
Thunk! Derek pushed Skipper on the floor behind his chair and started to tickle him.
"Who broke his wing?" Derek asked while holding Skipper down and tickling his sides. Skipper was laughing and gasping for air at the same time. This was really like the old days. Skipper wasn't about to give in, so he then tackled his younger brother and started to tickle him.
"arrg!" Derek yelled as Skipper held his wing behind his back.
"Now how did you break your wing?" Skipper asked with a smirk already knowing he had won.
"This is just cruel, Skipper" Derek said.
"What, I didn't hear you oh brother of mine?" Skipper said still smiling.
"I...I dropped my spelling book on my foot while trying to look up the words, and then I fell out of my chair and on my wing, happy now?"
"Very" Skipper replied smugly letting him free making Derek plop on the ground. "Now really Derek, what do you think I've been doing for the past nine years in military training?" he asked watching him get up with a small chuckle.
"I don't know what" Derek replied brushing himself off.
"I can give you another hint if you'd like." Skipper said as he jumped in to a rather impressive fighting stance. Everyone clapped.
"No thanks, I'll just try to enjoy the rest of my dinner." Derek said obviously still humiliated, but now the food was all spilled and soiled in the concrete.
"How about you clean it instead?" Brooke said, tapping her foot on the ground. Derek turned to Skipper and glared.
"Skipper, you can help him." His mother continued.
Skipper dropped his confident look and Derek smirked. "It was Derek's fault! And this is my H.Q.!"
"And I'm your mother, mister. Now clean." She said sternly handing Skipper a mop.
Skipper took the mop and promptly glared at his chuckling team feeling like he was a little kid and not a commanding officer anymore. "Of all the times to have that new security upgrade." He mumbled quietly so his mother wouldn't hear.
Marshal laughed and got out of his seat again. "Like you always say dad, what comes around goes around." Marshal said smiling as his dad mopped up his mess.
"You might want to consider those words Marshal." Skipper said in a warning tone, but wasn't looking up from his work.
Marshal frowned and backed away from his dad not wanting to be the one with the mop. "Okay, yes sir." he said before running off to his new family members. When he got there, Skipper's family was chatting with his team.
"So, I hear that you're a very bright person, Kowalski." Brooke complemented.
"I can see that you are very intellectual yourself and I am deeply honored that my commander's mother would say something so flattering." Kowalski said with a small blush.
"Did you just call me a commanding mother?" Brooke asked, offended. She placed her flippers on her side and everyone in the room had their eyes on Kowalski.
"Ah, never mind." Kowalski said as he headed over to his inventions.
She shrugged and turned towards the others. "So you each were given an egg from a rescue program?" Brooke asked again trying to make conversation again.
"That's right." Private chimed in, "My little Elli, Kowalski's Athena, Rico has Buttons and Skipper has Marshal, of course." He said with a small giggle and he patted his daughter head. Elli was standing next to him at the time, but then she ran off with Marshal, Buttons, and Athena.
Skipper's mom smiled. "Yeah, I'm glad my little Skipper has a family now. I was worried he was going to end up like an old penguin who got so caught up in his work, he didn't make time for the things that really matter in life." She said as Humphrey waddled up to her and held her flipper. She smiled at him before kissing his beak. She then pulled away and looked around. "Where are the kids by the way?" she asked looking around.
"They probably went over to Maurisa's and J.J.'s; they usually do that or go to Marlene's habitat." Kowalski answered looking up, but he quickly looked back down when everyone faced him again. He was still embarrassed from the whole commanding mother thing.
Just then, Skipper and Derek finished their work. Skipper smiled at the clean floor below him and his younger brother. "Okay, now that that's done, I guess I'll head over to Marlene's." he said placing the mop back in its bucket.
"Oh, I'll come too!" Derek said making Skipper stop in his tracks.
"What?" Skipper asked looking back at Derek, wondering if he had heard him right.
Derek chuckled and waddled over to Skipper when he noticed his expression. "Hey, I won't mess with my older brother's girl. I may embarrass you in front of her, but I won't take her from you." He said patting him on the back making his older brother blush. "I'm tricky, not evil."
Skipper's blush deepened. "She's not my girl." He said knocking his flipper away.
"Oh, then I can have her?" Derek asked hopefully.
"No!" Skipper shouted making Derek jump back a few inches. He sighed and slapped his head. "Why do you want her anyways?" he asked looking him straight in the eyes. He and Derek had the same eyes, so it seemed like Skipper was staring into a mirror as he peered into them.
Derek chuckled. "She's cute! I mean did you see those eyes?"
If I'm not, then I'm thinking about them. Skipper thought to himself. He then looked back up not wanting to look like he was spaced out. "Well yeah, I mean I'm her friend. Why wouldn't I see them?" he asked.
Derek shrugged. "Hey, unlike you, I'm looking for love, not enemy agents." He said with a laugh making Skipper growl. "Bye bro, the otter awaits." He said in an obviously fake French accent as he made his way out the door, and or course, Skipper wasn't too far behind, but Skipper was rolling his eyes and mumbling to himself.
Lemur habitat. . . . . . . . . . .
"I don't know about that Derek guy." Elli fumbled while jumping on the lemur's bouncy with Maurisa, Prince J.J., Marshal, Buttons, and Athena.
"Me neither, I don't like the idea of living with him for longer than I already have." Athena complained. She remembered how he was cracking jokes and even wrestling her Uncle Skipper. It was like having another Marshal! She shuddered at the thought and wasn't surprised when Marshal stood up for Derek.
"What are you guys talking about? He's great and really funny!" Marshal said with a laugh at the memory, making both girls roll their eyes in annoyance.
