There are not enough words in the English language to tell you guys how sorry I am that it took me so long to update this story. Seriously, there aren't, and the English language has more words in its vocabulary than any other language in the world!

So I'm not even going to try and explain why it took me so long. ;) It would seriously take two days for me to get out all my reasons, me being sick and school being hecktic being only two of the reasons.

So here's the last chapter, finally! You guys have full license to kill me for not updating, but... -cowers behind her notebook- Please don't...

Anyway, since this is the last chapter, I'd like to thank all of my wonderful reviewers, WilburRobinsonGurl, infinity on high, Ember411, Alisi Thorndyke, RockDiva, NobleBrokenBeauty, Reviewer, You wish you knew me, Ihaveananimeaddiction, Kilbur Robinson- MTR Addict, Secretwindow1, Stefania27, Keruseya Natsuki, CrystalEarth, Goobie Fan, and Jembabehunz for their awesome reviews! I'd also like to thank SkyHighFan for his PMs, reminding me to keep this story up!

Anyway, enjoy!

PS- We really need to protest this whole "no making your own paragraph dividers" thing FF (dot) net has come up with. It seriously makes us all look like we don't know how to divide our stories up! -points to The School Report- And it makes them totally confusing to read!

Chapter Nine/ Christmas Day

Christmas Day, 2007
9:30 AM

Bud and Lucille slowly but surely made their way towards the front door of their house through knee deep snow. The storm had finally stopped cold turkey around five AM that morning, but it had taken until about seven for the roads to be completely cleared, and even then the Robinsons had had to shovel their way up the hill their house sat on. Thankfully, Bud always kept a snow shovel in the trunk of the car, claiming "it might come in handy someday."

"Bud, do you think the boys are alright?" Lucille asked worriedly as the two neared the front door of their house.

"I'm sure they're fine, honey." Bud assured her. He dug around in his pocket for a minute and brought out the house key. He put the key into the lock and turned the tumblers, opening the door to a surprisingly warm and finely decorated house.

"Oh." Lucille breathed. "They decorated the house!"

"Eh, they didn't do a bad job, either!" Bud said. "They must have started a fire, too."

"But where are they?" Lucille asked.

"Why don't you go check the lab while I check around here?" Bud suggested. Lucille nodded and headed for the staircase that would take her to her son's laboratory while Bud traced the source of heat to the living room, where he found a fire going merrily in the fireplace and Wilbur and Lewis snuggled deep into their sleeping bags, fast asleep. In the corner stood the little orange tree he and Lucille had in their bedroom – usually – decorated with ornaments and garland like a Christmas tree while the small battery powered radio softly blared Christmas carols. Bud smiled and shook his head. It was no wonder these boys were exhausted. They had obviously worked hard.

"Lucille, I found them!" Bud called up the stairs. "They're down here!"

Lucille walked into the living room to join her husband and smiled at the sight of the orange Christmas tree.

"Bud, is that our orange tree?"

"I do believe it is." Bud said. He bent down and threw another log into the fire.

Lucille bent down and gently shook Lewis.

"Lewis." She said. "Lewis, wake up."

Lewis groaned and buried his face in his pillow. "Five more minutes." He said sleepily.

Lucille shook her son again. "Come on, sleepy head, it's Christmas day!" She said.

No one could argue with that logic. Lewis groaned again but sat up and rubbed his eyes, feeling around beside him for his glasses. Locating them near his pillow, he slipped them on his nose and blinked a couple times, his eyes widening at the sight of his mother hovering over him.

"Mom?" He asked. "You're home!" He looked a few feet away from him at Wilbur, who was still sound asleep. He wiggled out of his warm sleeping bag and shook Wilbur.

"Wilbur, wake up. Mom and Dad are back." He said.

Wilbur sat up and blinked the sleep away for a minute. "They're back?" He asked.

He looked towards Lucille and Bud. "That means the storm's over?"

Bud nodded. "The storm ended around five this morning, but they were just able to get the roads clear." He explained. He glanced around the room. "You boys did a good job decorating."

The boys grinned. "Thanks."

"We about froze to death putting it all up, too!" Wilbur added. "And trying to hang Christmas lights everywhere with only a flashlight for light isn't as easy as it looks!"

