A/N: Med school difficulty went from manageable to OMGWTF really really fast. I still haven't had the chance to implement the retcons I mentioned earlier, I'll probably get to that the week after this.
Well, the kids had a lot of fun in the Grand Canyon. Now it's time for Mike's turn! As Charlie said, it wouldn't be fair for the kids to have fun without giving Mike a chance to kick back and relax too.
Please remember to drop a fav, follow, or review if you enjoy the story. Every little bit helps keep the story alive, especially since it's harder for me to update the story every week like I used to.
Greenden: I'm not sure how I feel about the whole Android!Charlie thing. Not to mention that the topic seems to be rather…controversial…from what I've seen.
JustAesthetic: I actually have no clue what I'm gonna be doing for the future. Right now the goal is just to not fail all my classes.
Chapter 54 – The First Vacation Part 2
The kids watched their dad intently as he drove down the highway, humming to himself. Though none of them had commented on it, they had noticed that Mike was gradually getting more tired as the long hours of driving had passed. None of them could blame him – after their visit to the Grand Canyon, he had driven them all the way to Bryce Canyon, and then to Zion National Park after that. It was a miracle to the ghosts that Mike hadn't outright passed out, and they were all starting to get worried for his health. Charlie even was on the verge of suggesting that they put a break on the vacation early so that Mike could get some rest back at home before continuing.
But that was before today. Though Mike didn't overtly show it, the kids could tell that he was particularly excited about the next (and final) stage of their vacation. "Dad?" Gabe couldn't hold back anymore. "You seem pretty happy. Where are we going again?"
"Gabe, kiddo, we're going to Las Vegas," Mike answered cheerfully. "And I'm not gonna lie, I've been looking forward to this part of the vacation for a while."
"Las Vegas?" Susie repeated. "You mean that place with the fancy hotel that Alex and Meghan showed us?"
"Yep," Mike confirmed, "but there's way, WAY more than just one fancy hotel, Susie. Las Vegas is a place that is chock FULL of them. All of them with different themes and styles, creating one of the liveliest and craziest places on Earth. And each one of those hotels is a casino filled with different games where you can test your luck to try and win some money."
"How does that work?" Cassidy wondered.
"The term is called gambling, Cass," Mike explained. "How it works is that you have to pay a certain amount of money for a chance to play, and then you go through a round. If you win the game, then you get your money back and win some more on top of it. But if you lose, you give up the amount of money that you bet on. The higher prizes are harder to win, but you can get a LOT of money off them if you're really lucky."
"That sounds fun!" Jeremy exclaimed. "How easy it is to win?"
"Depends on your definition of winning," Mike replied. "The thing with casinos is that the games are designed to favor the casino itself, so the chances of losing are higher than your chances of winning even though winning is definitely possible. It's how casinos keep their business going. There's also some games where you play against other people rather than the casino, or the house as it's called."
"How much are you going to bet, dad?" Liz asked curiously.
Mike shrugged. "I don't want to get caught up in gambling fever and lose all my hard-earned money. I'm thinking along the lines of 10K dollars per night is a safe amount of money." He looked over at Charlie. "Charlie, I'm trusting you to keep me grounded in reality. Once I hit 10K, make sure you cut me off."
"You want me to remind you to stop at 10K?" Charlie asked, making sure she had heard her father correctly.
"Charlie, I don't care if you have to literally possess me to move my ass out of that casino," Mike blithely replied, "whatever you need to do to keep me from going overboard."
The kids couldn't help but laugh at the image of Charlie (or any of them) possessing Mike and forcing him to walk awkwardly away from a slot machine. "So I guess the only thing we're gonna do is watch?" Gabe asked a bit sadly.
Mike shook his head. "Believe it or not, guys, you being ghosts is actually going to help you out again here. Casinos are strict with age limits, and normally kids aren't even allowed anywhere near the games. But because you're ghosts, nobody will be able to see you and you'll be able to watch me play as much as you want. Heck, for some games we might even find ways for you to play some of the games."
