Heheh, here's that quikie I've been working on for a few days. Took me about 4 hours to write I think. Anyways, hope you all like it! Especially the ending ^^
Zee-Zee looked up from the game he was playing with Nate and Zoe when he heard the phone ring. He was ahead of him by about twenty spaces in Candy Land at the moment while Zoe was behind him by only two spaces. Zoe chuckled and knocked her piece over, “I give up. You two keep playing and I’ll make dinner once I’m off the phone.” Nate groaned good naturedly, having hoped Zoe would beat Zee-Zee this time since he’d won three games before this one.
“Hello, Gittara residence, this is Zoe speaking.” Zoe said when she’d picked the phone up and placed the receiver to her ear. She flinched when a frantic voice sounded in her ear. “Zena? What is it? Calm down I can’t make it out.” Zoe gingerly placed the phone back to her ear while Zee-Zee listened in intently on hearing his mom’s name. “Really?” Zoe asked sounding concerned. Then her fur fluffed up in irritation. “Well go on then stupid! Get going! Baby comes first!” Zoe went quiet for a bit. “As if you need to ask, or course we’ll keep Zee-Zee. You two get going NOW!”
Zee-Zee was confused for a bit as to what the call was about until Zoe said baby. His new sister! Was she coming? Then his thoughts ran onto the keep him part… wait a minute. They wouldn’t!... would they? Zee-Zee suddenly felt his heart skip a beat before it went cold. He felt tears coming and ran off, leaving a confused Nate behind as he went up to the bedrooms.
Zoe walked back out of the kitchen where the phone was located and looked around the living room. “Nate? Where’d Zee-Zee go?” She glanced back into the kitchen to make sure he hadn’t snuck past her to go use the potty in the half bathroom back there.
“He ran upstairs for some reason.” Nate said, still staring up where Zee-Zee had gone. He finally turned back to Zoe and asked, “Is Aunt Zena okay?”
“Her water broke sweetie.” Zoe explained. “Zee-Zee’s new sister is on the way a bit sooner than expected. Zed’s dashing around like a confused Linoone getting things for her so they can go and Zena, bless her heart, was worried about Zee-Zee so she called and he’ll be staying here tonight with us.”
“Why’d you sound so mad?” Nate asked curiously, tilting his head to one side.
“Oh, I just got a little flustered is all.” Zoe said shaking it off. “They were worrying needlessly and not getting themselves to the hospital as fast as they should have been. I’m gonna go check on Zee-Zee and give him the news. Would you start calling the friends of theirs we do know? Raikan, Warren, folks like that and let them all know? I don’t know how many of them pray or not but well wishes always bring a bit of luck.”
“Okay!” Nate said, before he scampered off to the phone. Zoe meanwhile began padding up the stairs to find out where the little squirrel had gotten to…
***
Zee-Zee had dashed right into Nate’s room, lifted the bars of his crib, and hid underneath it, letting the bars come back down behind him. Curling up in a corner, he let the tears from earlier begin falling. Mommy was finally having her baby. Zoe got mad on the phone when they called. She said they’d keep him! They were giving him up so they could have another baby! Why would they do that to him? Sure he liked the Gittaras but he loved his parents! Weren’t they proud of him? He was almost out of trainers. He was a big boy, he was clever… did that not matter to them anymore? Did… HE not matter to them anymore? Zee-Zee stifled a sob as it rose in his throat. Why?…
***
“Zee-Zee? Are you okay sweetie?” Zoe called out. “Where are you? I’ve got something to tell you.” She listened for him after checking and seeing he wasn’t in the upstairs bathroom. Hearing a faint sound down the hall, she padded towards it and listened again. Hearing it was coming from Nate’s room, she poked her head in and heard a sound that was surpassed only by the sound of a cub in pain on her list of sounds she disliked, a cub crying. Then she realized there was a sound that beat both of them together, it was the sound of a heart breaking. With a stifled gasp, she located the sound quickly and threw herself to the floor to find Zee-Zee crying his eyes out beneath Nate’s crib. “Zee-Zee?” Zoe asked worriedly. “What’s wrong sweetie?”
“Go away…” was her choking response.
Unfortunately for Zee-Zee, it was never in Zoe’s nature to leave a cub alone when they’re hurt. Yanking up the bars of the crib and locking them in place, Zoe reached her arms underneath the crib and pulled Zee-Zee out swiftly. She was scarce prepared for the result.
