A/N: I know, I know, no excuse is worthy of explaining my neglect of this story. If the same laws applied to stories as they do to children, my stories would be put into foster care. But college is crazy, and I have exams this week. And my taste for CatCF fanfic went stale for awhile, and only recently returned. So…please don't throw rotten vegetables at me.

Yay reviews! I was so happy with the response to this story. Okay, so having 15 reviews and over 300 hits can be a little disheartening, but at least people are reading. So thank you even if you're reading and not reviewing, but I really wish that you would review, even if there's something that you don't like. Plus you get a nifty response!

Whew! Well now, after all of that…we'd better get on with the show. But first…Wonka book quote!

"…The Oompa-Loompas were all dressed in the most extraordinary way…and they were working in complete silence. Watching them, Charlie experienced a queer sense of danger. There was something dangerous about this whole business, and the Oompa-Loompas knew it."

-Chapter 26 "The Television-Chocolate Room"

Chapter 5: Suspicion and Confusion

Willy Wonka led the two children to a separate part of the Inventing Room, where a relatively small machine and side table stood. The inventor strapped on a pair of safety goggles and began to fiddle with the beakers and machine that stood next to him. Charlie mimicked his mentor and handed Beka a pair of goggles as well. One could never be too careful when Mr. Wonka was experimenting with new ideas.

The children watched on, fascinated, as the chocolatier poured a little bit of one mixture, then a little of another, into a big beaker on the table. The entire set-up struck Beka as looking like a bizarre chemistry set. After several moments of mixing and measuring, Wonka stuck a gloved finger into the blue liquid and then licked it off, flicking his tongue a few times. He cocked his head slightly for a moment. An occasional "hmm," was the only sound he made during the entire process.

Appearing pleased with his concoction, Wonka took the beaker and carefully poured its contents into a tube in the machine. With a smile, he pulled a lever on the side and the machine began to whirl and sputter loudly. Beka watched in amazement, and after a few moments, a conveyer belt began rolling out delicate chocolate flowers. Wonka picked one up and eyed it proudly. With a slight gleam in his eye, he held it toward Beka.

"Why don't you try it first," he suggested. The girl gave him a slightly skittish look.

"W-w-why me?" she stammered. Wonka smiled at her knowingly.

"Well now, it was your idea, now wasn't it?" he answered sweetly, still holding the flower in her direction.

With a look of apprehension (Charlie had, of course, told her about some of the mishaps that sometimes happened with new candies), Beka slowly reached out her hand to take the chocolate. Just before she did, however, Charlie's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. Beka and Wonka both switched their gazes to him.

"Mum's waiting on us," he said after a beat of silence. "For dinner." He slowly released his friend's arm and gave his teacher a look. "Why don't you just get an Oompa-Loompa to try it?"

Wonka seemed to sort of swallow his smile before a new one took its place, though this one was hardly as cocky as the one before. With a swift slight-of-hand (for Willy Wonka was nothing if not a magician) the man switched out the treats, for he had, of course, planned on giving the girl one of the exploding fire flowers by "accident." He then waved over one of the nearby Oompa-Loompas (who apparently decided who would go by a hasty game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors." Bending low, Wonka handed one of the sweet flowers to the little man and straightened. With a slight hesitation, the Oompa-Loompa took a bite out of the treat, chewed, swallowed, and cocked his head for a moment, before giving Wonka a thumbs-up.

The chocolatier looked slightly disappointed for a brief moment before pasting on a big smile for the kids. "Well there you go. I guess it was a good idea after all, little girl." Beka and Charlie exchanged a smile. "We don't want to keep your mom waiting, Charlie," Wonka added. Charlie pointed Beka towards a door at the other end of the room, but he grabbed Wonka's arm as he passed him. With a strong grip that surprised the older man, Charlie jerked Wonka down till they were more on eye level.

"Stop it," Charlie warned fiercely, in a low voice. Wonka was somewhat taken aback by his forceful tone. "Whatever it is you're doing—stop it."

Wonka pulled himself upright, straightening his coat. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said innocently. Charlie only glared at him as he turned to meet Beka. Wonka grimaced slightly to himself as he followed the children. He didn't want Charlie mad at him, that wouldn't do at all. The chocolatier resigned himself to an awkward dinner with the Bucket family. Maybe he would have a better idea of how to go about things after seeing how the others felt about the girl.

Sorry it's so short—with any luck, the next chapter will be up soon. But don't hold me to anything; my muses are picky, and exams are evil. So remember: save a muse, send a review!