The kids looked at each other excitedly. "Take out all the horrific death and suffering we've been through for the past 40 years, and I'm really starting to like being a ghost," Fritz commented.
Mike shrugged. "I can see how it has its perks," he commented. His gaze caught something in the distance and he narrowed his eyes. "Oh, perfect!" he declared. "I think we're almost there!"
Sure enough, everyone could see a city faintly in the distance. As the car got closer, the kids marveled at just how decorative and exotic the city truly was. Maybe it was only because the kids had never seen a city before in life or in death, but each resort in Las Vegas seemed to have its own unique personality. Whether it be the flamboyant and decorative Excalibur, the stern Egyptian dignity of the Luxor, or the modern and exciting nature of New York, NY, there wasn't a single hotel in Vegas that didn't attract the wonder and reverence of the kids as Mike drove into the city.
"There's so many of them," Cassidy breathed. "This is so cool!"
"These must be the best hotels ever!" Susie gushed. "Alex and Meghan's photo was nothing to compared to this!"
"How are we going to visit all of them?" Jeremy gaped. "It would take forever!"
Mike shrugged. "Well, I'm planning on sticking around for about 2 nights," he replied. "The thing with Vegas is that you don't want to stay around for too long. Believe it or not, when I asked my friends about Vegas, they told me that things get old and boring if you take too long. Not to mention you'd be tempted to blow all your money."
His eyes caught the Bellagio and he pointed it out to the kids. "Ah, the Bellagio. A real classic when it comes to Las Vegas hotels, made all the better with an absolutely gorgeous fountain. And it looks like we're right on time for the show."
The kids' eyes widened and they gaped in awe as jets of water erupted into the air in mesmerizing patterns, soaring higher than half the size of the Bellagio itself. As they watched the water show, Mike scanned the hotels looking for one in particular. He grinned as he spot it and drove up to the lobby entrance of the Aria. He got out and the kids followed him into the Aria lobby and to the front desk.
"Good afternoon, sir," the receptionist greeted him cordially. "How may I help you?"
"My name is Mike Schmidt, and I have a reservation," Mike replied smoothly, "the Sky Villa, if I remember correctly."
The receptionist gave his mundane clothes and bag a skeptical look and proceeded to look up Mike's reservation. The man barely managed to repress a snicker at how wide her eyes grew when she saw that Mike did indeed have the suite that he had claimed. To her credit, she recovered quickly from the surprise. "My apologies, sir, we'll get your luggage up to your room right away. Here is your key."
"Wonderful," Mike took the key from her hand. "Thank you very much."
"Did you see the look on her face when she saw that Dad had the penthouse suite?" Liz giggled as Mike made his way over to the elevator. "I bet she wasn't expecting that!"
"I bet most people who take suites at the top are fancy business people wearing suits that are a pain in the ass to wear," her father smirked. "I wonder how many times some random Joe Schmoe like me books one of the best rooms in the entire hotel."
The elevator stopped and the doors opened with a ping. Mike walked over to the door to his villa and swiped his key. The door swung open and the kids' jaws dropped once again at what they saw.
The villa that Mike had rented for his weekend seemed like nothing less than a modern miniature palace. The place was filled with ornate furniture and the highest level of technology, complemented with an absolutely breathtaking view of the city through the windows that surrounded the main rooms. The most incredible thing to many of them was the winding golden staircase that led up to the second floor, the pinnacle of the villa's elegance.
"This can't be real," Jeremy gaped. "I looked up hotel rooms in Vegas a bit but they looked like nicer versions of regular hotel rooms. This is almost like a small house!"
Mike whistled. "Damn, this is even bigger than I thought. I'm starting to wish that I brought some friends with me for this vacation. He looked over at his kids. "Well, at least I have an entire family to share this gigantic villa with it."
The kids grinned back at him. "What should we do now?" Charlie asked.
