Categories > Original > Drama > Building a Family (Meet the Robinsons)
Author's Note: Meet the Robinsons, and all characters are copyright Disney, and created by William Joyce. “The Motion Waltz” lyrics are copyright Rufus. I am making no money from this work of fiction, and present it freely for other's enjoyment. For more background on this story, please read my Author Page. This chapter happens alongside and compliments my other story, “The Second Petunia”. Please read that one first, if you can. This chapter happens in 2015 and Character ages are: Lewis(20), Franny(18), Fritz(36), Petunia (36), Bud(56), Lucille(50), Gaston(21), Art(23). Enjoy the story!
“Building a Family”
Chapter 4 – Fritz Robinson
Mrs. Robinson looked around at the family surrounding her. Her husband smiled gently at her, holding her hand while the rest of the family looked upon. Cornelius and Franny held their arms around each other, smiling upon their Aunt. Bud and Joe were nearby, looking upon the pregnant frame of their dear sister, happy as they both could be. Lucille held Bud close, while she sighed happily at the sight of her family. Gaston and Art kneeled on the other side of her bed, holding their Aunt's hand reverently.
“Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Petunia! Happy Birthday to you!” the entire clan sung in unison. Petunia giggled uncontrollably as she took in a deep breath and blew out the candles on the small cake lying on her stomach.
“Oh, thank you so much, you all. I really don't deserve this.”
“Nonsense!”
“Of course we would be here!”
“You are our special Aunt!”
“You deserve this,” the rest of the Robinson clan exclaimed as they congratulated her in her bedroom. Petunia was seven months pregnant, and no one would hear of holding her birthday party anywhere else. Especially with her being pregnant with twins.”
Fritz cut up the cake that was there, and started to portion it out onto plates, as his wife looked on. They couldn't have asked for a better family to be with.
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Fritz swerved his car through traffic while angry drivers honked at him. He ignored them, Petunia was in the seat next to him, breathing heavily, her face contorted in pain. “Keep breathing, sweety, I'm getting us there as fast as I can.”
Fritz cut off yet another driver, then slowed down a bit before running through a red light. Luckily no other cars were coming. The hospital was only a few more blocks. He grabbed his cellphone while accelerating, and hit one of the speed dials on it.
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Bud was leaning over his workbench holding a glass vial carefully. He reached for an eyedropper, and started to add more drops to his nearly full concoction.
Drip.
He let out his breath, watching the liquid in the vial swirl, as it changed from clear to a more amber color.
Drip.
The amber color deepened, and a smile crossed his face. He almost had it! He concentrated heavily on the vial in his hand, slowly squeezing the eyedropper.
RING!
A puff of smoke went up, and the vial started bubble. “Whoo!” Bud cried, as he dropped the vial on his workbench. The glass dissolved, along with the pile of cloth on the workbench. He frowned as he watched his new pair of pants disappear into a sodden foamy mess.
RING!
Bud reached over and grabbed the phone. “Hello?” he asked, as his workbench merrily bubbled away.
“Bud, she's in labor! Let everyone know!” CLICK!
He recognized the voice of his brother, Fritz. “OK,” he said as he hung up the phone. His pants could wait till later. He headed out to look for his wife. His brother was going to have children!
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Lewis sighed as he looked out to the crowd that was seated out there. All this for just another lecture of his? He straightened his shoulders as the announcer finished his opening statements.
“I now introduce the leading expert in cybernetic design, Mr. Cornelius L. Robinson!”
Thunderous applause greeted Lewis as he walked out the center podium, where his notes awaited him. He had to hold his hands up for almost a minute to get the applause to stop. “Thank you everyone, for you interest. Today I would like to address the issues of processor design as it relates to artificial intelligence in cybernetic devices. There is a severe lack of heuristic and neurokinetic design where it concerns processors that may be used in AI applications. For the future, we need to be able to...” Lewis broke off as he noticed a man waving offstage to get his attention.
