This is for my cousin (s/n raven lynn morrigan) who is ill. She loves the POM cartoons and would often describes herself as the perfect mix of "Rico's psychotic rage, Private's adorableness, Kowalski's genius, and Skipper's raving paranoia." Which once lead me to quip that means she's Eggy. She literally stopped what she was doing turned around gave me the evil eye and said she would never give up to start dancing. Here is to hoping she gets better soon. Rated T for humor of a more mature nature that is inevitable given the story line. They might get away with it sometimes in the cartoon but I'm not going to risk it here.
SAM
Across the park from the zoo a lone figure perches in the trees under the cover of darkness. With a pair of binoculars the figure scans the zoo habitats until the targets are spotted. The figure lingers on one stocky penguin with a buzz cut.
Inside the zoo Skipper who waits for his team to enter the HQ after the night's maneuvers suddenly looks around. As if sensing what he cannot see.
"Something the matter Skipper?"
A smile spreads across his beak. "Its her."
"Pardon?"
Skipper turns around to find Private watching him. "Its late better turn in. We have an early wake-up in the morning."
Private starts toward the security hatch but stops. "Aren't you coming Skipper?"
"In a minute Private." Skipper waits for Private to enter the HQ after Rico and Kowalski before he somersaults over the habitat fence and belly slides to the wall. He takes a good look around to make sure he isn't being followed before leaping over the wall and into the park. He wanders among the trees until he is stopped in his tracks by a throwing star. Skipper evades several more of them. "Its just me...Skip-" Skipper dodges another of the throwing stars that just barely misses him. "-Take it easy Sammie Baby. If I didn't know any better I would think you're really trying to hurt me."
"Don't you Sammie Baby me."
Skipper picks up a rock to use as a shield to ward off the next throwing star that comes at him. "I forgot you're even more dangerous than Rico when you're mad."
"Mad? I passed mad a long time ago."
Skipper ducks into the cover of a hollowed out tree trunk as several more throwing stars come his way. "Enough already! Clearly you're upset at me. Just come down from there without all the ninja weapons and lets talk this out like civilized birds."
"Civilized? Is that what you call two timing backstabbers these days?"
Skipper dares to look out when the fluttering of wings catches his attention. He is met only by a sharp slap upside the beak. "What was that for?" Skipper looks down at several photographs that flutter inside. One is of him with Kitka, another is of him with Doris the Dolphin, the one he gulps at is from his honeymoon in Monte Carlo after he married Dollface in Africa.
"Sam I can explain."
"About Doris the Dolphin behind Kowalski's back? Or your romance with Kitka? How about your marriage to a doll? I'm not even sure what to think about this Marlene."
Skipper looks down at another picture that flutters in. "Marlene? She's just a friend. And Doris wasn't what you think. I just thought she was a spy for Dr. Blowhole and I had to find some way to get close enough to her to figure it out. Kitka wasn't...well okay maybe Kitka was...but that's over now. Dollface didn't even mean anything to me. We were stuck in Africa and I thought I would never see you again...and well a guy has needs." Skipper finally ventures out of the tree and finds the bird standing with her back to him. "If it helps we had the marriage annulled for irreconcilable differences in Monte Carlo on the honeymoon...she was fun but she just couldn't replace you."
"You were a workaholic even on the honeymoon and she left you for a discount christmas nutcracker."
"How did you know about that?"
"Manfreedy's brother was in Monte Carlo on assignment."
"All that is in the past Sammie Baby. Right now its just you and me alone under the stars in Central Park."
"Is that supposed to make me forgive you?"
"Sammie-"
"-we're two different birds Skipper...lets just accept it. We'll always have Denmark." She flies back up into the tree.
Skipper starts to walk away with his head down dejected. He was stupid getting involved with all those others when all he really ever cared about was his Sammie. The Secret Agent Midnight that came to his aid in Denmark. Sam that he once partnered with on a highly classified mission. The Sammie Baby that he spent so many wild shore leaves with afterward. He stops suddenly and squares his shoulders refusing to let all they had be thrown away. "No...I won't just accept it." Skipper leaps at one tree springing of it with a kick that propels him upward. He repeats this between two trees until he is in the tree top with Sam.
Sam doesn't turn away from the moon that her dark form is silouted against. "Skipper-"
"-from now on its just you and me Sammie Baby. No Dollface...no Kitka...no other girls. Forget about Denmark...I'd rather re-live Venice."
"We never had a mission in Venice."
"That was shore leave back in '89. I bet that was one trip the gondolier never forgot. You know its the anniversary of that night."
She turns around to face Skipper. "You remembered?"
"How could I forget? So what do you say just you and me alone in Central Park under the stars?"
The next morning Rico, Kowalski, and Private awaken to find the tape recorder in Skipper's bunk.
Kowalski looks questioningly at the other two before pushing play.
Skipper's voice fills the HQ. "Change of plans men. Shore leave granted for today."