Bud laughed. "I'm sure it wasn't!" He said. "But I'm sure when the power comes back on it will be worth it."

No sooner had the words left Bud's mouth did the power suddenly come back on. The lights that Wilbur and Lewis had draped over the orange Christmas tree and lined the hallways with all lit up at once, casting a rainbow of colors over the whole house.

"I guess you spoke too soon!" Lucille said. "This was a great idea, you two!"

"It was actually Wilbur's idea." Lewis said. "The newscaster on the radio said Christmas might have to be canceled this year and we decided we were going to make it happen anyway by decorating the house. That, and I didn't really have much of a choice. It was either decorate the house or be bored!"

"Tell me about it." Wilbur muttered.

Bud and Lucille nodded, still smiling. Suddenly, Lucille's eyes flickered to the clock on the wall.

"Oh my, Wilbur, it's almost ten o'clock! I'm sure your parents are worried sick about you!"

"Probably." Wilbur agreed, glancing at Lewis. "I should probably get going."

"Do you want to call them?" Lucille asked. "I'm sure the phone lines are working now that the power's back on."

"No, it's okay." Wilbur said. "I'll just head over to where they're staying."

"Do you want a ride?" Bud offered. "The roads are clear, and it's still pretty cold outside. Where are your parents staying? We could drop you off."

"No!" Wilbur said quickly. "I mean, no, thanks, Mr. Robinson. I can take myself."

Bud looked at him strangely for a minute. "Alright, then." He said, giving Wilbur a grin. "You'd better get going, then!"

Wilbur nodded and grabbed his coat from the couch. "Thanks for everything!" He said.

"Wait, don't forget your backpack!" Lewis said, remembering the family albums.

Wilbur grinned nervously. "Yeah, better not forget that!" He said, walking back to the couch and grabbing the backpack.

"Oh, before you go, could you get a picture of us in front of the tree?" Lucille asked, handing Wilbur a camera. "We'll definitely want to remember our first Christmas that almost wasn't!"

Wilbur and Lewis both looked a little surprised at the fact that it was in fact Wilbur that would be the one that took the picture of Lewis, Bud, and Lucille on their first Christmas in the family album. Wilbur looked at Lewis, unsure of what to do. Lewis shrugged and Wilbur smiled.

"Sure!" He said. Lewis went over to join his parents in front of the orange Christmas tree while Wilbur fidgeted with the camera for a minute, finally finding the on button.

"OK, smile!" he said. The Robinsons all smiled and Wilbur snapped the picture.

"There you go!" He said. "Now I'd better get going."

"Not before we get a picture of you and Lewis." Lucille said. "I highly doubt this will be a Christmas we'll forget, and I'm sure you'll enjoy looking back on it one day."

Wilbur and Lewis exchanged a look that clearly said, "You have no idea." They stood together in front of the tree.

"Smile!" Lucille said. The boys both grinned, and Lewis gave Wilbur a quick set of bunny years to remember him by in the future.

"Ooh, good one!" Lucille said as she clicked the camera off.

"Bye, guys." Wilbur said as he picked up his backpack again and headed for the door.

"Bye, Wilbur!" Bud said. "Be careful out there; it's still a little slippery!"

"I will, thanks!" Wilbur called back as he shut the door behind him. He quickly jumped the steps to the house and ran down the path Lucille and Bud had cleared, finally finding the driveway.

Following the path he knew from his previous adventure in the past, Wilbur made his way towards the park, where the time machine was parked. He looked around to make sure no one was watching before stealthily slipping into the woods, where an invisible, snow covered time machine sat waiting for him.

Just as he was about to hit the button on his watch that would make the time machine appear, the sound of his name being called caused him to nearly jump out of his skin.

Wilbur turned to see Lewis running towards him through the snow.

"Lewis?" Wilbur asked. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at home with Grandma and Grandpa celebrating your first Christmas together!"

Lewis stopped in front of his future son, leaning over trying to catch his breath, which came out in white puffs of air.

"I know." He said. "But I forgot to give you this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the walkie-talkies he and Wilbur had used to communicate six months prior when he had been stranded in the past the first time.

