Thunderbirds Are Go!-Course Correction

 

THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!

COURSE CORRECTION

WRITTEN BY ZARIUS

Disclaimer: Thunderbirds are Go! Is trademarked by ITV Studios

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TRACY ISLAND:

A CHILDHOOD AGO

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Jeff Tracy kept a beady eye on the clock as the young Kayo continued to recite a famous quote word-for-word to him.

“If we die, we want people to accept it. We are in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us, it will not delay the program.”

“Well done Kayo, and do you know who said that?” a proud Jeff asked of her.

“Gus Grissom” she replied

“Good…now what year did this quote originate? Alan?”

He waited for an answer from his youngest son. No reply was forthcoming.

“Alan?” he asked

There he was, hanging upside down, his legs hanging over the sofa of the lounge area, holding aloft in his hands a die-cast replica of the space shuttle Columbia, making audible whooshing noises.

“Alan, careful where you’re pointing that thing” a concerned Kayo reacted as Alan continued to muck about with the shuttle.

Jeff took off his reading glasses and gently rubbed his weary eyes before getting up, looked at Alan, then turned around and walked over to where an illustration of a rocket launch stood. He looked on intently at it.

Kayo knew what that look entailed.

“He’s mad at you, you know” Kayo said.

Alan ignored her.

She walked over to Jeff to join him in his admiration of the illustration, and to offer some advice

“I’m sorry, that jerk doesn’t pay any attention” she said.

“I don’t mind it Kayo, the boy is young, has years ahead of him…besides, I can always rely on you to remind him of where to land”

“Oh no, I already said I’m through babysitting” Kayo responded, folding her arms and looking away from Alan.

“I didn’t mean in that way” Jeff replied.

Kayo looked back at him, “Which way then?”

“Kayo, you have an ambition about you, you’re the kind of person who reckons she has a course in life already laid out for you. It’s on your own terms and it’s all going well, but eventually the student has to become a teacher. Kids like you come up once every few generations, and your heart doesn’t always synch in with what goes on in your head”

“There’s nothing wrong with my head” Kayo said, permitting herself a stomp or two.

“There’s nothing wrong with it, but then there’s something wrong with thinking the right way is always the best way also” Jeff continued

Kayo glanced over at Alan once again as he played with the Columbia model, she noticed his grip had been substantially loosened and he was letting it dangle dangerously over his forehead. She took a few steps away from Jeff as he continued talking, his eyes too transfixed on the painting to notice her absence.

“Kayo…I made you recite that quote because I agreed with a substantial amount of it and wanted to teach you the importance of it also, but do you know which part I didn’t agree with?”

“Was it something to do with conquest?” Kayo asked, nudging Alan as he continued to play with the model.

“Knock it off, that’s going to fall and split you open” she whispered. Alan stuck her tongue out at her. Kayo rolled her eyes.

“Your Uncle had a lot to say about that bit” Jeff continued, again not turning around, “He liked the remainder of that quote, but he twisted it to his own meaning…that conquest, in the original context, that of space, but in his eyes conquest of any sort, was worth the risk of life. That’s not how I’ve grown to see things over the years… the conquest of greater obstacles, and of your fears, should never come at the expense of life; it should always be to the betterment of lives”

“My Uncle has a funny view of the world” Kayo replied, when she suddenly saw Alan’s grip on the shuttle loosen. Panicking, she knelt down and grabbed it just before it could smack Alan square in the forehead with the tip of its nosecone.

“Thanks for the save” Alan replied, giving her thumbs up.

“Oh cut it out” Kayo whispered.

“A funny view…If only I were laughing” Jeff continued, and turned around to see Kayo approaching him once again. Alan finally slouched off the couch and picked himself up. Jeff looked over at Alan as he wandered back to his room.

“Alan lad, you’re not going anywhere until you answer the question” Jeff said.

“Fine. 1965” Alan replied.

“Wow. He was attentive” Kayo remarked.

Jeff looked at Kayo and smiled.

“You can go to bed Alan, just change into your if you do”

“I’m not wearing that onsie dad”

“This will be the sixth month you’ve slept in your clothes lad…surely you can’t keep this up forever” Jeff continued

“You’re keeping count now? Swell, I’ll keep it up then…it ought to keep you busy the rest of your life” Alan remarked before entering the room and sealing it shut.

Jeff walked back over to his desk.

