(A/N: This is the first oneshot for this series called "The Other Uncle." They will center on Max. ;))

Babysitting

Summary: Max has to baby-sit his great-niece, Melody. How will it go?

Max's POV

"Hey Max?" A familiar male voice startled me out of my thoughts. I turned around, and saw my nephew Timon and his wife Shenzi standing behind me. "Yeah?"

"Can you do us a favor?" Shenzi asked me.

"Depends," I crossed my arms, "What's the favor?"

"Can you baby-sit Melody for us?" Timon requested.

"Sure," I smiled, "I can do that." Melody is Timon and Shenzi's adopted daughter. Although she looks like a perfect combo of the two. I just love her; Unlike her father, she's an angel. She behaves well, and is just an overall sweetheart. "Why? You two going on a date?"

"Ye-e-ea-a," Timon smiled sheepishly, "Thanks, Uncle Max. She's with Ma right now, at the nests; You can just go over there. Good Luck," He smirked at me.

"Oh, believe me, I won't need it," I smiled, "Mel's an angel. She won't be a problem for me."

"Oh, and I was a problem for you when I was her age?" Timon smirked.

"… Yes," I deadpanned, my eyes half shut, "Yes you were. You kept tickling me! BOTH TIMES I BABYSAT YOU!" I yelled out, surprising them.

"… Right," Timon smiled sheepishly, "Touché. Okay then, if you say so."

"Have fun on your date," I smirked, as I headed to where my great-niece and sister-in-law were at.

When I arrived, I found Nina first. Luckily, my great-niece was facing away from me, and didn't seem to acknowledge that I was behind her. "Hey Nina, I want to surprise Melody, okay?"

"Okay," She smiled, "Go ahead." She walked away to let me take over.

"Thanks," I smiled. My grin grew as I sneaked up to Melody; I wasn't going to traumatize her, quit thinking that! I wouldn't do that to her! "Ohhh," I started quietly, as my fingers spread out, "Melly!" I exclaimed, as I started tickling her little sides and back.

"Eeek! Eehehehehehehehehe!" She burst into a fit of adorable giggles, as she fell on her back. She had the cutest laugh ever… next to Vitawny's, in my opinion. Anyway, I stopped after she was on her back, and I leaned down, so my face was above hers. "Hi, Uncle Max!" She smiled up at me. For some reason, she refers to me as "Uncle" instead of "Great-Uncle." Oh well; I don't mind it at all.

"Hey cutie," I smiled back at her, as I sat up straight, and she stood up, "I'm going to be babysitting you, while your parents are out together. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Yay!" She cheered, as I chuckled. Ugh, she's so adorable.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"Um…" Melody thought for a second, "Can we play tag? Please?" She used the puppy eyes on me, but she didn't need to do that; I'd do anything and everything for that child. I'm not kidding.

"Anything for you, sweetie," I smiled, before poking her side and running off. "You're it!"

"Hey!" She giggled, before chasing after me, "Come back here!"

"You'll have to catch me, kid!" I laughed, as I kept running. After about a minute, I was getting tired; Hey, I'm old! I get wiped out easily! Don't laugh. Since I wasn't watching where I was going, I crashed into another meerkat, as our foreheads clonked together, making a loud noise. "Ow!" I fell on my back, with my hand on my aching forehead.

"Ouch!" Turned out, it was Monti; He had recently moved in the Oasis with us. The weird thing about him? He hates bugs; I'm not kidding. It doesn't bother me, though. He only eats fruits and veggies, and luckily, the Oasis has plenty of that.

"Sorry Monti," I smiled sheepishly.

"It's alright," He smiled back, his hand on his forehead as well. "What are you running from?"

"My great-niece, Melody," I chuckled, "We're playing tag."

"Ah," Monti nodded in understanding. "Well, have fun," He told me, before walking away, rubbing his forehead. But then, he came back. "Your great-niece is adorable, by the way," He smiled.

"Yep," I nodded, smiling back, "She's an angel."

"Seems like she is," Monti smiled, before he walked away.

