Virgil is released from the hospital the following morning, with instructions to take it easy, and to avoid strenuous activity for the next 6 weeks. There is a fleeting disappointment as he realises that this will mean he will miss football try outs his last chance of making the team before the stiffer competition of the high school next year.
"Dad, can we go snorkelling?" Gordon asks at breakfast, after they have sprung Virgil from the hospital.
"No, you are far too young, you can however go down to the docks after you have finished eating. I have a surprise lined up for you" Jeff replies grinning.
Dropping his spoon into his half-finished cereal bowl Gordon grins at him, "Done!" He declares. "Let's go already!"
"Okay let me rephrase that, you can go when everyone has finished eating!" Jeff replies chuckling.
"But you said!" Gordon pouts, but it is a good-natured pout from someone who knows he just outsmarted his dad.
"Eat your breakfast Squid" Jeff tells him, laughing at the indignant sulk on his face.
"Where are you taking him dad, and do I have to come?" John asks, hoping that he agrees to let him stay in the hotel and read his new book.
"Not telling, and no you don't. I was thinking if you don't want to come with us, there is a Pearl Harbour museum close by" his dad tells him.
"Museum!" John replies instantly. History has fascinated him as much as space since as long as he can remember.
"Bor-ring!" Gordon replies.
"History is NOT boring" John snaps back sharply.
"Oh please, everything you learn at school is boring" Gordon insists.
"Boys! Enough, we have one day in Hawaii then next week you guys will be back at school. This is our last chance to be together as a family" Jeff interrupts before they break out into all-out war.
"Okay fine just keep him away from me" John fires back, scraping his chair back and getting up, deliberately missing the point.
Exasperated, Jeff turns to Grandma "Do you think these 2 will ever get along?"
"Nah, but life would be boring if they all got along all the time!" She replies laughing.
"I don't know, I think I would like a boring life just once" Jeff tells her laughing.
"Then hang out with John all day and you'll have one" Gordon tells him shrugging. "OW! Daddy he hit me" bursting into tears, rubbing the back of his head.
Virgil throws the rest of his cereal at John, who gets covered in left over lucky charms and milk. Gordons tears end instantly, and he starts to giggle. "Better?" Virgil asks, while glaring at John.
Gordon nods laughing at the look of outrage on Johns face.
"John apologise to Gordon, then go and get changed. Virgil apologise to John. And one more argument and I will cancel today, and you will all go and sit in the airport until our flight." Jeff is not in the mood for a day of fighting.
"Sorry" John and Virgil parrot in unison both with equal insincerity. Before John turns on his heel, and stomps from the dinning room back to their suite to get changed.
"That's better" deciding to ignore the obvious sarcasm, anything for some peace and quiet.
*TB*
Jeff splits the boys up once John returns, and Grandma agrees to take him and Scott to the history museum, while he takes Alan, Virgil and Gordon to the beach.
"Daddy this beach is even better than the one on the Island, can you sell that and buy this one?" Gordon asks in awe. The wall to wall deep blue ocean throwing gentle waves up onto sand so fine it looks white in the morning sunlight.
"Where would the residents live?" Jeff asks amused.
"I don't know, Kansas?" Gordon shrugs. "So what are we doing here?"
"Whale watching" Jeff tells him.
"NO WAY!" Gordon shouts back with excitement. "Where?"
"On that yacht" Jeff smiles, the Squids enthusiasm is contagious. Pointing to a large pink boat with FAB 2 painted on the side docked in the yard waiting for them. Lord Creighton-Ward, Kyrano, Lady Penelope and Kayo are all standing on the deck waving enthusiastically.
"What are you doing here?" Alan asks leaping up into Kyranos arms and demanding a cuddle.
"Your dad called and told us about the unexpected stop, so we thought we would join you. We missed you" Kyrano tells him. "How is the nose Virg?"
"Great, it only hurts if I think about it!" he replies.