Mike started to say something but ended up yawning. "Taking a nap is what I'm doing," he blustered out. "You guys should explore the hotel, maybe take a peek at some of the casino games so you guys get an idea of how the games work. Once I wake up, we'll go explore some other casinos, have a nice dinner where you guys can also possess me one at a time to enjoy the food, and then we have some fun with the games at night. Sound good?"
The ghosts all cheered and hugged their dad before rushing out of the room. Mike yawned again as he finally allowed the exhaustion from the long hours of driving catch up to him. He wearily climbed up the stairs and shambled over to the bed that tantalizingly invited him into its warmth and comfort.
He was unconscious before he hit the covers.
A Few Hours Later…
"Dad…"
"Hnnnrrrrgghhhh…"
"Dad…"
"Shhnnrrgggghhh…"
"Dad!"
"…wha...go away…"
"Wake up dad, it's been hours!"
Mike's eyes slowly opened…only to stare right into the face of Scrap Baby.
"Oh, Jesus Christ!" Mike exclaimed, bolting from the bed as the kids burst into laughter. Unpleasant memories from the last time they'd pulled this prank on him resurfaced. "God dammit, not again!" he complained.
"Sorry dad," Liz apologized as she changed back to her human form, "but we actually had a good reason for it this time."
"You've been asleep for hours, dad," Susie added as she pointed at the clock. "It's nearly dinner time."
"Wha…" Mike looked over at the clock and his eyes widened. "Oh, shit!" he exclaimed. "I forgot to turn on my phone's alarm clock!"
"We were thinking about going out into the city like we did for the Grand Canyon," Gabe admitted, "but we didn't want to worry you since you didn't tell us we could do that."
Mike smiled. "Thanks for your patience, guys. Sorry if things got a little boring, but after all that driving I did I needed the rest."
"Don't worry about it, dad!" Cassidy assured him. "We saw some of the casino games you mentioned and I think we have an idea of how some of the games work now."
Jeremy made a face. "Most of them, anyway. Poker still doesn't make any sense."
"The basics are all about how good your hand is, but that's a talk for later," Mike replied. "Let me get changed into something a little more appropriate for the climate and we'll be ready to go." The ghosts flew out of the bedroom as Mike opened his luggage and started changing. After about a minute, the door flew open and Mike stepped out of the room. He was now wearing a black T-shirt with a black leather jacket and navy blue leather jeans, complete with a pair of sunglasses. "You look cool, dad!" Fritz declared.
"Damn right," Mike smirked. "Now let's go out and enjoy Las Vegas!"
The kids cheered as they followed Mike out of the villa and out of the hotel. For the next two hours, Mike guided his children over to hotels in Vegas that had attractions that he was sure they would enjoy. The ghosts got to enjoy a much closer viewing of the legendary Bellagio fountain they had seen earlier from Mike's car, which Mike followed up with the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Garden as well as the chocolate fountain deep within the hotel.
"How do they do it?" Cassidy asked in amazement as they left the Bellagio behind them. "Growing all those flowers and plants and making them look so beautiful?"
Mike shrugged. "You'd be amazed at what you can accomplish with some imagination. And time. And money."
Charlie smirked. "In other words, three things that you have way too much of." Mike only shrugged in response.
"I wish I could drink out of the chocolate fountain," Fritz's eyes glazed over and he started licking his lips. "…Chocolate…"
"Oh, shit…is Fritz about to go all Spongebob Chocolate Maniac on us?" Gabe groaned.
"Fritz, you're drooling," Liz said dryly as she lightly whacked the back of his head with her hand.
"Ow," Fritz rubbed the spot where his sister had hit him. "Did you really need to…"
"Yes."
The former Foxy inhabitant grumbled something under his breath as Mike went over to a ticket booth and purchased something. When he came back, Charlie looked at the ticket that he had bought. "Cirque du Soleil?" she read the name off the ticket, puzzled.
