Smile
By: Leelei
Disclaimer: I don't own Code:Lyoko.
Author's Note: Ahh, I feel like trash. Vacations are supposed to be for partying, not being sick! I think the medicine must've made me write this.
Sipping the last of the juice, Franz Hopper looked down his nose and into the empty glass as he heard the loud slurping noise from the straw. He let go and shook the glass, the ice knocking together without producing anymore juice. With a tired sigh, he used the remote control to turn off the television and stood from the couch, gathering up the tray of dirty dishes on the coffee table in front of him and moving into the kitchen.
As he loaded the last cup into the dishwasher, the old scientist heard a car pull into the driveway, and a door open and shut. He straightened and peeked through the curtains of the window just to see the dark colored car pull out of the driveway, but then caught the attention of knocking at the front door. He wouldn't go answer it, since he knew who it was, and the visitor had already entered, also knowing to let himself in.
"Jeremie," Franz greeted the visitor as he walked into the foyer of the Hermitage, seeing the young man take off his jacket and hang it up on a coat rack near the wall. "You made it back from the University early," he added.
"Hello, Mr. Hopper," Jeremie replied, shaking his father-in-law's hand. "Yeah, we just barely made it. Everything is still in boxes in the apartment, though. I never realized just how much stuff Aelita and I had collected in only three years of college."
"And where is my daughter?" Franz asked, motioning for the blonde man to follow him into the living room.
"She went to the store to pick up some things for you," answered Jeremie. "Mostly perishables that she knows you don't keep fresh, like all of those eggs and fruits."
"Well, what does a man like me need with all that food?" Franz retorted as he eased himself back down onto the couch. "This place is called the Hermitage for a reason…only one person is meant to live here, not an army."
"Yeah, great place to raise a daughter, huh?" Jeremie asked in a sarcastic tone that he often used with his father-in-law after having grown up and married the older scientist's daughter. He took a seat in a chair across from him.
There was a brief pause. "Jeremie," Franz's brow suddenly furrowed. "Why are you here?"
"Well…to visit," the younger man replied uneasily. "Like Aelita and I always do on the weekends."
"But why didn't you come in with Aelita? With all due respect, it wouldn't have hurt me to wait twenty more minutes to see you."
There was another pause before Jeremie answered again, that time even more uncomfortably. "Uh, well, I wanted to talk to you about something…"
"Without Aelita? Doesn't she know what you're telling me as well?"
"She knows…and she wanted us to tell you together, but I…I wanted to hear your advice for myself first. I'm, uh, a little scared, to be honest."
"Well then, you can tell me. I'm listening," Franz said in his stern voice, yet Jeremie found some comfort in his response.
But at the same time, hundreds of possibilities flew through his mind. Were either of them sick? Maybe it was cancer. Or maybe Aelita was divorcing Jeremie, or the other way around. But what if they were coming to tell him that they were moving? Maybe Jeremie received a promotion in his career upon his recent graduation from college and was being forced to move himself and his wife to the furthest city west in the United States, or to some city on the eastern coast of Japan, with a small chance of Franz ever seeing his daughter again. Or was it possible that X.A.N.A. had somehow reprogrammed itself and was planning to take over Earth, and Jeremie, along with his wife, were actually his slaves, tied to him forever unless Franz himself gave his own life to save them and the world? But Jeremie's actual response was far worse than anything he could ever imagine.
"Aelita's pregnant."
Franz didn't respond right away. Actually, quite a few moments of him simply staring at Jeremie passed before he replied to the cheerless young man. "Belpois, what did you do," he stated simply in a tone he had used when the young blonde screwed up while working under him to disable the Super Calculator after X.A.N.A.'s defeat.
"N-nothing, sir!" Jeremie replied in a panicked tone, straightening himself as he did when reprimanded by the older scientist during his teen years.
"Well, obviously you did something," Franz emphasized, causing Jeremie to blush deeply. "What, was it because of graduating? All that partying and alcohol, and all that damned music in those clubs you two and those other three go to? Does that justify your right to sleep with my daughter?"
