Hey dear readers! Here we are! We are finally going to see each Emotion Family reuniting at last! But before you start reading about the first of our family reunions, I need to mention something important otherwise you may be a little confused…

I decided to give ALL the Emotions individual names (that means Riley's Emotions, the Mom Emotions and the Dads) for this story! Some of you may like the names I managed to come up with and some may find the idea a bit silly, but I promise you that I will be using these names only for this story and not in any of my other stories. The reason why I chose to do this is simple…now that we are dealing with whole families of Emotions, I couldn't just keep calling them Anger, Anger's Mom, Anger's Dad and so on…

So I came up with the idea that each family has secret names that they have given each other in the past and only when they are together, did they remember these names! I will still occasionally refer to Riley's Emotions by their common names in addition to their special names but the parents I will be calling by their unique names as soon as they are revealed.

So hopefully that clears up some things and I really hope you read on and enjoy the first of our Emotional reunions: get ready to meet the Anger Family!

Svinorita


Chapter 9.

"Mom! My nose is running and my head feels really hot…!" Riley whined miserably from the lounge room.

The poor girl was stretched out on the sofa with a tissue pressed under her nose, which was already looking very red and raw from her constant rubbing. A few days ago she had suddenly come down with a nasty case of the flu and she was not happy…

From the direction of the kitchen, came Jill's sympathetic reply, "I know Sweetie. You have the flu. Just take the medication that Dr. Kumar prescribed for you and I'll bring you some chamomile tea with honey shortly."

Riley groaned dismally and pressed a hand to her aching forehead. "This sucks so bad…"

Over on the other couch, Bill moaned in equal discomfort and complained pitifully, "Jilly…! Is my chicken soup ready yet? I can't breathe…"

Jill gave a little growl of frustration and replied as patiently as she could, "Come on Bill! Stop being a baby! I know you have the flu as well…I'm trying here!"

With that, Jill placed Riley's cup of tea on a tray and turned to the stove to stir Bill's chicken soup. She let out a long sigh of resignation and gingerly massaged her aching temples. She was feeling a little under the weather as well but there was no one to make her some soup or tea!

One hour later, father and daughter were both sedated and sleeping and quiet was once again restored to the Andersen household. After serving everybody and listening to their complaining, Nurse Jill sat down in the armchair opposite her two 'patients' and decided to rest her own tired eyes.

Within half an hour, the whole family was sound asleep.

XXX

Inside Riley's Headquarters, Anger was nervously pacing up and down as he prepared to go to Family Island to meet his long-lost parents.

Joy smiled encouragingly at her red coworker and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Anger! I'm sure everything will be just fine! Aren't you excited to finally meet your mom and dad?"

Anger's eyes seemed to get wider with trepidation and for a moment, he appeared to resemble Fear more than his own fiery, tough self.

He gave an uncertain grunt in response and resumed his antsy pacing. From beside him, a look of revelation dawned on Joy's face and wagging her finger in the red Emotion's face, she proceeded to lecture him like a mother talking to a naughty toddler:

"Now Anger…I know you can be pretty loud when you want to be. And if your parents are anything like you then they are probably just as loud. But Riley is sick at the moment and she has finally managed to fall asleep and get some much needed rest."

She intercepted Anger's path as he paced towards her and gripped his shoulders firmly, looking him deeply in the eyes as she pleaded, "So please when you get together out there, try to keep the yelling and shouting down for Riley's sake!"

Anger stared back at her with a blank expression before muttering, "Yeah, yeah, yeah…whatever. I'm too nervous to think about that right now."

Then he shrugged off her grip absently and made his way over to the Recall Tube that would take him to his destination.

As he was leaving, Joy heard him mumble gloomily, "I don't even know if I'll be able to talk when I get there…much less shout..."

XXX

At Family Island, Momma Anger was the first to arrive. She had her arms crossed and was looking around edgily as she grumbled, "Huh typical! I always end up having to wait for my boys…!"

She ground her teeth and a few sparks of irritation began smoldering on her head. Then she heard the sound of little footsteps approaching, and all the anger drained out of her. Turning towards the sound, she watched expectantly as her long-lost son hesitantly came up to her and her frown turned into a smile of pride at the sight of him.

Anger met his mother's proud gaze and smiled back shyly before his eyes darted back to the ground uncomfortably.

Momma Anger felt like her heart would melt from love and with tears of joy in her eyes she said, "Oh my baby…I never thought I would get to see you again! You have grown so much since I last saw you!"

Anger looked up meekly at his momma and ventured, "Hey there Ma'am…I mean Mother."

Mother…that word felt so foreign and strange on his lips. Yet at the same time, Anger found it soothing and natural. Saying it aloud to this female Emotion that he had never known before this very moment made his heart beat faster and his breath come out in short gasps as an equally foreign feeling took hold of him: love.

