Disclaimer: Still don't own FOP. Sigh.
Authors Note: Have you ever had an idea that seemed really good at the time, but then the more you think about it, the less confident you become? For me, a part in this chapter is it. I can't remember what made me think about it, but it seemed great. Now, not so much. But I decided to post it anyway, and here it is.
It didn't take long for things to go back to normal for the two fairies and Timmy. With the exit of Big Daddy and his influence, Timmy's social status had plummeted to its usual level. Francis had quickly resumed bullying him, and Trixie was once again failing to notice his existence. At least he still had his friends, who had forgiven him for bossing them around because it had given them a top position in the school, if only for a little while. Right now he, Chester and AJ were in his room playing the latest game (Grand Sim Destructo Combat III) for his V-Cube. They had slept over so they could start playing at the crack-of-dawn time of six in the morning. Timmy was actually really lucky to have the game; it had been sold out before it had even reached the shelves, so Cosmo and Wanda hadn't been able to magically produce one. However, one morning he had woken up to find a copy in his mailbox. There was no clue as to who the sender was, but Timmy had a suspicion of who had sent it. He wasn't going to say anything though, not even to his godparents.
Suddenly Timmy's attention was snapped back to the game as Chester's remote fell to the ground. "Can't…hold…any…longer…" He collapsed back onto the floor, and AJ followed him.
"Come on guys!" said Timmy. "We've only been playing for…" he glanced at the clock, "…seven hours."
"We'll pay for this when we're seventy," moaned AJ. "My thumbs feel like they're going to fall off."
"So do mine," agreed Chester, staggering to his feet and moving to Timmy's bed. "Timmy, you have got to stop feeding your goldfish," he said, peering into the fishbowl. "That one looks really fat."
"She's not fat," defended Timmy. "She's pregnant."
"Goldfish don't get pregnant Timmy," said AJ, sitting up and folding his arms. "They lay eggs."
"Well, this one gets pregnant," said Timmy.
"Sure, a magical pregnant goldfish," said AJ sceptically. "The only way a goldfish could get pregnant is if it was genetically modified in some way."
"Well, that's what this goldfish is," said Timmy. "Genetically modified so she is pregnant."
"And where did you get a genetically modified goldfish?" asked AJ.
"Uhm, from my uncle in New Jersey?" supplied Timmy.
AJ looked like he wanted to argue further, but all thoughts of a debate were driven from the three friends minds as their ears pricked up. From outside they could hear a merry tune playing.
"Ice cream!" they shouted. They quickly forgot their fatigue as they raced to the door.
"I need an icy sugar hit!" cried Chester. "I'll be good for another four hours then!"
AJ followed him out the door, but it slammed shut before Timmy could leave too. He tried the door handle, but it was locked.
"What's the big idea?" said Timmy angrily as Cosmo and Wanda poofed out of the bowl. "Did you two do this?"
"We had to Timmy," explained Wanda apologetically.
"Why? I want ice cream!"
"There is no ice cream," explained Cosmo. "We made that music too."
Timmy glared at his godparents. They grinned back at him, holding hands. They had been doing this a lot lately. Ever since Wanda had come back, Cosmo had been holding her hand or touching her in some way, obviously ecstatic to have her back after the longest series of separations of their married life.
"Well then what's this all about?"
"We wanted to tell you that you'll be on your own for a little while. It's time for my six month check-up," explained Wanda.
"Your what?" asked Timmy.
"I've got to visit the obstetrician, just to make sure everything's okay."
"Is everything okay?" asked Timmy with a note of concern.
"I think so," answered Wanda. "This is just to make sure. Come on Cosmo, time for us to go."
"What? You're both leaving?" said Timmy, sounding alarmed.
"Yeah, but we promise we'll be back soon," assured Cosmo. "And we promise we'll do something really fun when we get back."
"I don't need to do something really fun with you two," Timmy said. "When you come back, me AJ and Chester will still be sitting right there." He pointed to the floor in front of the TV.
"Okay then sport," said Wanda, sounding a little disappointed. "We'll see you in a few hours Timmy. Bye!"
"Wait!" he cried just before they disappeared. "I wish I had some ice cream! Enough for me, Chester and AJ!"