“I apologize. One moment, please.”
Lewis walked over to the edge of the stage, a puzzling look on his face, as a man whispered something to him. He glanced surprisingly at the attendant, and asked something. The attendant simply nodded. Lewis returned to the podium, and breathed deeply before leaning towards the microphone again.
“One again, I apologize all. I seem to have a family emergency. I will have to postpone this lecture for another date. I will have my manager refund all of your costs for this event. Thank you for your time.”
Lewis turned and walked off the stage. He glanced at another assistant and addressed him as he kept walking, “Have my private plane made ready. I have to return home immediately.”
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Lucille glanced back over the instructions, familiarizing herself with them. “Three quarter of a cup unsalted butter, melted. Two cups all-purpose flour. One half teaspoon of baking soda. One half teaspoon of...” The ringing of the phone interrupter her train of thought, and she looked up.
Lucille moved over to the phone and answered it. “Hello, Robinson household,” she said. “Oh, hello, honey. What? Are you sure? I'm on my way!”
She wiped her hands on her apron, then pulled it off and threw it on the counter. Some things were more important than cookies.
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Joe watched the TV closely. “Left, right, left, right, keep breathing!”
He wished he could keep up with the exercise programs, but there was little chance of that, while confined to the wheelchair. It didn't mean he didn't want to work out. It just wasn't possible. The left hand console of his wheelchair started to flash at him. Voice message! He pressed the button that played the message.
Shortly after the message finished, he pulled a keyboard out of the side of one of his armrests, and started typing. Yellow Cab, Robinson Household. Awaiting Passenger. The Internet was such a useful thing to be able to move from one place to another. And wasn't it perfect to be able to be to the birth of his first blood nephew and niece on time?
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The family waited in what was most appropriately called the the waiting room. Lucille had arrived first, followed shortly by Joe rolling in using his wheelchair. No sign yet of any doctors working with Fritz or Petunia, no matter how many times Lucille had asked. Bud was already back with his brother, it seemed. Or at least she hoped so.
Lucille retrieved yet another magazine from the display, and handed it to Joe, while waiting for some sign. Any sign.
A man entered the nearly empty waiting room. Lucille and Joe looked up. “Ahem, are you here for Fritz and Petunia?” Both of them nodded. “You better come with me.”
Lucille's hands flew up to her face, as she saw her husband holding his arm around his younger brother. She could tell he had been crying for some time, and it didn't look like he would be stopping anytime soon. Joe had moved ahead, and was looking sadly upon both his brothers.
What had happened? Giving birth was usually a happy time. She started when the doctor put his hand on her shoulder. “Mrs. Robinson? I'm afraid I have some bad news about your sister in law.”
Tears started down Lucille's face as she listened numbly.
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Lewis ran up to the car as soon as he got out of the airport entrance. He opened the passenger's door, and jumped in. Franny smiled at her husband, as she shifted the car into gear, and they started moving. “I heard she was giving birth. We need to go to the hospital, right?”
Lewis looked over at her and she was surprised to see tears starting to run down his face. He took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes and put them back on before taking a deep breath. “Dear, there's been...” he broke off, and tried to compose himself. “Um, it's Petunia. Dad called and said that Fritz needs us. And maybe the twins too.”
“Oh no.” she said. Her foot hit the accelerator and they drove even faster to get to the hospital.
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The doctor walked into the waiting room again. He hated having to give bad news, and tonight had not been his night. He looked at the unlikely crowd gathered in there. A large man in a wheelchair that he had been told was one of Fritz's brothers. His other brother was nearby, holding on tightly to his wife, Lucille. On the other side of Joe was one man that everyone would recognize, Cornelius Robinson, and his wife, both of them also hugging tightly. Not one face in the waiting room was dry.
He cleared his throat and asked, “Bud Robinson?”
Bud sniffed, and looked up from his wife. “Yes?”
