Disclaimer: I don't own Seabert. If I did, it would still be on T.V. The message was good, and the title character was CUTE! I miss that baby seal.

Summary: Nine years after his parents dragged him back to civilization, Tommy, now known as Tom since Tommy's more of a kid's name, goes back to Greenland. He goes not only to continue the work he started years ago in conservation and protecting endangered animals, but also to search for Seabert who had gone missing

True Calling

Tom was about to fall asleep doing homework. It had been nine years since he left Greenland due to intervention from his parents and was now back on public school. Personally, he would have rather stayed in the frozen wasteland with his friend Ora, her family, and his pet baby seal: Seabert.

He TRIED to tell his parents his life was halfway across the Atlantic. When he turned eighteen a couple of years ago, he even tried to move out of the house. But his father had a good bargain for him.

If Tom got a college degree, then he would have better luck raising awareness of endangered animals like he did when he was 12. And he could save money by staying at home and commuting.

What the young man did NOT realize was that college life was NOTHING compared to saving live animals.

Girls had TRIED to get his attention. After all, Tom had made quite a name for himself at the age of twelve. However, it took him a while to realize it, but he left his heart in Greenland with a certain Eskimo girl.

He tore his eyes away from the paper he was writing on sea lions for his Biology Exam and looked at a picture

It was a picture of a 12 year old him, an 11 year old Ora, and a baby seal with a collar. Tears sprang into his eyes as he thought about his closest friends

When he first left Greenland, he and Ora kept CONSTANT contact with a little help from Tom's ex-poacher uncle. She would inform him of what was happening in the village and with what little wildlife there was up there. In response, he would tell her about living in New York with his parents who weren't as fond as animals as he was.

However, as the weeks turned into months, the number of letters started dwindling. Tom had a feeling she hadn't written back because the contents in her last letter were NOT happy.

Seabert had gone missing

Tom had begged his Uncle Smokey and his two 'henchmen' to keep an eye out in case Seabert had just gone looking for him and he told Ora to write back as soon as she heard word.

He didn't mean LITTERALLY

Tom sat the picture down and felt a new rush of energy. As soon as he got this paper written, the sooner he could graduate, and the sooner he could return to Greenland to look for his pet seal

"Don't worry Seabert" Tom said quietly. "I'm coming"

0000

A few months later,

"Now are you certain this is what you want?" Tom's mother asked

"Yes Mom" he told her "I've wanted this ever since I fell in love with Greenland"

"Greenland or a certain Eskimo in Greenland?" Sulfuric teased

Tom gave his uncle's friend a 'shut up' look causing the trio of ex-poachers to laugh. Ever since Tom was old enough to be into girls, they have teased him relentlessly about Ora.

After saying his goodbyes to his parents and boarded his uncle's ship to set sail for the ice sheet known as Greenland, Tom leaned against the edge and watched the water as the air started getting colder and colder

"Doing okay Tommy?" his uncle asked as he joined him

"Just a bit nervous" Tom admitted ignoring the fact he outgrew the name 'Tommy' eight years ago

"Okay" Smokey sighed as he leaned against the edge like his nephew was doing. "There are some things we need to talk about before we get to Greenland."

"Like what?" Tom asked. "Don't mention the birds and the bees when it comes to me and Ora"

"I wasn't" Smokey confirmed. "but…nine years is a long time Tommy. You might have fallen in love with her, but she could be married with a kid by now for all we know"

Tom merely nodded knowing that his Uncle hadn't been to Greenland for a while as he was in the Pacific.

"As for Seabert…" Smokey continued. "You do realize the chances are pretty large that you MAY never see him again? There are animals out there that eat seals, adult and baby. Not to mention disease and poachers."

Tom nodded

"However," Smokey whispered making sure it was just between the two of them. "When I was in Africa, I DID hear a rumor about an albino harp seal. I'm not saying that was Seabert, but…"

"LAND HO!" Carbone yelled

Tom ran to the bow of the ship and looked out. There, above the blue of the ocean, was a mass of white land

Not two seconds after landing the ship, Tom literally jumped overboard onto the edge of the peninsula. However, he lost his footing and fell into the water.

"Tommy!" Smokey exclaimed as he ran down the gangplank and helped his nephew back on land

"A-a-almost f-forgot h-h-h-how c-c-cold it w-was" Tom shivered with a smile as Smokey covered his nephew up with his coat

Once Tom was dried, he told his uncle how he could handle it from there. He then took a snow mobile to the village where he had stayed all those years ago.

0000

A few hours later at the village

Ora had grown into a beautiful young woman. She had toyed with the idea of leaving Greenland to go to college, but the village needed her there as Graphite was setting up a factory nearby and without Tommy there to stop him, she was needed to help protect the baby seals.