“You were quite attentive yourself there Kayo…”

“I was?” Kayo asked, puzzled.

“Neither of you whisper very well” Jeff continued, “Still, I admire your little course correction there, keeping your heart and head in perfect synch and sparing Alan a headache”

“That klutz could never keep a real ship steady let alone a model one” Kayo said

“He’s capable of it, so long as someone has faith in him” Jeff continued, “Someone who is there for him and has his back, no matter what”

“So it is like babysitting all over again then? Gross” Kayo replied, folding her arms and pouting.

“In the adult world, it’s something more than that” Jeff responded.

“I’m a long way from that world” Kayo said.

Jeff smiled at her.

“True, but you’re never a long way from what your heart can’t hide” he concluded.

Kayo couldn’t comprehend that bit.

Parts of her did’nt want to.

Not for a few more years anyway.

She wondered if she’d be grossed out in any way when that later date came.

---

TRACY ISLAND

AN ADULTHOOD LATER

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“Alan, Kayo wants to see you” Virgil said as he knocked on his little brother’s bedroom door. When Alan didn’t respond, Virgil entered it to find him lying face down on the floor, again in his civvies.

Virgil walked over to the slumbering heap and gently kicked him in the side to disrupt his naptime.

Alan stirred, stretched his arms outright and asked Virgil what was up. Virgil repeated himself.

A loud crack of thunder and the sound of howling winds unnerved Alan as he got up and headed over to the doors leading to the pool area.

There she was.

He slid open the doors so he could yell

“Hey K, what are you doing out here?” Alan yelled as the rain poured down around the deck chairs of the swimming pool. Kayo was seated there, safeguarded by a large umbrella stationed on the edge of the seat.

“Come and join me, this shower doesn’t have long to go, I’ve been reading up on the weather updates” she said, holding aloft an I-tablet.

Alan opened the glass doors that led to the pool, pulling his shirt up over his head to avoid getting his hair soaked. He walked over to one chair and pulled it over close until both chairs were perched under the umbrella.

“Mind letting me knows what type of crazy compelled you to do some thinking while all this was going on?” Alan replied.

Kayo took something out of her pocket. Alan’s eyes widened as he recognized what she was pulling out.

The old die-cast model of Columbia he had played with as a child.

She put down the tablet and leaned back on her chair, lifting the shuttle high above her forehead and dangling it in the same position Alan had all those years ago.

“What’s this about Kayo?” he asked

“I was just thinking about something your dad told me that day” she said, “I’m sure you remember”

“I do” he said.

“And how?” she asked

Alan felt raw emotion overtake him, his hand shook a little with apprehension, Kayo placed one hand firmly on his own to settle him down.

“Because…I’ve never stopped counting the days I’ve never stopped sleeping in my own clothes. I like to think…I like to think the same thing is going on with Dad, wherever he is…alive or in the hereafter…he’s making note of how many times too”

Alan decided to let the tears stream down as he realized why Kayo had lured him out of the house, so the rain could mask something his heart had been hiding, so he wouldn’t upset her.

So he wouldn’t strip her of that precious and assuring smile she was giving him.

A loud crack of thunder made both of them jolt, the shuttle loosened from Kayo’s grip, Alan caught it just before it could hit her forehead.

“I was counting on that, I had faith” she said.

“Just a little course correction” Alan replied.

“A course correction…that only happens when you’re not that far from what you can do…from your mind…or from your heart and that enables you to make adjustments”

“Do you mind coming out of your current dose of crazy, and this storm, and back to where the fire is?” Alan replied.

“I feel things are only just now heating up” Kayo responded, “But I think we’re better off cooling it for now. Lead the way”

“You’re impossible” Alan responded, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

He took the umbrella off of the seat’s edge, and, holding it high above their heads, they walked back towards the house.

Kayo thought back to how she was all those years back.

How she felt now.

She was a long way from that part of her world now.

She wasn’t grossed out.

And she certainly wasn’t a babysitter.

She was something more than that.

She just couldn’t let Alan on to it just yet. He was still only one step out of the world she’d left behind.

She knew she couldn’t keep this bit a secret for long.

But if there was anything her experience with her ‘funny old uncle’ had taught her, it was her family was all too readily accepting of the risks she had taken to preserve her secrets.

So she would test him emotionally, challenge him mentally, bring out the best in him. So that when he took that other step out, when he made his definitive course correction, she would be there to help him stick the landing.