The doctor moved closer to the family, and motioned for them to sit, as he found a seat for himself as well. “Our resident psychiatrist has had the chance to interview your brother, and he's not responsive. We think that this was a very heavy blow for him to take, and he's going to need some time to heal. We've sedated him for now, but it's our recommendation that he be admitted to the hospital until we can help get through to him.”
Bud nodded.
“We've noted on the paperwork that's been filed that you and your wife are his next of kin. Will you be able to take custody of the babies until Fritz has a chance to get better?”
Bud, and now the rest of the family all nodded enthusiastically.
The doctor smiled. “OK, thank you. Fritz is lucky to have a family such as yourselves.”
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Franny laid Tallulah down in her crib. In the next crib over, Laszlo made several mewling sounds as he stirred in his sleep. Lewis smiled fondly, as he watched her handle the twins. “You're going to make a great mother someday, darling.” he said softly.
She looked over at her husband as she turned the baby monitor on. It was a new invention by Lewis that not only transmitted the sounds of the babies, but also had built in environmental sensors, smoke detector, and intruder alarm with a voice password. The receiver for the monitor fit on your wrist.
They both softly stepped out of the room they had made up for the twins, and closed the door.
“What makes you say that, dear?” she said with a wry smile on her face.
“Well, you're so good with the children. And with me,” he said softly as he took her hand up to his face and tenderly kissed it.
Franny giggled and let herself be pulled away by her husband.
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Bud was first in line at the casket, looking down at the inert face of his sister in law. Tears streaming down his face, he grasped Lucille's hand even more tightly. She put her other hand on his shoulder, and leaned against him. After several dreadful moments, he took the first step away, and they both found their seats, as the rest of their family and friends stood in line for the viewing.
After the last person found their seat. the pastor stood up behind the podium. The eulogy he gave was very kind to Petunia. She deserved nothing less.
The room was filled with sadness as many people mourned the passing of a great member of the Robinson family. She had been harsh sometimes, and strict at others, but everyone in the family had loved her. The one person that had loved her the most though, couldn't even be there for the funeral.
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Fritz sat at a table, looking straight ahead. The rest of the room was full of other patients, involved in various activities. None of it made any impact on Fritz. He ignored the TV, and the nurses that would talk to him at times. He would compliantly follow when they took him to and from his room. He would be very obedient when they asked him to take medication. That was all, however.
Waiting to cross the Rubicon
Wondering what side I'm on
What are these visions of me as a young man?
With one arm pointed and the other arm holding your hand
Bud and Lucille sat across from Fritz, talking to him. It didn't seem to matter what they said. They came several times, and he never noticed whether they were there or not. They kept trying. So did the nurses.
Needing a plan to keep you near
Blowing a horn, so you can hear
If it was only my love and devotion
This world would suddenly be in a state of commotion
Franny, Art, and Gaston walked with Fritz, trying to get him to talk. He walked with them, but never did anything else. Tears rolled down Franny's face as she realized that her uncle may never come back to them. She wanted his kids to have a father. Fritz didn't even seem to remember that he had children.
Emotional commotion, emotional commotion
Emotional commotion, emotional motion
Lewis sat in front of Fritz, a tear running down his face. “I don't have any idea how much you are hurting, as I've never been through it. But you have two wonderful children that need you. We need you.”
Fritz stared straight ahead.
Lewis nodded to himself, then looked up to his uncle with conviction on his face. “I had hoped you could come around on your own, but I guess fate has her own plans for you. There's some things in time that can't be changed.”
Lewis placed a tiny carved figurine in front of Fritz, stood up, and walked away.
I never get around under the sun and the stars
And I may be always frowning
But wonder you will see, under the sun and the stars
You will turn around and I'll be emotion
Fritz slowly looked down, then reached out and picked up the figurine in front of him. It was a tiny finger puppet, carved out of wood, with a very recognizable face. Red hair was glued on to the figure's head.
A tear formed at one of Fritz's eyes as he cradled the figurine lovingly.
