A/N: Yeah, I planned this as a one-shot, but then I thought it might be amusing to try the flipside of the story. As always, please read and review!

Mutt and Indy were sitting in a booth together at Arnie's Diner. Indy and Marion had just returned from their long-overdue honeymoon and Marion had insisted Indy take Mutt to dinner. She said they needed the father-son bonding time, but Indy knew she had an ulterior motive, namely, she didn't feel like cooking. Indy had let his son choose the restaurant.

Even if he didn't need reading glasses, Indy would've felt old at Arnie's. Its usual clientele consisted of high-schoolers and college students of varying classes--greasers, letterman, poodle girls, girls who hung around with the greasers, and the occasional unclassifiable middle-class kid mixed in for flavor.

Indy sensed the presence of someone else near their booth. He glanced up from his menu and saw a slim, caramel-blond waitress around Mutt's age standing beside the table. The nametag pinned to the waitress's uniform read: Johanna.

Mutt regarded her coolly. "How you doin', doll?"

Johanna giggled slightly and blushed. Indy bent his head to conceal a grin himself. There was definitely no doubt left in his mind that Mutt was his son.

"Can I get you something to drink?" asked Johanna.

"A Dr. Pepper and a chocolate milkshake," said Mutt.

"Water's fine," said Indy.

As soon as Johanna was out of sight, Mutt pulled his comb out of his back pocket and ran it quickly through his hair. Indy thought it was in poor taste to start combing your hair in the middle of a restaurant, but he didn't say anything because he didn't feel like arguing with his son about it...not in public, at least.

Johanna returned several minutes later with their drinks. She haphazardly slammed Indy's water glass onto the table, causing the lemon wedge to slip off the top of the glass and some of the water to slosh out. However, she took very great care in setting down Mutt's soda and milkshake, pausing to read the stitching on his leather jacket.

"Mutt," she said. "I like that name. It's very original."

"Well, my old man here's a really original person," said Mutt. "Ain't that right, Daddy-o?"

Indy grunted noncommittally in response. He couldn't really take any credit for Mutt's name (or nickname, in this case).

"Are you ready to order or do you need a few minutes?" asked Johanna.

"I'd like to have a few minutes with you," Mutt replied, causing Johanna to giggle again. "But, yeah, I don't think Dad knows what he wants yet."

"Okay. I'll be back."

"You better be."

Indy chuckled and shook his head.

"So what do you think you're getting?" Mutt asked him.

Indy ran his thumb down the menu's list of offerings, thinking. "Probably a grilled cheese and maybe some tomato soup."

"You're so boring," said Mutt.

"I like grilled cheese," Indy countered. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"How about you let me order for both of us tonight?" Mutt proposed.

"I don't know about that, kid."

"Dad, you really owe me after that one thing that happened in Nazca."

"Which was...?" Indy honestly didn't have a clue what the kid was talking about. Not the bike, Indy had managed to recover that before they left. The scorpion sting? That had healed up fine; the kid should be over it.

"That first night," said Mutt, trying to jog his dad's memory. Not seeing a flicker of recognition in his face, Mutt added, "You know, how you let me starve."

"First of all, I didn't let you starve. You didn't want the roast guinea pig and there didn't happen to be a hamburger stand nearby." Indy said patiently. "Second of all, I think I made up for that when I bought you breakfast the next morning."

Mutt shook his head. "Not in my book. My stomach hurt so bad I couldn't sleep. I had to drink sodas the whole next day just to stay awake."

"Sodas I paid for," Indy pointed out.

Mutt wasn't about to give up. He had his dad's stubborn streak, after all, and he'd been dying to try and give the old man a taste of his own medicine.

"Come on, Dad," he coaxed. "I thought you were an adventurer."

That touched a nerve with Indy. He let out a sigh and consented to trying whatever Mutt had in mind.

Right about then, Johanna came back to the table, pen poised over her order pad.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked.

Mutt nodded. "Two double cheeseburgers with extra pickles and chili fries. And later on, bring us some peach pie with ice cream on top for dessert."

"The burgers might take a little while, they always do," said Johanna, copying down the orders. "I'll bring the fries out first to hold you over."

"I appreciate that, doll," said Mutt.

Johanna smiled and walked back in the direction of the kitchen. Mutt turned his head to follow her, eyes watching the gentle sway of her hips. Indy cleared his throat loudly, which brought his son back to his senses.

"What?" Mutt said innocently.

"Double cheeseburgers, chili fries, pie with ice cream," Indy repeated. "You know your mom's going to have to buy me new pants, right?"

Gone were the days Indy could eat whatever he wanted and not worry about gaining weight.

Johanna came over and set two plates of chili fries on the table. Mutt dug into his at once; Indy sat, studying them as though they were a particularly puzzling code or strange artifact. He slowly picked up one of the chili-coated fries and put it in his mouth. He chewed it thoughtfully, then pulled a face as he swallowed.

"I don't see how you kids can stand those things," said Indy, taking a long drink of water to get rid of the taste.

He picked through his plate, nibbling on the few fries that weren't covered in chili. There was a question Indy felt he needed to ask Mutt, but his son's attention was fixed on his plate and he'd never hear it.

When Mutt finally slowed down about halfway through the fries, Indy seized the opportunity.

"Does your mother know you eat like this?" The rest of the impending meal didn't sound any healthier than the appetizer. He wasn't fussy about nutrition himself and he'd never known Marion to be, but he suspected things could've changed after she became a mother.

"Yeah." his son replied with a shrug. "She doesn't make a big deal about it."

Johanna reappeared moments later with their cheeseburgers. She refilled Indy's water glass and brought Mutt another Dr. Pepper. Father and son enjoyed the burgers in contented silence, then Johanna returned a final time with the peach pie a la modes and the check. Even though Indy pulled out his wallet to pay, Johanna gave the slip of paper to Mutt. One glance immediately told him why: scrawled at the bottom was the waitress's phone number. Mutt offered her a wink and mouthed "I'll call you."

"I bet all the girls at your school loved you," said Indy, taking the check from Mutt to see how much they owed. "What made you wanna leave all that behind?"

"If there'd actually been girls, I wouldn't've left. See, all the prep schools Mom and the Ox sent me to were all-boys." Mutt explained. "I flunked out or got kicked out on purpose, hoping the next school they'd pick was coed."

Indy chuckled again, then shoved the amount they owed plus tip under the edge of his plate. As they left the diner, he reflected on Mutt's choice of dinner. The cheeseburger was excellent, the fries were terrible, and the pie was a little too sweet. He'd probably end up having a snack just so he could sleep. He and Mutt were definitely even...

THE END