"Actually Mr. Hopper, your daughter happens to be my wife," Jeremie replied. "And I think that justifies my right to sleep with her."
"Humph," Franz retorted, looking away from him. "I can't believe this…"
"What?" Jeremie asked, his brow creasing behind his glasses. "What's wrong? Don't you think that Aelita is able to bear children?"
"I know that she is able to bear children, you fool," Franz suddenly snapped angrily. "It's you that I don't want her to bear them by."
"But why?" Jeremie asked unbelievingly. "You gave me your blessings to date her, then again to marry her, so why aren't you happy to hear that she's expecting my child?"
"Because, Jeremie, don't you see?" Franz answered, staring into his son-in-law's eyes through his own shaded glasses. "You're myself. And my mistake is going to happen all over again if she has children with you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"History repeats itself, Jeremie. You know that," Franz answered, trying to calm his tone. "Just as I married Aelita's mother and raised my child, Aelita will marry you and will do the same."
"And you think that I'm going to create another Lyoko and imprison my kid just like what happened to Aelita?" Jeremie finished his thought. "Other than that, it's a far stretch that we'll follow in your and your wife's footsteps."
"It's more than that," Franz shook his head. "It's all of the similarities that are simply unquestionable."
"Like what?"
"Take, for instance, our fields. Of course yours is specified into nanotechnology now, but considering we're both scientists is undeniable. And do you happen to know what profession Aelita's mother held?"
"No," Jeremie answered. "Aelita never told me."
"She was an opera singer," Franz stated. "Haven't you ever wondered why I programmed Aelita's only power in Lyoko to be her voice? It was inspired by her mother's talent. Anyway, that's besides the point…her mother actually never wanted to sing professionally and had studied science to become a chemist, but her father refused to pay for her formal education to receive a degree and pushed her into the theater instead. And that's how I met her…through composing music in my free time."
Jeremie snickered and folded his arms. "It's amazing to believe that the man who built the Super Calculator and programmed Lyoko ever had any spare time."
"You would have made time, too, if you had fallen as hard as I did for Aelita's mother. It didn't take long for that woman to realize my true profession in science and request to be a part of it. So, I gave her a job within my department under the title of an aide, yet she was never less than an equal to me. She was brilliant, Jeremie. She could recite texts longer and more complicated than I could ever even read through, and her work ethic was tireless. Often times she stayed even after I left to finish my own work."
"Did she know about Lyoko?" Jeremie asked.
"No, I kept the very beginnings of it a secret even during her last days. But she did help me on the Carthage Project. In fact, that's why we married. I had to move to join the team, so we eloped. Don't you see, Jeremie? I rescued her from her father, just as you did with Aelita."
"But that's ridiculous," Jeremie blurted out. "You never meant any harm to Aelita. I only saved her from X.A.N.A., not you."
"I stole eleven years of her life, Jeremie," Franz answered heatedly. "And I would have stolen more! But then you came and saved her. You made her happy, just as I did her mother. And now it's happening again. Our daughter has been rescued, has married a man she loves, and is having his child to nonetheless do the same! Don't you see? She's just like her mother. She's just like her mother!" Franz pounded a fist on the end table of the couch, causing Jeremie to jump in his place. "Another one of those beauties that has a taste for science and the mad geniuses behind it!"
"So you're saying that I shouldn't sleep with her?" Jeremie asked skeptically.
"No, sleep with her however many times it takes to keep her happy. Have sex with her all you want, see if I care! I'm in no position to discourage you from it considering how many years her junior Aelita's mother was from me. Just, for god's sake, don't get her pregnant!"
"But what do you suggest we do? She already has conceived…"
"You can give up the child," Franz glared at him from behind his glasses. "There are countless other families in this country that are in a better position for children, let alone of a more decent age. Knowing my daughter, I doubt that I could even mention the other idea without upsetting her."
Jeremie's brow narrowed. "What idea?" he demanded.
