Author's Note: This little idea is so silly, but it came to me out of the blue one day when "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night came on the radio station at work, and I simply had to write it out. :P
Same as my previous MTR fics, I used a few pieces of fan art done by the lovely twins Elena and Olivia Ceballos as inspiration. ^^ You can find the ones I used for this particular fic if you go to their Tumblr page, elioli-art, and type in / post / 186479939984 / part-1-sheesh after the main address (but remove the spaces). The images I used are the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th ones in that set.
(Just in case, I feel like I should mention that this fic has two parts. The first part takes place with Franny and Neil as teens, and the second part takes place with them as married adults. I only referenced the second part in the summary section to keep it simpler. Hope that will clear up any potential confusion, lol.)
THE COVER ART FOR THIS STORY IS NOT MINE. Since I used Elena and Olivia's work as inspiration, I also used a couple of their sketches for the cover art (with permission, of course). The original sketches can be found in the post I referenced above.
Disclaimer: I do not own Meet the Robinsons! It belongs to Disney and the ever wonderful Stephen J Anderson (+ William Joyce who wrote the book MTR is based off of, A Day with Wilbur Robinson). This work has not been created for profit or financial compensation, and is a transformative fair use work in accordance with Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act.
Thanks for checking this story out and, as always, I hope you enjoy it! :)
"Franny, I'm serious! Move back! I'm gonna get you sick!"
"Oh relax, I'll be fine! Sheesh, you worry too much."
Ignoring Cornelius' protests, thirteen year old Franny Framagucci continued to scoot closer to her friend, narrowing the gap between them on the floor of Neil's room-laboratory, all the while plucking out an absentminded tune on her ukulele. Neil just rolled his eyes and hunched closer to his laptop; he needed to get a move on if he wanted to finish this thesis by the deadline!
It was just his luck that he'd happened to catch a cold this week, too. (Pulling an all-nighter last week probably hadn't done his immune system any favors.) Tearing out another tissue from the box he had close by, he blew his nose for what felt like the millionth time that day. Then, he used a healthy dollop of hand sanitizer and took a sip of his hot tea to help with that persistent tickle in his throat.
Franny was entirely unfazed (as she had been since she'd arrived at the Robinson house a couple of hours ago). Any rational person would've surely kept their distance from someone who was still contagious, but not Franny. She was insistent that she'd be fine even as she invaded Neil's personal (germ-ridden) space. Neil had tried shooing her away when she'd popped over to hang out, but after discovering he was under the weather, she had practically demanded that she stay so she could "cheer him up."
Whatever that meant.
Neil let out a frustrated sigh. Franny's haphazard ukulele strumming was really starting to break his focus.
"Fraaaann. Please. I gotta finish this thesis by tonight!"
"Aw, c'mon Neil. You know you love it! And besides, I thought you said you were mostly done."
Neil pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am, but there's still some areas that need work. And I need quiet to finish up."
Setting her ukulele aside for a moment, Fran crossed her arms. "Well, I think you need a break. You've been at this practically all day. You're gonna burn out if you don't take a step back."
Neil paused at that. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. At this rate, he'd trap himself at a dead end, especially with the fogginess that was setting in behind his eyes thanks to his current illness.
He huffed out another sigh.
"Fine. I'll take a five minute break. But after that, I need some peace and quiet!"
Franny beamed. "Yay!" She picked up her instrument again, poised to play a song. "Got any requests?"
Neil smiled, his frustration subsiding at her cheerful excitement over something so simple. "Nah, you pick."
"Hmm, let's see here…" Franny trailed off, tapping her chin in thought.
Neil could feel his cheeks flush as he watched her; she was so cute with her nose crinkled up, the scattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheekbones curving with the movement of her face. He hoped she wouldn't notice his sudden change in color. His face was a bit red from his cold, after all.
A few more seconds ticked by, then Franny snapped her fingers. "Aha! I got one." She plucked out the opening notes, then dove right in. Neil recognized it instantly as it was one of Franny's favorites:
"Jeremiah was a bullfrog!
Was a good friend of mine
I never understood a single word he said
But I helped him a-drink his wine
And he always had some mighty fine wine
-come on, Neil!" She kept up part of the tune and paused, waiting for him to join her with a goofy grin plastered across her face. Neil chuckled and shook his head.
"I'm sick, remember?"
"So?" Franny kept playing.
"So, I'll sound twice as terrible. I can't sing even on a good day!"