I looked around, trying to decide where to go, but a tiny paw poking my hip startled me out of that. "You're it!" Melody giggled happily, before running off. I chased after her, but she was getting far ahead fast. She's just a little ball of energy; A cute one, at that. All I am is a big ball of nerves (Emphasis on big; Don't even try telling me otherwise.) Anyway, to my surprise, I was actually catching up! I picked up the pace, and as I ran, I kneeled down, grabbed her sides, and lifted her up as she squealed from the surprise.

"Gotcha!" I smiled, as I held her close to me, and she giggled with joy. "What do you want to do now, Melly?"

"Um…" She thought for a second, "Hide-and-Seek?" She smiled with hope shining in her large, brown eyes.

"Okay," I nodded, "We can do that. You want to hide first?"

"Okay!" She smiled wider, before she suddenly jumped out of my arms, effectively surprising me. "No peeking!"

"One, two," Just to get to her a bit, I sneaked a peek from my right hand.

"Hey, don't peek!" She gave me an adorable glare, making me chuckle.

"Sorry babygirl," I smiled, before fully covering my eyes again. "One, two, three, four…" I heard Melody quickly walk off as I counted. Hopefully she wouldn't go too far. "… Five, Six…" I smirked, deciding to be a bit sneaky when I didn't hear her anymore. "… Ten!" I uncovered my eyes. "Ready or not! Uncle Maxie's a comin'!" I started looking around the area, praying she was in this area. "Me-e-elly! Me-e-e-elody-y-y-y! Where a-a-a-a-are yo-o-o-o-ou-u-u-u?" I drew out playfully, as I looked for a sign of a small patch of ochre fur and/or a tiny patch of red hair. By the nests, I saw the former under the one Timon and Shenzi slept in. Smirking, I decided to play dumb. "Gee, I wonder where Melody could be?" I wondered aloud, feigning oblivion. "Did she disappear, I wonder?" I heard her stifle a giggle.

Being as quiet as I can, I tiptoed to where she was, being careful on the grass. After kneeling down behind her, I inhaled quietly, lowering my hands down to her tiny body. "… Gotcha!" I exclaimed, as I lightly grabbed her sides. She squealed and giggled from the surprise, and turned around to look at me.

"You found me!" She cheered, as I hugged her happily. "It's your turn to hide now! Oh, wait! I can't count to ten," She said sadly.

"Okay; Just count as high as you can," I smiled widely as I let her go, and she nodded in agreement. "No cheating, little missy."

"Okay! One, t-two-o, three!" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her peek a bit.

"Uhp!" I quickly knelt down in front of her again, "No peeking," I poked her sides at "No," making her squeal and giggle again.

"Sorry, Uncle Max!" She smiled, before fully covering her eyes, "One, two, three!" I quietly went to find a place to hide, but since I'm much bigger than little Melody is, it was difficult. I was planning on going easy on her anyway. I settled with hiding under the nest, and on the tree trunk. Hopefully that wasn't too hard for her. "Four… five! Ready or not! Here I come!" Five? Not too shabby for a 4-year-old girl. I heard tiny footsteps walking around, as she was looking for me. I think I was starting to zone out, because I jumped bad when I felt a tiny paw poke my side. "Found you!" Melody giggled.

"You found me," I chuckled, as I stood up. "What do you want to do now?"

"Tickle Fight!" Like father like daughter. Without any warning, she jumped on my shoulders, and started tickling my neck.

"Ahehehehehey!" I giggled, as she was too. She then started brushing her tail and feet on my back and sides, respectively. "Heheheheheahahahahahaha!" I laughed, as I knelt down on my knees. "Mehehehehel, stohohohohohop!"

"No way!" She laughed, "This is fun!"

From my hysterical laughter, I fell down on my stomach, luckily not getting hurt. Melody then started tickling my sides with her little paws. All I was able to do was kick my legs, punch the ground, and laugh hysterically.

After about half a minute, I pinned Melody carefully on her back, and started tickling her little sides and tummy. "Eeek! Hehehehehehehehehe!" She burst into adorable giggles as she squirmed and thrashed about. When I scratched at her ribs, she became hysterical.