“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Zee-Zee screamed, thrashing for all he was worth in Zoe’s grasp, even striking her a few times with his flailing paws. Zoe was terribly confused by what could have caused Zee-Zee to act like this but acted quickly nevertheless. Grabbing a blanket from inside the crib she tangled Zee-Zee’s paws in it by throwing it over him and then positioning her arms in such a manner that the cub was pinned and able to do little more than squirm. Hot tears splashed all around and Zee-Zee screamed until hiccups choked him off. Finally he stopped squirming and went limp in Zoe’s arms, simply sobbing into her shirt. Zoe simply hugged Zee-Zee for a while before she wrapped the blanket a bit more firmly around him, just in case he started thrashing again. She wasn’t worried about herself, she just didn’t want Zee-Zee to end up getting hurt by accident. She stood up and carried the still crying squirrel into the hallway and called down the stairs.
“Nate? Have you called Raikan yet?”
“I just got him, why?” Nate called back up.
“Would you mind asking your Uncle Rai if he would be willing to make you dinner without asking any questions? It’s gonna take me awhile to make dinner so it’d really help if you’d fly over there for dinner.”
There was silence for a moment before, “Will I have to stay the night?”
“Maybe.” Zoe answered. “I’ll call and ask if you do.”
Silence again aside from a conversation she couldn’t catch. “He says no questions sounds urgent so he’ll do it.”
“Tell him thanks and I’ll explain later!” Zoe said as she padded into the bathroom. “You can go ahead and just fly over there now little guy.”
“Okay!” Nate called up the stairs. He knew Zoe well enough by the tone of her voice that something was wrong but it was better not to ask questions. Saying goodbye to Raikan after telling him he’d be over in a minute, Nate hung up the phone, dashed out the back door, shut it behind him, and took off into the night… after hitting the bottom of Sai’s treehouse. He still hadn’t quite gotten used to it being there yet…
Zee-Zee only barely registered the conversation going on. His crying had put him into an almost half-sleep state. Dimly he noticed he’d wet his trainers, but he found he didn’t really care. What was the point in trying to be a big boy if it didn’t even matter to his parents? Plus as much as he liked the Gittaras he was pretty sure if he ended up living with them he’d end up back in diapers anyway. He was finally quiet now, but if he could, he’d still be crying. Zoe set the miserable squirrel on the floor and unwrapped him from the blanket. Fortunately, Zee-Zee was in just his trainers at the moment, having been convinced by Nate earlier it was more comfortable that way. The Gittaraskept their house pretty toasty so shedding a layer helped out. Plus he was still at the age where it was fun to go around with a lot of fur showing sometimes anyway. Zoe started some bathwater going with her tail while she deftly tore away the sides of Zee-Zee’s soaked trainer. Picking the boy up, she dipped a hand in the rapidly filling tub to make sure she wasn’t going to make alphabet soup with two Z’s and boil the squirrel, she set him into the water and cupped some in her paw before letting it fall down the back of the boy’s head. Zee-Zee came-to a little at the feeling and sniffled.
I thought warm water might do the trick. Zoe thought to herself. “Zee-Zee sweetie? What’s wrong?”
“Why?” was Zee-Zee’s only word said after a minute of silence.
“Why what sweetie?” Zoe asked, still feeling very confused and wishing Ninetales were here. A mind reader would help immensely right about now.
“Why would they give me up?” Zee-Zee asked, finally looking at Zoe. His eyes were red with crying and his face streaked with tears. No more tears were forthcoming however as he’d already cried himself out. “Don’t they love me anymore?”
“Wha…” Zoe began before things began to click into place. With a gasp and a paw clapped to her mouth, she stared at Zee-Zee with a horrified expression. “Zee-Zee? Do you think you’re mommy and daddy are giving you away?”
Zee-Zee nodded, his lip quivering. “You said you’d keep me.” He said, close to sobbing again.
Zoe’s eyes went wide again. “OH SWEETIE!” she sobbed, before throwing her arms around the squirrel. “I’d never, ever, EVER, do that! If your parents tried to get rid of you, I’d go over to your house, tie their tails in a knot, smack their head together and scream at them what are they thinking!”