"Ora?" her father asked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Papa" she said drying a tear that had escaped her eye.

"Well, there is a new member of the village" her father told her

"Really?" Ora asked stunned. There were only three ways that could happen: a baby was born, a member of the village married an outsider, or someone from the outside has proven his worth. As there were no marriages planned and nobody was pregnant, that only left option three "Where's he staying?"

"In the cabin on the outskirts of the village." Her father told her

Ora developed a look of utter betrayal

"That's TOMMY'S cabin Papa!" she exclaimed before running off

Her father didn't even speak up. He knew that time would tell his daughter.

When Ora got there, she barged in to see a young man about a year older than her unpacking his suitcase

"Who are you and what are you doing in my best friend's home?" she demanded

"Ora?" the young man asked stunned to see just how much she had grown up.

"Yes. The Chief's daughter" she confirmed as she stubbornly waited for an answer.

Tom smiled. She hadn't changed a BIT in personality. All changes were in looks. And those were for the better as well

While she waited, Ora looked the new guy over. There was something VAGUELY familiar about this guy. And he wasn't bad looking either. If she hadn't promised herself to Tommy in private…

"Ora" Tom said realizing she wasn't going to recognize him. The physical changes were too much. "It's me"

The stubborn looked turned to a confused one as she tried to place him. It wasn't too hard as she only knew one American who was a year older than herself

"Tommy?" she gasped

"I go by Tom now" he informed her with a nod

The next thing he knew, she had thrown her arms around his neck in a hug while she laughed with joy and tears of joy streamed down her face. He returned the hug and joined the laugh.

"I'm so sorry for not having written you" she apologized once the initial reunion was out of the way. "But you said to write back when I got word about Seabert"

"I didn't mean LITERALLY" Tom told her "I would have returned sooner but Dad talked me into going to college"

"I was going to go to college to, but Graphite's back in town with a factory" she informed him

"We'll have to change that soon" he told her. "but first, how have you been?"

0000

Two months later,

After closing down Graphite's fur factory (he had NOT been happy about Tommy's return to Protecting wild animals), Tom and Ora had settled into something that was similar to their old routine.

The villagers who had been there when Tom had lived there all those years ago were happy to have him back. ESPECIALLY now that he was older and more willing to try their way of life like hunting techniques.

And another thing that was apparent, ESPECIALLY to Ora's father, was Ora herself. After Tommy had left to return to America, she had lost a certain spark about her. She wouldn't even LOOK at another man her age. With the American back, the old Ora was returning

One day, when Tom and Ora got back from a picnic, Ora's father pulled Tom off to the side while Ora helped her mother out with cooking the meal

"Yes Sir?" Tom asked the chief.

"I cannot express to you how glad I am that you have returned to Greenland" the chief told the American. "When you left, that spark in Ora's eyes vanished and she did everything half-heartedly. And then when Seabert took off, she sunk into a depression and cried for weeks. She got better as the years passed, but it wasn't the same. I tried everything short of taking her to America to see you. I couldn't though due to money issues"

"I could relate." Tom stated as he thought of the numerous depressions he sunk into. "I'm glad I can help bring the real Ora back"

"You mean so much to my daughter and the village." Her father told him with a wink

In an instant, Tom realized what Ora's father was hinting as he was planning to ask Ora's father a question about the subject, just at a later date.

"So…I have your permission to…" he asked

His response was a nod

"Thank you sir" Tom said with a true smile on his face

The next day,

Ora's father was sharpening a spear when Ora came running in squealing as she hugged her mother and then her father.

"Tom asked me to marry him!" she announced

"That's wonderful!" her mother exclaimed

The wedding had been short, sweet, and simple…despite it being a traditional Inuit wedding. Naturally, Tom's parents were there as well as his Uncle Smokey, Carbone, and Sulfuric.

Of course, it wasn't until the newlyweds were on the plane to their honeymoon destination they realized they forgot to invite Harry King, Panda, Natasha, and a few other people they shared adventures with. But they figured they could use the excuse that they missed Seabert too much

0000

At the airport in Kenya,

A very irritated seal was waiting for the next plane from Iceland to land. Sneaking his way to Kenya had been easier than sneaking back to Greenland. For the past 12 months, he had been trying to sneak on board but those humans were too smart and wouldn't allow him on the plane DESPITE the fact EVERYONE knew who he was. After all, the collar was a dead giveaway

Suddenly, a plane landed and the seal perked up. With a determined look, it bolted (as best as he could) to the gangplank as the group of humans got off the plane

He ignored the 'Awws' and the 'Cute's and the 'Look at the seal'. After all, in the past, those had distracted him and that was why he was stuck thousands of miles away from home and living in an airport fountain

However,

THUMP

The albino seal shook his head after bumping into a pair of legs that were blocking his path. He looked up to give whoever it was an irritated look that said 'move it'.