"A walkie-talkie?" Wilbur questioned, taking it from him.

Lewis nodded. "That way, the next time you come visit, you can let us know when you get here, so we can make sure you won't get stranded again!"

Wilbur laughed. "Thanks, dude."

Lewis grinned. "Sure thing." He said. He looked at the time machine. "Nice to see this thing didn't get damaged in the storm. I'm really getting tired of fixing it for you!"

Wilbur shrugged. "Hey, the first time was your fault, and the second time was Nash's." He said in his defense.

Lewis rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He said. "Now get back to the future! I'm sure you're already in enough hot water as it is."

Wilbur groaned. "Don't remind me." He said. "See ya later, Lewis."

"Bye, Wilbur." Lewis said.

With that, Wilbur swung himself into the time machine, punched in December 25th, 2037 and lifted off into the air, disappearing above the trees.

As soon as he was sure his future son was safely on his way back to the future, Lewis turned and ran back towards his house just as Christmas carolers began to carol again.

Christmas Day, 2037
8:33 AM

Wilbur took a deep breath before stepping under the travel tube that would take him to the Robinson Mansion's lobby. He knew his parents were probably waiting for him, and he knew that they would be anything but happy about him disappearing with the time machine on Christmas Eve, even if he was only going to wish Lewis a merry Christmas.

Much to his surprise, his parents weren't waiting for him in the lobby. He cocked an eyebrow curiously as he walked into the living room, only to find his answer asleep on the couch.

Cornelius and Franny were both asleep on either couch in front of the Christmas tree. Wilbur pondered waking them up for a minute, but his natural instinct to avoid grounding as much as humanly possible won, and he tried to sneak past them.

"HAVE A HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS; IT'S THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR."

The sudden loud singing from the stupid Christmas tree he had stolen the batteries from made him jump what seemed ten feet from his skin.

Wilbur grabbed the tree and tried to turn it off, only to find it was too late.

Cornelius was looking around the room, having been jerked from sleep by the sudden blasting of Chris the Singing Christmas Tree's vocals. He looked behind him, and Wilbur grinned nervously as he replaced Christ the Singing Christmas Tree on his pedestal.

"Wilbur!" Cornelius said. He jumped up and shook Franny. "Franny, wake up, Wilbur's back."

"Wilbur?" Franny asked as she sat up, looking towards her son. As soon as she laid eyes on him, she was at him, hugging him so tightly Wilbur was sure he was turning blue.

"Wilbur Robinson, where have you been?!" She asked, finally releasing her son and stepping back, crossing her arms and tapping her foot.

"Um…2007?" Wilbur said, grinning, trying to look innocent.

"And what were you doing in 2007?" Franny asked.

"Uh…visiting Lewis?" Wilbur tried again.

"When you know you're not allowed to use the time machine?" Franny said.

Ooh, she had him there.

"Yeah." Wilbur said, sighing in defeat. "Look, I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Other than taking the time machine, you mean?"

Wilbur winced. His mother was right, as always.

"Aw, Franny, don't be too hard on him." Cornelius said. "He was only trying to wish Lewis merry Christmas."

Franny whirled around and poked her husband in the chest. "Don't you side with him, Cornelius Robinson. You know what he did was wrong. I told you giving him a time machine of his own wasn't a good idea!"

Franny immediately realized what she had said and slapped her hand over her face as Wilbur's eyes widened.

"Whoa, wait." He said. "I'm getting my own time machine?!"

"It was supposed to be your Christmas gift from your mother and I." Cornelius explained. "It was supposed to be a surprise."

Franny smiled apologetically. "Sorry." She said.

"My own time machine?" Wilbur questioned again. He was beginning to wonder if he was dreaming.

Cornelius chuckled at the look on his son's face. "Yes, your own time machine. That way, you can stop stealing mine and the prototype can go back into the time lab."

"Seriously?!" Wilbur said. "My own time machine?"

"There are some ground rules, however, young man." Franny said. "Like you're not to use it to do anything your father and I wouldn't approve of, like going back to make sure you don't do something that could get you in trouble. As for going to see Lewis, I guess that's fine, as long as you tell us next time, or at least leave a hologram telling us."

