Disclaimer: See Chapter One ;)
Summary: A late night pantry raid. Guess who's invited?
by Barbara C.
Part Two: Satin
Clink.
Clink. Thud. Clang.
Rubbing his eyes Alex rolled over in his cramped bunk to view the clock. After casting his eyes around for a few moments trying to locate the obnoxious object, it dawned on him that there hadn't ever been one in the room. With a yawn and a sigh he pressed the button on his watch to make the background light up.
2:03
Who, he thought tiredly, would be banging around at this hour? Everyone knew they had a 7:00 AM call, unless someone had died everyone should be getting their beauty sleep. Speaking of which…
Just as Alex was closing his eyes, there was that sound again.
Clink.
Oh, well whoever it was could…. X! Alex's eyes opened wide as he sat up and swung his feet off the bunk. That particular idea racing through his mind was not a comforting one. How could they have gotten in without any of the alarms going off? Quickly, he looked around for a weapon. With all the crowbars and baseball bats they used on a daily bases why couldn't one be found when they really needed it? A cursory glance revealed a single rollerblade. Grabbing the footwear, and a blanket to subdue the intruder with, he headed for the curtained entrance that separated the bunkroom from the control room..
Thud, clank, tink.
Raising the rollerblade above his head, he reached ever so slowly for edge of the curtain. As he did, he wondered if he should wake the others before confronting the intruder. He glanced at each of his friends' bunks to make sure everyone was all right. Grinder lay there peacefully; a sly grin across his face divulging the existence of a really good dream, Rikki was curled up with a well-worn teddy bear left over from his childhood, and Fidget… Wait! Alex focused on the bunk. The red-head wasn't there. Her covers were kicked back revealing an empty bunk.
Maybe she was the one doing the thumping and banging. Lowering the rollerblade he opened the door. A stream of light shone through the open hatch leading to the kitchen/meeting area below. He could see shadows moving around, but couldn't discern who or what anything was attached to. Not wanting to make a fool of himself, if it was Fidget, he didn't raise the rollerblade, but he did keep a tight grip on it. He also kept the blanket, ready to throw, in his other hand. Sucking in a deep breath he leaned down to look through the hatch..
There, in the light of the refrigerator, Fidget stood illuminated and clad in oversized pink pajamas. It was an odd sight that Alex took in. A petite red-head draped in a circus tent, no it was a top and bottoms, maybe satin, but why would Fidget be wearing oversized, pink, satin pajamas of all things?
She was putting away a bunch of bananas when she noticed him standing there. "Oh!" she said looking up at him somewhat startled. "Want a PBJ or a PBB?" She held out a bunch of bananas she was in the process of putting away.
Shaken from his thoughts and knowing that the perpetrator wasn't Dr. X or one of his goons, Alex relaxed and descended the ladder. A jar of peanut butter sat open on the counter. Next to it was the last quarter of a nearly stale loaf of bread and a new jar of strawberry jam.
"I woke up 'cause my stomach was complaining enough to *wake* me up." She closed the refrigerator door and then looked back at him curiously. "Um, Alex, why are you carrying a rollerblade and a blanket?"
"I…" He hadn't realized that he'd brought the items down with him. He could have, should have easily left them up above. Right now, however, he didn't want to explain his actions. Not to her, not at this hour. Fortunately, the organ which instigated the raid on the fridge chose that moment to make itself known.
"Never mind, want one?" She indicated to a plate with four sandwiches piled atop it. "I probably shouldn't have made so much, but I was hungry." She sat down and picked one of the gooey concoctions off the plate.
"Uh, sure," he replied reaching for the sandwich at the top of the stack wondering exactly what type of sandwich he'd be getting. Biting into it Alex cringed as he found it was peanut butter, banana, and jelly. Peanut butter with one ingredient or the other he could stand, but all together, they just tasted wrong. The spunky little red-head didn't seem to mind the taste and gobbled through two sandwiches before he thought to speak.
"Mind if I ask what you're doing up at…" he looked at his watch again, "two 'oh seven in the morning?"
"Like I told you, I was hungry," she was reaching for the last sandwich when she stopped. Working her jaw a bit, she looked toward the fridge. "Want some milk? Drinking warm milk is always a great way to get back to sleep." Fidget stood and stretched, her pajamas gaped so that Alex got a tantalizing view of the bellybutton she showed off daily. This was different somehow though.
"Fidget?"
"Hmm?" she asked pulling the gallon of milk from the refrigerator.
"Would you mind if I asked you a personal question?"
This brought a startled pause from the red-head. Her head snapped around to capture his attention as she tensed up.
"Er, well, I suppose it's not that personal," he backpedaled. "I was just wondering why you're wearing, er, that." He motioned to the ensemble she was wearing.
Noticeably relaxing she pulled two glasses from a cabinet and answered. "I ran out of PJs. Rikki's kept us on the go so often that I've nearly run out of clean clothes too. These," she indicated to her sleepwear, "were a gift from my much beloved, much demented, great-aunt Mathilda who is the only person in the world who thinks I look adorable in pink." Fidget filled the glasses and turned to put them in the microwave. After a thoughtful moment's pause she continued. "I wonder if I should be thankful though. Candy got red and white candy cane striped ones."
She put away the milk and then returned to take the glasses of warmed milk from the microwave. Handing one to Alex she noticed his forlorn expression. "Trust me. As much as you might want a family, there are some family members out there, or at least their ideas of gifts, that the world could do without."
"Yeah," he smiled sadly. "But there are those of us who would give anything to have a family, even one consisting entirely of those the world can do without."
"That is why you have Grinder, Rikki, and me." She grinned. "Y'know, if you *really* want me to start getting you superhero pajamas, bunny slippers, and action figures for presents, all you have to do is ask."
Hearing the sarcasm mixed with true curiosity in Fidget's comment, Alex nearly rolled with laughter, but he held back. "No need! No need! I've got you and I'd like you to stay the way you are."
Giggling, she made a comment about talking to Rikki regarding Action Man Under-Roos and footie-pajamas, then calmly sipped her warmed milk as she took in Alex's horrified expression.
"Just kidding!" she burst out laughing. After the two of them had a good laugh the red-head gave a big yawn and stood. "I think my stomach is happy enough. I'll see you in the morning."
Alex gulped the last of the warm liquid in his glass and offered to take her's to the counter. Fidget accepted and then wandered off towards bed leaving Alex alone in the kitchen thinking about slick satin sheets, Fidget, demented family members, under-roos, and footie-pajamas.
"Definitely time for bed," he mumbled to himself as he rinsed the glasses then returned to the bunk room with the rollerblade and blanket.
I took liberties with Fidget's family, GUILTY! But I don't think took it too far. The great-aunt was created completely out of fiction and seemed to fit seamlessly into Fidget's family tree, that we know so very little about.
Also, this turned into more of a character piece than I expected, but I hope you enjoyed it.