Disclaimer: All lyric rights to "Little Wonders" belong to Rob Thomas, WEA International, and Atlantic. Rob Thomas appears courtesy of Melisma/Atlantic Records. For disclaimer on Meet the Robinsons, please refer to chapter one.

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Chapter Five: Father to Son

"Hmm…" Franny sighed happily as she reached out and touched her son's face gently.

"What?" Wilbur asked curiously.

"I was just thinking about you when you were a baby… You and your father…"

"Dad?" he asked skeptically. She nodded.

"Your father loves you so much," she said, combing back a few loose strands of hair from his face. She went on, telling him about the memories she and her husband had shared, revolving around their son's birth.

Monday, January 31st 2022

Cornelius knew how wide his grin was, and he did not try to hide it. He had just received the best, most exciting news he had ever heard in his entire life. Franny had confirmed her pregnancy. Finally, he was going to have a son. The twenty-seven-year-old man hurried down a corridor of the house. He could not wait a second more to make the announcement to the rest of the family.

Thursday, June 2nd 2022

It had not been six months later when Franny laid feverishly in bed, tossing her head from side to side, and her hands placed against her belly. Sweat dripped from her brow, as her painful, rapid breathing increased. Cornelius worriedly reached out and wiped her brow, as he waited as patiently as he could for the ambulance to arrive.

Hours went by as he waited for Franny to return. He stood out the front of the hospital, the sky quickly darkening. The sliding doors came open, and Cornelius turned around to see Franny standing right in front of him, looking tired but healthier than before. With both of her arms in front of her, holding her purse tightly, she looked sadly at her husband, and quickly cast her eyes down.

With one glance at her devastating view, Cornelius knew. He stared at her with wide, sapphire eyes and a gaping mouth of pure shock. No, he thought, shaking his head slightly. Rushing over to her, he grabbed her in a tight embrace and cried, tears falling merciless down his cheeks. Franny miscarried their baby.

He had just lost Wilbur.

Franny stayed in bed for nearly a month, too depressed to do little else. Cornelius hardly rested, spending all his time in his laboratory. Frustrated, he crumpled up the piece of paper he scribbled on, and threw it at the already-full recycling bin. All his plans he wrote out never seemed to work. Keep moving forward, he constantly reminded himself. Keep moving forward.

He never realized how truly difficult it was to stick with that belief, until recently. He just lost his son, why bother moving on? He leaned his elbow against his desk, buried his face in his left hand, and sighed deeply. Glancing at his digital calendar, a thought struck him. Picking it up, he flipped through the virtual pages.

It wasn't his time, Cornelius thought. The baby Franny carried was too early. Wilbur was supposed to be born in the year 2024. It was more than a year too early. There was still hope. The inventor straightened up in his seat, cleared his thoughts, picked up his pencil, and began to work diligently.

Eleven months seemed to have swept by in practically no time at all. Day by day, everyone in the Robinson household went along with their regular routines. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but more or less, all members were content with their usual schedules.

On one summer evening, Cornelius stepped out from the garage as he arrived home from work, making a decent pace to his bedroom. He walked through the door, and saw his wife sitting anxiously on the bed, with tears rolling down her cheeks. He barely noticed the smile that lingered on her lips.

"Fran! What's the matter?" he asked, concerned. She got up and hurried over to him, hands placed against the sides of his face and kissing him repeatedly on the lips.

"Hi," she said between kisses. "I'm pregnant again." He pulled her away to look into her eyes.

"You mean it?" he asked, surprised. She smiled widely, and nodded her head happily. Cornelius sobbed in happiness as he hung onto Franny. This was it. This was Wilbur. Soon he would be in his arms at last.

The painful memory of the miscarriage had taught him not to take things for granted and not jump to conclusions. He had thought that he had lost him there for a moment. It was a dreadful thought, but now it did not matter anymore. They were finally having a son.

Sunday, March 10th 2024

Cornelius stood over his desk in the laboratory, mulling over some blueprint designs. He had cut down on his hours working at the industry, as Franny's due date was close approaching and needed to stay nearby in case she needed him. The company was lenient about his time off in order to take care of family issues, but with new projects on the rise, they were expecting him to push productivity forward once he returned to work full-time.

Absorbed in the sea of paper spread across his work area, Cornelius missed the knocking against the room's entrance. Suddenly, Bud's head poked through to door.

"Son?" he said calmly, but there was a sense of urgency embedded in his tone. The younger man spun around to face his adoptive father. "It's Franny. She... She..." Concerned, Cornelius rushed over as Bud finished his sentence. "Just gave birth in the courtyard!"

His blue eyes widened. There was no need for words; his expression said it all. What?

"Impatient little thing, isn't he?" Bud stated, hands on his hips. "Decided then and there that he wanted to come into the world."

Pulling off his lab coat, Cornelius tossed it over to the coat rack. Missing the hook, it fluttered to the ground as the pair hurriedly made their way down the hall.

"Luckily," Bud continued while they hasted through the house, "Billie was nearby to help deliver him!"

Relief washed over the new dad. At least she wasn't alone, he thought. The family was relocated to the general hospital. After a couple hours of commotion, things started to settle down. The good news of the mother and baby were healthy and doing well. Now the bunch had dispersed into different locations at the hospital as they waited for a signal to regroup back at the Robinson residence.

Art and Gaston were in the cafeteria, eating a very late lunch. Nine-year-old Laszlo and five-year-old Tallulah were in the play-area section of the lobby, wandering over to the gift shop at some point to read the children's books and look through the souvenirs. Joe, Fritz, and Petunia all stayed home, anticipating the arrival of the latest addition to the Robinson family.