"Aw, come on! Please? For me?" Franny pursed her lips into a pout and batted her dark lashes, and… well… how could he say no to her then?
So, rolling his eyes and smirking, Neil bit the bullet and continued on to the chorus with her:
"Singin' joy to the world!
All the boys and girls now
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea
Joy to you and me!"
The look of pure delight that lit up Franny's face as Neil belted out the rest of the main chorus with her was definitely worth an extra scratchy throat. He really was an awful singer, but she didn't care one bit. She improvised a quick ukulele solo, and the two lost themselves laughing for a few minutes afterward.
Neil ended up taking a little longer than five minutes for his break, but he found the finishing touches on his thesis flowing forth much easier than he ever expected thanks to one Franny M. Framagucci being the lovable dork she always was.
Franny Robinson gave a heavy, irritated sigh and sunk down to sit on her conductor's platform.
"Alright, take five, guys," she instructed, waving a hand toward her band of amphibians. Immediately, they abandoned their instruments and began chatting amongst themselves as if they had no cares in the world.
Franny growled under her breath and rubbed her temples. This was not turning out the way she planned.
It was the night before one of the most important performances of her career, and the frogs were simply refusing to cooperate. Granted, it was a pretty complicated composition, but they had handled similar ones with flying colors before. Today, it seemed they were purposely slacking off.
Which, to be fair, she had been a bit harsh with them due to her growing frustration. And with her nerves on edge in anticipation of the upcoming show, well, it only made things worse. Her frogs had a reputation for deliberately fumbling the music whenever she snapped at them too much. Maybe she should try to ease back a little.
If she could just find a way to ensure that they put forth their best efforts… Perhaps bribery would do the trick…
She shook her head. On second thought, that probably wasn't the greatest idea. The little creatures were a bit greedy and way too smart for their own good.
At any rate, she needed to figure out some way to make this work. And soon. She was running out of preparation time, and she really wanted everything to be perfect.
Neil, who was headed back up to the observatory lab with an armful of supplies, passed by Franny's music room and stopped short when he realized he wasn't hearing any music. It was highly unusual, knowing she had a show to do the very next day. She'd been rehearsing since this morning almost non-stop. Sensing something was up, he carefully piled his things near the door and poked his head in.
Franny was apprehensively flicking her baton, sitting on her platform with her face scrunched in concern. The frogs were casually keeping to themselves, and their instruments were laid off to the side.
That wasn't a good sign.
"Hey, Franny, you okay? How's the rehearsal going?" he asked.
Fran jumped at the sudden sound of her husband's voice, shaken from her thoughts.
"Hmm? Oh, Neil. It's… it's not going very well to be honest." She gave a heavy sigh. "I don't know what it is, but Frankie and the team are just not hitting the marks tonight. I've tried everything!"
"Well, you have been at this all day. Maybe you should take a break for a while."
Fran scoffed. "Are you kidding? I can't stop now! This is not just any concert we're talking about, this is the Bernstein & Spitz Amphitheater. This could make or break my career!"
Neil put his hands on his hips and made no effort to mask the smirk that started to form. "You know, a wise woman once told me that if you don't take breaks every now and then, you'll end up burning out. And she was always right."
Fran crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, pausing for a moment. How was she supposed to argue with that? After a few more seconds, she sighed again, letting out a small chuckle.
"Yeah, okay, Mr. Smarty Pants. I see your point. I suppose it would do me some good to try to focus on something else for a few minutes."
"That's the spirit!" Neil replied encouragingly. His expression then shifted ever so slightly as an idea began to take shape in his mind. Franny was far too preoccupied to notice.
"Hey, why don't you take a walk around outside for a bit?" he suggested, hoping she would take the bait. "The fresh air will help clear your mind, and the temperature's perfect." He would need her out of the music room if he wanted this to work.
Franny rested her chin on her fist. "Yeah, that does actually sound like a nice idea. But I shouldn't be away for too long. I'm running out of time here!"
Neil walked over to place a reassuring hand on his wife's shoulder. "Everything will fall into place. Trust me. You just need a distraction to refresh your creative juices."
And some cheering up - you always do better when you're happy, Neil thought, but he didn't say that part aloud.
Finally, Fran relented. "You're right. I'll go get some fresh air. But when I get back," she turned and raised her voice in the direction of Frankie and the gang, "a certain band of tailless amphibians had better get their acts together!"
