- Ready to Rumble.

"Laddies and germ-to-men, welcome to the first wrestling match in the backyard!" Tommy, using a plastic cup as a microphone, stood on the middle of the mats, addressing the 'crowd', that started clapping and making cheering noises.

Then, through the kids' imagination, the whole scene changed; instead of the backyard, they see themselves in a large arena; instead of the mat, they see a ring, and Tommy is wearing a real referee's outfit instead of his blue shirt and diapers.

"In the… uh… red with some blue corner… Angelica 'The Prettiest Girl in the World and…' uh… and…" Tommy scratched his head. "Angelica, your rassling name is too long."

For a moment, the scene switched back to normal.

"Oh, fine, you can cut it a little bit!" Angelica, using one of the blankets she brought as an improvised cape, groaned at a nodding Tommy.

"Angelica 'Pretty Girl' Pickles!" Tommy announced, getting some cheers (and a few 'boos' from Phil) while Angelica walked into the mat and opened her cape by wide opening her arms. Since the scene changed again to the imagined one, Angelica was now wearing a bright blue cape over a white and pink wrestling outfit with stars at the sides.

"At least you got the important part." Angelica whispered at Tommy, who continued the introduction.

"And, in the blue corner that has a lot more grass around… Chuckie 'Red Chicken' Finster!" Tommy announced, his geeky pal getting a lot more cheering and clapping than Angelica despite entering the ring with an obviously worried look and not wearing his cape as elegantly as the blonde. The boy's imagined wrestling outfit was blue with black pants and boots.

"Win, brother!" Kimi cheered at Chuckie in her usual excited tone.

"Yes, like she said!" Lil joined the cheering.

"The referee is blind!" Everyone turned at Phil, giving him a puzzled look. "What? My daddy and my mommy always yell that to the referees that appear on the Tee Vee."

Tommy moved a few steps back; as Angelica told him, he was the one who had to give the signal to start. Chuckie went to his corner and put his glasses on top of the cape before going to ring center to meet Angelica.

"Okay, Finster, give me your hand."

Chuckie needed a few seconds to focus his sight, and after that he thought he was still seeing funny, since Angelica was offering him a handshake.

"Uh… Angelica, you already greeted us."

"No, Finster; my grandpa said that you have to do this before any important game, wrestling or not. He said is a way to promise you'll follow the rules and, even if we're competing, that you'll not be angry with the other person. I don't get why you must do that, but hey, I promised him I would obey the rules because if not he wouldn't teach me anything about wrestling." Angelica explained, her hand still extended; Chuckie thought about it and got a little smile. If Angelica wasn't getting angry or being mean during the game, maybe it wouldn't be that bad, so he shook hands with her.

"Okay, Tommy, is your turn," Angelica said to her cousin after releasing Chuckie's hand.

"Good. Dil, ring the bell." Tommy turned at his little brother, who more or less understood and started shaking a bell Tommy gave to him.

Angelica got something similar to a fight stance while Chuckie mimicked her. However, when Angelica tried grabbing him, the boy got scared and jumped aside. Angelica growled and tried to catch Chuckie again; the boy gulped at the menacing girl approaching him and jumped aside again. Soon, the whole match became a chasing game, with Angelica following Chuckie all over the ring and the crowd encouraging him to keep avoiding her.

"Hey, Finster, you're doing it wrong!"

"You said I had to avoid you putting my back on the mat, and I'm doing it!" Chuckie replied as dodging her again. Angelica was about to snap at him when realized he had a point.

"Okay… yes, you can avoid me, but you have to try pinning me too, and you can't do that by running around!"

Chuckie stopped, realizing she was right and he wasn't following all the rules. This little moment of distraction was all Angelica needed to get him in a tight bear hug, and now the boy was struggling to escape the girl's grip while the crowd urged him to break free.

After a few moments of struggling, Chuckie replied the only way he thought; hugging Angelica back. The boy had to make a major effort but handled to wrap his arms around Angelica's body, hugging her as tight as he could. The blonde was used to receive tight hugs from Harold, her kindergarten buddy, so this maneuver didn't affect her at all and she tightened her own hug a little more and tried to throw Chuckie down, but the boy's own hug prevented that and he almost pulled her down with him.