"But I like Mackenzie she seems so cool and on top of situations." Elli said still fumbling with her words as she jumped up and down.
"I agree 100%" Athena said with a smile as she took a minute to rest from bouncing too much.
"Are you talking about that fun sucker?" Marshal exclaimed sitting down too.
Athena opened her beak offended. "What? Marshal, she's just being responsible unlike you" Athena said. "She's probably more responsible than you'll ever be." She said crossing her flippers and looking away from him, but she knew Marshals couldn't care less.
Prince J.J., who didn't have any idea of what his penguin friends were talking about, spoke up. "Hey Marshal, I can do that back flip you showed me the other day. I have been practicing and I jumped so high the other day, I thought I touched a sky spirit!" he proclaimed happily.
"Yeah, more like a poor bird in the way." Maurisa said rolling her eyes.
"I'll believe it when I see it." Marshal said looking at the lemur prince now.
Just then Prince J.J. readied himself and then did a perfect back flip jumping all the way to the top of the bouncy. "See!" he said when he finished.
Buttons clapped his flippers together and regurgitated some confetti congratulating the prince, who was smiling and taking a bow in front of the others.
Marshal rolled his eyes. "It could've been better, but I can tell you've been practicing." He said looking the other way kind of bored. He then saw his dad and his Uncle Derek. He smiled. "Hey, look, it's Uncle Derek!" he said pointing to the two penguins as they made their way to Marlene's habitat.
Marlene's habitat. . . . . . . . .
Marlene sighed and held the medicine up to Peanut's mouth. "I told you not to eat all those cookies, now you've gotta take this medicine." She said holding up a spoon to Peanut, who had gotten a sore belly from the cookies he ate.
Peanut looked at the spoon. "Ew, grape? I like Cherry!" he pouted.
Marlene sighed. "They didn't have cherry, now open up, or Joey's gonna come and get you." She said holding the spoon up to his mouth, but Peanut pushed it away.
Just then they heard a noise and Peanut grabbed the entire bottle of the medicine and gulped it down in a few seconds. "Okay Joey! I drank it! See?" he said holding the now empty bottle up in front of him. "You better not come, this was grape." He growled and tried not to barf back up the medicine.
"Peanut! What did you just do?" Marlene asked shocked. "You were supposed to take the spoon, not the bottle!" she hollered.
"Well what happens if I drink the entire-oh!" he said clutching his stomach. "No mom, please, not the runs!" he begged, but it was too late, he ran outside and let out a few painful moans as he did his business in a nearby bush. "Oh, it burns! It burns so bad!" he cried out between loud farting sounds.
Marlene held her paw up to her mouth, but she was already laughing. "Just let it out of your system Peanut." She called out to him, but she doubted if he could hear her.
Just then Derek came in Marlene's habitat with a grossed out look on his face. "Uh, hey, you remember me right? Derek, Skipper's cute little brother." He said with a smile, but he frowned again when he heard Peanut's cries again. "Is he gonna be okay?" he asked making Marlene laugh.
"He'll be fine, he just needs to let something get out of his system." She said.
"BURNING!" Peanut called out.
This time Skipper came in. "Marlene, I'm sure you're aware that you won't be able to swim for a while right?" he asked pointing to the exit of the cave.
Marlene sighed and plopped on her bed. "It's Rhonda all over again!" she moaned making Derek confused. She then looked back up. "So, what's going on? Do you like it here so far?" she asked trying to change the subject from her son's runs and sadly, her pool.
Derek smiled and sat next to her making Skipper's face heat up a little bit. "Yeah, but I'm looking at my favorite thing right now." He said making Marlene blush and Skipper's face heat up more. Derek looked up at his brother. If this wasn't going to get him Marlene, then he'll at least push Skipper enough to admit his feelings.
"You know, we were saying such a lovely story about how Derek was studying as a kid." Skipper started, but Derek growled and ran up to him. "What?" he asked laughing. "I think it's an interesting story, and it deserves to be told." He said making Derek blush.
Marlene yawned. "You know, I'd love to chat, but I'm pretty worn out." Marlene said nervously. She couldn't help but smile at the way Derek looked at her. She wished Skipper would look at the same way. "I'd put some water on my face, but that would be pretty stupid considering-"
Peanut interrupted her by walking the room coughing, and he looked about as worn out as Skipper's team after a few hours of training in the summer heat. "I think I'd rather be attacked by Joey." He said before lying down on his bed. "What was that? Laxatives?" he asked glaring at his mom with his blue eyes with a few tears in it from the events a few moments earlier. Whether it was from the smell getting to him, or the burning sensation he was shouting earlier, no one knew.
"Well we don't wanna keep you up. Raising a kid all by yourself, that must be harsh." Derek said before giving Marlene a small hug before walking outside with a very angry Skipper.
"What was that about?" Skipper asked resisting the urge to attack his brother.
Derek smiled. "Hey bro, I was just being a gentleman. I mean I wasn't just gonna stand there all quiet like you were as her son pooped his guts out in her pool like you were." He said. He knew he was getting in hot water, but it was enjoyable to watch his brother get angry at him. He hadn't seen him in a long time, whether he was mad or not, he didn't really care.
Skipper grumbled. "Yeah, well Marlene's fine. It's not the first time someone's left her a surprise in her pool."
Derek laughed and playfully punched his brother. "You and me have a lot of catching up to do!" he said as they made their way back home.
Ponytail30527's A/N
Oh boy! Derek likes Marlene! Will this go horrible wrong? Probably!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Review and bye!!!!!!
Stargazer128's A/N
Oh my gosh we know Derek likes Marlene, but does she like him back? Also catch Mackenzie's and Jesse's reaction to this little love triangle in the next chapter!