On cue, the frog chatter died down, and several of them appeared to gulp in fear.
"Oh, don't worry about them. I plan on having a little talk with dear ole Frankie and the band while you're gone," Neil said, glancing over to the subjects in question.
"Ha! Good luck," Franny replied, heading to the doors. "As I said earlier, I've tried everything. Well, except bribery, but don't try bribery. Those suckers are sneaky little cheats."
"Eh, I'll figure something out," Neil said, already mentally planning his attack strategy. He would need their cooperation too.
"Okay, well, I'll be back in like, five minutes. Whatever you do, don't upset them too much. They won't play for me at all if that happens."
Neil flashed her a thumbs up and a wink, and with that, Franny was gone.
Excellent.
As soon as the double doors to the music room clicked closed, Neil clapped his hands to get the band's attention.
"Alright, listen up, everybody!" he ordered, and a small wave of frog heads snapped in unison toward him. He walked closer to the band to make sure they all could hear him clearly.
Thinking fast, Neil opted to ignore Franny's warnings not to bribe the frogs. He couldn't come up with a better way to earn their undivided assistance, and he needed it now.
"Here's the deal. If you all play nice for Franny for the rest of the night and make sure everything goes well for tomorrow and help me out with a little project right now for when she gets back, I will have my mother bake you three batches of her famous housefly cookies."
Neil paused, gauging their reactions. Their eyes widened at the offer and several of them looked at each other and smiled excitedly.
Good.
Genetically enhanced or not, they were animals at their cores, and animals were almost always motivated by food.
Neil crossed his arms and smirked. "This is a one time offer, and it expires in ten seconds. You guys in?"
Immediately, the frogs cheered.
"Heck yeah we're in!" Frankie announced. "What do we gotta do right now, though?"
Neil flashed a goofy grin and explained his plan to the band. They all responded with great enthusiasm; this would be a piece of cake for them.
Now it was time to change into a tux and call for Wilbur.
Neil hurried to his and Fran's bedroom and quickly threw on the first tux he could find in the closet. Rummaging through a couple of boxes, he also pulled out a walkie talkie and a very specific hat that he secured overtop his unruly blonde locks. Then, he pressed the intercom button that was connected to Wilbur's bedroom.
"Hey, Wilbur, you there?" he spoke into the receiver.
A few seconds passed, then Wilbur answered.
"Yeah, Dad. What's up?"
"Your mom's out taking a walk for a few minutes. Rehearsal wasn't going so great. You know she has that big concert tomorrow."
"... Yeah?"
"Well, I think it's time to initiate Operation: Joy to the World."
There was a pause on the other end.
"That bad, huh?" Wilbur responded finally. Good - he must have remembered the plan from when they had discussed it the last time Franny's spirits were low.
"Yup. She could really use a pick-me-up right about now. You still got that guitar?"
There was another pause as Wilbur looked over to the sleek custom designed electric guitar he'd gotten last Christmas that was proudly displayed above one of his dressers.
"You know I do!" he answered, and Neil could almost hear the boy grinning. He'd jump at any chance to put that thing to good use.
"Awesome. Turn your walkie on and I'll call you when she's coming back in."
"Copy that Agent Fix-it."
Neil smiled at the nickname. He and Wilbur hadn't made use of their "undercover spy" titles in a long time, but now was the perfect opportunity to have fun with them again. Wasting no time, he rushed back to Franny's music room. There was just one more piece of the puzzle that needed to be placed.
Breezing past the frog band risers and throwing open the long red curtains, he slid open the pocket doors to the ballroom that was connected to the music room. His shoes clicked on the hardwood as he jogged across the expanded dance floor and over to the massive stereo system that was built into the back wall. Then, he pressed a button that brought up a screen and accompanying keyboard and typed in a quick search. The screen folded back up into place and within seconds, a Rube Goldberg-esque sequence allowed an old vinyl record to drop down onto a small platform.
"Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night. It was the single release of the song from 1971.
Perfect.
Of course, nowadays there were much much more technologically advanced ways to play music, but there was just something about an old school record that could never quite be replicated in any other medium. Neil was grateful he'd managed to invent an adaptable stereo system capable of playing any type of music format you could dream of - including the oldest of the old.
Franny had always been particularly attached to her father's extensive record collection.
Neil grinned and took the record out of its cover, slipping it into the appropriate slot. It rolled like a wheel down a track that led to the record player section of the system and landed perfectly on the platter. The simple press of a button would move the tonearm to the proper position to play the song, but Neil needed to wait for just the right moment.