Emotional commotion, emotional commotion
Emotional commotion, emotional commotion
Emotional commotion, emotional motion
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The family gathered outside the door as they watched Fritz greet his children along with the hand puppet version of Petunia. They knew he wasn't ever truly going to recover from the loss of his wife. It didn't matter to them. Family was family, and they had Uncle Fritz back. Nobody ever got left behind.
“Building a Family”
Chapter 4 – Fritz Robinson
Mrs. Robinson looked around at the family surrounding her. Her husband smiled gently at her, holding her hand while the rest of the family looked upon. Cornelius and Franny held their arms around each other, smiling upon their Aunt. Bud and Joe were nearby, looking upon the pregnant frame of their dear sister, happy as they both could be. Lucille held Bud close, while she sighed happily at the sight of her family. Gaston and Art kneeled on the other side of her bed, holding their Aunt's hand reverently.
“Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Petunia! Happy Birthday to you!” the entire clan sung in unison. Petunia giggled uncontrollably as she took in a deep breath and blew out the candles on the small cake lying on her stomach.
“Oh, thank you so much, you all. I really don't deserve this.”
“Nonsense!”
“Of course we would be here!”
“You are our special Aunt!”
“You deserve this,” the rest of the Robinson clan exclaimed as they congratulated her in her bedroom. Petunia was seven months pregnant, and no one would hear of holding her birthday party anywhere else. Especially with her being pregnant with twins.”
Fritz cut up the cake that was there, and started to portion it out onto plates, as his wife looked on. They couldn't have asked for a better family to be with.
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Fritz swerved his car through traffic while angry drivers honked at him. He ignored them, Petunia was in the seat next to him, breathing heavily, her face contorted in pain. “Keep breathing, sweety, I'm getting us there as fast as I can.”
Fritz cut off yet another driver, then slowed down a bit before running through a red light. Luckily no other cars were coming. The hospital was only a few more blocks. He grabbed his cellphone while accelerating, and hit one of the speed dials on it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bud was leaning over his workbench holding a glass vial carefully. He reached for an eyedropper, and started to add more drops to his nearly full concoction.
Drip.
He let out his breath, watching the liquid in the vial swirl, as it changed from clear to a more amber color.
Drip.
The amber color deepened, and a smile crossed his face. He almost had it! He concentrated heavily on the vial in his hand, slowly squeezing the eyedropper.
RING!
A puff of smoke went up, and the vial started bubble. “Whoo!” Bud cried, as he dropped the vial on his workbench. The glass dissolved, along with the pile of cloth on the workbench. He frowned as he watched his new pair of pants disappear into a sodden foamy mess.
RING!
Bud reached over and grabbed the phone. “Hello?” he asked, as his workbench merrily bubbled away.
“Bud, she's in labor! Let everyone know!” CLICK!
He recognized the voice of his brother, Fritz. “OK,” he said as he hung up the phone. His pants could wait till later. He headed out to look for his wife. His brother was going to have children!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lewis sighed as he looked out to the crowd that was seated out there. All this for just another lecture of his? He straightened his shoulders as the announcer finished his opening statements.
“I now introduce the leading expert in cybernetic design, Mr. Cornelius L. Robinson!”
Thunderous applause greeted Lewis as he walked out the center podium, where his notes awaited him. He had to hold his hands up for almost a minute to get the applause to stop. “Thank you everyone, for you interest. Today I would like to address the issues of processor design as it relates to artificial intelligence in cybernetic devices. There is a severe lack of heuristic and neurokinetic design where it concerns processors that may be used in AI applications. For the future, we need to be able to...” Lewis broke off as he noticed a man waving offstage to get his attention.
“I apologize. One moment, please.”
Lewis walked over to the edge of the stage, a puzzling look on his face, as a man whispered something to him. He glanced surprisingly at the attendant, and asked something. The attendant simply nodded. Lewis returned to the podium, and breathed deeply before leaning towards the microphone again.