She was out to prove something to Jeff, or his memory, that these types of conquests were worth the risk.

Time would tell if she was right.

 

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11779652/1/Course-Correction

 

Bob’s Burgers-Rude Health

BOB’S BURGERS

RUDE HEALTH

WRITTEN BY ZARIUS

Disclaimer: Bob’s Burgers and all characters are trademarked by 20th Century Fox

Note: This fic is set after “The Kids Rob A Train”

Linda Belcher savoured the moment as her husband came downstairs; she approached him with a blindfold in hand and wrapped it around his head.

“Lin, is this really necessary?” he said

“Shush now Bobby, let the mystery tale hold” his wife replied, and shoved him into the kitchen.

“Are we in the kitchen? Lyn, I shouldn’t be blindfolded in here. What if I put my hand on the stove by accident?”

“Oh just keep your hands by your sides and I’ll tell you when you can raise them” suggested Linda as she put on a pair of mittens and opened up the oven door to take something out of it.

Bob heard something clatter down on a table, he was tempted to peek but opted not to.

Linda took the mittens off and took something off the tray she had removed from the oven and placed it beneath Bob’s nose.

“Ok, now we play the game” Linda said gleefully.

“What game Lin? I just got done playing this sort of thing” Bob said, referring to the wine tasting incident on the train they were only a few hours removed from.

Linda continued to dance merrily around Bob, hoping he would identify the aroma coming from the item in her hand.

“Come on, guess what it is and you’ll get a treat” Linda insisted.

“It smells…like a cow just had some minty perfume put on it. That is mint right? Yeah, yeah a hint of mint in there…Lyn, can’t I just taste it?” Bob asked

“Not just yet”

“Well whatever it is, it’s got your mint cream touch all over it…that probably came out wrong” Bob said.

“Well you clearly recognize my handiwork, alright Bobby, now you can taste it” Linda said, and stuffed the item in Bob’s mouth.

Bob felt a sweetening sensation as he chewed down.

“This is definitely a burger…but it tastes like it’s been dipped in the chocolate from the train” Bob said, “I licked some of that off the kid’s clothes when they went for a bath”

“You did? Oh that’s gross” said Bob and Linda’s young scallywag of a daughter Louise as she came into the kitchen with Tina and Gene.

“It wasn’t gross actually, it was mildly surprising…and mild is about as exciting as it gets for me” Bob said.

“So what are you screwing up for dessert this week Mom?” asked Louise.

“Kids, put these burgers out, they’re free for all the customers to take. There’s only seven or eight of them so you can only permit one to each that’s interested in them. That way it’s all fair” Linda instructed.

“Mom, I can’t, Rudy’s here. What if he takes a bite?” said Louise in protest.

“Great, that’ll be another treat for him then” said Linda

“You don’t understand Mom, Rudy has an allergic reaction to chocolate, he comes off in a rash” Louise explained.

“Aw my little angel’s worried about a boy Bobby” said Linda, leaning on Bob’s shoulder.

“Wow, it’s good to know you’re looking out for him” said Bob.

“Oh please, he totally took advantage of it. Little jerk pretended it was a fatal allergy” noted a ticked off Louise.

“He feigned death to remind us that life is worth living” added Tina.

“There is poetry in pranking” added Gene.

“Oh will you two shut up, he scared me senseless when he did that. So rude” snapped Louise.

“Aw, you were scared? And here I thought you liked that big boy Logan, or the member of that boy band” said Linda.

“Welcome a trinity of choice into your life dear sister” said Tina, “Let them occupy your every waking thought until they too tire out, that is when you turn to the flock of Zombies, so they can take up the burden of your worn-down head”

“I don’t think of Rudy that way” protested Louise.

“What did I tell you about waiting for the right age to start thinking a bit clearer about these things?” said Linda.

“Oh pipe down, I gotta go serve him something…maybe a coke, can I Mom? A can of coke?” Louise said.

Linda tossed her a coke can; she went up to Rudy’s table and poured the contents of the can into a nearby cup.

“A little refreshment for you right there” she said, “Can I get you anything else?”

“Bob’s Brownies” Rudy said.

“Bob’s what?” said Louise.

“Brownies. You know the chocolate burgers. I saw the promotional ad in the paper. Free of charge. Couldn’t pass it up”

“Mom labelled the chocolate burgers ‘Bob’s Brownies’? But that’s what Mom calls whatever dad leaves in the bathroom” revealed Louise.