“B-but…” Zee-Zee stuttered, “You said… and my sister… you were… so mad.” Zee-Zee ceased speaking coherently at that point and was chocked off by hiccups again.
Zoe gasped and looked back at exactly what she’d said. Thinking about it she saw from how listening to just her side of the conversation Zee-Zee could have gotten on that train of thought. “Zee-Zee, you listen to me.” Zoe said sternly. Zee-Zee looked up at her worriedly. “You are the sweetest…” she broke off giving him a kiss to the top of his head, “kindest…” another kiss, “cleverest… most wonderful… adorable… grown-up… little squirrel boy I’ve ever met. They say there’s nothing like a mother’s love. If I can say things like that to you, just imagine what your mother would say about you.”
“B-but…” Zee-Zee was cut off by a finger and another hiccup.
“No but’s Zee-Zee.” Zoe said. “Your mommy loves you and she’s not giving you up.”
“But you said… and the call…” Zee-Zee said questioningly.
“I’m sorry, that was my fault Zee-Zee.” Zoe said sadly. “Sounds like you guessed but your mommy is having her baby now. The sign happened at home and your daddy panicked a little bit. He was rushing to get things they’d need so his first worry was for your mommy and the baby. Your mommy though, after the shock thought about you right away. She called us and told me what was going on. I was shocked when she thought she had to ask if we’d watch you while she went to the hospital and was irritated they weren’t already on their way. That’s why I sounded so mad and why I said I’d keep you. I was worried about her and wanted her to get going.”
Zee-Zee felt a spark of hope flare in his chest. “Then that means…?” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the question. Partially because he still had hiccups and partially because he was hoping what he wanted to ask was true.
“No sweetie, you’re not gonna come live with us.” Zoe said, smirking and sounding sarcastically disappointed. “You’re just gonna be here the night, or for however long you need to stay until your mommy and the baby get home.” Zee-Zee sobbed again, this time from happiness and the water splashed a bit as he reached up to hug Zoe. Zoe smiled and hugged Zee-Zee back, not minding the least bit that her shirt was getting wet. “It’s all gonna be okay sweetie. Now’s the time I should probably give you some advice though.”
Zee-Zee smiled, let go and relaxed, smiling at Zoe now. Zoe just let him soak in the warm water as she began. “I’m not gonna lie to you Zee-Zee, your parents are gonna be really busy with the new baby for a long time. It might seem at times they’re completely ignoring you, or that they don’t have any time for you anymore. A new baby is a lot of work, but guess what? They might need your help.”
“Changing diapers?” Zee-Zee asked, suddenly feeling a bit worried.
“Well they might ask you to help them but you’re a bit young yet to change one yourself.” Zoe laughed. “Most on that part is probably gonna be handing them a fresh one, or the powder and maybe throwing away the used one. But they may need your help with other stuff too. Your daddy might be at work and your mommy might need to go cook dinner. She might ask you to keep an eye on your sister while she’s busy, keep her happy and giggling, things like that. Plus you’re gonna be her big brother as she grows up. She’s gonna look up to you. Just think about it, she’s gonna learn a lot just by watching you do things. She’s gonna cry sometimes and you’re gonna be one of the first to hug her. For a long time, you’re gonna be one of her best friends! You’re gonna be like the world’s biggest and best living plushies for her.”
Zee-Zee was silent for a moment, just processing all Zoe had told her. The more he thought about it, the more he realized not only was he still important to his parents, but he was gonna be even more important now! Not to mention he was gonna be like a hero to his new little sister. Smiling, Zee-Zee threw his arms around Zoe again and began thanking her profusely for making him feel so much better.
“You’re welcome Zee-Zee.” Zoe said, happier now that the normally cheerful Zee-Zee was back again. “Now, as I said before, the new baby is gonna keep your parents busy. There will be some other things they might need your help with. You’re gonna have to grow up a bit more here soon. They may need you to do certain things on your own now. You’re gonna have to bathe and dress yourself more often, be on your best behavior as much as possible and stuff like that. There are gonna be some times too where you’re gonna feel like you’re not getting any attention.” Zee-Zee widened his eyes at the last part. “But I know a couple tricks to get some more attention if you want it.”
“What?” Zee-Zee asked excitedly now. “How will I get them to pay attention to me?”