Suddenly snapping his fingers thinking of one last finishing touch, he sifted through the area off to the side where all of the human-sized instruments were stored until he located the beloved (worn) pair of maracas he always used to play. It was the only instrument he'd ever been halfway decent in using (and the only one he was allowed to play - he'd butchered quite a few tunes in his attempts to play literally any other instrument to the point where Fran had good-naturedly banned him from touching anything else. And that was fine with him. Music was never his forte.)
Adjusting his hat a little, Neil sucked in a breath and let it out with a smile. Everything was all set.
He walked back to the red curtains and flung them open to check on the frogs.
"You got eyes on her?" he asked Frankie, who he'd left in charge of surveying the security footage of the Robinson yard via a small handheld device.
"Yup. Looks like she's heading to the back door now."
"Okay. I'll call Wilbur and he and I will wait behind the curtains until you give the signal."
"Sounds like a plan, Boss," Frankie replied. It was odd to be called the title the frogs usually reserved for Franny, but Neil shrugged it off and headed back to wait in the ballroom, pulling his walkie from his pocket.
"Pshhh, Agent Fix-it to Captain Time Travel, come in Captain Time Travel. Over." Neil spoke into the walkie, making the static sound himself for the fun of it.
"Pshhh," Wilbur responded in kind. "This is Captain Time Travel, are we all clear? Over."
Neil chuckled; he'd missed this. "Pshhh, yes sir, all clear. Operation: Joy to the World is a go. Over."
"Roger that, I'm gonna use the tube to the ballroom. Be there in a sec. Over."
Neil slipped his walkie back into his pocket, and less than a minute later, Wilbur appeared, dropping down from the travel tube with his beloved guitar strapped around his back.
"Nice touch," Wilbur said when he saw the hat his father was wearing.
Neil grinned and reached up to re-adjust the famous fruit hat again. "Ha. Thanks. I wasn't sure if it would fit. Haven't worn it in 30 years." He elbowed the boy playfully.
Wilbur snickered and elbowed him right back.
Suddenly, a loud croak emanated from behind the curtains. That was Frankie's signal.
Neil pulled on the hem of his tux. "Showtime," he said, and pressed the appropriate button on the remote to the stereo.
Franny gave what felt like her hundredth heavy sigh of the day as she re-entered the music room. Once again, she collapsed dramatically onto her conductor's platform and picked up her baton to flick back and forth for a minute as she gathered her thoughts.
Suddenly, Frankie bellowed out a very loud and uncharacteristic croak that startled her. Just as she was about to scold him for the rude outburst, the opening notes to one of her favorite songs thundered from behind the curtains.
In a flash, the curtains were swiftly flung open. At the same time, the frog risers carrying the entire band peeled off to each side, revealing the ballroom floor where her husband and son, both smiling from ear to ear, stood, lip syncing the opening lyrics to "Joy to the World."
"Jeremiah was a bullfrog!
Was a good friend of mine
I never understood a single word he said
But I helped him a-drink his wine
And he always had some mighty fine wine!"
Before Franny had time to process all of what was happening, Neil danced his way over to her conductor's platform and sank down to her level, brandishing a famous pair of maracas and wearing that adorably ridiculous fruit hat. She couldn't help herself then; a carefree giggle bubbled up from deep within her. With a newfound gleeful spring in her step, she stood up from her platform and tugged Neil along with her, joining in for the chorus:
"Singin' joy to the world!
All the boys and girls now
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea
Joy to you and me!"
Wilbur nodded his approval to his parents as he stepped off to the side to give them room to dance, strumming smoothly along to the song on his guitar. He shot his mother a quick wink as Neil tossed his maracas to one of the frogs, spun Franny around, and whisked past the frog band (who were smartly playing in time to the song as Neil had asked), maneuvering her toward the ballroom floor.
They fell into an easy upbeat step together, twirling and swaying and bobbing back and forth across the entire dance floor until they were both gasping for breath. Franny lost herself to the music and her husband's embrace, and by the time the song was ending and Neil was dipping her and swinging her back over to her platform, her anxieties had completely melted away. In fact, she barely remembered what had gotten her so worked up in the first place.
