Nicole was reading a novel while her and the kids waited in the car.
"Grandma Nicole?" Penelope asked in a timid and sweet voice.
"Yes, sweetheart?" The blue cat now turned around to look at the back seat.
"How long does it take to change a tire?"
The blue cat's heart was melting at how adorable her grand-daughter was.
"Well it all depends really on how bad the flat is, and your father did learn how to change a tire from yours truly; so it shouldn't be too long".
The blue cat noticed that the trunk remained opened for an unusually long time, considering it had been 10 minutes.
"Although, your father is taking his sweet time changing it; isn't he?"
The two children were now nodding their head in sequence.
"Well you kids stay here, while I go check on his progress alright? I shouldn't be too long."
The blue cat quickly unfastened her seatbelt and exited the sedan.
"Gumball, remember that all the lug nuts need to come off for the change to work!"
Once going to the back of the car, she spotted her son completely still, and motioning with his hand to stay back.
"Mom, there's no way of scaring it off, and we can't go back to the car without it pouncing on us for breakfast..."
Nicole now inching her way slowly and steadily towards her son, spoke in a soft whisper as to not make the mountain lion launch a pre-emptive strike on the two blue cats.
"You said you did karate, how far did you go in the program?"
"Mom, I don't think this is the appropriate time to be talking about my past in karate, there's a freaking mountain lion ready to make us his next meal!"
"Gummypuss, I chased you on a savage dog across the neighborhood and fought a T-rex, what makes you think I'm afraid of a long descendant of our species? Now, I'll ask again; how far did you make it into your program?"
The male cat, not wanting to argue with his mother as well as recognizing the truth in her words, conceded; sighing as he let out the next sentence.
"Red belt...I made it to the red belt..."
The female cat smirked at her son.
"That's my little man! Okay, so what we're about to do you should already be familiar with. As soon as I move, this thing is going to go after you; understand ?"
Gumball now gave a confused glare.
"Mom what do you mean by go after me?"
Before the blue cat had a moment's time to react, Nicole leaped through the air getting behind the mountain lion. She grasped a choke hold on to the animal, while it was desperately trying to free itself to get to Gumball.
"Gumball, hit him now!"
Gumball, without a moments hesitation, did a roundhouse kick to the head of the mountain lion; rendering it unconscious.
Nicole and Gumball were now smiling at each other.
"Come on, let's move him off the road so the poor thing doesn't get hit by an oncoming vehicle!"
The female cat was soon motioning her son to come forward and help her lift the creature to a secluded brush off the main highway.
Once they were just about to return to the sedan, Gumball looked at his mother and noticed something. Her arm sleeve of her purple sweater and dress had a large gash from the mountain lion's paws, and was noticeably bleeding.
"Mom, your arm is bleeding!"
The blue feline then glanced at her arm.
"Oh my goodness, I didn't even notice! I'm sure I'll be okay to manage when we reach the park."
Gumball then gently grasped his mother's arm noticing how bad the cut was.
"Mom I need to treat this now, it can cause an infection or worse!"
Gumball then brought his mother over to a smooth rock face just off the main highway, and rushed to the trunk of the sedan.
He retrieved a cold water bottle from the cooler, and a first aid kit in a side compartment; at the left hand side of the trunk.
He rushed back to his mother, who was patiently waiting.
"Okay, I want you to hold on to my paw for a moment, and I want you squeeze if this becomes too painful; alright?"
Nicole nodded.
Gumball then took the now opened water bottle and gently poured the water onto the wound, causing Nicole to squeeze tightly onto her son's hand; causing the blue cat to wince.
"She really still has the strength of someone in their twenties! I was not expecting that at all, it's really no contest as to why she was the matriarch of the house!"
Nicole noticed this and gave a smug smirk.
"Everything alright sweetie?"
Gumball then realized that she was just messing with him, knowing full well that his mother had in her possession; unnaturally high pain tolerance and strength.
He then smirked, while Nicole let out a soft chuckle.
"Never change mom..."
The blue feline then carefully cleaned the wound of blood with a damp cloth, making sure to be gentle and courteous with his mother. Carefully, he wrapped the bandages around her arm, concealing the blood stained fur that surrounded it. Nicole then observed her son.
"Nicole Watterson, you had your doubts, but your little man really has become a great husband and father. You have every right to be proud of him..."
The blue cat then ensured that the bandage was tightly grafted to the skin, and finished tightening it to help the skin heal.
Gumball now looked up to his mother and smiled.
"There, that should do it; does that feel better?"
"Sweetie you did a phenomenal job! Did you take the health and safety training course at the factory?"
"Funny enough I did Mom! Actually they still had the old promotional posters with you on it when we had to learn how to lift a box with our back straight!"
Nicole then let out a hearty laugh.
