Dear Diary

 

Director's Log, Star date ummm today.

Yeah, that sounds worse than the usual.  Oh well, back to form, I guess.

Dear Diary,

Things seem to be settling down around the new compound, finally.  Jessie and I have decided to make time once a week to go for a drive, like Frankie will let either of us do the driving, with all three of our boys.  It's hard to tell if Baby Boy likes the ride itself or not, but he definitely seems to like being in the back seat with his big brothers.  They are happy to teach him all about things as we go along, pointing out trees and birds and anything else they think he should know about.  It's so cute watching them together and it always makes me a little jealous that I didn't have an older sibling or a younger one.  Being a twin that is now a quadruplet is cool, but being the same age, and having the mental connection, it isn't the same thing.

Jessie tells me I'm goofy for wanting an older brother and tells me all the stories of his big brother holding him down as a toddler to fart in his face, which I have to admit, I can totally see Jason doing, but at the same time, I know they love each other and would take on the whole world single-handedly if they had to defend each other.  Jessie also reminds me that now that he and I are married, Jason is my big brother too.  I have to admit, if I'm getting him as a big brother, I'm glad it's now, when he's matured a bit, and is too busy with being a sports doctor to fart in my face.  Eww.

I have also been making sure I take walks around the compound to see what is physically going on around the place.  I'm still a little creeped out by Danielle and Bambi's house, but to be honest, it fits them very well.  It's as perfect for them as Nate and Zemal's mushroom is for them.  Well, of course the houses are perfect for the people that live in them.  Miky's don't make mistakes like that.  Do they make mistakes, at all?  Not sure I'm brave enough to ask. 

Anyway, I noticed two new houses on my walk today.  They were both empty, so I asked Thibbie about it.  He just said it was for the new people that would be here later today. Stepn says one is a Craftsman cottage and the other is a Mid-Century Modern ranch, but it just looks like a house from a suburb to me. It really sucks being the division director and not knowing what is going on half the time.

Oh, just got notice that I am needed at the compound gates.  I'll write more soon, I promise.

************************

"You're the boss of this joint?" a woman who looked to be in her late forties called out as Dixon approached the gates.  "I'm here to see my family, and this fuzzy guy here says you need to give me clearance for that."

"GIGI!" Zipper squealed as he ran and launched himself into the air to be caught by the woman. 

"My number one munchkin is going to be too big for that one of these days," she grunted and then covered his tiny face with kisses. 

"No, I won't, Gigi," Zipper giggled.  "I'm the boss now, so I can stay this size forever if I want."

"Well, you won't get any arguments from me about that," the woman smiled as she cuddled the little Time Wizard.  She looked his little body over and smiled at the robe he was wearing.  "I see you're playing dress up," she observed.  "You know, it's kind of strange, but somehow there's something familiar about that little outfit.  I just can't place it, though."

"That's ok, Gigi, I'll fix it so you remember as soon as I get you to Archnania," Zipper told her seriously.  "Can you get Uncle Melvin to take care of Gigi's Harley, Uncle Dixon?" the boy asked the division director.

"I'm pretty sure that won't be a problem; getting him to give it back might be tough. But why not just pop back immediately after you leave?" Dixon asked with a smile.

"Well, I wouldn't want Uncle Mel to not get any fun with Gigi's favorite toy," the tiny time wizard said with a giggle.

"Baby Boy, we've really got to work on how you word things one of these days," his Gigi groaned as her face turned a bit red.  She was nevertheless still hugging the little boy as she and he disappeared.

"Well, you heard all that, Alex," Dixon said as he smiled at the G-Cat commander. "Tell Uncle Mel he gets to have fun with the Harley, but maybe remind him not to drive it past the big house, 'cause I doubt Aunt Pet will approve of him on a motorcycle."

"You got it, boss man," Alex said and saluted sarcastically. He would normally have been all business and professional, but with all he'd seen since he came to this base, he had learned the concept of time and place. He quickly made the call to the surface motor vehicle department. "Alex to motor pool. Dixie says to get over here on foot Uncle Mel. There's a toy for you to play with, but it's only on loan and you can't go near your wife with it."

"That must mean a motorcycle," Melvin blurted back excitedly. "Hot dog! I be right there."