The girl soon realized that the mutual hugging made her own hold less effective, so switched to a headlock, surprising Chuckie and making him release her. Angelica then threw Chuckie to the mat, the boy landing over his belly. The blonde grabbed him by the legs and twisted them, forcing him to turn; the girl then pounced over the now face-up boy, pinning him against the mat. Tommy realized it was his turn again and kneeled next to the wrestlers.

"Dil!" Tommy hit the mat one time. "Lil!"

What happened next surprised everyone, even Chuckie; despite the girl's weight, the boy handled to lift his left shoulder, so the count stopped on two.

"Hey, not bad! You're learning." Angelica's tone was a new surprise, the girl not seeming to be angry at all despite not winning yet. "But I still don't lose."

Angelica then attempted to pin down Chuckie again, but the boy kept struggling and eventually broke free, standing up while Angelica was still kneeled.

"Chuckie, now you can try pinning her!" Lil shouted at her friend.

Chuckie realized Lil was right and jumped over Angelica, the duo rolling on the mat in front of the others' surprised faces. When they ended rolling, Chuckie was on top, pinning down Angelica.

"Dil!" Tommy jumped into action again. "L…"

Angelica pushed Chuckie away before the second hit came. The girl stood up quickly, and the boy as well, ready to escape if necessary.

"Good one, Finster, but you have to watch my hands and my legs, remember? If not, I can push you aside with ease."

Chuckie nodded, focusing his sight as good as he could without his glasses, realizing Angelica was now trying to grab him by his left side. The boy reacted by slapping away Angelica's hand, gasping after doing it.

"I'm sorry, Angelica! I know I can't hit…"

"Don't worry; slapping or pushing away the hands is allowed, but you better try grabbing them."

Chuckie nodded, now more excited and happy than scared; Angelica wasn't just playing by the rules but was also teaching him how to improve his game. The boy was so distracted by this thought he barely registered Angelica grabbing his right arm. The girl then attempted to do the same with the left one but Chuckie was faster and grabbed her right wrist.

"I forgot you're left-handed!"Angelica thought as struggling both to release her wrist and force Chuckie down, the boy resisting quite well. At some point they broke contact but just to grab each other's hands a moment later, linking their fingers, in a strength test.

Angelica and Chuckie struggled, trying to get the upper hand over the other; even if Angelica was stronger than him, the boy's left hand had a quite strong grip and, whenever Angelica tried to push or throw him down, the boy somehow handled to keep his balance, all his friends but Tommy (who couldn't support any wrestler due his referee job) cheering for him. Somehow, this encouraged the boy a lot and forced himself to do his best effort. Chuckie almost pushed or threw down Angelica a couple of times but the girl used her best reach and superior weight to her advantage, resisting as well.

The girl realized that she wasn't going to win just trying to push Chuckie, so started lowering her hands, forcing Chuckie to do the same. Then, when their hands were down, the girl supported her body on the boy's, and, using her legs for impulse, pushed him. This time Angelica's weight forced Chuckie back, and he would have surely fall if not deciding to release the girl's hands at that moment, and, by mere instinct, trying to grab something to stop the fall, and since Angelica's body was the closest thing, the boy hugged her. Angelica's momentum now worked against her, the girl falling along with the boy. Even if the blonde landed over Chuckie, forcing him to release her as well, the girl was so surprised she couldn't pin him, simply rolling at his side. Both wrestlers shook their heads to clear them while the 'audience' kept cheering.

"Oh, yes! Chuckie hasn't lost!" Phil exclaimed.

"I can't believe he's still on the game. Normally he can't win a game, even the simple ones." Kimi commented, smiling at her brother's display.

"Grab her and throw her down, Chuckie! Angelica, move and get him!" Lil was now standing and making throwing moves while shouting, Kimi and Phil turning at her, confused, until the girl calmed down a little bit and smiled at them. "They are playing so good I don't know who I have to support."