"To abort the fetus."
Jeremie shot up from his seat in a rage, his fists balled as he glared at his father-in-law. "That's it! How dare you suggestan abortion formy child! And I'm sick of sitting here and listening to you berate my ability to be a father. So, yes, Aelita does have similarities with her mother, and yes, I do happen to be a crazed scientist like you, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to fuck up so badly that I have to hide my child from the government and end up erasing his or her memory with a demonic, self-supporting computer program!" he shouted. "History does repeat itself, Mr. Hopper, but I've learned from your mistakes and I'm not going to let any of them happen to this family ever again!"
Franz leaned back into the couch, taking in every word Jeremie yelled. His thoughts unraveled, and he tried to find a brighter side of the situation, especially after his son-in-law's powerful defense. "Very well then, Belpois," he replied evenly, knowing that causing Jeremie to swear so severely was a difficult feat. "Please, forgive me for my insults and accusations. I…I'm the fool, not you. In fact, you are more of a father to Aelita than I ever was."
Jeremie eased, relaxing his fists and stern features. "Mr. Hopper, I don't want to be Aelita's father, I want to be her husband. Being a father to her is your job."
"Then," Franz stood from the couch to be more equally level with Jeremie, "it is I who should ask you for the advice. I trust you to raise this child to live as healthy and normally as any person could with a family history like ours. I'll just be here to add my own experiences. And, to be perfectly honest with you, I was completely terrified when I was first informed of my wife's pregnancy."
"So then, after being scared out of my mind, what comes next?" Jeremie asked.
"Well, to begin, your life changes completely…microscopes become pacifiers and keyboards become diapers. You'll learn to balance it all soon enough. And you'll have to buy a house soon –no more of this apartment nonsense. And also, no more of that endless rave music and going to those damned clubs! At least, not every weekend, although I'm certain that neither of you will have the energy, not after entertaining an infant every day and night. But, of course, you will have to pick out a name first. Any thoughts yet?" As Franz finished, the two heard a car pull into the driveway again.
"No, none officially. But I did tell her that if we have a boy, I wouldn't mind naming him after a very close relative," said Jeremie.
Franz smiled briefly. "Well, what are you waiting for, Belpois? Your wife is expecting, go help her with those bags! Knowing my daughter, she probably has brought me the entire damn store."
"Oh, right," Jeremie agreed, remembered his wife's state and rushing to get his jacket. "And, Mr. Hopper?" he turned back while at the doorway.
"What is it, Jeremie?"
"You'll still act surprised when she tells you, right?" Jeremie asked.
Franz could see the worried hope in his features, the young man not wanting to disappoint Aelita by ruining their surprise. "Of course I will, Jeremie. You promised never to let this family down, so neither will I. And my family just happens to include you, too."
Jeremie smiled in response and left the house, hurrying out to the car to take the heaviest bags from his wife.
Franz watched him as he went and finally produced a truly serene and grateful smile for his son-in-law, as well as for himself. Nine months would barely be enough time to practice, since he decided right at that second to start smiling more. His grandchild deserved nothing but the best from him, only his smile was just the beginning. After all, he had to match the love and support that he or she would soon be receiving from his or her own parents, and he understood that, just by knowing the father, he would have to start smiling a hell of a lot more.
The End
Oh man, if you're like me you're probably thinking, 'What the hell was that?' But hey, it came to me as a complete thought, so I couldn't turn it down. And everyone loves a one-shot! Aelita's mom's past was a little sketchy, but I'm sure an episode is going to come along in Season 3 and blow this fic all to hell like "The Key" did to basically every other piece of fan fiction ever written for this show, so I say we try to have some fun with it while we're still in the dark. I'm still planning on beginning to post a new JxA epic titled Dream of Me hopefully sometime soon, and I'd totally love you all for checking that shit out. But for now, please drop a review on your way out if you have a chance! Other than that, I've got nothing else to say except Happy New Year, enjoy the rest of your break, and thanks for reading: )