2 – Jeff Just Wants Some Coffee and Quiet

Jeff sat at his desk in the lounge, reading an important report from his Berlin agent. It was that middle of the day time when he got a bit sleepy and he felt his eyes getting heavy as he read through the agent's highly-detailed writing. He knew it was time for his usual cup of coffee to perk him up.

"Tin-Tin!" he called, hoping the girl was nearby. He waited a moment, then called again, "Tin-Tin!"

Virgil walked in instead, asking,

"Everything alright, Father? Did you need something?"

"I was just looking for Tin-Tin," Jeff explained. "I wanted some coffee."

"Well, I can make you some," Virgil offered.

"No, that's ok," Jeff said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'll just go back to my work."

"Whatever you say," Virgil said, wandering away and shaking his head at his father's confusing behavior.

Jeff resigned himself to waiting for coffee and settled back into reading the report. When the sound of his named being called from some other part of the house broke his concentration, he looked up.

"Daaaaaaaaad!"

The whiny tenor unmistakably belonged to Alan. A moment later, the voice's owner stepped into the lounge, rushing to Jeff's desk.

"How many times must I ask you, Alan?" Jeff said sternly, returning his gaze to his work. "There is no yelling in the house. Go outside if you must do that. Now, what do you want?"

"Can I go up to Five a week early?"

Alan's request surprised Jeff. Now he gave his son his full attention, looking up from the report and taking off his glasses.

"This is unusual for you," Jeff said. "You always hate leaving the island. What's going on?"

"NOTHING," Alan said quickly. "I just owe John a favor."

Jeff leaned forward, suspicion in his tone as he said,

"Don't lie to me, son. Why do you really want to leave early?"

Alan let out a groan of defeat, his shoulders falling, and he answered,

"FINE. It's Scott and Ned. They're so annoying with their mushy love talk. And as if that wasn't bad enough, Penny is visiting again and I am always the one who finds her and Tin-Tin—"

"Penny's on the island and no one told me?!" Jeff interrupted. "You're grounded."

Jeff thought about his decision and realized that he was now desperate for some peace. He considered, then said,

"No, I change my mind. You're going to Five to replace your brother right now."

"THANK GOD," Alan shouted, then remembering his father's lecture from before, he lowered his voice and said, "Thanks, Dad. See you in a month!"

Alan raced from the room, leaving Jeff to shake his head.

"These darn kids don't tell me anything anymore," he said to himself.

He went back to his reading, reveling in the newly-recovered silence. Then, Scott, Gordon, and Penny ambled into the lounge.

"Scott," Penny was saying in her breathy, refined voice, "who is your new friend?" Gordon snorted, saying,

"Don't get him started."

"No, I'm glad you asked," Scott put in as they all took a seat. Jeff noticed this and was about to ask them to kindly leave when Scott continued to Penny, "I'm glad you've taken long enough of a break from spending time with Tin-Tin to notice my boyfriend."

"Well," Penny answered in her defense, "Tin-Tin is very lovely."

The moment Tin-Tin's name left Penny's lips, the girl herself appeared in the lounge doorway.

"Did someone call me?" she asked.

Jeff's jaw dropped as he realized that his manly shout for Tin-Tin a moment before hadn't worked, but Penny's soft mention of the girl had brought her running.

Penny turned at her girlfriend's entrance and said,

"Oh, hello again, darling." She gestured for Tin-Tin to sit beside her on the couch and Jeff knew that asking them to leave was officially no longer an option. But, just maybe he'd get some coffee out of the situation.

Scott took the break in the women's conversation to continue,

"So, to answer your question—HEY, are you even listening to me?"

Penny, in fact, was not listening. She and Tin-Tin had resumed their PDA and Scott's words fell on deaf ears. Jeff gave up on his brief hope of coffee and Gordon started to laugh at the annoyed look on Scott's face. Right at that moment, Alan's portrait lit up.

Jeff put down his report and reading glasses with a sigh, answering Alan's call,

"Yes, Alan?"

"I'm just requesting clearance—What's going on over there? Oh, NO WAY! I give up."

Jeff turned to see that Alan was objecting to the PDA occurring in the room, which was right in his line of sight.

"Have a good trip, son," Jeff said and cut off the link before Alan could get another word in. He stood from his desk, picking up the report and his glasses.

"I'll be in my study," he announced. "Will one of you ask Tin-Tin to bring me a coffee when she has a moment?"

"Sure, Dad!" Gordon answered cheekily.

"I miss Ned," Scott sulked.

"Oh, Scott," Tin-Tin said gently, leaning on Penny, "Ned will be awake from his nap soon, I'm sure. Jetlag is difficult for some people."

"Yeah," Gordon said, slapping his brother on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll survive until then."

Scott let his face fall into his hands.

"I'm just not sure," he moaned.

Penny shook her head, saying,

"Boys."

Tin-Tin nodded her agreement before turning back to Penny to continue their snogfest.