“One again, I apologize all. I seem to have a family emergency. I will have to postpone this lecture for another date. I will have my manager refund all of your costs for this event. Thank you for your time.”
Lewis turned and walked off the stage. He glanced at another assistant and addressed him as he kept walking, “Have my private plane made ready. I have to return home immediately.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lucille glanced back over the instructions, familiarizing herself with them. “Three quarter of a cup unsalted butter, melted. Two cups all-purpose flour. One half teaspoon of baking soda. One half teaspoon of...” The ringing of the phone interrupter her train of thought, and she looked up.
Lucille moved over to the phone and answered it. “Hello, Robinson household,” she said. “Oh, hello, honey. What? Are you sure? I'm on my way!”
She wiped her hands on her apron, then pulled it off and threw it on the counter. Some things were more important than cookies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe watched the TV closely. “Left, right, left, right, keep breathing!”
He wished he could keep up with the exercise programs, but there was little chance of that, while confined to the wheelchair. It didn't mean he didn't want to work out. It just wasn't possible. The left hand console of his wheelchair started to flash at him. Voice message! He pressed the button that played the message.
Shortly after the message finished, he pulled a keyboard out of the side of one of his armrests, and started typing. Yellow Cab, Robinson Household. Awaiting Passenger. The Internet was such a useful thing to be able to move from one place to another. And wasn't it perfect to be able to be to the birth of his first blood nephew and niece on time?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The family waited in what was most appropriately called the the waiting room. Lucille had arrived first, followed shortly by Joe rolling in using his wheelchair. No sign yet of any doctors working with Fritz or Petunia, no matter how many times Lucille had asked. Bud was already back with his brother, it seemed. Or at least she hoped so.
Lucille retrieved yet another magazine from the display, and handed it to Joe, while waiting for some sign. Any sign.
A man entered the nearly empty waiting room. Lucille and Joe looked up. “Ahem, are you here for Fritz and Petunia?” Both of them nodded. “You better come with me.”
Lucille's hands flew up to her face, as she saw her husband holding his arm around his younger brother. She could tell he had been crying for some time, and it didn't look like he would be stopping anytime soon. Joe had moved ahead, and was looking sadly upon both his brothers.
What had happened? Giving birth was usually a happy time. She started when the doctor put his hand on her shoulder. “Mrs. Robinson? I'm afraid I have some bad news about your sister in law.”
Tears started down Lucille's face as she listened numbly.
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Lewis ran up to the car as soon as he got out of the airport entrance. He opened the passenger's door, and jumped in. Franny smiled at her husband, as she shifted the car into gear, and they started moving. “I heard she was giving birth. We need to go to the hospital, right?”
Lewis looked over at her and she was surprised to see tears starting to run down his face. He took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes and put them back on before taking a deep breath. “Dear, there's been...” he broke off, and tried to compose himself. “Um, it's Petunia. Dad called and said that Fritz needs us. And maybe the twins too.”
“Oh no.” she said. Her foot hit the accelerator and they drove even faster to get to the hospital.
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The doctor walked into the waiting room again. He hated having to give bad news, and tonight had not been his night. He looked at the unlikely crowd gathered in there. A large man in a wheelchair that he had been told was one of Fritz's brothers. His other brother was nearby, holding on tightly to his wife, Lucille. On the other side of Joe was one man that everyone would recognize, Cornelius Robinson, and his wife, both of them also hugging tightly. Not one face in the waiting room was dry.
He cleared his throat and asked, “Bud Robinson?”
Bud sniffed, and looked up from his wife. “Yes?”
The doctor moved closer to the family, and motioned for them to sit, as he found a seat for himself as well. “Our resident psychiatrist has had the chance to interview your brother, and he's not responsive. We think that this was a very heavy blow for him to take, and he's going to need some time to heal. We've sedated him for now, but it's our recommendation that he be admitted to the hospital until we can help get through to him.”
Bud nodded.