Momma Anger stepped closer to her son and held out her arms invitingly as she crooned, "There, there my Handsome Little Spark. Are you still young enough to let your momma give you a hug?"

Anger smiled back fondly and gave the tiniest of nods. The other Emotions thought of him as being this tough no-nonsense type that didn't like any touchy-feely interactions. And that was true to a point…if any of the others tried to give him a hug, Anger would glare threateningly at them or even swing a punch if he felt they were invading his personal space.

But deep down he secretly longed to experience that closeness. Although he would never admit to it, he sometimes felt lonely and misunderstood. Having someone give him a warm hug to show they care about him…Anger thought that would feel nice.

"Well I guess so…" he agreed timidly as he felt his cheeks burning. Luckily he was red all over, so he doubted that his mother would notice him blushing!

Then he added in a quiet whisper, "I never get any hugs from anyone…only Sadness sometimes tries to give me a friendly pat on the back."

Momma Anger wiped a tear of happiness from her eye as she scooped her son into her arms and held him tightly. A small grunt of surprise escaped from Anger as he found himself wrapped in her strong embrace, but almost instantly he felt all the tension leave his body and he reciprocated her gesture gratefully.

This does feel nice…He thought to himself smugly.

Suddenly, mother and son found their special bonding moment interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps marching towards them. Anger gave an uncharacteristic yelp of surprise and quickly hid behind his mother's back as Papa Anger appeared on the scene.

For a few tense moments the two parent Emotions eyed each other grumpily as Anger cowered behind his mom's back, too nervous to risk a glance at his Old Man. Momma Anger growled warningly under her breath like a mother bear protecting her cub while Papa Anger gave her a genuine nod of respect.

Then it seemed as if a flood of memories came crashing down on both the adult Emotions and their postures relaxed slightly as Family Island slowly worked its magic and brought previously suppressed memories back to the surface in both their minds.

Momma Anger gave her husband a devilish grin as she remembered his secret name and placing her hands on her hips, she teased, "Ah Angus! You still look like a prime rump steak after all these years!"

Papa Anger snorted haughtily and countered, "And Agnesssss…you still sound like a spitting cobra!"

Momma Anger (a.k.a. Agnes) raised her eyebrow challengingly at her male counterpart but decided to keep quiet. She didn't want to start a heated argument for Anger supremacy in front of her son…he needed both his parents to remain civil throughout this reunion otherwise the poor little fellow might end up scarred for life!

Papa Anger (a.k.a. Angus) leaned forward and in his sweetest voice coaxed, "Come out from behind your mother's back little Angelica, and say hello to your Daddy…"

There was a loud growl of indignation from behind Agnes' back as Anger stepped out to face his Old Man and grumped in a very un-angelic voice, "Jeez Pops! Give me a moment to clip on my little plastic wings and put on my gold halo!"

Angus' jaw dropped from shock and he ended up tripping over his own feet and landing on his butt with a loud "Oomph!" as he desperately tried to back away from the fuming red Emotion waving his finger threateningly in his face!

"It's a boy?!" the father Emotion wheezed in stunned disbelief.

Anger ground his teeth and glared daggers at his father. His breathing was so agitated that his whole body was trembling from the effort and steam rose menacingly from the top of his head.

Through gritted teeth he sniped, "I guess I am! What were you expecting?! A rabbit or a guinea pig?!"

Angus waved his hands submissively in a desperate attempt to appease his enraged son and stammered, "No, no, no! A boy is good! Better than good actually…it's great! I always wanted a son!"

The father Emotion slowly climbed to his feet and offered his hand to his son like a defeated General calling for a truce. "Come here son! Let's shake hands and forget about this little misunderstanding!"

Anger grumbled something incoherent to himself and shook his father's hand roughly. "Nice to meet you too Pops!"

He squeezed Angus' hand hard and the father Emotion let out a small yelp of pain as he broke off the handshake.

"Wow…you have quite a strong grip there son…" he commented as he rubbed his bruised hand tentatively.

A flash of pride appeared in Anger's eyes and he puffed out his chest defiantly. "Yes I know…"

Suddenly a curious thought formed in Anger's mind as he remembered how his parents had greeted each other upon arrival and he shot his father a questioning look.

"Wait a minute…I heard you call mom Agnes and she called you Angus when you arrived here. What's with the name thing anyway?"

Angus cleared his throat and shuffled his feet uncomfortably as if he had been expecting this question to come up soon. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could answer Anger cut him off by demanding, "And why on Earth would you think I was someone named Angelica?!"

Agnes covered her mouth with her hand and sniggered silently as she thought about her baby boy being called Angelica.