"Well at least the factory hasn't completely forgotten about me, so I guess this makes up for all the days I took care of you when you were sick, along with the skateboard injuries; eh?"
Gumball then glanced up at his mother again.
"Mom, you deserve so much more than me healing a wound. I really should have called you guys more after our wedding, and I just got so busy and I wanted to-"
The blue feline was then interrupted by an index finger from his mother's paw, stopping him from continuing further.
"Gumball remember what I said back at the house? The greatest gift and time I could ever receive was with you guys, and now we're on vacation as a family! There's no need to apologize, now come on; let's get back to the car!"
The two slowly walked back to the car, with Gumball helping his mother into the passenger seat.
Gumball closed the trunk and got back to the driver seat. As he entered and strapped in his seatbelt, he was tapped on the arm by his mother, as he looked at her; she smiled and pointed to the backseat.
The fairy and small cat had their jaws dropped to the ground in disbelief.
"Dad, what was that awesomeness that you and Grandma Nicole just did to that cougar?!" Tristan asked in an excited tone.
"Well, uh little man, um..."
"Your father and I practiced karate in our younger years and we used what we learned to subdue the mountain lion!"
Tristan soon was jumping up and down in the back seat.
"Can you guys teach me?!"
Both Nicole and Gumball smiled at one another.
"Grandma Nicole will show you a few tricks she learned as a kid when we reach the park campgrounds."
The small blue cat then raised both arms in the air.
"AWESOME!"
Gumball then looked at Penelope.
"What about you sweetie, would you like to join Tristan and grandma Nicole in some karate?"
"No thanks Dad, it's a little too violent for me..."
Nicole then smiled at her son.
"She's just like her mother for the world..."
Gumball returned a smile back.
"Alright, let's catch up with the others shall we? Reedsville is not too far away now!".
Gumball then pulled out his phone and started his work playlist that he listens to on the way to work.
(If Some Kind of Wonderful by Grand Funk Railroad is compatible with your device, please press play now. Headphones or earbuds are recommended for immersion)
Nicole's eyes then lit up with happiness.
"Oh Gumball, your father and I danced to this song at our high school graduation! I didn't know you liked old time rock and roll?!"
Gumball then looked at his mother.
"Well you know what they say Mom, you can't beat the classics! Plus the kids love it when I play the song on the way back from the Elmore mall!"
The drive was filled with singing from the four occupants, as trees and mountains surrounded them on the drive to Reedsville, with wildlife, rivers, and wide open expanses soon came into view.
A small town was soon visible in the distance within a valley. The sedan drove down the mountain highway, with trees and streams being replaced by small shops and lovely side walks, littered with wooden cedar flower beds.
A sign soon greeted them on the way into the town.
Welcome to Reedsville, town in the valley.
Population: 2,000
Penelope soon spotted signs that were displayed around the town.
"Hey Dad, we should go the Reedsville music festival this weekend!"
Gumball then stopped at a red stop light, and inspected one of the posted signs.
"Oh, it's this weekend too! Absolutely, that would be a great experience for all of us!"
The sedan then continued on to a wooded area on the outskirts of the town.
"So Mom, where exactly are we going to meet up with the others?"
Nicole then gave a slight smirk, which Gumball then interpreted right away as the look of hiding something.
"It's a surprise, you'll see. I'll give you directions on where to go to reach it..."
Gumball did just that, heeding the words of his mother towards a small outcropping between a wooded area; which led to a long road into another wooded area. Soon, the sedan emerged from the woods to be greeted to a small lake; with a beautiful wooden lake house sitting just next to it.
Gumball was in awe at the sight.
"Wow..."
"Surprise, Gummypuss! Penny and I saw it as vacant for a weekend on the Reedsville site, and we took the opportunity to take it! What do you think?"
"Mom, it's perfect!"
The sedan pulled up into the driveway, the convoy of cars there before them. They made their way up the steps to the entrance, Nicole stepping in front of everyone.
"Wait a moment folks, I want to be the one to open the door first!"
Nicole then stepped in front of Gumball and the two kids, as she soon placed her paw on the door. Slowly, the door opened and they were greeted with a beautiful main hall. A large staircase was to their left, which led to the second floor that had a beautiful wooden varnish finish. A large sunroof also lay in the main hall, allowing a perfect view of the stars at night. Soon, the four late arrivals were noticed by everyone; who were waiting in the living room enjoying a game of cards. They all quickly rushed over to greet them.
"Hey honey, what happened to your arm?" Richard asked, taking his wife's arm to inspect.
"It's a long story Richard, I'll explain it to you tonight; let's just try to get settled in first okay?"
"No problem honey, I'll take your bags and help you up to our room!"
The pink bunny and blue cat soon disappeared up the staircase to one of the rooms.