“We've noted on the paperwork that's been filed that you and your wife are his next of kin. Will you be able to take custody of the babies until Fritz has a chance to get better?”
Bud, and now the rest of the family all nodded enthusiastically.
The doctor smiled. “OK, thank you. Fritz is lucky to have a family such as yourselves.”
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Franny laid Tallulah down in her crib. In the next crib over, Laszlo made several mewling sounds as he stirred in his sleep. Lewis smiled fondly, as he watched her handle the twins. “You're going to make a great mother someday, darling.” he said softly.
She looked over at her husband as she turned the baby monitor on. It was a new invention by Lewis that not only transmitted the sounds of the babies, but also had built in environmental sensors, smoke detector, and intruder alarm with a voice password. The receiver for the monitor fit on your wrist.
They both softly stepped out of the room they had made up for the twins, and closed the door.
“What makes you say that, dear?” she said with a wry smile on her face.
“Well, you're so good with the children. And with me,” he said softly as he took her hand up to his face and tenderly kissed it.
Franny giggled and let herself be pulled away by her husband.
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Bud was first in line at the casket, looking down at the inert face of his sister in law. Tears streaming down his face, he grasped Lucille's hand even more tightly. She put her other hand on his shoulder, and leaned against him. After several dreadful moments, he took the first step away, and they both found their seats, as the rest of their family and friends stood in line for the viewing.
After the last person found their seat. the pastor stood up behind the podium. The eulogy he gave was very kind to Petunia. She deserved nothing less.
The room was filled with sadness as many people mourned the passing of a great member of the Robinson family. She had been harsh sometimes, and strict at others, but everyone in the family had loved her. The one person that had loved her the most though, couldn't even be there for the funeral.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fritz sat at a table, looking straight ahead. The rest of the room was full of other patients, involved in various activities. None of it made any impact on Fritz. He ignored the TV, and the nurses that would talk to him at times. He would compliantly follow when they took him to and from his room. He would be very obedient when they asked him to take medication. That was all, however.
Waiting to cross the Rubicon
Wondering what side I'm on
What are these visions of me as a young man?
With one arm pointed and the other arm holding your hand
Bud and Lucille sat across from Fritz, talking to him. It didn't seem to matter what they said. They came several times, and he never noticed whether they were there or not. They kept trying. So did the nurses.
Needing a plan to keep you near
Blowing a horn, so you can hear
If it was only my love and devotion
This world would suddenly be in a state of commotion
Franny, Art, and Gaston walked with Fritz, trying to get him to talk. He walked with them, but never did anything else. Tears rolled down Franny's face as she realized that her uncle may never come back to them. She wanted his kids to have a father. Fritz didn't even seem to remember that he had children.
Emotional commotion, emotional commotion
Emotional commotion, emotional motion
Lewis sat in front of Fritz, a tear running down his face. “I don't have any idea how much you are hurting, as I've never been through it. But you have two wonderful children that need you. We need you.”
Fritz stared straight ahead.
Lewis nodded to himself, then looked up to his uncle with conviction on his face. “I had hoped you could come around on your own, but I guess fate has her own plans for you. There's some things in time that can't be changed.”
Lewis placed a tiny carved figurine in front of Fritz, stood up, and walked away.
I never get around under the sun and the stars
And I may be always frowning
But wonder you will see, under the sun and the stars
You will turn around and I'll be emotion
Fritz slowly looked down, then reached out and picked up the figurine in front of him. It was a tiny finger puppet, carved out of wood, with a very recognizable face. Red hair was glued on to the figure's head.
A tear formed at one of Fritz's eyes as he cradled the figurine lovingly.
Emotional commotion, emotional commotion
Emotional commotion, emotional commotion
Emotional commotion, emotional motion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The family gathered outside the door as they watched Fritz greet his children along with the hand puppet version of Petunia. They knew he wasn't ever truly going to recover from the loss of his wife. It didn't matter to them. Family was family, and they had Uncle Fritz back. Nobody ever got left behind.
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