" In the Not Too Distant Future"

Hello and welcome to " In the Not Too Distant Future". Please enjoy. BTW: Sorry if I took anyone's story title. It was one of the first names that popped into my head. Also, the reason why I posted this story was because the idea has been poking me in the back of my head for several weeks and I just had to let it out. LOL .Thank-you for reading this message.

Chapter 1

It's been about five years since Skipper and Marlene had gotten married on May 1st, 2010, under the

Manhattan Chapel. The wedding was beautiful and simple, and so was the couple, who decided to go for a

walk around the Central Park Zoo, which still looked the same as it did now. As usual, animals were still

hanging around in their habitats, visiting each other. The weather was sunny and warm, like it was every

time May came around. Yes, all remained the same, except Skipper and Marlene had a four-year-old daughter

with another child on the way. Skipper kept his flipper wrapped around Marlene just in case she fell over and

stood in front of the cave entrance with her at the otter habitat. Meanwhile, their daughter was swimming in

the pond, perfecting dives and the corkscrew move, which she had been capable of doing, ever since the day

she was born. Nobody really knew how she knew that move, but they knew for sure that she had inherited it

from Skipper's side of the family.

About a few minutes later, their daughter swam up to the edge of the pond and rested her arms on the rocks

in front of her. " Momma? Daddy," the child grumbled. " When is my baby sister going to get here?"

" Maddie," Skipper looked down at the young otter, which was marked and looked like Marlene, except she

was black and white like him. She also had his Sapphire Blue eyes, along with his attitude and spirit. " How

many times do we have to tell you," he stated, gently. " It might be a baby brother."

" A baby brother," Maddie raised a doubtful eyebrow with a scoff. " No way. That can never happen, because

I'm the first-born and I'm a girl. So therefore, the new baby must be a girl. Like on Momma's side, nothing but

girls. See? Unlike your side, all you have are brothers and no sisters. Uncle Kowalski, Uncle Private, and Uncle

Rico. See? No sisters."

" I wouldn't be too sure of that," Skipper smirked at his daughter's rant. " I actually have a sister, who is

older than me. Way older. Or was."

" Was," Maddie cocked her head to the side. " What happened to her?"

" I'm afraid that's classified," Skipper sighed, hesitantly. The young otter drooped her head. She really

wanted to know what happened to her father's sister.

" That's what you always say," Maddie whined as she climbed out of the pond and up to her parents. "

Besides. I don't know the meaning of the word "classified"."

" It means it's top secret," Skipper retorted, informatively. " As in, I'm not going to tell you."

" Skipper," Marlene grumbled, holding onto her stomach with one paw. " I don't feel well. I think my water

just broke."

" Oh great calamari," Skipper panicked, picked Marlene up bridal style, and dashed inside the cave. " It's

coming! Mads!? Get your Aunt Doris over here! Pronto!" It is true; Kowalski and Doris got married, shortly

after Skipper and Marlene did, and had two daughters, who were only a year apart.

" But," Maddie stuttered.

" Go," Skipper shouted from further inside the cave. " I'll handle the rest here!" Maddie did as she was told

and scampered off toward the dolphin aquarium, where some of her relatives lived. Meanwhile, Skipper

grabbed a walkie-talkie and waited for someone to answer at the headquarters.

" Hello," an intelligent voice boomed from the walkie-talkie.

" Kowalski," Skipper stumbled over his words, nervously. " This is Skipper. Marlene's having the baby and…"

" And now you are in panic mode, like the time when Marlene was having Maddie," Kowalski calmly retorted. "

Say no more. I'll be right over with the basic delivery supplies. Oh? Do you need me to go get..."

" Doris?," Skipper finished his sentence. " No. I've already sent Maddie to go get her."

" Alright," Kowalski shrugged. " I'll just grab the basic delivery items and come over then." Simultaneously, he

and Skipper both shut off the walkie-talkies and went about their business.

Five minutes later, Maddie, Kowalski, and Doris, along with their daughters, gathered at Marlene's habitat,

ready to aid in any way possible. Private and Rico, who were unaware of this, were over at the mother

duck's, babysitting the ducklings, while the mother went to go gather food. Skipper sat by the bed and

latched onto Marlene's paw, allowing her to squeeze his flipper when it was necessary. Meanwhile, Kowalski

set out some blankets, hot water, and other supplies, near Marlene's bed. Doris gathered some nursing

supplies from her medical bag, such as a baby scale, a ruler, and several other items, and set them down on

a wooden table, near the couch.

Soon, about fifteen minutes later, the baby was born. It was a male penguin with soft, gray down feathers

that tickled like dandelions on a person's nose. He had Marlene's brown eyes and was built a lot like Skipper,

along with his appearance. The parents, along with the others in the habitat, smiled widely at the newborn,

which was now wrapped in a blue blanket and cradled in Marlene's arms.

Skipper, who's flipper had finely felt better after Marlene had almost squeezed the living daylights out of it,

scooted up closer to Marlene and leaned his head on her shoulder, admiring the newborn.

Meanwhile, outside, Maddie paced back and forth in front of her cousins, making them quiver. One was at the

edge of the pond, while the other was keeping afloat in the water. " Arg," the young otter groaned,

impatiently. " How long does it take for a baby to get here?"

" Depending on the species of animal," a female penguin, a year younger than Maddie, with round

eyeglasses looked up and took a flipper to her beak. " I'd say, approximately three weeks to two years."

" I meant how long does it take for a baby to be born on it's due date, Barbara," Maddie stopped pacing to

squint her eyes at the penguin with glasses. She appeared a lot like Kowalski, only thinner, feminine, and

had Doris' brown eyes, along with black and white feathers.

" Oh," Barbara drooped her head then glanced up at Maddie. " In that case, it can take anywhere from a few

minutes to possibly a few hours or so."

" Or so," Maddie raised an eyebrow.

" Birth times vary," Barbara shrugged. Maddie then stared at Barbara, still keeping her eyebrow raised. "

What," she squeaked. " I don't know everything."

" Obviously not, Barbara Kiara Sergeant," a gray, female dolphin with blue eyes, scoffed. She was the same

exact age as Maddie, only she was a few weeks older. " Remember the time when you thought that " Hang

man" actually involved hanging a real man then you found out it was just some guessing game, that our

daddy and uncles were playing?"

" Stay out of this, Debra," Barbara snapped, glaring at her sister. " Besides. At least I wasn't the one, who

thought that the Boogey Monster was real. Eh? Debs?"

" I swear, I thought I saw it in the tank, Bar-Bar," Debra glared back. " It was coming right toward me."

" Yeah," Maddie chuckled as she folded her arms. " To say 'boo' to you?"

" Madeline Laura Sergeant," Debra curled her flippers, underneath the water and clenched her teeth. "That

was you?"

" Guilty as charged, Debra Nora Sergeant," Maddie snort laughed, mocking her cousin.

Debra narrowed her eyes at her." Oh, you're guilty alright," the dolphin growled. " Now, here comes the

charge!"

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Whoa! I cannot believe that Maddie scared Debra into thinking the Boogie Monster was after her. Anyways. Coming up next in Chapter 2. See how Maddie reacts to Debra's sudden outburst. Also find out the girl's reaction to the new baby, along with it's name. Please stay tuned and find out more. BTW: I gave some of the characters full names, because I thought it would be an excellent addition to this story, plus I like to create them. Also the Manhattan Chapel is not a real place as far as I know of. I just made it up. Thank-you for reading this message.