Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story except for Johnny and Jenny Bucket. Oh, and I don't own the song Good Morning Starshine, either!
A/n: Sorry about the long wait! I would also like to thank all of my lovely reviewers for the last chapter! I'm so glad you liked the names I chose for the twins! Please keep those reviews coming!
Chapter 14: "Cow Lick"
Willy couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He hadn't meant to take off like that. It was just that, seeing the Buckets all together like that, as a family, made him feel like an intruder. He sighed as he slipped into his pajamas. He would have to remember to apologize to Charlie in the morning.
KNOCK! KNOCK! Willy groaned. Why was someone disturbing him at this hour? "Willy?" called a very familiar voice. Willy sighed and opened the door. "Charlie, what are you doing here?" he asked his heir.
When Charlie realized that his mentor was in his pajamas (which were silk, with pictures of various candies on them), he blushed crimson. "Sorry, Willy. I didn't realize you were in your pajamas," he apologized. "You're really weird!" giggled Willy. Charlie took that to mean that the Chocolatier wasn't angry at him.
"Willy, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I mean, you just ran off all of a sudden," said Charlie. "I…I felt like I was intruding," Willy mumbled. Charlie had to resist the urge to tell Willy that he really shouldn't mumble. "Willy, you weren't intruding at all! You're part of our family now too, you know," Charlie assured the Chocolatier.
Now it was Willy's turn to blush. "Aw, shucks!" he said. "Willy, you're coming for breakfast tomorrow, right? I can't promise that Mom will make anything too fancy, but we'd love to have you," Charlie told the Chocolatier. "Sure I'll come!" agreed Willy. "Okay, then. Goodnight, Willy," said Charlie. "Goodnight, Charlie," said Willy.
After Charlie left, Willy got an idea. He called the Administrative Offices (luckily, the Oompa Loompas usually worked late) and set up a special surprise for the Buckets. Smiling, Willy climbed into bed.
The next morning, Willy got up bright and early (as usual). He clapped his hands together with excitement, thinking about the surprise he had planned. "Good morning, Starshine, the Earth says…" Willy began, just before running head-long into the Glass Elevator! "I've got to be more careful about where I park this thing!" he muttered to himself as he pressed the button for the Chocolate Room.
The minute Willy stepped into the Chocolate Room, he heard the sound of crying. Bracing himself, Willy headed to the Buckets' house. When got there, he saw, to his delight, a bunch of Oompa Loompas waiting for him. Each one was carrying a breakfast item. Smiling, Willy knocked on the door.
"Come in Willy!" Charlie said loudly, to be heard over the loud crying. Willy opened the door. "Know what? Know what! I had the Oompa Loompas make breakfast for you this morning!" he exclaimed. The group of Oompa Loompas entered and set the breakfast dishes on the table.
"Oh, Willy, this is lovely! Thank you!" exclaimed Mrs. Bucket. It was then that Willy noticed that Mrs. Bucket looked absolutely exhausted. "Mrs. Bucket, what happened to you?" he gasped. "Willy!" hissed Charlie. "It's okay, Charlie," Mrs. Bucket assured her son. Then, she turned to Willy. "Willy, I'm afraid Johnny has a bad case of colic," she told him.
Willy was confused. "Cow lick? How can he have a cow lick? I mean, have you seen his little noggin? There's hardly any hair on it!" he said. Despite her tired state, Mrs. Bucket had to stifle a giggle. "It's colic, Willy, not cow lick. It's basically a problem that babies sometimes have that makes them cry a lot, sometimes for hours on end," she explained.
Now that Willy thought about, he was pretty sure he remembered his f-f-father telling him that he had trouble with colic when he was baby. Willy cringed, picturing himself as a crying, screaming baby. It wasn't exactly a very pleasant image! "Why do babies get colic, anyway?" he asked. "No one really knows for sure," Mrs. Bucket told him.
"In any case, Johnny cried practically all night long, and HE still won't stop!" exclaimed Charlie. Then, before he could stop it, he let out a huge yawn. "Sorry about that! None of us got very much sleep last night. Poor Dad looked like a zombie when he left for the toothpaste factory this morning!" he said sheepishly.
"We've all tried to calm him down, but nothing seems to work!" Mrs. Bucket said, sounding very frustrated. "We've tried every trick in the book, too!" added Charlie.
"Finally, I just put him in his crib, because I didn't know what else to do!" wailed Mrs. Bucket, not seeming to care that she was about to break down in front of Willy.
Timidly, Willy walked over to the two cribs. Jenny was sleeping peacefully in hers, but Johnny was squirming and kicking and screaming his head off in his. "The only good thing about this is that Jenny has been very good so far," said Mrs. Bucket.
Suddenly, Willy surprised everyone, including himself, by taking Johnny into his arms. Almost immediately, the baby's sobs slowed down. He looked up at the Chocolatier with his big blue eyes. He wasn't quite sure who this strange man was that was holding him, but he looked kind and gentle, and he smelled sweet. Johnny felt safe in his arms.
"My goodness! Willy, what's your secret?" Mrs. Bucket exclaimed. "Huh?" said Willy. "Willy, you're the first person who's been able to get him to calm down," explained Mrs. Bucket. Willy couldn't believe his ears. HE had gotten a BABY to calm down? "Wow!" he exclaimed. By now, Johnny's sobs had faded into whimpers.
Willy carefully sat down in the rocker, with Johnny still in his arms. He rocked him back and forth and sang:
Good morning starshine the earth says hello
You twinkle above us we twinkle below
Good morning starshine you lead us along
My love and me as we sing Our early morning singing song
Gliddy glub gloopy nibby nabby noopy
La la la lo lo Sabba sibby sabba nooby
abba nabba Le le lo lo Tooby ooby walla
nooby abba naba Early morning singing song
Good morning starshine his love in your sight
Reflecting your sunlight in my lover eyes
Good morning starshine so happy we'd be
My love and me as we sing Our early morning singing song
Gliddy glub gloopy nibby nabby noopy
La la la lo lo Sabba sibby sabba nooby
abba nabba Le le lo lo Tooby ooby walla
nooby abba naba Early morning singing song
Can't you hear me
Singing a song loving a song
Singing a song Loving a song laughing a song
Singing a song Sing a song song singing Song
song song sing Sing sing sing sing song Song
song song sing Sing sing sing sing song
Sing sing sing singing song...
By the time Willy had finished singing, Johnny was fast asleep. "I think he likes you, Willy," said Mrs. Bucket. "Yeah, you really have the touch!" added Charlie. "Well, I AM an amazing Chocolatier!" Willy said proudly.
A/n: I hope you enjoyed it! I have decided to have at least one more chapter before the epilogue. I just love writing this so much! As usual, I hope Willy didn't seem too OOC this chapter!
Chapter 15 preview: Charlie has some jealousy issues, and Willy still has a few things to get used to about having babies in the factory!