Chapter 5

At first, Sportacus objected but Stephanie wouldn't hear of it. She told him that it was important to keep his family together.

"Tomorrow morning, we're going to head to your father's house. We don't have to tell my parents or Uncle Milford about everything. Just that we're going to pick up your dad, that's all." Stephanie smiled. Then she realized how late it was.

"I have to go but I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning. I love you." She said as she kissed him goodnight.

"Stephanie…" Sportacus said as he grabbed her hand before she left. She squeezed his hand and said,

"You're welcome." Sportacus pulled her close and whispered into her ear.

"Sofa heilbrigður minn engill." Then he kissed her lips gently. Stephanie smiled and climbed down the ladder. Sportacus watched her run back to the Mayor's house. Pulling off his uniform, he grabbed some pajamas out of the closet and put them on. He lay awake in bed for quite some time. What would he say to his dad? Where to begin? Would his father even want to talk to him?

The next morning dawned bright and beautiful, as most days in LazyTown did. The sun began to warm the air and change the clouds from dark grey to bright red and orange. Birds chirped as the crickets went to bed. Stephanie woke up smiling, as she did almost every day. She hoped that Sportacus would be able to patch things up with his father. It was then that she realized it was already nine in the morning. Quickly she rushed around her room grabbing up some clean clothes and then she rushed into the bathroom.

Sportacus had only gotten about three hours of sleep. He had tossed and turned most of the night. His mind had refused to relax and it kept asking questions. Too many questions in fact. When his alarm went off he practically punched it to death. Slowly he got out of bed and got into the shower.

He stood in the shower, just letting the water run down over his face. The hot water felt good but it wouldn't wash away his problems. Nothing in life could ever be so simple. But then he remembered Stephanie. Some things were simple. She loved him and she wanted to see him happy. Maybe life wasn't so difficult after all.

Around quarter to ten, Sportacus knocked on the Mayor's door. Stephanie opened it and let him.

"I told…" she didn't get to finish. Sportacus scooped her up and kissed her. Stephanie welcomed it and slipped him a little tongue. It was then that the two of them heard someone behind them. Quickly Sportacus tried to set Stephanie down but they ended up getting more tangled together. The two fell down and soon both were blushing. Then trying to regain some dignity, Sportacus picked himself up and helped Stephanie to her feet. Bessie watched the whole thing, trying to contain her laughter.

"How long do you think you'll be gone?" she asked all smiles.

"I… I… don't know." Sportacus sputtered.

"Well, I hope you have a good trip. Everyone is looking forward to meeting your father, Sportacus." Bessie said.

"I'm sure we will. Now come on. We've wasted enough daylight already." Stephanie said nudging Sportacus to the door.

"Bye Bessie. I hope there won't be a lot of trouble while I'm gone." Sportacus said.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Now scoot." Bessie told him. Stephanie and Sportacus turned and left. As they were leaving, Bessie couldn't hold it in anymore. Her high pitched laughter rang in their ears as they climbed into the airship.

Sportacus jumped into his control seat and revved up the engines. He pedaled until the airship matched a certain speed and then he told the computer to take over. Then climbing out of his seat he smiled and said,

"I love that new feature. Auto-pilot has to be the greatest invention yet." Stephanie smiled and changed the subject.

"I meant to ask you last night. What did you say to me?"

"Sofa heilbrigður minn engill, it means 'sleep well my angel'." Sportacus explained.

"Oh. Well just so you know I did have a good night's sleep. I think maybe you should teach me some Icelandic. How long is the trip anyway?" Stephanie asked.

"About six hours. Teaching you some Icelandic probably wouldn't hurt." Sportacus smiled as the lesson began.

To Be Continued…