"Nice to see you relaxing a bit, Alex," Dixon smiled.

"It's nice to be able to relax," the big cat agreed. "The base is much more secure than the house was in Charleston, and I trust the rest of the crew to do their jobs. Even my little brother has managed to fit in here. I admit that I was a little bit afraid that would never happen since he's a bit…."

"Different?" Dixon suggested. "As they say in France, long live the difference. If we were all the same, it would be boring. I like that all the buildings on this base are in various styles to match all the different couples and families that live in them. Nothing against my fellow division directors, but I am rather proud of the fact that we have our own style here."

"Hey Dixie, is this the Harley I get to joyride, uhm I mean take to the automotive compound?" Dixon turned to smile at Uncle Mel standing next to the motorcycle while looking it over and practically drooling.

"Zipper said for you personally to take it, so I would think that means you have permission to ride it," Dixon informed him watching his smile grow wider with each word. "As long as you don't let Aunt Pet find out," he added and watched the man's smile turn upside down super-fast.

"She'd kill me and then bring me back just to do it again," Mel pouted.

"So just don't ride it in front of the big house," Alex suggested. "I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, Commander Wiggins, but doesn't the surface transportation center connect with the aerospace transportation center, which then connects to Rue de Sarah at the far end of the boulevard?"

"I could ride almost the whole compound and Pet never know," Mel marveled as he hopped on the motorcycle. "Oh, yeah, baby," he grinned as its engine roared to life. "I'll see you for supper, Dixie," he called out before he rode off.

"That's the happiest I think I've ever seen that man," Alex observed.

"Do you ever think about what you might be doing and what your life would be like if you weren't here and now?" Dixon asked.

"I can't remember my life before the labs," the leader of the division's G-cats sighed. "That's probably for the best really, as there would probably be no way to go back to it anyway after what they did to us. All I kept from before the labs is that Georges really is and always was my little brother. It's the one thing they couldn't break in either of us. I kind of hope that he doesn't remember anything else from before either."

"I memberszh the important shtuffI memberszh the important shtuff ("I remember the important stuff")."Both Alex and Dixon jumped at the sound of Georges' voice. "I memberszh I gotsh the beshtesht brother in the worldI memberszh I gotsh the beshtesht brother in the world ("I remember I got the best brother in the world")," Georges added as he hugged Alex.

"Alex, go spend some quality cuddle time with your brother," Dixon smiled. "I think I'm capable of watching the front gate for a little while until someone else can take over. You two have the rest of the day off, though. Go have some family time. I got this," he said as he shooed them out of the security office.

An hour later, Dixon knew he was not as capable as he thought. He'd accidentally stunned the mailman instead of opening the gates for him to come in and make his deliveries. Uncle Doug had to get beamed to the other side of the forcefield to revive the man and then Jess had to beam over to show Dixon how the controls for the gate worked… after Dixon also accidentally called for a base-wide red alert.

"You do know you won't live this down for a good long while, right?" Jess asked his husband.

"You would tease me about this?" Dixon asked, fake hurt in his voice and eyes.

"I would never," Jess assured him. "Everyone else will though," he pointed out. "Why are you on guard duty at the gates anyway?" Dixon relayed the encounter with the G-cat brothers. "You little softie, you," Jess grinned and gave him a big kiss.

"Someone want to explain to me how we can have a red alert for incoming mailmen?" Layton asked as he walked into the guard house. "And no fraternization while on duty, sirs," he added with a laugh. "Get out of here, boss, before you break something we can't fix."

"HEY! I'm not that bad," Dixon protested. "But it is a fair point that security was not the main focus of my training, so therefore the duties fall to you, major. I'll head back to HQ now, thank you."

"What a coincidence," Jess practically purred. "I happen to be headed that way myself." Once they were out of earshot of the guard house, he added, "Oh, look, our bedroom just happens to be on the way to headquarters."

"Imagine that," Dixon grinned. "And just in time for our break as well."

"And what break would that be, Commander?" Jess inquired as he followed Dixon into Wiggins House and up the stairs.

"The I need private time with my husband because he just hugged me break," Dixon answered as he yanked Jess into their bedroom. "Computer, turn off all communications out of this room until I give authorization to reinstate them."