Angus kneaded his hands together nervously and avoiding eye contact with his son, he started to explain, "Well son when your mother and I first met, we had to come up with some informal way of addressing each other. I couldn't just call your mother "Hey You!" whenever I wanted to ask her something, and we couldn't both call each other 'Anger' because that would have become quite confusing…."

He looked up apprehensively and stated, "So we decided to choose names for each other that we liked."

He shot Agnes a hesitant look and smiled meekly, "When I first saw your mother, she looked like an Agnes to me so I started calling her that."

Anger nodded slowly and turned to face his mother. "And why did you decide to call Pops Angus?"

Agnes gave a snort of amusement and flatly stated, "Well I thought Angry Angus sounded like a pretty appropriate name for someone as stubborn and opinionated as your father!"

Anger looked from one parent to the other and felt a twinge of excitement building in his chest. "Wow! I never knew Emotions have names! Does that mean…"

Suddenly his eyes lit up and Anger rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Do I have a secret name too?!"

Angus shrugged and looked questioningly at his wife. "I don't know son. Clearly my name choice for you was deemed inappropriate so you'll have to ask your mother that."

Agnes smiled lovingly at her son and nodded proudly. "Of course you do my Little Spark! And wait until you hear the noble name I have chosen for you…"

Anger was practically jumping up and down from excitement now as he chanted, "Oh let me guess! Let me guess! Is it Alexander the Great?! Or maybe Attila the Hun…?!"

Agnes chuckled softly and replied, "Oh no baby. The name I have given you is much better than any of those! Are you ready to hear it?"

Anger gave a squeal of delight that sounded eerily like something Joy would do and begged, "Please tell me Momma! The suspense is killing me!"

"Okay! Here it is son!" Agnes placed a tender hand on Anger's shoulder and looked deep into his eyes. "Your name is Amadeus!"

The smile melted instantly from Anger's face and was replaced with a deep withering scowl as he blurted out indignantly, "WHAT KIND OF SISSY NAME IS THAT?!"

He turned to face his father for support but Angus just nodded in approval and stated, "Well your mother always had a fondness for music…especially rock n' roll."

A sheepish smile appeared on the father Emotion's face as he gave Agnes a flirtatious look. "It's what brought us together in the first place!"

Agnes just rolled her eyes in exasperation at her Casanova of a husband.

Angus cleared his throat and looked at his son with pride as he offered, "I believe she named you after some great Austrian rock musician!"

"Or was it punk?" He muttered as he tapped his chin thoughtfully.

Agnes sighed dramatically and corrected, "Actually I named you after the great composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart!"

She smiled fondly at her son and gently traced a finger down his disappointed face as she crooned, "You are my little Amadeus because ever since you were born, you have had a temper of classical proportions!"

Angus picked up on his son's discomfort and decided to try and spare him any further embarrassment by placing his hand on Anger's shoulder and engaging in some light conversation.

"So Amadeus…I mean son! If you are anything like me, then I bet you love music don't you?"

He gave Anger's shoulder a compassionate squeeze and declared confidently, "Let me guess! Your favorite band is AC/DC isn't it?!"

Anger grunted irritably and announced flatly, "Actually Dad I prefer Pat Benatar and Suzi Quatro."

Angus got a mischievous glint in his eye and gave his son a respectable pat on the back. "You do son?! Well it seems you have some fine taste then!"

He shot Agnes a sly look and declared proudly, "You see Agnes? It looks like our boy has a crush on some classy ladies!"

Agnes nodded with equal pride and said, "Well Angus, he's almost a teenager isn't he?"

Anger shuffled his feet uncomfortably. He felt like his whole head was on fire! So much for Dad trying to spare him any embarrassment! As usual, when Angus tried to fix something he only ended up making it ten times worse!

And unfortunately, the Old Man wasn't done 'helping' just yet.

Anger looked on worriedly as Angus adjusted his necktie and cracked his knuckles like he was preparing to show him how to shadow box or something.

"It's cool that you happen to be a Suzi Quatro fan son. Because back in her prime, Suzi was quite the guitarist!"

Now the father Emotion spread his feet apart and positioned his arms in a way that mimicked how a person would hold a guitar (except the 'guitar' in this case seemed to be nothing but air) and fixed his son a confident smile.

"You haven't heard yet, but let me tell you son that I play a mean guitar! Allow me to demonstrate!"

And with that, Angus launched himself into his most impressive air guitar performance as Anger and his mother watched with a mixture of bewilderment and pity.