“Oh gross…really?” said Rudy.

“Totally” said Louise.

“Is that like a critique of your dad’s cooking?” Rudy asked.

“No, no she loves the burgers…I don’t know, you think it’s subliminal? Like that’s what she’s really thinking maybe?”

“She might need help there” Rudy replied.

“I’ve been saying that for years” joked Louise.

“I was joking by the way; about the burgers…I don’t want any. I just came over to apologize for weirding you out with my phony reaction”

“Yeah, don’t scare me like that, ok. I got really upset…just like the time you didn’t tell me about your inhaler. I like looking out for you, don’t shut me out when I can offer you a hand” Louise said, placing her right hand on Rudy’s shoulder.

Roody clapped her hand and smiled, “In that case, you’re best pouring that coke down the sink, and I tend to get the runs pretty quickly when I drink that brand”

“See, was that so hard to tell me before you go potty?” Louise joked.

As the two shared a healthy and hearty laugh, the Belchers looked on proudly.

“I think our little lioness is going to give someone a mighty strong cub one day…once she settles on which one she wants” noted Linda.

“The circle of life, and it moves us all, can you feel the love tonight…” Tina said, quoting from one of her favourite movies.

“And here’s MY little secret…I killed Mufasa” added Gene, doing the same, only not quite using the appropriate quotes for the situation.

“Linda, did you really name my burgers after my bathroom business?” asked Bob.

“I was short on time, so I recycled” said Linda.

“That kind of sounds like a critique…you sure you don’t want to be honest with yourself? ‘Cause it sounds an awful lot like you don’t think you did a good job and you’re just putting my name on it to distract from the fact others may not take to it” said Bob.

“Do you think I did a good job?” said Linda.

“Well, yeah, they tasted alright I guess…”

“Then your name being on them is your seal of approval” said Lynda.

“Shouldn’t you have waited ’till you got my endorsement before putting my name on them to endorse them?” Bob continued.

Tina and Gene sensed this could go on all day and hastily retreated, all while Louise and Rudy talked shop about school and what life was generally like in the concrete jungle for the restlessly young cubs.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11814692/1/Rude-Health

Danger Mouse-A Dagger to Her Mind

 

DANGER MOUSE:

A DAGGER TO HER MIND

WRITTEN BY ZARIUS

Disclaimer: Danger Mouse (2015) and all trademarked characters are property of Fremantle Media and CBBC

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The world has just been granted a pardon.

Yes, you heard right, you do the crime, you do the time.

Even I, your humble narrator, found himself singing jailbird blues.

But nobody felt as low as the genius responsible for the planetary lockdown.

Professor Professor Squawkencluck, who, at this very moment, is in the midst of filing a report to the World’s Greatest Science Council.

“My fellow scientists, it is with deep regret that I report on the latest setback in project Days Off, the initiative set up to relieve the Danger Agency of unendurable stress levels and overworked hours. The cause of the setback was once again…once again…oh I can’t do it”

She closed the laptop.

The door to her lab slid open and Penfold, assistant to the greatest secret agent in the agency, Danger Mouse, arrived with toast and a cup of tea in each hand.

“And just what are you doing in here Penfold?” said an irritated Squawkencluck.

“I was wondering if you’d care for some bread and egg” Penfold said.

“I don’t see an egg” the Professor noted.

“I was hoping you’d help with that, you are a chicken after all” Penfold replied.

Squawencluck felt her blood levels rise; she got out of her seat and towered over the terrified hamster.

“Oh, I see, you haven’t quite come down from mount unpleasant” he observed, “Don’t worry Professor, I can relate”

“Oh you can?” Squawkencluck said in a snarky tone.

“Yeah, all that time in prison caused me to search my very soul” Penfold explained, ” It got me to open things up to the Chief that I hadn’t ever told anyone…about my great crime in days of my youth, like borrowing that pencil and never returning it…keeping it with me, like a dagger close to my chest. Oh how it crushed me, every day where I felt ever so slightly upbeat, I’d end up cursing my own enthusiasm because there was always that low point of my life beating as loudly as my heart.”

“But then Danger Mouse used the pencil to trap Big Head in a logistical trap , causing her to overload, explode, and liberate us…your particular pencil problem proved to be a dagger to her mind” Squawkencluck noted.