Cornelius stood at the room's window, rocking his newborn boy in his arms as he quietly sang a lullaby.

"Our lives are made

In these small hours

These little wonders

These twisted turns of fate

Time falls away

But these small hours

These small hours

Still remain"

He glanced over his shoulder to check on his wife, who slept deeply in her bed. Then he looked across the room over at Billie, who also slept soundlessly, curled up in the chair next to Franny's bed. Smiling, he know how hard both women worked to bring his child into the world.

Cornelius turned to the window once more. He could see his parents walking through the hospital's flower garden. They both looked up to see him staring back at them. Smiling, they enthusiastically waved at him. He returned the smile, and waved back.

Sitting down in the rocking chair in between the window and the bed, continuing to sing the lullaby to his son. The baby blinked open his eyes and stared at his father curiously. A huge smile split across the man's face, as the boy shut his eyes once again and slept for another long length of time.

A soft knock was made against the door frame. Cornelius was able to tear his eyes off the infant to look up at the visitor. Mousy, brown hair and a boyishly cute face appeared.

"Mike!" Cornelius called softly. "Come in, come in!" He stood up as Michael made his way across the room.

"Hey, Lewis!" the man said quietly. "So this is the legendary Wilbur!" he said of the newborn. Cornelius could only beam proudly.

"Would you like to hold him?" the recent dad asked his childhood pal, and the twenty-six-year-old looked surprised by his question. He held out his arms in response. Gingerly, the scientist lifted the baby and placed him in the open hands.

Michael stared, holding the child as if he were afraid to break him. Eventually, a nervous smile graced the man's face. "Hey there, kid. How's life treating you so far?"

The blonde stuck his hands in his pants' pockets, and cleared his throat. "How's your wife doing?"

Michael looked up at his companion. "She's doing alright," he answered, still anxiously cradling the baby. "Settling into married life." Slowly, he looked down at Wilbur again. "Still a way's off from having one of our own, but I think she's alright with that for now."

Cornelius nodded understandingly. Glancing at Billie sleeping in the chair across the room before turning his attention to the two younger males, he took an intake of air into his lungs to speak.

"Hey, Mike..." Brown eyes trailed up to meet blue. "I was wondering if you would want to be Wilbur's godfather." Again, the surprised look was apparent on Michael's face in reaction to the request, but momentarily his expression softened.

"Well, here's the thing..." Cornelius' hopeful smile washed away, and Michael nearly laughed at the idea that his former roommate would think he would say 'no'. "We were wondering that you would be our little squirt's god dad, too."

The smile came back, bigger than ever. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Franny started to rouse, giving Michael a tired smile as she propped her head up with her hand and elbow rested on the pillow. "Hey, Mikey," came the weary yet cheerful greeting. With Wilbur in hand, Michael sat down in the empty chair next to the new mother.

"Hey, Franny," Cornelius heard him say as he stood back to take in the sight, and smiled. This was his future.

These small hours still remain...

Tuesday, June 18th 2024

Franny walked into the room, finding her husband tiredly collapsed on the couch, still wearing his lab coat. Resting on his chest was their infant son, rising up and down as Cornelius slowly breathed. Franny smiled as they both slept peacefully. Quietly, she walked over and pulled off the folded quilt hanging over the backside of the sofa, unfolding it, and draping it gracefully over the two wonderful men she had in her life.

Wilbur sighed, staring down into his mother's cooled tea. So it was true that his father really did care about him. Occasionally he would forget. He would forget about his father's caring words, forget about the fact that they truly were close. His mother's stories were the reminders that he needed to reassure him. Finally satisfied, the teen's lips turned up into a smile.

"I'm kinda tired," he yawned, rising from his seat. "I think I'm gonna lie down for a bit."

"Let me know if you need anything," she told him. He smiled tiredly and nodded before turning around to exit out of the kitchen. But as soon as he did so, he felt something solid collided with him.

"Oh, sorry, sport," Gaston apologized, ruffing his nephew's hair as he side-stepped out of the boy's way. Glancing up, Wilbur caught the edgy look in his eyes that his mother had been referring to. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine," he answered, his tone becoming a little flat, as he continued to make his way out the room.

Once he was through, Wilbur left the door open just a crack, while he listened to his mother firmly asked his uncle, "Alright, spill. What's wrong?"

Gaston was about to he sighed. "It's crazy..."

"Of all the crazy things that this family has been through?" Franny said. "Try me."

"Promise not to freak out?" He sounded apprehensive. There was a moment of silence. His mother must have made a non-verbal response. "Yesterday, I..." Pause. "I... I think... I think I saw..." Just spit it out, Gaston! Wilbur shouted in his mind. "I think I saw Pete," he finally said in a low voice.

His mother gasped. "How could you say that? You know that Pete is dead!" She sounded upset. But why? Who was Pete?

"I know, I know!" Gaston exasperated.

They continued the discussion with information that did Wilbur no good, like where and when Gaston saw "Pete", but nothing they talked about clued the boy in about who "Pete" even was! He moved away from the door, and walked towards the center of the living room, just as one of Billie's trains approached. He hopped on to hitch a ride. Maybe Billie could tell him something about this Pete character.

End of Chapter Five

Author's Note: I know that a four-year hiatus was a long time for you to wait, so I can't blame you for giving up on this story. Still, I'm seriously bummed that I didn't get a single review for chapter four. I guess that I've lost all of my followers, or maybe everyone has grown bored with this fandom? I don't know for sure. I feel like I need some personal closure with this story, so I'm going to continue writing this anyway. It may take a while, but I do intend on finishing... The next two chapters are the ones I've been waiting to write!

19 September 2011