Angus meanwhile was throwing everything he had into his performance…in fact he ended up getting a little too carried away as he brought out every guitar move in the book: he started with the 'Duck Walk' then flawlessly transitioned to the 'Stomp and Stagger' before giving his best 'Jump' with legs spread in a scissor motion. Upon landing, he demonstrated some 'Dramatic Picking' Kurt Cobain style, eyes fixed angrily on his imaginary instrument as he strummed furiously.

Anger and his mother exchanged confused looks and shrugged in unison as Angus prepared to unleash his trademark move: Headbanging!

Angus gave a shout of victory and closing his eyes, leaned forward and started swinging his head in crazy circles as far as his short neck would allow. Unfortunately, his neck was not exactly designed for this purpose, and after a few successful rotations, Angus felt a muscle pop sickeningly out of place…

The father Emotion froze mid-head swing and let out a sharp yelp of pain as Agnes and Anger exchanged concerned glances.

"Damn it!" Angus moaned in pain and gingerly rubbed his sore neck. I think I popped a muscle in my neck! This stings so much…!"

Agnes shook her head and mumbled something sarcastically under her breath as she stepped up to the wounded father Emotion.

"Here. Let me give you a neck massage you crazy old dog!" She started kneading Angus' short neck with her tough stubby fingers and it wasn't long before he felt her push the displaced muscle back into its natural position.

The father Emotion let out a grateful sigh and remarked, "Oh Agnes! You still haven't lost your touch!"

Agnes snorted humorlessly and sniped, "Maybe you should consider playing a safer instrument at your age Old Man…how about the harp or the ukulele?"

XXX

The rest of the evening went smoothly for the Anger Family as the three Emotions enjoyed their first get-together as a family since Riley was born. After spending about two hours together, Papa Anger (Angus) decided it was time to wrap up their little rendezvous and return to each of their respective hosts' minds.

Spreading his arms wide, the father Emotion beamed proudly at his family and said, "Come here my son! Time for one last family hug before we go our separate ways!"

For once in his life, Anger didn't protest about allowing himself to be embraced by others. In fact he welcomed the gesture with open arms (literally!) and threw one arm around his mom and the other around his dad as they both held him in a loving embrace.

Agnes felt pride swell inside her chest as she gave her son a tender peck on the head and whispered softly, "My boys! I'm so glad I finally found you both again! It has been so long since I felt this way!"

She felt a small tear forming in the corner of her eye and quickly wiped it away before her son or husband could notice.

"I know it's not possible for us to meet like this all the time, but I really hope we all get to see each other again at least sometimes. And from now on I will remember you both and cherish this day for the rest of my life!"

Angus smiled warmly and replied, "Me too Agnes. We must have done something right when we created this Bright Little Spark!"

He gave his son a playful noogie on the top of the head, (much to Anger's annoyance!) and received a few scorched knuckles for his actions.

The father Emotion quickly blew out the embers that had caught on his hand, and reminded his son sheepishly, "Don't forget to practice your air guitar son! One day you may even be as good as your Old man!"

Anger gave a small chuckle of appreciation and replied, "Oh I won't Pa. And if we ever meet again, can I read you some poetry?"

Angus scratched his head and studied his son with a confused expression. "What son? You like to read about pottery?"

Agnes slapped her forehead with her palm as Anger gave a deep sigh of resignation. "Never mind Dad…"

He looked fondly at both his parents and gave them each a grateful smile. "I never thought I'd say this, but I've never felt this happy in my life! I never experienced anything like this before…all this attention and so many hugs! I am really proud to have you as my parents!"

"Aww…my sweet little Amadeus!" Agnes purred as she wrapped her son in another crushing hug.

Angus' eyes glowed with pride and he nodded in agreement. "And I am so proud to call you my son, Amadeus!"

Anger flinched and thought to himself dismally, 'I really wish they'd stop calling me that! I would rather be called just Anger instead of that sissy name!'

But he kept his opinion to himself and decided to just enjoy the moment.

After a few minutes, Angus cleared his throat to get the others' attentions and pointed out, "I don't want to break this special moment, but we really need to wrap things up soon. Our hosts are all feeling under the weather and when they wake up, they'll need their Angers to help kick that nasty virus to smithereens!"

"You're right Angus." Agnes agreed reluctantly.

Suddenly an important thought flashed through her mind and she added, "That reminds me, I promised to tell my coworkers about my experience here today when I return to Jill's mind. And since Mother Sadness is our boss, it only seems fair that she should be allowed to visit her family next."

Angus nodded his assent and remarked, "Very well Agnes. In that case, I'll be sure to put in a word with Private Blue when I return to Bill's Headquarters and let him know that he's up next."

Anger listened respectfully to this exchange and added helpfully, "Wait you mean Sadness' folks will be meeting next? Great! When I get back to Headquarters, I'll pass on the message to Sadness! I know she will be over the moon after hearing that!"

XXX