Who: Penny Zimmerman, Dr. Jonas Zimmerman (NPC), Susan Zimmerman (NPC), Markl Zimmerman (NPC) What: Solo; the Zimmerman's get a surprise visit. When: Backdated to Sunday (because I fail so hard) Where: Zimmerman household. Rating: PG.
Dr. Zimmerman had a doctorate in genetics, though it was a small title for all of the advances and discoveries he had made in the field of science. The island was far too small for him to continue his extensive research, thus he primarily worked outside of the island developing the second phase of his beloved Genome Project. Now that the test subjects were maturing and growing into their powers, it was time to see just how much good they could do in the world with their DNA. Before he did that though, there was something very important he had to do.
He had to go see his grandchildren.
It was a typical Sunday afternoon at the Zimmerman household. Penny's mother was making bread as Markl played with his building blocks. Penny half watched over him and half read Wuthering Heights. She had to admit that part of it peeked her attention whereas the other part was just her going through the motions of school work. Had this not been a school assignment with a due date attached to it, she was sure she would have enjoyed it much more. Just the fact that she was forced to rush through it put her off.
The sound of the doorbell ringing brought Penny out of her thoughts long enough to see Markl running toward the door. She tossed her book aside and followed him, not nearly as quick as he was, though quick enough to make it in time to see who was on the other side. "Gwandpa!" shouted Markl before launching himself into the older man’s arms.
Jonas Zimmerman had a bellowing laugh. Though his hair was white, he was still fit enough to pick up his grandson and hug him tightly. "Markl! My, have you grown." He smiled, and his eyes crinkled behind his oval glasses. Markl was just as happy to see the grandfather he rarely saw on a regular basis yet still remembered him perfectly despite being so young. "I'm so glad to see you too."
Jonas adjusted Markl on his hip before turning to smile at Penny, who had yet to say a word. All she had done was stand there and watch as Markl hugged their grandfather. "Penny," he said to her. His eyes were almost sad, though Penny couldn't tell by just looking at him. And slowly, a smile grew on her face, and she walked over to hug him as well.
"Hi, Grandpa."
He kissed the top of her head and reluctantly put Markl down to hug her properly. "And how's my little girl?"
Penny had missed her grandfather. She couldn't actually remember when was the last time she'd seen him, or even when the last time Markl had seen him. Though, hugging him now, she remembered the comfortable, soothing feeling of being in his arms. "I'm okay, Grandpa," she said. Of course, she was a teenager. Teenagers were rarely just okay, and Jonas knew that Penny had more problems than the average teenager. Still, he believed her.
Letting her go, he held her at arms length and looked her over with a smile, gently brushing some of her hair behind her ear. "You're growing up to be a beautiful young woman, my Penny."
Penny blushed and looked down, fixing whatever hair he had misplaced at his touch. "Thanks." It didn't seem that way to her. She didn't feel beautiful, especially not after everything that happened with Bast and her constant illnesses. He was obligated to say that anyway. He was her grandfather, and she was his granddaughter. It was in the rule books somewhere.
"I'm serious," he insisted. "You grow more beautiful every time I see you. How are those allergies treating you?"
Penny shrugged and half turned to stroll back into the house. Markl had already zoomed right back to his blocks, beginning again where he had left off. "About the same," she replied.
He followed her into the house where Penny's mother was coming around the bend of the kitchen to see who their visitor was. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him. "Jonas?" she said with surprise in her voice. One look at Penny though and she was all smiles again. "It's so good to see you again." They hugged.
"It's good to see you too, Susan. How's the paper business?"
"Oh, you know," she said, tugging Penny over to her and wrapping her arms around Penny's shoulders, hugging her almost protectively. "It's going well. Andrew's there now. You know he's a workaholic. Got some new help, one of Penny's friends from school even." She combed Penny's hair absently with her fingers.
Penny half looked up at her mother with mild curiosity. She knew her mother loved her, sure, but she couldn't remember the last time her mother held her like this. It felt like she was trying to keep Penny away from her grandfather, as if he was some sort of stranger. If Jonas had noticed the strange behavior, however, he made no remark and showed no signs of recognizing it.
"I'm so glad to hear that," Jonas replied. "And Penny, I have a present for you." He smiled at Penny and her mother as he dug through his bag for something. Penny could feel Susan's arms tightening ever so slightly around her, though she wanted to know what this present was.
"Will you be staying long, Jonas?" Susan asked suddenly, clearly not as interested in the present as Penny was. Eventually, Jonas pulled out what looked to be a journal with a fancy pen set and handed it to Penny. Penny accepted it with a smile and ran her fingers over it lovingly. Anything that had to do with writing and words and putting words on paper made Penny giddy with delight.
"Thank you, Grandpa," Penny said, looking up at her mom and showing it to her. Susan seemed not to notice.
"You're very welcome, my Penny," he said. "And not too long, Suzy. Just for a few weeks at most. Came back to celebrate Mark's fourth birthday. Oh!" He laughed his deep, rumbling laugh. "But don't worry, I've rented a small cottage down by the beach. Wouldn't want to disturb the family dynamic here at home."
Susan quietly sighed in relief, though her arms never moved from Penny's shoulders. "Markl," she corrected, "And well, you know you're welcome here anytime, Jonas."
"Of course. Markl." Jonas nodded. "And yes, Suzy. I'm well aware."