that's life » s. hyde

[57] join together

The Kids Are Alright / Join Together

Izzy stood in the hospital waiting room alongside Eric, waiting to pick up Kitty and Red and to finally head home. They had spent enough days there to last a lifetime, and now that Red got the okay to leave, no one was more excited to get the hell out of there than he was.

When the twins saw their parents walk into the room, they stood up, heading over to them. Kitty greeted them with a quick "Hello," but Red just sighed.

"C'mon, let's get the hell out of this weird place," he said as his doctor joined them. "I think some of these nurses are stealing drugs."

"Red, I am a nurse here!" Kitty said, turning to the doctor and laughing nervously.

Red paused. "I stand by my statement."

The doctor pulled out his clipboard, which instantly made Izzy respect him a little more. Clipboards equal officiality, at least in her mind. "Okay, Mr. Forman," he said, "just to be clear. No going to work, no chores, no driving for three months. And let's not forget the root cause of the problem."

Eric grinned. "Too much rage, right? Yeah, so he probably shouldn't, like, yell at anyone anymore, right?"

"Actually, the reason he ran into trouble is because he was holding stuff in."

Red turned to Eric, a malicious glint in his eye as he grinned. Eric instantly paled.

"Holding stuff in?" Izzy asked. "Eric weighs, like, forty-two pounds because of what he let out, and you're telling us there's more in there?!"

Kitty laughed, and then turned to where the doctor couldn't see her face and shot Izzy a warning look. "No no no. Eric does not weigh forty-two pounds! And he and his father are the best of buddies!" She mimicked the two, as though they were having a conversation. "'Hey, Dad, wanna go fishing?' 'Sure, son! Let's hug!'" She laughed again. "That's what it's like at our house!"

Izzy turned to her father. "Daddy, I think you're right. The nurses here are stealing drugs."

-

"Okay!" Kitty said, opening the sliding glass door. "Let's get you upstairs for your nap, Red. And Eric, Isabelle, he needs quiet. So no shenanigans!"

Eric sighed. "Mom, please. We haven't shenaniganed in about six years."

"Yeah," Izzy said. "We've hooliganed-"

"We've no-good-nicked-"

"We've ne'er-done-welled-"

"That's very true, Izzy. Why, just yesterday, when we were rabblerousing-"

Red held his hands up. "Will you two shut up?"

They all walked into the living room, where Fez was standing, waiting with a balloon and chocolates in hand. He grinned widely. "Welcome home, Dad!"

Red's face went red. "You. You got a lot of nerve! Showin' your face around here after what you did to my daughter!"

Fez scowled. "Hey, I did you a favor! Why, that girl's been passed around this town more than a-"

"No!" Izzy and Kitty yelled.

"Fez, no." Eric said in a low voice.

"Okay, you have already given him one heart attack," Kitty said. "That's enough. Now hush."

Eric grinned and pulled a little box out his pocket. "Hey look, buddy! Raisinettes!"

Fez's eyes went wide. "Ooh."