"Sure thing kiddo," said Wanda with a smile, and with a flick of their wands they were gone, leaving behind three massive sundaes.
Chester and AJ trudged, disgruntled, back into the room. "We couldn't see the truck anywhere," muttered Chester, but he stopped dead when he saw the mounds of ice cream in front of him. "Whoa, where did you get those!"
"Uhm, I raced outside and managed to get the truck before it disappeared."
"Awesome!" cried Chester and AJ, and not another word was spoken for a while as the ice cream was decimated.
"So, this is the place?" said Cosmo, looking around.
"Yep," said Wanda. "This is the office of Dr Oyfele."
They were floating outside a building in Fairy World; a modern, glassy structure.
"And this is really just a check, right? There's nothing wrong, is there?" asked Cosmo anxiously.
"Nope, I don't think so," assured Wanda. "It's like I told Timmy; just a check up."
"Okay," said Cosmo with a small smile, but he held her hand a little tighter as they entered. A fairy with light blue curly hair and large glasses looked up at them from what she was doing, which was playing with a yoyo.
"Oh, hello again Wanda," she said with a wide smile. "You're a bit bigger now, I have to say." Her cheerful face turned to the green-haired fairy at Wanda's side. "And you must be Cosmo."
"Yep," said Wanda. "Dr Oyfele, this is my husband, Cosmo. Cosmo, this is Dr Oyfele. She's the one who told me I was pregnant in the first place."
"Yes, yes, I know all about you Cosmo," said Oyfele, shaking his hand vigorously. Cosmo was about to reply when Dr Oyfele bustled them through to her office. "No time for chatter, we've got an appointment to keep." She poofed up a stethoscope and smiled at Wanda. "I promise this won't hurt." Putting one end in her ears, she pressed the other end to Wanda's tummy and listened intently. She didn't seem to hear Wanda yelp at all.
"What's wrong?" asked Cosmo in a panic.
"It's cold," explained Wanda with an embarrassed grin, and he gave her a withering look.
"Hmmm," said Dr Oyfele thoughtfully after awhile.
"What is it?" asked Wanda.
"Hmmm," said Oyfele again, and was silent for another minute. She then put the stethoscope around her neck and said "It's just as I thought."
"What is?" gasped Cosmo.
"Everything's just fine!" said Dr Oyfele with a smile and a thumbs up. Wanda and Cosmo sighed with relief and grinned at each other. Dr Oyfele floated over to her desk and gestured for them to join her opposite.
"Now, there are some other things to discuss with you," she said, folding her hands in front of her. "Some side-effects from the pregnancy."
Cosmo and Wanda glanced at each other.
"I guess you've already had your mood swings?" Oyfele said questioningly.
"Yeah," said Wanda. "You could say that."
"Well I'm afraid that's not all you'll go through," said Dr Oyfele with a sympathetic smile.
"What!" shouted Cosmo. "There's more?" He looked horror-struck as he imagined Wanda turning into a monster, absolutely impossible to live with, shouting at him all the time…
"It's not more mood swings," said Oyfele with a laugh, correctly interpreting Cosmo's expression. "It's just that Wanda should lose her ability of flight soon," she explained casually.
"What!" exclaimed Wanda. "Why?"
"Because of the baby. It'll give you weight."
'But why? Fairies are weightless! A baby should weigh even less than that!"
"It should, shouldn't it?" said the doctor. "But hey, what can you do?"
Cosmo and Wanda glanced at each other before Wanda asked, "How soon will it happen?"
"How long is a piece of string?" replied Doctor Oyfele with a shrug. "It's impossible to tell really. It varies from fairy to fairy; in some it doesn't happen at all."
"Do you think it'll happen to me doctor?" Wanda asked anxiously.
"Maybe," she answered with a non-committal gesture.
Wanda looked worried. "That'll make it difficult to keep up with Timmy…"
"That's right, you have a godson, don't you?" said Oyfele. "Well, I guess that will make it a bit difficult. Plus there's the fact you'll have to be more careful on the job."
"What do you mean 'careful'?" asked Wanda.