There were two humans. A male and a female in their early twenties. The boy was white with light brown/dark blond hair while the girl was obviously Inuit. Both looked shocked to see the seal

"Oh my goodness" the male gasped. "Seabert?"

"Your uncle was right?" the female asked the male just as shocked before kneeling down and picked up the seal. Luckily, growing up Eskimo did wonders for her strength

Seabert squirmed and started crying out as he was carried off. He HAD to get back to Greenland to see Ora and then find a way to see Tommy again

"I don't think he recognizes us Ora" the male said with a laugh when they got to the bottom of the gangplank

Seabert stopped squirming and looked between the two. Their scents sure SMELT like Tommy and Ora.

Realizing that those were the identities, Seabert started licking Ora and then jumped onto Tommy and started licking him

"I missed you too Seabert" Tom laughed as he hugged the seal. What are you doing here?"

Seabert TRIED to explain his little adventure of sneaking onto a plane to Africa and went looking for Tommy since they had spent a good amount of time on the continent

However, Tom and Ora didn't speak seal

"No matter" Tom sighed as he stroked the soft white fur. "The three of us are together"

"So Tom?" Ora asked. "Should we go rent a car?"

"Yeah." Tom said. "And I have a brilliant idea"

0000

"only us" Ora sighed as she looked the four-wheeler over and then looked in the back as her husband drove.

There were two sets of back seats, one set was in the middle and that was in case they ran into Harry King or other people dedicated to saving animals. In the very back of the car, Tom had taken out the back seats and placed a bathtub in it. It reminded her of the Dune buggy Tom had driven when he was in Africa at the age of 12. The only difference was that the tub wasn't hitched to the car and it was air conditioned.

Seabert was enjoying every minute of the ride

"Hey Tom" Ora exclaimed as she saw a familiar face at a café.

Tom pulled over and looked and smiled

"He still had no idea I'm back in the conservation business, does he?" Tom asked

"Not to my knowledge" Ora said "In fact, I don't think he's seen you since you were 12"

Tom parked the car and on the side of the rode and winked at his wife and the pet seal. He left the car running and got out.

Then he went to the back of the car and opened the trunk window. Then he walked over to the café and went over to the window next to where Harry King was sitting and eating

"What can I get for you sir?" the cook asked

"Four buckets of ice" Tom said earning some weird looks from the cook and from the eavesdropping Harry

"Four buckets of ice?" the cook asked making sure he heard correctly.

"That's right" Tom said.

In the car, Ora and Seabert were LAUGHING at the look on Harry King's face

"Excuse me" Harry King asked the 21 year old young man. "But might I ask what the ice is for?"

"For my friend" Tom answered

The waiter came out with the ice. Tom went to go get the extra two buckets and led the waiter to the car. Then they poured the ice into the water.

Seabert then decided to get cute and dove into the wonderful water. When he came back up, he squirted water into Tom's face

"Hey! Seabert!" Tom tried to scold but the laughter from his wife and his seal prevented him from getting too angry

Recognizing the name, Harry got up and walked over to the truck and saw the familiar seal pup and the Inuit woman in the front seat.

"Seabert? Ora?" Harry recognized before realizing just WHO this young man was. "Tommy?"

"I go by Tom now" Tom explained, though confirmed it

"Oh my goodness! How are you my boy?"

"I'm good" Tom explained "You?"

"Never better" Harry said "Where are you three staying?"

"No idea just yet" Ora said

"Well," Harry offered. "You two are more than welcome to stay at my place"

The two newlyweds looked at each other and Ora nodded

0000

After getting to Harry's place, they explained what had happened with Tom's parents, college, the return, the wedding, and now the honeymoon

"Then I noticed you and figured we should at LEAST say hello" Ora finished.

"Well," Harry said. "That's quite the tale. Congratulations on your marriage"

"Thanks" Tom said as he gently took his wife's hand as Seabert napped at his feet

"So what now?" Harry asked

"Simple" Tom said as he turned to his wife. "Ora and I go back to doing what we love: protecting animals. After I left Greenland, I realized just how much I loved my life there. And not just in Greenland. Every time I was helping out an animal, I was happy."

"That's more or less the same for me" Ora said "Tom, Seabert, and I were a team. When they left…I felt a part of me left too. Now we're back and I have only this to say: Watch out poachers! Because we're back!"

"And we're better than ever" Tom added

The End