"One of the most famous circuses in the entire world," Mike explained. The kids looked at each other excitedly, but Mike quickly curbed their enthusiasm. "It's for tomorrow, not for today. Didn't think I had enough time for it today. Anyways, I'm thinking of showing you Caesar's Palace and the Venetian before dinner and the games."
"What's at the Venetian and Caesar's Palace?" Liz asked.
"You'll see," Mike winked as they made their way to the latter of the two hotels. By now, seeing the ghosts' awe at the many gorgeous sights of Las Vegas had become something of a source of amusement to Mike, who mentally made a note to start counting how many times he saw their eyes go to starry or jaws drop. The special attraction that Mike had hinted at was none other than the Fall of Atlantis light show, a brilliant spectacle of a show that combined the statues in the forum shops with light, fire, and water. "Is that really what happened to Atlantis?" Gabe asked as the show ended. "I don't remember reading about that anywhere?"
Mike shrugged. "Who knows? It's probably just a show loosely based on Greek myths to tell a good story."
"If Atlantis even existed to begin with, I wonder what actually caused it to sink in the first place," Jeremy mused as Mike lead them over to a hotel next to Caesar's Palace. "I mean, I know it's supposed to just be a myth, but still…"
"Well, people don't believe ghosts exist, and yet here you guys are," Mike pointed out. "Who can really say what's real and what's not? Granted, it's unlikely that the Greek gods existed since you confirmed the validity of Christianity," he quickly amended, "but the existence of an underwater city in and of itself? I wouldn't necessarily count that out 100%, at least not after coming across you guys."
"Is everything in Las Vegas all about shows and games?" Cassidy asked.
Mike shook his head. "The shows and games are just part of the city's charm. It's the uniqueness that really matters. When's the last time anybody saw a hotel that looked like an Egyptian Pyramid or a castle? When was the last time anybody saw a roller coaster built on a hotel that looks like a bunch of New York skyscrapers?"
He reached out his hand and gestured towards the inside of the Venetian. "When was the last time you saw an entire canal system with gondolas inside a single building?"
The kids fell silent as they took in the inside of the Venetian. Unlike Caesar's Palace, which had an imposing majesty that seemed to tower over them, the Venetian's elegance seemed a lot more down-to-Earth. The inside of the hotel had been designed to mimic the streets of Venice as closely as possible, and Mike wasted no time in securing a gondola ride for himself. The rower proceeded to push the gondola slowly through the "canals" that had been crafted.
"Ahhhh…" Susie sighed contentedly as she felt herself being pulled along by the "anchoring" she had set up between herself and the gondola. "It feels nice to relax for a change."
"You said it," Gabe agreed as the boat they were on drifted under a bridge. "We've been bouncing around like maniacs throughout this entire vacation anytime we weren't in a car. Heck, I didn't think it was even possible for ghosts to get tired."
Mike raised an eyebrow. "You flew around three huge national landmarks in a row," he commented dryly, "many of which would probably takes days if not weeks for a regular human to fully explore. I don't see how anybody could NOT get tired after that."
"Which is why I'm glad I can just relax and let this gondola take us where it wants," Liz replied as she closed her eyes. "Is this really what Venice is like?"
Mike shrugged. "Hell if I know. But I can tell you that Venice is indeed a city in Italy built on a canal system with gondolas on it. I might show you a picture later," he replied as the gondola lazily rode onward. The family took this time to appreciate not just the artistry that had gone into the Venetian, but also the many good times that they had shared over the course of the vacation. As the gondola slowed to a stop, Mike got out of the boat and the ghosts followed. "I think now would be the time to get some dinner," he declared as he looked at the clock. "Then we can really get down to having some fun." Having looked up this information beforehand, it was a simple matter for Mike to locate the Cosmopolitan and invoke the reservation that he had ordered for himself at the Wicked Spoon.
"Why are we eating at a buffet restaurant, dad?" Cassidy wondered.