"Well, I know being a Fairy Godparent can be rough, so you'll have to make sure nothing too serious happens to you. You'll have to choose your disguises carefully. For example, being kicked, stood on, sat on…anything like that. It could harm the baby."
"Really?" said Wanda, sounding worried.
"Yep! But if you're careful, it shouldn't be anything to worry about. Your magic will help, and your godchild can help by treating you a bit more carefully and restricting stupid and dangerous wishes."
"You mean Timmy?" said Cosmo, and started laughing loudly.
"I should be able to do that," said Wanda, ignoring him. "Was there anything else?"
"No, I don't think so. Those are the two majors you should look out for. But conversationally, I was just wondering what sex you hope your baby will be?"
Cosmo laughing turned into choking. "What?" he gasped out.
"Wether it'll be a girl or a boy," said Wanda simply.
"I know that," snapped Cosmo.
Wanda narrowed her eyes to look at him. Then she turned to Dr Oyfele. "I'm good either way."
Cosmo hadn't thought about it at all. The baby had just been an indeterminate 'it' up to this point. He hadn't thought of it being a girl or a boy yet.
"Uhm, I don't know," he said with an uncomfortable shrug.
"Oh well, it doesn't matter," said Dr Oyfele with a wide smile. "I was just wondering. I think that's everything; it should be plain sailing until the birth now."
"Thanks Dr Oyfele," said Wanda with a smile, taking Cosmo's hand again.
"Yeah, bye!" said Cosmo with a wave as they poofed out and reappeared discreetly back into their fishbowl. Timmy was sitting alone in his room, flicking through a comic book.
"Where's Chester and AJ?" asked Cosmo, poofing out of the bowl.
"They left," he said dully.
"Why?" asked Wanda, appearing next to Cosmo.
"Vicky came," Timmy answered simply. He looked pitiably up at his godparents. "Can we please do something fun now?"
"Of course Timmy!" said Wanda happily. "What do you want to do?"
"Well, we could go to the beach," said Timmy. "I wish we were at the Dimmsdale Beach!"
Cosmo raised his wand, but Wanda held back. "Wouldn't you rather go somewhere better Timmy?" she said enticingly.
"What do you mean?"
"We're fairies Timmy!" she said, sending a few sparks from the tip of her wand. "We can go anywhere! We could go to a deserted Caribbean island! Anywhere!"
"A Caribbean island," said Timmy, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That sounds fun Wanda! I wish we were on a deserted beach in the Caribbean and Vicky won't notice I'm gone!"
"You got it, Timmy!" said Cosmo and Wanda, and with a flourish of their wands, transported the three of them to the tropics. When Timmy looked around and took in his surroundings, he gave a wide grin. The sand beneath his feet was pure white, leading down to crystal waves lapping gently at the beach. As it lead out it turned to a light cool turquoise.
"Guys, this is excellent!" exclaimed Timmy. Thanks to a little forethought on Wanda's part, he was able to leap straight into the ocean, and he was quickly followed by Cosmo.
"Come on in Wanda!" he called. "The water's great!"
"I'm coming sweetie!" she yelled back and, poofing herself into her yellow bathers, quickly joined them. The water was cool and lovely; it was the best wish Timmy had made since she'd come back. She dove under the water and watched little fish dart around her. Cosmo dived down and joined her. He tapped her arm with a cheeky grin.
"Tag!" he cried. "You're it!" He quickly swam off and with a laugh, Wanda followed him. She was quickly catching up to him and managed to grab the back of his bathers. Because Cosmo was still trying to get away they were pulled down a bit, and Wanda gasped and let them go.
"Cosmo," she said in a tone of voice that let him know he was in trouble.
He stopped laughing and spun around. "What? What did I do?"
"You tell me," she said, folding her arms.
"What? What should I tell you?"
"I can't believe you didn't tell me Cosmo. Did you think I'd be angry? Why didn't you even show me?"
"Show you what?" asked Cosmo, still having no idea what he was in trouble for.
"Your tattoo! I know we haven't seen each other for a while, but from what I remember you never had one."
"What? A tattoo? I don't have a tattoo."
"Yes you do!" said Wanda, pointing to his back. "Right there! A picture of a little monkey!"
"What? Where?" asked Cosmo twisting around to try and see it.