"Way ahead of you, Oncle Dixie," Thibbie's voice giggled. "I won't bugs you for nothing but the patriarch, me no."

Approximately an hour later, Dixon and Jessie walked out of Wiggins House, back on their way to the headquarters at the end of the street. As they neared the end of the street, they saw Uncle Mel roar past on his way back to the surface transportation center. "Was that Uncle Mel on a motorcycle?" Jessie asked.

"It was," Dixon confirmed.

"Did he not know that Aunt Pet took the little ones to the playground and the beach just as we were going to our room?"

Just then Aunt Pet zipped past in one of the slightly tweaked golf carts that the adults used to take themselves and stuff around the compound. "COME BACK HERE YOU SNEAKY CRAZY OLD COOT! DON'T YOU RUN FROM ME, MELVIN MOSES WASHINGTON!"

"I would take that as he did not know," Dixon said dryly. "Should we go to the beach and check on the littles?"

"After you, my director, my love," Jessie returned. Just a little way down Rue de Sarah, he and Dixon were met by the Popsicle Patrol, except for Zipper, headed toward them on the backs of some of the four-legged scaly-skinned members of the divisional family. Max was riding Candy, the Jewel twins were riding Emeric, Lefty and Lije were on Cedric and the two sets of twins and the babies were on Bathilde.  "Thank you, Mama Bat," Jessie said as he walked up and hugged his twins, as well as their friends. "We can take them from here, so you don't get too dried out." A couple of grunts and hisses later and he was saying, "No ma'am, I didn't mean to say that you couldn't take care of babies as well as any other parent on the compound." Grunt hiss hiss. "Yes, ma'am, I see they are all six riding along just fine, and no ma'am, I don't have a problem with you taking them to Auntie Rene and Uncle Ossie for some pralines as a snack. Have a wonderful day, all of you." Once the Popsicle Patrol was out of earshot, headed for Auntie Rene's back door, Jessie turned to Dixon and asked, "When did Bathilde get rigged out with what looked like a cross between a saddle and a car seat for Vander and BB?"

"Beats me, but I'm not going to question it," Dixon told him with a shrug. "Everyone seemed happy with the setup."

"You know why this division is so laid back and 'go with the flow'? It's because you are, my DixiePixie."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all, snugglebutt," Jessie answered with a hug.

"Don't get me all flustered on duty," Dixon whined, but he made no effort to pull away.

"Director Wiggins, your presence is requested at the front gates. There are some people that wish to speak with you," one of the G-Cat security team announced over Dixon's communicator.

"Should I beam back, or can I walk?" Dixon replied.

"In your own good time, Director," another voice answered. It was vaguely familiar to Dixon, but he couldn't quite place it.

"I'll go handle the command center, you take care of the front gates," Jessie told his husband. "But maybe this time, let someone else open the gates. It might be someone less forgiving than our poor mailman this time."

"Shut up," Dixon growled with a blush. He turned and started walking toward the gate then, but took time to flip his husband off when he heard Jessie laughing. When he got to the front gates this time, he blinked for a moment. "Hi Zipper, do you want to introduce me to your companions?"

"Greetings Director Wiggins," the tiny boy said formally. "I present to you my family; my uncles, Mitch, Maximillian, and Martin; along with my grandfathers, Casey and Jason; and my grandmothers, Kim and Delilah."

"Wait these are your grandparents? They're all like… They don't look much older than me."

"Oh, now that is a proper Southern gentleman," Delilah said with a smile. "He knows how to talk to a lady."

"Director Wiggins," Casey said as he stepped forward, and then knelt down in front of Dixon with his head hanging down, looking at the ground. "I can never make amends for the pain that I have brought to you, and the people that you love. If it is your judgement that my family be allowed to stay here, but not me, I am prepared for that outcome."

"I have had the time to review my stance on that situation, Mr. Griffin," Dixon said quietly. "Yes, your actions forced my children to allow criminal monsters to remain that they knew would one day cause horrible pain to both me and my husband, but the way I see it, you forced your own grandchild to make that same choice. Furthermore, despite that pain, nothing of this division would exist if not for those events that you set into motion with your actions. I therefore find myself owing you my thanks, not for the pain, but for all the good that has come out of that pain."