"Who is looking after my fish?" Gordon asks bluntly, not bothering saying hello.
"They are fine back on the Island, I cleaned the tank, changed the filter on the pump, made sure the temperature was perfect and set the alarm so if anything changes it will send a message directly to me and I can adjust everything from here." Kyrano reassures him.
"What about their food? They will starve" Gordon tells him.
"I put in a slow release block, its okay Gordy they have everything they need" Kyrano tells him, setting Alan down and pulling him in for a hug. "Do you trust me?"
Gordon nods, "of course I trust you"
"Good, now let's go and find some whales! Come up to the observation deck"
"Can I drive the boat?" Alan asks.
"Nope" Jeff tells him, taking his hand and following the others to the main deck.
"Do not go anywhere near the edge Allie" Jeff warns sternly, letting go of his hand and sinking into one of the chairs
"Yeah, if you fall in we aren't coming back for you and you will get eaten by a shark" Gordon tells him.
"Daddy!" Alan wails, running back to the chair.
"Gordon!" Jeff threatens.
"Well there are sharks here, it isn't my fault if he gets eaten" Gordon insists.
"If you don't behave you will get fed to the sharks" Jeff tells him.
"Really?" Gordon asks, his eyes widening in shock.
"Yes" Jeff insists.
"Cool, would I get to see what the inside of the shark actually looks like?" Gordon queries, unable to believe his luck.
"I give up. Just be careful" Jeff tells him.
"You give up a lot daddy" Alan informs him laughing.
"You will understand one day Allie, when you have kids" Lord Creighton-Ward tells him.
"Especially if they take after their uncle Gordon" Lady Penelope adds laughing.
*TB*
"Daddy look whales!" Gordon calls him over. They have been out at sea for just over an hour, and Gordon hasn't taken his eyes from the water. This is what heaven feels like.
"I can see them from here Gordon" Jeff replies not even looking up from his magazine. he has now seen 50 whales, and the novelty wore off after the second one.
"You aren't even looking" Gordon tells him, rolling his eyes. "Come over hear and look at them. It is a whole pod this time"
"Gordon, it is 2 whales" Kayo tells him laughing.
"Exactly that is hundreds of whales" Gordon replies "Look there is another one! Daddy you have to come and look"
"You wanted an easy day Jeff, go and look at the whales or you won't get any peace" Kyrano tells him.
"I should have gone to the museum with Scott and John" Jeff replies, forcing himself up from the chair and over to where Gordon is leaning on the railings.
"Wow they are big" Jeff tells him, trying to match his enthusiasm.
There is a tug on his shirt, looking away from the whales Jeff finds Alan standing there, looking pale and miserable. "Allie what's wrong?"
"I FEEL SICK" he wails, before throwing up all over Jeffs shoes.
"EUW" Gordon shouts back, "That's disgusting Allie"
Alan continues to sob, tears streaming down his face. "I'M SORRY!" he cries into Jeffs trouser leg.
"Come on, let's get you cleaned up. And you have nothing to apologise for Allie" Jeff tells him. He should have remembered that he gets motion sick.
Jeff gets Alan settled on his lap after he has cleaned him up. "Gordon, we are heading back now"
"Why? Is it because shark bait threw up on you?" Gordon replies, not even looking around.
"GORDON!" Jeff shouts back. "I seem to recall you doing the same a few months ago" he reminds him.
"Sorry Allie" Gordon replies.
"That's better" Jeff tells him.
Grandma is waiting at the dock with John and Scott when they get back, Alan has never been happier to be on dry land. They stop for some supper at a small restaurant on the beach before saying goodbye to Lord Creighton-Ward, Lady Penelope, Kyrano and Kayo and collecting their luggage from the hotel and catching a cab to the airport.
"Right, new family rules. Rule number 1: you all stay here where I can keep an eye on you, and no playing cricket!" Jeff tells them once they are seated. The answers range of "Of course Dad, I am the good child – John" to "is baseball okay – Gordon?" to a grunting snore – Grandma.