Angelica got a sly grin while standing up, the girl already getting an idea to win. The blonde waited until Chuckie was on his feet to make a last sweeping move with her right feet, tripping the boy. Then, Angelica jumped over his back and used a hold her grandpa had described to her; the girl put her legs around Chuckie's waist, wrapping her feet for a stronger grip, and then slipped both arms underneath his armpits, finishing locking her arms behind his neck. Now Chuckie was immobile and she was on total control, applying what, her grandpa told her, was a Full Nelson Body-scissors.

"I can't… ow, I can't escape." Chuckie groaned, doing his best to break free but the girl's grapple was just too tight. Angelica smiled anticipating her victory.

"Maybe pinning you is too hard, Finster, but I can also win if you can't escape." Angelica said as tightening her grip a little more. Tommy moved next to Chuckie, looking at his friend in concern.

"Chuckie, she's hurting you?"

"Not really, Tommy… is just that I can't move!"

"Oh… okay… then, you're giving up?" Tommy asked, back into referee mode.

"Don't give up!" Kimi shouted at her brother, her little hands around her mouth for a megaphone-like effect.

"Yes, you can still win!" Phil added on a similar way.

"Don't give up, Chuckie! Don't release him, Angelica!" Lil continued with her double-cheering while Dil giggled at the scene.

Chuckie tried to escape again, but no matter how much he tried, Angelica had him where she wanted. He was ready to give up when hearing her voice.

"Hey, come on, Finster, try a little more! Of course, I'm going to win, but you are supposed to try a lot before giving up."

Chuckie wide-opened his little eyes, surprised; even if she was winning, Angelica was somehow encouraging him! The redhead started thinking and then got an idea; if it failed, at least he knew he had done his best.

The boy remembered Angelica's words; you have to watch the other wrestler hands and legs; not just that, but he also remembered both he and the girl weren't standing up but down at the mat. Now, he couldn't use his hands or arms at the moment, but his legs were free. The boy stopped moving them without purpose and instead planted his feet on the mat and pushed; as a result, his body pushed Angelica's, who was still not releasing him, but now he was on top of the girl.

"Tommy, count!" Chuckie shouted. The bald baby realized Angelica's shoulders were now touching the mat, and she couldn't escape without releasing Chuckie. Tommy moved next to Angelica to hit the mat.

"Dil!"

The blonde then realized she was pinned against the mat, and un-wrapped her legs so they no longer were around the boy's waist, the girl now trying to escape; unfortunately, the way she secured Chuckie's arms and legs was a lot more complex and she couldn't undo it quickly without hurting Chuckie or herself.

"Lil!"

Angelica did her best to unlock their arms, especially when hearing Tommy's second slap. However, the moment Chuckie felt her legs were no longer trapping him the boy pushed harder, supporting all his weight over Angelica plus pushing her chest with his head, and turned the Nelson against Angelica by securing her arms with his armpits while grabbing them with his hands, making the escape more difficult and the pin more effective.

"PHIL!"

Dil, weirdly enough, started ringing his bell again, probably just because he had seen Lil doing a lot of noise and wanted to join the fun. The babies at the 'crowd' started jumping in happiness, cheering for Chuckie, while, on the mat, the redhead stopped resisting so Angelica could push him away.

"Chuckie, you did it!" Kimi said to the redhead, her tone even more cheerful than usual. The boy shook his head in confusion while Tommy helped him stand up.

"Uh… what I did?"

"You won, Chuckie!" Tommy told his friend.

"I won… I REALLY WON?" Chuckie exclaimed, not believing he was actually saying that for real, but realized it was truth by all the cheering he was getting; this was even more surprising due the fact he practically fought by mere instinct and quick thinking, as if wrestling was just as natural for him as running in fear or hiding under a bed. However, the cheering stopped suddenly and a loud gulp was soon heard coming from all the other babies' throats. Chuckie turned and realized Angelica was on her feet, approaching him with a very serious look.

"Uh… Angelica… well… you see…" Chuckie became quite nervous; he knew Angelica was a sore loser. The girl stopped in front of him, still frowning at the boy.

"And again, you babies are doing it wrong." Angelica grabbed Chuckie's wrist and then turned at Tommy. "You're supposed to raise the hand of the wrestler who wins and then announce him as the winner."

