Disclaimer: As always, 'Mutant X' and it's amazing cast of characters = Not mine. Alexis and Isabelle Fox-Mulwray = Mine.
Author's Note: I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the first three parts of this story. To Crystal113 – Shaving cream certainly sounds like an intriguing possibility; I'll try to work it in to a future chapter. To Feline-Feral – Yes, Jesse torture is a lot of fun but I think I put him through enough in 'Babysitting' to last until the twins are at least five. I like the lipstick suggestion and I must admit that Brennan and Shalimar have gotten off very lightly so far . . .
Words in / / = Thoughts.
Chapter 3.
Five minutes later.
Try as he might, Brennan couldn't keep his amusement from showing on his face when he was faced with his solemn little daughter.
Izzy stood quietly, smoothed her pale blue sundress and looked up at her father with a sweet smile.
She firmly believed that the 'game' Lexi had devised had been very funny and she was very proud of the ingenuity she herself had shown by adding vinegar to the milk.
She sighed to herself.
It was too bad that the grown ups didn't have a sense of humour.
/Lexi would have thought it was funny! /
Her daddy was doing his best to glare at her, but she could tell from the sparkle in his eyes, as well as those of her aunt, uncle and grandfather, that they thought it was funny too.
"That was a very nasty thing to do, Izzy." Poor Brennan did his best to sound stern. "You could have made someone very sick!"
"But I didn't." Izzy pointed out logically. "And the dishwasher stuff was non-toxic." She pronounced the last word carefully. "I checked before I used it." Between them, Brennan and Shalimar had taught the twins their alphabet and numbers and the basics of reading and writing. "I wouldn't have used it if it was poison." She added earnestly.
"How would you like it if someone made you drink something horrible?" Emma asked, accepting a mint from Jesse to rid herself of the appalling taste in her mouth.
"I wouldn't." Izzy said calmly, wondering why they were making such a fuss. Honestly, it's wasn't as if someone had died! "That's why I gave it to you, 'stead of drinking it myself."
"What did you put in the milk anyway, Izzy lizard?" Adam asked curiously. "What?" He looked up at the other three adults, who were all shooting him furious looks. "I've been thinking of experimenting with new ingredients for my hangover remedy."
Brennan, Emma and Jesse, all of whom had had experience of that foul concoction, gave a collective shudder.
"Vinegar and some lemon juice." Izzy answered. "What do you put in your drink?" If she and Lexi ever tried pulling this trick again, new ingredients would definitely make things more interesting.
"Don't answer that!" Brennan growled at his mentor, who merely grinned. Turning his attention back to his daughter, Brennan schooled his expression into a frown. "You know that what you did was very wrong, don't you, Isabelle?"
Izzy sighed. Her full name always indicated that her father meant business. "But it was funny!" She protested
Brennan couldn't argue with that. "Maybe, but it still wasn't a very nice thing to do, was it?"
"I guess not." Izzy conceded reluctantly. She looked up at the adults with beseeching dark eyes. "I'm sorry you didn't like my joke and I'll never do it again. I promise."
None of the adults could resist the angelic looking four year old.
"Alright." Brennan ruffled his daughter's hair. "Just try to stay out of trouble, okay?"
She nodded solemnly. "I will."
The four adults failed to notice her slipping her hand behind her back and crossing her fingers surreptitiously.
/Grown ups are way too trusting! /
* * *
Evening.
After he and the others had eaten their meal, Brennan headed for the lab to give Lexi her dinner and to relieve Shalimar of her watch for a few hours.
Much to Izzy's satisfaction, her mother found her account of spiking the tea very funny, mostly because she hadn't fallen victim to it herself.
Shalimar might have been the member of Mutant X who exercised the most control over the twins, but she always appreciated the ingenuity her daughters displayed in their most original pranks.
/She just misses having Lexi around. / Shalimar reflected. /I don't think that the girls have been apart for more than a couple of hours since the day they were born! Maybe a little time apart will do them good, teach them to cope by themselves. /
"Mommy, can't I go see Lexi, just for a little while?" Izzy wheedled.
Shalimar shook her head regretfully "No, sweetie, you can't. We don't want you to be sick too. Grandpa says that you'll be able to see her again by the end of the week."
"But that's ages away!" Izzy protested. "I want to see Lexi now!"
"Sorry, baby." Shalimar kissed the top of her unhappy daughter's head. "Nobody is allowed to see Lexi unless they've already had chicken pox and you haven't."
"No fair!" Izzy pouted.
"I know." Shalimar hugged the little girl. "I've got to go check on Lexi. You be a good girl for Daddy."
Izzy mumbled something that her mother chose to take as assent and Shalimar, satisfied, headed back to the lab.
Izzy Fox-Mulwray was not a happy little girl.
She sighed.
As always, she was going to have to solve her problems herself.
* * *
An hour and a half later.
"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" Izzy raced into the rec room where her father was reading his book.
"What's the matter, Izzy lizard?" Brennan looked up from Walt Whitman to see his daughter standing in front of him, a triumphant expression on her face.
"I have to go to the lab with Lexi." The four year old announced jubilantly. "I've got chicken pox too."
"What?!" Brennan was devastated. /Great! Now both of them will be sick and cranky! /
"Uh huh." Izzy lifted her pyjama top to reveal an impressive collection of red spots liberally dotting her torso. "See?"
It took a second for Brennan to register what was going on.
Suppressing his laughter, her reached out to touch the spots on Izzy's stomach, his suspicions confirmed by the tell tale red stains that came off on his hand.
"That's lipstick, Izzy."
The little girl's face fell.
She hadn't expected her father to see through her shrewd ruse.
/Looks like I'll have to try something else. /
TBC.
Author's Note: I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can. I don't know how people are able to write more than one story at once – Lexi and Izzy came very close to making a guest appearance in my 'Angel' story!