Gumball then turned to the kids standing beside him at each end.
"Hey, why don't you guys go with Vlad Jr. and Anastasia to get things settled away in the kids room alright? I got to go help your Mother with our room."
The two kids soon rushed off with their two cousins up to the kids room, which included two bunk beds and a great window view of the lake outside.
Penny walked over to give a kiss on Gumball's cheek.
"We better get things organized as well, the kids have something planned for us that involves the lake later on this evening; and they want as much time to plan it all out as possible."
"Sounds like a plan!"
Gumball then took the suitcases, while Penny took the lead to direct him to the bedroom. As she opened the door, he was soon astonished by the layout. It included a master bed, with a beautiful patio sliding door window that opened up to the main balcony overlooking the lake. The walls were polished wood, and had a beautiful rug covering the middle portion of the room.
Gumball proceeded to put the suitcases on the bed, and along with Penny, got their belongings organized and put away.
Supper was planned earlier today, due to the surprise the Watterson kids had in store for their parents.
The older adults made their way to sit in the lawn chairs near the water, wearing their casual summer attire. Mary and Granny Jojo were describing their past experiences, along with Daniel, Louis, and Frankie doing the same; reminiscing of a golden age in their lives. Meanwhile, the Watterson kids were eagerly begging their parents to change into their swim attire.
"Come on Dad! We got something special set up for all of us to do before the night arrives!"
"Okay Tristan, just hang on! We know you guys operate on a different time scale like we did when we were kids, but you got to bear with us!"
Tristan and the rest of the kids rushed to jump off the wharf that led to the lake.
Darwin then stepped next to his older brother, smiling.
"I wonder what they have in store for us?''
"I don't know Darwin, but now I know why Mom used to worry so much about our antics..."
The fish soon placed a fin on the shoulder of his cat brother.
"All the perks of being a parent Gumball, but there'll come a day when we look back at this and wonder where the time went. Now come on, let's go see their surprise!"
Carrie soon took Darwin's hand, along with Penny holding Gumball's; to walk to the end of the wharf. The kids excitedly cheering for them to get in the water. At once, the four parents almost resembling their younger selves, jumped into the water; laughing as they resurfaced. Richard and Nicole soon arrived to the end of the wharf, with pull out chairs to watch.
Tristan then spoke up to get everyone's attention.
"Alright everyone! We got two nets we constructed out here to play a game of water polo! Before I go any further, I need to lay down some base rules: No ghost tricks! We know you guys can manipulate objects with your telekinetic magic stuff, so no phasing through the water with ease; okay? Second, fish must swim without the use of their dorsal fin! Sorry guys, but if I didn't lay down the law before starting; it would present an unfair advantage to one team over the other! Speaking of which, we're doing a Watterson showdown! Dad's team vs Uncle Darwin's!"
The two teams then met each other at opposite ends of the water. Gumball's team consisted of himself, Penny, Tristan, and Penelope. Darwin's team consisted of himself, Carrie, Vlad. Jr, and Anastasia. Vlad Jr. and Carrie had taken a potion that they both made at home, which allowed them to interact with the living world for a temporary amount of time.
The game commenced with both teams being evenly matched. Neither team was willing to lose.
It finally came down to overtime, with both teams tied. Gumball's team had possession of the ball, as they moved slowly up the water planning on scoring a goal; Tristan leading the way. Tristan dodged Vlad Jr., and passed it to Penelope; who then dodged Darwin who attempted to steal the ball from her.
"Dad! Catch!"
Penelope threw to her father, who was on a breakaway with no defender left to beat but Carrie; acting as the keeper.
Gumball powered a shot to the right side of the net, ricocheting off of Carrie's hand and into the net.
Everybody cheered, including the family of older adults on the wharf and on the lawn.
Everybody in the water hugged and laughed, wishing each other a good game. Gumball then spoke up.
"Yeah sure guys that was fun, but do you know what is even more so?"
Gumball then splashed water at Darwin.
Darwin then spoke in a deepened voice.
"I see we have initiated a naval war my adversary!"
Gumball then played along.
"Indeed, unless you are too chicken?"
Everyone laughed.
Richard then proceeded to get up from his chair.
"Richard what are you doing?"
"Well honey, they can't have all the fun can they?!"
Soon the pink rabbit jumped into the water.
Nicole smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Oh, what the heck!?"
The blue cat then jumped in after the pink rabbit.
Soon, even the elders of the family were jumping into the water to join in on the war.
Soon, the lake was filled with the laughter of the Watterson family; as the sun set on the lake giving off an orange tint.
Gumball, amidst the fun and chaos; contemplated in his mind.
"Looks like this is going to be a relaxing vacation after all!"
*END OF CHAPTER*