just a quick one. i was watching day of disaster, and it occurred to me that i still hadn't written a certain fic i've had in my head for a while. this is that fic.

i suppose it's also an attempt to get back into the fan-fic-writing groove after months of not writing any; all my writing energies have been poured into original stuff or my advanced higher writing folio. there's a thought, results next week! -ulp-

anyway, hope you enjoy, and i will be updating my other fic later this week.

Of Apple Pie, Proud Fathers, and Edible Transmitters

Virgil sat fuming on his bed, waiting for the knock that would accompany the transmitter dissolver. From the look on his father's face as he'd mentioned it, Virgil had deduced that the medicine was distinctly unpleasant.

He was sure he hadn't eaten the damned thing. After all, Scott had taken most of the apple pie before Virgil had even reached the dining table. And he was pretty sure he'd have noticed the small capsule whilst chewing.

He'd been sitting around for a few minutes before impatience and curiosity got the better of him, and he peered outside. No one was coming to his room, and further along the corridor he saw Gordon and Scott peering curiously from their rooms.

"So who had it?" Gordon asked on seeing Virgil.

"Me, apparently," muttered Virgil grumpily. He just wanted to get it over with so he could get back to the new music that had arrived that morning. He scowled even deeper as Gordon burst into peals of laughter.

"It's not funny, Gordon!" he said tetchily.

"Funny, you'd think the dissolver would be ready by now," said Scott, looking back towards the sitting room.

"Yeah..." Virgil left his room and walked slowly back to the sitting room. What he saw there made him double up with laughter, and Scott and Gordon rushed to his side.

Alan was hidden behind an upside-down magazine which, on closer inspection, turned out to be one of Tin-Tin's; he appeared to be struggling to breathe, tears of mirth rolling down his cheeks. Tin-Tin herself was standing over Jeff rather ominously, spoon in hand. Jeff seemed to be plucking up the courage to open his mouth and allow Tin-Tin to shove the offending object in. On seeing his sons laughing at the doorway, he growled and allowed Tin-Tin to shovel the hated medicine into his waiting mouth.

The laughter increased with the expression on his face; he'd turned an odd shade of green, and his eyes were wide with horror. Taking pity, Tin-Tin handed him a glass of water.

Once Jeff had finally gotten over the shock of the taste, he smiled ruefully at his sons, who were still doubled up on the floor. Even Alan had given up on hiding behind the magazine, and was now giggling openly.

Virgil was first to recover.

"Now, Father, if you'd bothered to chew your food properly this wouldn't have happened," he scolded, a wicked grin plastered over his face.

"Yeah," chuckled Gordon, wiping tears from his eyes. "I'd have thought you'd have known when you'd eaten a transmitter."

At that point, John's portrait flashed.

"Everything okay? Someone's transmitter's been activated."

"False alarm, John," said Scott. "Grandma put an extra treat in the lunchtime apple pie by mistake. John's grin was almost vampire-like in the glow from the monitors on Five.

"Who had to have the dissolver?"

Jeff put his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes. John cackled ecstatically.

"You, Father?"

I'm never going to hear the end of this, thought Jeff wearily, terminating the transmission.