Penfold permitted himself a meek smile, “The Chief always knows how to relief me of my burdens, and he always teaches me an important lesson in using what mistakes we make in the past to create fresh solutions for the future”

“That’s something I’ve got to learn myself…I’ve been reluctant to tell the council about my latest failure with Big Head, but I realize if I don’t open up about it, we won’t learn how to correct the faults in the next model”

“The next model?” a flabbergasted Penfold asked, “You mean, after all this, you’re just going to rebuild her again?”

“I will not be frustrated by failure Penfold, I’ll keep working at Big Head until we’re finally able to keep her under control” a stubborn Squawkencluck insisted.

“Well, if anything I’m impressed at how much faith you have in yourself, especially with the way you acted once you were incarcerated” Penfold noted, recalling the rather depressing sight of Squwkencluck despairing at Big Head’s malfunction and tyrannical prison system, a system that had sapped the courage and willpower out of virtually all except Danger Mouse.

“I was thinking about my mum and dad the whole time, that’s why” Squawkencluck revealed, “If they knew their daughter had been locked away with all of the other petty filth that plagued this planet, the shock of that would have crushed them…then it got worse when I realized my parents were probably locked away for that incident with the garbage monster, you know the one”

“Oh yes” Penfold said, recalling when the Professor’s mother had transformed her own husband into a grimy, murky and monstrous being that had reduced most of London to literal waste.

“Never mind Professor” Penfold replied, trying to spin the conversation back towards a positive note, “Maybe learning nothing at all from your experiences somehow inspires you to aim for bigger and better solutions”

“You think so?” the Professor asked.

“Sure. Your mum wanted to turn your dad invisible the next time, that doesn’t seem like it’d harm anybody else and what else could Big Head do that could top incarcerating everyone and everything? How do you step it up from there? You’re itching to find out aren’t you? That’s what this agency demands of its members every day…raw ambition”

Squawkencluck knelt down and gave Penfold a big hug.

“You think so big for someone your size…do me a favour and never curse that enthusiasm of yours again” she said, squeezing him tightly.

“You got it…Squawky” Penfold said, grasping for air.

“Ok, only I call myself that, for that, you owe me the toast” she said, grabbing the toast off the plate, eating a portion of it, and tossing the crumbs into the bin.

“How about I go get you that egg? At least one out of the refrigerator” Squawkencluck offered. Penfold gleefully nodded, and, arm in arm, they exited the room and headed towards the Agency cafeteria.

 

 

Bob’s Burgers-Half Past Childhood

BOB’S BURGERS

HALF PAST CHILDHOOD

WRITTEN BY ZARIUS

Disclaimer: Bob’s Burgers and all characters are trademarked by 20th Century Fox

(This takes place after “Ear-Sy Rider”, easily my favourite Louise episode to date)

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Having closed up shop for the evening, Bob and Linda Belcher were making firm plans for the morning ahead.

“I’m going to tuck the kids in Bobby; did you clear your schedule for tomorrow?”

“Sure did Lin, it’s just now the guys think I’m in the pro wrestling business”

“How’d they draw that conclusion?”

“Well I wanted to make my day seem more dramatic over the phone, so I told them I had to wrestle the schedule, and…Well…”

“…The phone cut off didn’t it?”

“Yeah…not so much as cut off, as Gene took it. Ripped it right off the walls” Bob explained.

“Oh Bobby, my big pro” Linda said, elbowing him.

“Ok stop it, look at me; I’m not in any sort of physical shape to put someone in a headlock”

“Sure you can, here, try me” Linda said, wrapping her head around his lanky arms.

“Lin…Lin, this isn’t…” An unnerved Bob spoke.

“Come on, choke the chicken littles out of me Bobby” Linda commanded.

“Lin, cut it out, this isn’t funny, I might hurt you, you want me to end up like Crispen Wah?”

“Crispen who?” Linda asked

“Crispen Wah” Bob answered

“Crispen…? What, Bobby I don’t know anyone by that name…”

“Wrestler. Killed his whole family” Bob continued.

“Oh you mean the guy with the French Canadian name…”

“Yeah, I’m pronouncing it right”

“No you’re not” Linda insisted.

“Gene’s always telling me I am” Bob explained.

“Gene’s a precious thing, but he’s totally a living depiction of a vandalized Wikipedia article” Linda noted.

“So how is it pronounced then?” Bob asked, genuinely curious.

