A/N: Hello again! Another average length chapter. I was hoping this one would be longer, but I felt like the ending was very nice, and that it stopped at a good point. Also, a shoutout and special thanks to the lovely and amazing Fallon Skywalker, who preread this for me, and totally fangirled over it. ;D Love you Fallykins! ;3 PLEASE take a moment and go check out her fanfics! THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!

Read and review, pwetty pwease? And as always,

keep moving foward.

~T.R.

Lewis, Franny and Wilbur all blundered down the very long, very wide staircase that wound down the center of the Robinson house. Wilbur wondered how anyone got anything done in that time; everyone spent so much time running around, and up and down stairs. How did they have time for anything else? He figured that at this age, whenever Lewis wasn't in some college lecture, he probably spent most of his time up in his lab, wasting the nights away inventing.

They were about a dozen feet from the ground, when a brilliant idea popped into Wilbur's head. He got a good running start, and leapt up onto the banister, on his stomach with his feet towards the floor. He shot down the freshly polished banister, grinning at what he considered his "self awesomeness". Franny burst into giggles, and proceeded to do the same. She came crashing down upon Wilbur, who had landed at the foot of the stairs with a crash. Lewis jumped the last few stairs to find his future wife, and future son lying in a giggling heap on the floor. He stood for a minute, gazing at them, thinking back (...forward?) to the amazing future that was in store for him.

Lewis was snapped from his daydream, and Wilbur and Franny were startled from the floor when Lewis' adoptive mother fairly ran into the foyer, saying, "There you kids are! I was just coming up to get you! Cornelius, you're so clean! I thought I hear you working on your secret invention! Oh, won't you tell us what it is? Or at least me! I'll keep it a secret!" Lucille threw her arm around her son's shoulders and gave him a rough hug, shaking him around spastically. Lewis laughed, his face lighting up with happiness. His mother was so enthusiastic and excitable. And loving.

"I cleaned up a bit for dinner, Mom. Say, um, is it okay if Franny and my- er, penpal Wilbur stay for dinner? Fran's already called her parents, and Wilbur... well he has permission." Wilbur cringed as Lewis gave him a hard look that all but said, That doesn't mean you're not in for it when you get back. Your mother and I are going to punish you so hard when you go back... The partially open threat is what made Wilbur cringe. What sort of cruelty could failed math, a yet again stolen time machine, and not completing his previous punishment bring upon him?

"Well of course Franny can stay! You know you're always welcome dear!" Lucille said happily. "I see why you cleaned yourself up Neil." She whispered, elbowing him in the shoulder. Wilbur nearly laughed out loud, smashing his open palm over his mouth, and making a strange coughin noise.

"Mooom." Lewis hissed, turning bright red. Thankfully Franny was already halfway into the dining room and didn't notice.

Wilbur would have to think about his terrible punishment later, because his grandmother (Geez, she so... young. thought Wilbur) had grabbed him by the hand and was shaking it violently saying, "Oooh, it's nice to meet you! I didn't know Cornelius had a penpal!" Grinning from ear to ear, she dragged Lewis and Wilbur into the dining room, with Franny skipping along ahead. It was apparent that Franny has stayed for dinner many a time before, because she seemed to know what was coming. Everyone was gathering, and they all seated themselves at the long table. Franny fit right into the picture, as both Lewis and Wilbur thought.

As Wilbur settled into his chair (the one he always sat in at dinner time in the future), he looked around. It was the same, but... different. The table was so... empty. With just his grandparents, and parents as kids, it was an entirely different experience. And on top of that, Wilbur caught himself wondering what was taking Carl so long. He smiled to himself, and looked up to see Lucille bringing in... spaghetti! Wilbur glanced at Lewis, who was grinning meaningfully at him from across the table. Spaghetti was a meaningful meal for nearly everyone now. In the future, the Robinsons always spoke fondly of "Lewis", poking fun at father and son when they had spaghetti dinners.

The large dish of spaghetti was placed in the middle of them, and everyone began eagerly to serve each other. Wilbur was casually eating his food, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lewis wink at Franny. A high pitched giggle escaped her lips, but she clapped her hand over her mouth before anyone else noticed. Wilbur instantly knew what was coming, and couldn't help but grin. He watched, still eating slowly and with upstanding manners, as Franny and Lewis both quietly loaded their forks with noodles dripping with red sauce. His grin spreading wider, as Wilbur braced himself for war.

Lewis suddenly nodded, and Franny nodded back. And then it was every man for himself! The two kids were flinging faster than Wilbur could keep up. Lucille was laughing her crazy laugh, and Bud was picking spaghetti off of the back (...which was his front...) of his shirt while trying to throw with the other hand. Before long, the dining room was ringing with loud laughter, though not the same as Wilbur was used to in the future. His mother's laugh was shrill and girlish, and his father's what still high pitched and young. Not to mention, there were plenty of laughs missing. But it was interesting to Wilbur, seeing his dad as a kid in his future home.

After a good five minutes the laughter died down to occasional chuckles, and everyone began to clear away the table. A new thing for Wilbur, since all of his life Carl and the Mini Carls had done it for them. It was fun though, he could laugh and joke with his family's younger selves. It made him stop and think. He saw now more than ever why Lewis had wanted so much to stay in the future, to be a Robinson before his time. The grass always seemed to be greener on the other side... Wilbur caught himself several times while going back and forth from the dining room to the kitchen thinking, What if I just stayed here... not forever, but... He had to shake himself, and remember the trouble time traveling had gotten them into before. More and more, his visit here was beginning to seem like a bad idea. It was only a matter of time before it all went sour...