More laughter burst from her chest as her dress settled itself to hang loose around her legs again. She reached up to fix her bow that had been pulled askew during their impromptu waltz and gazed affectionately at her boys. This spontaneous excitement was fun, but she was still utterly baffled. "What in the world was that?!" she finally asked between fits of fading giggles.
Neil and Wilbur quickly glanced at each other and shrugged. "Well, you needed a distraction and some cheering up," Neil offered, his eyes glinting mischievously. "Did it work?"
She really had to hand it to them - her mood had improved exponentially. Franny's eyes swept across her music room. The frog band held their instruments dutifully, each amphibian smiling and a few giving her tiny thumbs up signs with their little webbed frog toes. Wilbur slung his guitar across his back and took a dramatic bow, muttering "thank you, thank you, no pictures, please" playfully under his breath with a lopsided smirk, which earned him an affectionate eye roll. Finally, her gaze wandered back over to her husband. He was still panting and had the absolute biggest and goofiest smile she'd ever seen plastered across his face, threatening to split it in half.
Damn it if that man didn't still make her heart flutter wildly out of her chest, even after all these years.
With a loving, tingly warmth blooming in her gut, Franny pitched forward and launched herself at her wild, silly, wonderful boys. "You guuuyyyssss!" she exclaimed as she made impact. "Where would I be without you, huh? You're the best!"
Neil and Wilbur grunted as they were crushed into a tight hug, Neil's glasses getting knocked cockeyed.
"We really are the best, aren't we?" Wilbur said impishly, preening. "Now can you let us go? My lungs need air," he croaked, over-exaggerating Franny's secure hold.
"Right, sorry!" Franny apologized with a snicker, stepping back and meeting her husband's gaze. Leaning forward, she cupped his face with her palms. "You planned all this, didn't you, you little sneak." Neil smiled sheepishly and blushed against his wife's stern expression. Then, her mouth quirked up into a playful grin and she tapped him lightly on the nose with her index finger. "Thank you."
Franny pulled Neil into a kiss then, snaking her arms around his neck and popping her foot out behind her for good measure.
(In the background, Wilbur let out an exuberant "eww!" and mimed throwing up, but he smiled nonetheless.)
Slowly, husband and wife broke apart, staring dazedly at each other for a minute. Grinning warmly and giving Neil one final tap on the nose, Franny stepped back up to her conductor's platform, sucked in a deep breath, and clapped her hands to get the band's attention.
"Okay, I'll admit that was an excellent break. But! Enough goofing around! I have a very important show to finish rehearsing for!"
Every member of the frog band obediently raised their instruments, with several of them shooting subtle winks to Neil, who nodded and smiled, satisfied that they would put their all into it this time.
With the rehearsal starting back up, Neil and Wilbur took the opportunity to slip out the door, making sure to close it as quietly as possible. Fran flashed them one last grateful smile as they exited.
"Man, that was awesome," Wilbur gushed once they'd reached the hallway. "We should do that more often!"
"I couldn't have done it without you, buddy," Neil replied, ruffling Wilbur's hair and making the teen huff and smooth his cowlick back down. "Thanks."
Wilbur beamed up at his father, forgetting his momentary annoyance. "No problem, Dad."
Father and son gave each other a quick hug and victorious fist bump, and then Wilbur was jogging back over to one of the travel tubes to return to his room, his guitar clutched protectively in both hands.
Neil gave his son one last affectionate glance before removing the fruit hat and heading to his own bedroom to change back into his work clothes.
The next day, Franny Robinson triumphantly earned herself a standing ovation at the Bernstein and Spitz Amphitheater. After taking a few bows, she looked out into the vast audience and locked eyes with her husband and son standing in one of the front rows, clapping like mad along with the rest of the Robinson clan. She smiled even wider as joyous tears started to well up.
She really did have the best boys in the whole world.
Author's Note: This sucker has been simmering on the backburner for two years, and I FINALLY got it finished, lol.
If you haven't yet, please check out the artwork from elioli-art that ties in with this fic! (See my Author's Note at the beginning of the story for how to find it.)
I personally headcanon Franny's music room to have an expanded area for a ballroom plus extra storage built in somehow behind the frog band risers, so that's how I picture it for this fic. I just thought that kind of thing would be neat. :P
Also wanna mention that I chose the names for the amphitheater Franny performs at from two of the screenplay writers for the movie (Bernstein and Spitz).
Once again, big BIG thanks to elioli for allowing me to work with their art! And as always, thank you so much for reading and please feel free to leave a review! :)