"Ooh, are little Melly's ribsies ticklish?" I cooed at her, as she laughed like a maniac. Normally I'd feel like an idiot talking like that, but that moment, I didn't. I guess I was a bit too close to her, because in a sneaky move, she started brushing her tail on my lower stomach. "Aahahahaehehehey!" I giggled, before covering myself with my arms, "You're a little sneak, aren't you?" She just giggled in response. "Y-you want to do something else? Being tickled tires out your ol' Uncle Max."

"Okay!" She nodded in agreement. You see there? If this was a young Timon, he would just keep tickling me until I'm about on the verge of wetting myself. But Melody just stops when I want her to. If they claimed that she wasn't adopted, I wouldn't have believed it; Because she is nothing like her parents in personality. "Uncle Max?" Melody's voice snapped me out of my thought. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," I nodded, "I'm fine, sweetheart." I thought of what to do with her next, before an idea popped in my head. My dad always did this with me when I was a kit, and I fell for it every time. "Hey Mel? Can you close your eyes for me?" I asked her.

"… You're not going to tickle me again, are you?" She asked me nervously.

"No, I'm not gonna tickle you," I chuckled.

"Okay!" She smiled, before closing her big, brown eyes. I then reached down to her little black nose, grabbed it, and gently tugged on it, before drawing my hand away. I saw her wiggling her muzzle a bit, looking adorable.

"I got your nose," I smiled, before her eyes shot open.

"Huh?" Melody looked confused. "You have my nose?"

"Yep," I nodded, still smiling. Man, was I enjoying this. Her confusion was so dang adorable. "And it's all-l-l-ll mine now." I held my hand up when she tried to reach for it.

"I want my nose back!" She started crying, surprising me. I didn't think she'd cry!

"Uh, o-okay!" I stuttered out nervously, "You can have it back, girlie."

"I can?" She smiled, suddenly upbeat.

"Yep," I nodded, "Just say please," I smiled.

"Ple-e-e-ea-a-ase?" She smiled up at me, using the puppy eyes again.

"Alright," I nodded, "Close your eyes." She immediately did so. I then "put her nose back" on her face. "There you go, cutie."

"Thanks, Uncle Max!" She smiled happily, before jumping in my arms.

"You're welcome, sweetie," I chuckled, as I kissed her cheek.

"We're back!" Timon's voice startled me to the point of jumping, and holding Melody closer to me.

"Oh, h-hey," I stuttered, a bit out of breath from the unintentional scare. "How'd your date go?"

"It was fantastic," Shenzi smiled.

"That's good," I smiled.

"Did Melody behave for you?" Timon asked me.

"Yep," I nodded, "She was an angel." Melody giggled happily.

"That's good," Shenzi smiled, "Thanks for babysitting her."

"What all did you do?" Timon asked.

"We played tag and hide-and-seek, had a little tickle fight…" My nephew chuckled at the third thing, "And I played a little game of "Got Your Nose" with her."

"Sounds fun," Shenzi giggled, "Did she fall for the "Got Your Nose" game?"

"Yeah," I nodded, chuckling a bit. "She just started crying for me to give her nose back, and I did after she said please." Shenzi giggled at my little story, as I put Melody in Timon's arms, my own getting tired.

"Daddy, I'm sleepy," She told him. It was amazing how their fur colors matched just by coincidence. It just baffles me.

"Okay then," Timon smiled at her, "Me and Mommy will take you to bed for a nap, 'kay?"

"Alright," She nodded, before yawning, and laying her little head on his shoulder. Timon kissed her red hair as she drifted off to sleep.

"Again, thanks for babysitting her," Shenzi told me.

"You're welcome," I smiled, "If you need a babysitter for her again, just tell me. I'd be happy to look after her again."

"Will do," Timon nodded, before he and his wife headed for their nest.

I smiled as I watched them walk away. I never thought I'd say this, but I can't wait until I baby-sit her again.

(A/N: Well, that was the first one. There's more to come! The Lion King and its characters don't belong to me, but Melody does.)