Got….?Fandom: Fringe
Rating: G
Word count: 454
Note: For
scifiland —A fic challenge for a holiday in April.
“Walter?” Peter called as he strolled into the lab. “Are you here? What the hell time did you leave this morning?” Hearing a shuffling and keening to his right, he headed to Gene’s stall. Sure enough, there was Walter, crouched on the stool, his hands working beneath the huge white and black spotted creature. “Morning, Gene. Morning,…Walter” he said warily as he saw Walter’s head bobbing, lips moving, white earbud wires hanging. Glancing down, he instantly recoiled. The bucket below Gene’s udders was filled with a dark liquid. “Geeesh! Walter! What the f- WALTER!” He strode forward and waved in front of Walter’s downturned face and simultaneously pointed at the bucket. Walter started, then looked up smiling. “Good morning, son! Isn’t this marvelous?” He got to his feet, lifting the bucket and tipping it toward Peter.
Peter stared aghast at the brown fluid contents. “Walter what the hell is that? There’s got to be something wrong with Gene!”
Walter looked at him delightedly. “On the contrary! It’s a wonderful breakthrough!” To Peter’s horror, he raised the bucket to his mouth and took a swig. Smacking his lips, he said, “Chocolate milk, straight from the source!” Peter’s shock turned to disbelief, rendering him near-speechless. “Wh-wha-whaaaa…”
“I’ve been working on it for weeks,” Walter said airily, as he brushed past to the lab table. He began pouring the liquid from the bucket into a beaker; Peter gaped, noting that yeah, it sure did look like chocolate milk. His mind began reeling over the possibilities while in the background Walter’s voice prattled on about “cacao beans…extract…steroidal compound to carry it through the cell walls…” Then: “Here, Peter, do try some. I assure you it is quite safe” and the beaker being handed towards him. Almost involuntarily, he reached out for it, his eyes focused on the fluid within.
Suddenly a shout came from the back. “DAMMIT! Not again! Walter, didn’t I tell you!” and into the lab strode Astrid, eyes fiery. “You left the lid off and I knocked it over, and there’s Nestle’s Quik all over the counter! Again!”
She lunged into the circle: Walter holding Gene’s milk pail and proffering the beaker, Peter reaching toward it, and herself holding out a brown and yellow carton adorned with a cartoon rabbit. They froze in position, eyes darting from person to person, and with the quickness of highly intelligent people took it all in, light dawning on each from his or her own position. Walter broke first, beginning to guffaw, bending over and gasping for air. “Oh, Peter, if you’d only seen your face. April Fool’s, April Fool’s! Har-har-har-har!” while Astrid and Peter lowered their arms, first glaring, then, lips twitching, finally joining in his laughter.