An hour into the flight and all 7 of them are asleep, Alan curled up with Jeff snoring gently, Gordon in a similar position but asleep next to Virgil and Grandmas snores could be mistaken for thunder! The 5-hour flight passes without incident, the boys only waking when they land. Stopping off at the rest room Alan and Gordon both insist on getting their pyjamas on for the car ride.
Even the final leg of the journey, with Jeff in charge to stop any fighting, is smoother than normal, which Jeff and Grandma both know is because the boys are exhausted and not because they have suddenly taken a vow to be well behaved!
"How was the museum?" Jeff asks, still wishing that he had chosen the museum and not a barf fest with Alan.
"Great, I had to drag them away, they would have happily lived there if I hadn't." She tells him fondly. The 5 distinctive snores in the back let her know that they are all happily asleep. Even Alan.
"I should have gone there and left you with the troublesome two!" Jeff tells her.
"Oh Jeff, surely they weren't that bad" She tells him laughing, wandering what chaos they caused this time.
Jeff smiles happily, looking into the rear-view mirror at his 2 youngest boys, both fast asleep, their angelic faces the picture of pure innocence. "Yeah, they really weren't, Gordon wanted to feed Alan to a shark and Alan threw up over me, but it was nothing I can't handle!"
"Gordon really needs to come up with better methods of dealing with people" Grandma tells him laughing.
"I just hope Alan is going to be okay next week" Jeff tells her, remembering his disastrous afternoon at kindergarten at the beginning of summer.
Grandma sighs, she has spent the summer thinking about it too, but she tries to reassure him. "He will be fine Jeff; the others have all survived it"
Pulling up outside the house, Jeff can't believe he is finally home. Turning round in his seat to wake the boys and just getting tired grunts in response. "Guys we are home" he tell them, opening up the driver side passenger door and unbuckling Alans car seat, picking the sleeping child up and carrying him into the house. The late summer breeze drifting into the car wakes Scott and John up. Grumbling and complaining they get out the car without a glance at the house, they stumble in through the front door and straight upstairs to collapse into their beds.
"Want a lift into the house Squid?" Virgil asks, shaking awake his younger brother.
"Mmm" Gordon groans in his sleep but his eyes don't open fully, and he rolls over and starts to snore again.
"Come on lazy" Virgil tries again, lifting him up from the car and carrying him to the house.
"My bed!" Gordon greets his bed with more enthusiasm than he has ever shown when greeting his brothers and allowing Virgil to wrap the blanket around his shoulders. "Night Virg"
"Get some sleep Squid" Virgil tells him ruffling his hair.
"I am never leaving my bed again" Gordon tells Virgil upon waking in the morning, sinking back down into his pillows, happy to be back in his own bed, and away from John's snoring and Scott's fussing.
"Me neither Squid, and this new bed is so much better than the old one" Virgil replies. "You looking forward to going back to school next week?"
"Yeah, I can't wait to see Billy, we have the greatest welcome back prank planned!" Gordon replies grinning.
Virgil groans, Gordon never learns. "Last years got you expelled Squid; do you ever learn?"
"Oh relax will ya, this year it is just a classic breaking the ice with a new teacher prank. It's harmless!" Gordon replies refusing to give any information. "I learned the hard way Virg" he reminds him with a shiver. "And besides, I have Allie to look out for now, I will be too busy looking after him while he settles in and makes friends."
"Promise me?" Virgil asks him seriously. There is no way he can survive another school year like the last one!
"Promise" Gordon reiterates. "I have this Virg"
"You know one day I won't be there to sort your messes out, and what will you do then?" Virgil asks.
"Easy, make a bigger one that will cancel out the first one, that I will blame on Alan. really Virg you don't need to worry. I know what I am doing!"
Not convinced but unsure what he can say to talk him out of it, Virgil does the only thing he can do give up and be there for him when it goes wrong!