“I’m going to tuck in the kids” Linda said, turning away and heading upstairs

“The guys still think I’m a wrestler” Bob yelled.

“Well call them again and say you’re not” Linda advised.

“I don’t think it’s attached to my side of the wall anymore. I told you, Gene sort of confiscated it. He attached it to the other end and charges me a buck to use it” Bob explained.

“Aw…a literal pay wall, that’s adorable” Linda replied

“I’m his father, I should put a stop to it” Bob muttered awkwardly as the full extent of his unsteady and shaken ego took hold.

“You’ll do no such thing” Linda told him.

Linda went up stairs and checked on two of her little darlings, Tina and Gene, before making her last stop at the den of her little floppy-eared dragon, Louise.

“Good night Louise, did you have fun with that visit we had from the little bicycle gang?”

“Motorcycle gang Mom” an annoyed Louise corrected her.

“Oh they were all quarrelling like little kids weren’t they? Then they became grown ups when that baby arrived…and you grew a little too, getting over your loss of your ears”

“I got them back Mom. Ta da” Louise said, stroking her ears with both hands.

“Yes, but you still felt compelled to tell Logan you could have them…I think you’ll hold yourself to that promise”

“I was totally psyching him out, the bone head fell for it. I can promise him only further pain in the future” Louise revealed, cackling devilishly and rubbing her hands with anticipation.

“Oh I’ll let you have your fun, I’m sure Logan will tolerate you more now that you said that to him” Linda continued, remaining ever the optimist in light of her child’s mischievous ideas.

As she motioned to close the door, Louise put out her hand.

“Mom…wait” she said

“What is it Louise? Need a good night kiss?”

“Firstly…gross, and secondly…he didn’t throw them out”

“He didn’t do what?” Linda said.

“He didn’t throw them away Mom. My ears, he told me he had and when I unleashed the gang on him, he caved and showed me he’d kept them”

“Aw, isn’t that adorable?” Linda said.

“That’s so not the word I’d use” Louise countered, folding her arms and staring at the ceiling, permitting herself a huff.

Linda beamed. She could tell these sorts of signs.

“What word would you use baby?” she said.

“Creepy. He’s…what, a couple of years up from me? I know the games boys play with girls Mom, that’s what freaked me out so much when he took ’em” Louise added.

“You recognize all that at your age? I’m impressed” Linda said proudly.

“Yeah, well that’s what happens when you’re street like me. We grow up too quick…maybe he senses that and targets me for it”

“You like taking care of the little lads in your class and challenging the older types, you want to test ’em, see what they’re made of…who knows, instead of making them break, you sort of leave an admirable impression on them” Linda explained

“I leave Logan with an impression? It ought to be the fear of further scorning, knowing I’m more resourceful, knowing I have him wrapped around my finger like he was today, wrapped so tight it must be likened to that of a noose. I want him to know my influence can lead to suffocation, not satisfaction”

“Big notions Louise, but I think what you told him today just shows how big of a heart you have”

“I was psyching him out, there’s no way I’d give him my ears willingly Mom” Louise insisted.

“Maybe that’s what you tell yourself sweetie, to ward off anything too above your station at your age, but I see honesty in those bright eyes of yours, and I hear sincerity whenever you speak…what you told him was sincere Louise, right now you’re half past childhood, but when you strike Adult O’clock, you’ll admit that to yourself”

“Well, I’ll be content with tick-tick-ticking off Logan as much as I can before that happens so he’ll never want anything to do with me” Louise vowed.

Linda stroked her face tenderly and rubbed her bunny headpiece lovingly before exiting the room

“Maybe, or maybe he’ll appreciate that you give him plenty of attention” she said, switching off the light and closing the door.

Louise slipped into unconsciousness as sleep took hold, peaceful thoughts of a sharp streetwise mind cast her mind to thoughts of one-upmanship and being in a position to control all those who dared cross her.

She relished thinking childishly. Long may it continue.

Well beyond the half-way point of childhood.

And if she crossed paths with Logan well past that, she’d make sure it wasn’t just his own adulthood he had difficulty with.

There was that occasional thought pertaining to whether or not he would enjoy it with her, but in light of thirty minutes past childhood, it came unglued in favour of selfish, devious thoughts about how much she’d enjoy making him suffer.

Any other thought suggesting anything otherwise could be left to a time all its own, and an age yet to come.