“The first idea is if you can’t beat ‘em, join them.” Zoe said. When Zee-Zee looked at her quizzically, she chuckled and explained, “You’re not gonna be able to steal all the attention away from your sister whenever you want it. For awhile, she’s going to NEED the attention whereas you can go with a little less now. So if you can’t get all the attention you want, share the attention your sister is getting.”
“What’s that mean?” Zee-Zee asked.
“Act like a baby.”
“What? But I’m a big squirrel!” Zee-Zee protested. “I don’t wanna be a baby!”
“Let me rephrase that then.” Zoe said quickly. “Play pretend you are. Your mommy might find it easier to pay attention to you if she’s doing the same thing for you as she is your sister. Think of it as a clever way to get attention and a good way to show how grown up you are by instead of taking attention away from your sister, sharing the attention she’s getting. Then you still get plenty of attention and your sister still has all the attention she needs.”
“Oh…” Zee-Zee said, thinking about it for a bit. When she put it that way it did sound pretty clever. He still had his doubts on the grown up part though. “What’s the other idea?”
“That one is even easier.” Zoe said. “If your mommy and daddy are too busy, ask them if you can come over to visit us. If you feel lonely, ask your parents and call us, then we’ll send somebody to come pick you up and we’ll play with you. Unless we’re out in town, Skippa and I are always home and you know Nate is always happy to play with you. And it doesn’t even need to be us come to think of it. If they’re not busy you could always go see your Uncle Raikan or go play with Lig or just about any of the other cubs around here.”
Zee-Zee thought about that for a moment and smiled. “I like that idea.” Zee-Zee said. “Thank you Aunt Zoe.”
“You’re welcome Zee-Zee.” Zoe said, taking the happier squirrel out of the tub and wrapping him up in a big, fluffy towel. Zee-Zee squirmed and giggled when she gently tickled him through it for a bit. Just as she stopped, the phone rang again. Zoe carried Zee-Zee into her bedroom where another phone was located and picked it up. “Hello? …. Really? …. Is she doing okay? …. Well that’s good. …. Yes, I’ll let him know. …. Oh don’t worry about that. I told you before you don’t even have to ask. He’ll be fine here. …. Okay then, bye.”
“Was that about mommy?” Zee-Zee asked, sounding just a little worried.
“Yes sweetie, it was.” Zoe said, setting the still swaddled squirrel down on her bed. She sat down and pulled him up into a seated position beside her. “It turns out sweetie the whole thing was a false alarm. Your sister isn’t coming tonight. The good news is the doctors say she’s gonna be a very healthy baby when she’s born. She actually kicked inside your mommy there and did it so hard your mommy had an accident. They thought with the sudden sharp pain and the fluids that rushed out of her that it was time. Your mommy sounds like she’s fine and your sister didn’t hurt her but the doctors are gonna keep her overnight just in case. That means you’ll be staying here tonight.”
“Oh!” Zee-Zee said. He wasn’t sure what to think of that. Aside from the fact he was happy his mommy was okay, he didn’t know whether he was happy he was still an only child or disappointed his new sister wasn’t here yet. Who could blame him either? He did just go through a roller coaster of emotions.
“Now I’ve got another question for you.” Zoe said, laying Zee-Zee back down and unwrapping the towel from him.
“What?” Zee-Zee asked.
“Want some practice being treated a little bit like your sister?” Zoe asked, turning around and grabbing a diaper from the changing table in her room, holding it up to Zee-Zee with a smile.
“You’re just trying to get me back in diapers again aren’t you?” Zee-Zee asked with a cute death glare.
“No!” Zoe laughed. Zee-Zee kept glaring and Zoe giggled, “Okay, maybe just a little. But I do think it’d be a good idea.”
Zee-Zee stopped glaring and blushed. “Well…..”
***
Whether Zee-Zee agreed to the idea or not is unknown and probably never will be. Zee-Zee’ll probably claim he refused the idea and Zoe won’t say anything other than “Ask Zee-Zee what choice he made.” Not even Nate (who returned a few hours later by flying in through his bedroom window and fell asleep mid-air with a crash landing on a pile of plushies in his crib. All they would admit is that Zee-Zee slept soundly that night next to Zoe, looking forward to his new sister even more now…
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Fri Sep 24, 2010 12:37 pm