Mike smiled. "Because, Cass, in a buffet restaurant we can eat as much as we want," he explained. "And since there's so many different food options, this is the perfect time for you guys to do the same partial possession-thing that you did on me and get to taste food of a quality you won't be able to see again for a while."
"You'd do that for us?" Liz asked, eyes shining.
"As opposed to making you guys watch me eat all this by myself? Absolutely." He got up from the table and began to scan around the restaurant. "Now, what kind of food do you guys want to eat?"
Too late, he realized his mistake.
"I want Chinese food!" Jeremy immediately declared.
"What about Mexican?" Gabe questioned.
"I want Italian!" Susie protested.
"Screw your pizza obsession, I saw so many different types of meats! I want it all!" Fritz challenged, earning another slap.
Even Charlie wasn't immune to the sudden bout of immaturity. "I want Japanese!" she insisted. "You guys have no idea what it's like watching Dad cook food for more than a year and not being able to even smell it!"
All the while, Mike was fighting the urge to walk back to his table and begin banging his head repeatedly against it. The only reason why he didn't do so was because he would have caused a scene and likely gotten evicted from the restaurant. "Screw it," he decided, "I'll eat some of everything. Thank God I'm not overweight like most of America because otherwise I'd be fat as fuck after all this."
The next thirty minutes were spent in pure bliss as Mike sampled the many different varieties of cuisine that the Wicked Spoon offered. Each ghost entered partially into Mike's body as he ate from a meal that they were particularly interested in, and both father and children delighted in some of the best food Las Vegas had to offer. Their joy was only compounded further when it came time for dessert – even after 40 years, children were still children, and dessert would always be the favorite part of a meal. Mike ended up having to eat multiple pieces of chocolate lava cake and gelato so that all the kids could taste them at least one, not that he had any complaints about doing so. By the time they were finished, Mike's belly was fatter than it had ever been in years, and both he and his kids felt almost intoxicated with all the sensations they had experienced in the last hour.
"So this is what a food coma feels like," Mike mumbled as he nearly stumbled out of the restaurant. "Oof…I ate way too much."
"I guess that's our f…" Charlie started apologetically.
"No it's not," Mike cut her off. "At a buffet restaurant like this I probably would've eaten this much even if I wasn't getting food for you guys to taste."
"Man, after all that, tasting regular home food is almost going to be kind of bland," Jeremy commented as Mike called a taxi to take him back to the Caesar's Palace. He knew that the casinos themselves really didn't differ significantly when it came to the actual games, and he figured that he would give the kids the opportunity to appreciate the hotel that their friends had stayed in and the one that had inspired their interest in traveling outside of the confines of Hurricane to begin with. But this time, they were here for a completely different purpose.
The site of the casino seemed to revitalize Mike and he walked forward into the hotel with a purpose and excitement that the kids hadn't seen in him yet. And they understood why. Mike might have been able to enjoy their vacation just as much as any other tourist would have, but everything he had done up to this point had been primarily for the children's benefit. But now, it was his turn to have some real fun. Now it was his time to shine.
The brilliant lights of the Caesar's Palace casino flashed around them, dazzling the ghosts with their luminescence. The glow reflected off of Mike's sunglasses as he looked around, and his eyes fell upon a roulette table not too far away. His lips curled into a grin and he spoke the words that would truly mark the beginning of the Las Vegas experience.
"Let the games begin."
/
A/N: I was originally gonna make this into a much longer chapter (around 13+ pages), but unfortunately I just didn't have the time to write the whole thing out in one go. This first chapter of the "Las Vegas" part of the vacation was again mainly for the kids' benefit (even if not much really did happen), but the next chapter is absolutely Mike's time to shine. And I can already tell that I'm going to have a lot of fun with this next chapter, especially since I plan on throwing in a curveball *wink wink*.
I must warn you guys in advance that the next chapter likely won't be until two weeks from now, since I have two incredibly difficult exams coming up next week and I need to devote all my attention to it. Thank you very much for your understanding.
Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed!