Tommy, visibly as surprised as everyone else, recovered from the impression and cleared his throat, grabbing Chuckie's other wrist, Angelica releasing him so her cousin could do his job.

"And the winner is… Chuckie, 'Red Chicken', Finster!" Tommy exclaimed while raising his friend's hand, Chuckie smiling widely at the general ovation. Phil handled him his glasses back, and the redhead was glad he did it or he wouldn't see clearly that, just next to him, Angelica was clapping as well.

"You aren't angry?" Chuckie asked the girl as the children stopped imagining and the backyard, outfits and mats came back to normal.

"Well, I'm a little upset because I wanted to win." Angelica folded her arms yet had no angry expression. "But… I must admit this was funny; and you really impressed me, Finster! I knew you weren't totally hopeless."

Chuckie felt a warm sensation on his chest and his smile broadening; then, before realizing what he was doing, the boy gave Angelica a tight, warm hug.

"Hey, we're not wrestling now!" The blonde complained.

"I just want to thank you." The boy's happy tone made the girl get a surprised face. "You are the one who taught me, so, if I won, it's because of you."

"Well… yes, I taught you." Angelica smiled in realization. "And you did it very well; that means I'm a very good teacher." The girl got her trademark sly grin. "And now I'm going to teach you another thing."

"What?" Chuckie, still smiling, broke the hug to look at her face.

"When a wrestler wins, the other can ask for a rematch. That means you have to give a chance to the wrestler so he or she can try winning again." Angelica poked Chuckie's nose playfully. "So… Finster, Champ of The Backyard, I, Angelica 'Pretty Girl', want a rematch!"

"Yay!" The other babies exclaimed while Chuckie got a stunned face.

"Say 'yes', Chuckie! I want to see that again!" Lil exclaimed.

"It looked like fun! I want to see again too!" Phil added.

"And I liked playing reef-a-ring… I mean, referee; I learned to count to 'Three' and also a new word." Tommy said.

"And you might win again." Kimi pointed. Chuckie looked back at Angelica, who now was giving him a friendly smile.

"I don't think so but, hey, it might happen."

Chuckie got back his smile and turned at his corner.

"Someone give me my cape!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hi, Lucy, Susie," Didi opened the door to Lucy Carmichael and her daughter Susie.

"Hi, Mrs. Pickles. Thanks for taking care of me today." Susie replied in her usual polite way.

"You're welcome, Susie. Angelica and the babies are playing at the backyard; you can go with them." Didi said to the little girl, who simply nodded before heading to the backyard while Lucy talked with the redhead woman.

"Thanks, Didi. I know you are already taking care of the other kids, and…"

"Oh, is okay, Lucy. Susie is such a nice girl she actually helps me with the other children." Didi and Lucy chuckled while the redhead invited her friend in. "I'm preparing the kids' lunch right now so they can eat before taking their nap… but I can't find the mats. Maybe Stu grabbed them because at times uses a mat when he is working on an invention and needs to lay on his back for a while, but it's rare that he needs all of them at once… and I can't ask him where he put them because he and Lulu are still at the supermarket."

"He doesn't have a cell phone?" Lucy asked.

"He had one; used some parts of it to repair the microwave." Didi rolled her eyes. "Now my oven has the 'Dummie Bears' ringtone."

While the women talked, Susie was already at the backyard looking for everyone. She knew they have the habit of hiding or going on little adventures, so was aware this might take a while. The girl then noticed Spike is looking at something behind the tree, and then hears the babies' voices.

"Ah, they are behind the tree and next to the bushes." Susie thought as approaching, freezing on the spot when realizing what's going on.

"Oh, my… Angelica, don't hurt him!" Susie exclaimed in fear and concern, looking at Angelica trying to grab Chuckie, finally succeeding, and she started struggling with him, the pair rolling on the mats.

Susie's voice got ignored, and she was about to stop them when realizing the other babies weren't scared or trying to help Chuckie, but cheering at the duo; even Tommy seemed happy, standing right aside Chuckie and Angelica. The Carmichael girl then got even more impressed when realizing Angelica wasn't dominating or hurting Chuckie as he was fighting back with the same intensity, and, curiously, they both seemed to be smiling, showing no anger at all. This didn't change even when Angelica ended on top of Chuckie, sitting on his belly and using her legs to keep the boy's arms at his sides, in a half-made Scissors hold, while leaning back her upper body and supporting her arms on Chuckie's legs to secure them as well. Tommy then looked at Chuckie and his shoulders, and started hitting the mat.