"Right there!" said Wanda, pointing at it again and beginning to grin.
"I don't remember getting a tattoo," Cosmo said to himself.
"Wow, I didn't think you were brave enough to get one," said Wanda, sounding impressed.
"But Wanda, I don't have a tattoo!"
"Yes you do. Cosmo, I can see it; there's no point lying about it anymore." She poofed up two mirrors and floated him in front of them so he could see it reflected. Sure enough, tattooed on the bottom right hand side of his back was a small picture of a monkey.
"I have a tattoo," he whispered, reaching around to touch it. "But Wanda, I don't ever remember getting one," he insisted.
"Cosmo, even you aren't stupid enough to forget you got a tattoo. I'm not angry, you don't have to keep on pretending."
"Wanda, I'm not pretending!" Cosmo wailed. "I honestly don't remember!"
"Wow, I never knew you could be such a bad-boy," said Wanda, gazing dreamily at his tattoo. Cosmo twirled around and held her head firmly between his hands.
"Wanda. I. Don't. Remember."
Wanda met his eyes, and the spell was broken.
"You really don't remember?"
"No," he answered, relieved she was beginning to pay attention to him.
"But when would you have gotten a tattoo that you can't remember?"
"I don't know," said Cosmo, thinking hard. How had been able to forget this?
"I know!" gasped Wanda. "You were sugared, weren't you! Just a while ago."
"Yeah," said Cosmo slowly.
"Do you remember anything about that night?" asked Wanda, becoming excited.
"Well, I remember sitting in a bar, then I remember waking up in bed the next morning…"
"Well then that's it!" exclaimed Wanda. "You were so sugared you got a tattoo and completely forgot about it." She turned him around and looked at it thoughtfully. "It'll have to go."
"What?" said Cosmo, quickly clapping his hands over his tattoo. "But I like it!"
"Cosmo, you didn't even know you had it!"
"Well, I've gotten attached to it."
Wanda rolled her eyes and sighed. Cosmo had done a lot of stupid things in his time, but this was one of the worst. Okay, maybe not one of the worst, but for once he'd actually done something stupid that affected him. But he didn't seem to mind at all. He was currently admiring it in the mirror and talking softly to it.
She sighed again. "You really like it, don't you?"
Cosmo nodded his head, still looking at his tattoo.
"Well, I guess it is kind of cute…" admitted Wanda, tilting her head to one side.
"So I can keep it?" asked Cosmo hopefully, his eyes glistening.
"Yes, I suppose so," sighed Wanda.
"Thank you Wanda!" gushed Cosmo, throwing himself at her and crushing her in a giant hug.
"Cosmo, be careful!" she gasped. He let her go quickly, grinning apologetically.
"Sorry. I'm just so happy! I've got to show Timmy!" He swam to the surface and quickly flew over to Timmy, who had been wondering where his godparents had gone.
"Hey Timmy! Look at my monkey!" Cosmo said excitedly.
"This isn't going to be one of those weird moments, is it?" asked Timmy worriedly.
"No, no, I really have a monkey! Look!" He turned around and showed Timmy his tattoo.
"Wow! A tattoo! That's so cool!"
"And you're not getting one," added Wanda, poofing up next to Cosmo.
"You're tough, Cosmo," continued Timmy, ignoring Wanda. "Did it hurt?"
"Iiiii…can't remember," said Cosmo, looking up at the sky.
"What? Why not?" asked Timmy.
"Because he was completely sugared at the time," said Wanda. "He didn't even know he had it until I saw it five minutes ago."
"It's still cool though," said Cosmo. "Right Timmy?"
"It sure is!" he agreed. "You're hard core, Cosmo!"
"Do you hear that Wanda?" said Cosmo smugly. "I'm hard core."
Wanda sighed and rolled her eyes. "Cosmo, I think you should forget about your tattoo for the moment."
"Why?" he asked.
She tapped his arm and began to fly away with a grin. "Because you're it!"
Authors Note 2: If the beach descriptions sound kind of detailed, it's because I wrote them yesterday afternoon and it was 34 degrees C, aka 92 F. It was me and my wishful thinking coming through.
And the projected time for the completion of this story is now the end of the month. Hopefully.