Wilbur nodded. "I can do that, Mom, I swear!" He said.

"Mm hm." Franny said.

Silence came between the three for a minute as Wilbur looked at the ground.

"So, uh…am I grounded?" He asked.

Franny and Cornelius looked at each other.

"No, you're not grounded." Cornelius said. "I don't think grounding you on Christmas is fair, and you were only trying to make Lewis's Christmas special so…no, you're not grounded."

Wilbur grinned. "Thanks, Dad!"

"But—" His mother interjected. "Pull something like that, again, young man, and you'll be grounded til you die."

Wilbur winced again. He could hear the seriousness in Franny's voice.

"Now, what do you say we wake up the rest of the family?" Cornelius asked, putting his arm around Franny. "It is Christmas morning, after all."

Wilbur nodded. "You said it!"

Franny laughed. "I'll go wake up the family." She said. "Meanwhile, you boys head up to the lab and get Wilbur's gift out. Now that he knows I don't think it's fair to keep him waiting any longer."
"Sure thing, honey." Cornelius said, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." She said, smiling back.

"Okay, if the PDA fest is over…" Wilbur interrupted, "Can we please get back to Christmas?"

His parents laughed.

"Oh, and here are the family albums." Wilbur said, digging into his backpack and bringing out the old photo album.

"You had them?" Franny asked.

Before she could ask any more questions, Cornelius put his hand on Wilbur's shoulder. "I'll explain everything later, honey." He promised. "Just go wake up the rest of the family. We'll be back down in a minute."

Franny nodded and turned around. Cornelius and Wilbur did the same, walking towards the lab.

After entering the lab, Cornelius walked over to the shelf that sat above his old desk, removing a tiny wrapped box. He handed it to Wilbur.

"We had to shrink it to get it out of lab." He said when he noticed the look of question on his son's face. "Go ahead, open it."

Wilbur eagerly tore at the paper, opening the tiny box to reveal a tiny, thumb sized time machine. It looked just like the red prototype time machine, but it had a black paintjob, and even though it was tiny, Wilbur could see the Captain Time Travel upside-down lightning bolt planted on the steering wheel and on the side of the door.

"Thanks, Dad." Wilbur said, grinning up at his father.

Cornelius ruffled his son's hair. "You're welcome son." He said. "You can try it out later. I've already given it a test run, ensuring that it's not going to blow up or anything, and it works just fine."

Wilbur cocked an eyebrow. "Is this one crash-resistant?"

Cornelius laughed. "Wilbur, for you, nothing is crash-resistant."

"Ouch." Wilbur said. "That hurts, buddy."

Cornelius laughed again. "Why don't you go put it and your backpack in your room? We'll un-Cupidize it later. Right now, it sounds like the rest of the family is up."

The sound of Chris the Singing Christmas Tree singing, Gaston shooting himself out of his cannon, and Laszlo's paint gun going off and Tallulah screaming in anger confirmed this idea.

Wilbur nodded. "Room right, got it." He said. "Merry Christmas, Dad."

"Merry Christmas, son." Cornelius said as Wilbur bolted down the stairs to his room. He surveyed his room for a moment, trying to find a safe place for him to put the tiny time machine for the moment, before finally deciding his bedside table was the safest place. He hit the button on his wall that would take him to the second level of his room, stepping onto the Lev Platform. He carefully walked over to his beside table and placed the time machine gingerly on it.

"Hm…wait a minute!" He said. "The walkie-talkie!"

He dumped his backpack on his bed and rummaged through it, bringing out the walkie-talkie. He sat it next to the time machine, as a reminder to put it in the glove box later.

"There we go." He said. "Merry Christmas, Lewis."

With that, he walked back over to the Lev Platform and pressed the button, running out the door as soon as it was on the ground again, towards the living room where the rest of his family waited.

Okay, whoever guessed it was a time machine that Wilbur was getting for Christmas, you get a cookie!

Thanks again to everyone who stayed loyal to this story, no matter how long it took me to update it. :) I really couldn't have done it without you guys!

Merry belated Christmas, everyone!

Oh, and can you believe we're celebrating over a year of Meet the Robinsons already?! Seriously, where did the time go...

-Robin