"Dil!... Lil!... PHIL!"

"I won! Yes!" Angelica exclaimed in happiness as releasing Chuckie and standing up, doing a little victory dance, the babies cheering at her while Tommy helped Chuckie stand up. Tommy then approached her cousin, and got a slightly worried look.

"Uh… Angelica, you're too big; I can't raise your hand."

"I can do that, Tommy; you just announce that she won." Chuckie told him while approaching Angelica, the blonde smiling and allowing him grab her wrist and raise her arm while Tommy did his job.

"And the winner… Angelica 'Pretty Girl' Pickles!"

"Thanks, thank you, my dear fans!" Angelica said in response of the kids' cheering before turning at Chuckie, cleaning some sweat from her forehead. "You did it good, Finster. I won but this time you resisted a lot more."

"Thanks, Angelica." Chuckie smiled fondly at the blonde, surprising Susie even more.

"Can someone explain me what's happening?" Susie asked loudly, the others finally noticing her.

"Hi, Susie; Angelica is teaching us a new game. It's… uh… I don't get the name right." Kimi said, turning at Angelica and Chuckie.

"Is 'wrestling', Kimi." Chuckie reminded his sister.

"'Wrestling'… hey, that's something my brothers watch on TV; my mom doesn't like when they do it. She always says kids shouldn't see something like that." Susie said, soft glaring at Angelica. "You can hurt them!"

"Hey, I'm no fool, Carmichael! The only baby I'm wrestling is Finster, and he's just a little bit shorter than me; I'm not playing this with a little baby I can defeat with ease. And I'm not hitting him; just pinning and grabbing without hurting ourselves," Angelica explained.

"Yes, she's right." Tommy added. "Chuckie even won the first time they played."

"Chuckie won?" Susie got a surprised expression. It's not common to hear those words on the same sentence.

"Uh, well… since he was just learning, I went easy on him." Angelica replied, obviously not very comfortable about Susie knowing she lost to a baby, but then realized Chuckie would be the offended one; suddenly, that idea wasn't as appealing as usual. "But… I must say, Finster is very strong for a baby, and learns very fast. It took me a lot of effort to win."

Susie now was even more surprised; Angelica saying something good about a baby was another major shock. The African-American girl was now seriously thinking this was just another of Angelica's lies, but the other kids seemed to agree with her without resisting or objecting, and Chuckie had the usual blush he got when being complimented.

"Now, Carmichael, this is important." Angelica got a tone Susie was a lot more familiar with, a threatening one. "I know we aren't supposed to play this, but I wanted to practice to play it better when growing up, and I'm also teaching the babies; so, you must not say anything to the adults. I don't want to be grounded, and my Grandpa Lou taught me some of this, so if you say something the other adults will get angry with him."

Susie got a thoughtful face; on one hand, she didn't want to be Angelica's accomplice, especially when she was doing something kids weren't supposed to, and disliked the idea of a baby getting hurt; on the other one, Susie didn't want to cause any trouble to Tommy and Dil's grandfather, and everyone seemed to be okay, besides it appeared that both Angelica and Chuckie were playing nicely and enjoying it.

"Well, I promise I'm not saying anything, but you have to promise you're just playing this with Chuckie. I don't want anyone getting hurt."

"Me neither. Good to see we're thinking the same." Angelica replied, her expression both relieved due being out of trouble and happy due winning an argument with Susie.

"Oh, but I wanted to play too!" Phil complained.

"Well, I already taught Finster; maybe, when you babies grow a little more, you'll play this with him." Angelica shrugged. Phil was actually satisfied with that idea; he wrestling Chuckie, considering the age and size difference, would be quite similar to Chuckie wrestling the blonde.

"And, anyway, you kids aren't playing more wrestling today." Susie said as pointing at the mats. "It's almost time for napping, and we'll need those."