"As the designated king of the Time Wizard race, I formally request sanctuary and residence with your family and this division of Clan Short," Zipper bowed officially.

"Sanctuary and residence freely and eagerly granted, Your Majesty," Dixon replied. "Just out of curiosity, though, you won't be this formal all the time from now on, will you?"

Zipper launched himself into the air to pounce hug Dixon and grinned. "Of course not, silly. There's still lots of times where you're just the weird DadMom of my best friends."

"Not sure how to take that statement, so I will just say that I love you, too, Zipper," Dixon laughed as he let Zipper climb back down to the ground. "Mitch, haven't you been here the whole time, though? I mean you went on a wellness check mission with my brother Danny yesterday."

"Have I?" Mitch asked. "Guess we'd better take care of that then. Come on King Zippy." The two of them disappeared and a second later walked back up to the group from inside the compound. "Ok, I think we're all caught up now, boss," Mitch grinned at Dixon.

"Well, ok then," Dixon laughed. "On a more practical note, I couldn't say no to you folks since you already have houses here."

"We do?" several voices asked at once.

"Come on, let's go figure out who is going to live where," Dixon announced with a smile. "Oh, and Kim, try not to break Uncle Mel's heart when you take your motorcycle back."

"Now that my grandson has de-aged me back to fifteen, I think we can probably work out a shared custody arrangement," Kim laughed. "I am a little worried about how my daughter is going to handle having a mother this young though. I swear she's more delicate than my little gay brother."

"HEY!" Jason objected. "I'm very macho. Casey is the delicate one."

"Jase!" Casey whined. "I am not delicate. I'm… ummm…."

"High maintenance?" Mitch suggested.

"Yes. Wait no," Casey blurted. "I thought being mean to me was all over now," he pouted.

"We're not mean to you, Poppy," Maxie said as he hugged Casey tightly. "But remember, you promised when I came back to live with you and Daddy that I don't have to share the room with Marty anymore, so I never have to see or smell his dirty, sweaty socks ever again."

"MAX! Shut up," Marty screamed while blushing.

"Hey, at least they're crusty and shoved under his bed," Kim snorted.

"Why would they be crusty?" Maxie asked innocently.

"So glad my boys are too young to have that conversation with yet," Dixon mumbled as he turned to walk away.

"Your boys live in the very next room to yours," Mitch snorted. "They won't need that talk, dude."

Dixon was about to comment on that, but he got distracted by something licking his face. "Guys, what am I being taste tested by and why?"

"Aww Candy likes you, Boss," Marty laughed as he and Maxie tried unsuccessfully to get the dragon to behave.

"Am I correct in thinking that this is a dragon?"

"Yes, you are," Casey confirmed. "Last of his kind and fully grown, so no worries about him outgrowing the compound or anything." To the beast slurping Dixon as if he were a dog and Dixon was a favorite toy, he said, "Candavega, that is enough. Don't you want to go meet the gators that Zipper told you about?" Dixon narrowly missed having his hair singed by the quick burst of flames from the snout that had just been slobbering on his face. "Ok, Candy, calm down and apologize to our friend and boss, or you will be grounded to… well… I'll find somewhere."

Candy finally dropped back to all four feet and hung his head bashfully. "It's ok, mythical fire-breathing creature that isn't so mythical after all," Dixon said only a little nervously. After a moment's thought, he smiled and added, "You know, I'll bet Auntie Rene is going to love having you around for the next crawfish boil by the bayou." He then led the new family to their homes. Kim and Delilah took the 1950's Mid-century Modern ranch next door to Danielle and Bambi. The placement of the houses was not random. This allowed Kim and Delilah to be close to the motor pool since they would both be working with Uncle Mel on the maintenance of the division vehicles. It also meant that Casey, Jason, and the three M's, Mitch, Marty, and Maxie, along with Candy the dragon would be living in the new Craftsman house between the playground, the bayou, and Auntie Rene's house. Candy seemed to be the most pleased with this location as he immediately romped all over the backyard showing off for the gator brigade. Yes, Clothilde was suitably impressed. "I don't want to know, I do NOT want to know," Dixon mumbled as he headed for the divisional offices to finally get back to his never-ending paperwork.