Chapter Ten

Dr. Johnson, a balding African-American man in his mid 40s, took his job as a vet with the upmost dedication. Any animal brought in was a patient that deserved the highest quality of care possible, no matter what their species.

That's why when a familiar little girl came rushing into his practice, cradling a balled up, trembling red squirrel, face tight with tension and concern as she begged to see someone, the good doctor showed no hesitation in taking the child and her tiny friend in.

"I take from the rather large bulge in her lower body that your friend's expecting," the vet noted with a careworn smile.

Megan blushed at Andie being called a 'friend'. She hadn't considered yet how strange it would have sounded to someone else that she refers to someone she barely knew as 'mommy', let alone some random park animal. pushing that thought to the side, she gingerly handed Andie to Dr. Johnson, who gently lay the convulsing rodent atop a covered examination table.

"Now then," the man started as he turned to the child with a soft yet serious face "Since I can see how much you care for... um... what is her name?"

"Andie." Megan said

"Andie," Dr. Johnson said as he nodded "She's going to need you to stick by her side no matter what. Having you here should help her cope with the progress."

Megan nodded back.

Meanwhile, Surly and the other animals sat outside the building housing the veterinarian's office, wracked with worry over Andie. Particularly Surly, who had been pacing back and forth for the last half hour despite Buddy and Precious' best attempts to calm him down.

"It's no use guys," Surly said "Nothing is going to make me feel better, and I can't go in there to be with Andie so I have no idea how she's doing!"

"I'm sure she'll be fine, like I did." Precious said

"Yeah, and Frankie was practically chewing his own limbs off while he waited." Mole said

"I only chewed one leg, and it wasn't that bad." Frankie said, blushing with embarrassment.

"Buddy, give me something to chew on." Surly said.

Buddy handed over an almond he had found and Surly shoved it in his mouth, chewing it as much as he could but before he could finish it, Megan opened the window and shouted "It's a girl!"

Surly spat out the nut, coughing and sputtering as the others cheered "A girl!"

Megan looked back and said "And a boy!"

"One of each, nice!" Johnny cheered as Surly recovered from his scare.

"And finally, another girl!" Megan declared proudly

Three baby squirrel kits, Andie and Surly would have their hands full for sure! The animals congratulated Surly as he felt faint, swaying this way and that before Buddy grabbed him before he could fall over and helped him back on his feet just in time for Megan to come out and pick the squirrel up.

"Come on Daddy, it's time to meet the babies." She said

Surly didn't know what to think as he held his head and tried to keep himself from fainting again the moment he saw Andie on the examination table, on top a little pillow with her tail covering something she was hiding from view. When Surly came to her side, She removed her tail and revealed three beautiful, tiny and lively newborn baby squirrels. One had purple fur like Surly, the other had Andie's red coat and the third had a muddy mixture between the two.

Surly felt like he was the happiest guy alive as he got down on his knees and picked up the purple furred baby, snuggling it as the baby cooed within his hold.

"Hey there little fella... it's daddy, I've been waiting a long time to finally meet you... and you're even more beautiful then I could ever imagine." Surly said

"That one's our first born daughter your holding," Andie said "Our second is our son, who has my red coat and the other one is our other daughter... aren't they adorable?"

"Yeah, very adorable." Surly said sweetly as he held his baby girl close in his arms.

"How cute, the doctor took a break so it's just you guys and me." Megan said "Now, what are we going to name them?"

Andie and Surly looked at each other before Andie groaned "Oh no! We completely forgot about the names! We were so busy with everything else, we completely forgot about naming our kids!"

"Oh great, if the others knew about this, they'd laugh their head off at us for sure." Surly sighed in frustration "How could we have forgotten to name them!?"

"Whoa whoa, calm down. Maybe I can help you guys with the names." Megan said

Andie and Surly looked at each other and smiled before Andie said "Alright honey, you can help us name our kids."

A couple of minutes later, the animals were still waiting for the trio to come out when the door opened and out came Megan, cradling her squirrel family in her hands. Surly stood before the animals as Surly held up his three children and said "Welcome to the world kids, and meet everyone who's come to see you."

"Awwww!" the crowd cooed in delight as the three infant squirrels opened their eyes for the first time. Surly held up his purple furred daughter, looking into her adorable green eyes "Let's introduce you to them one by one. First, This is my daughter Madeline, but for short you can call her Maddy."

Baby Maddy giggle as she wriggled around in her father's arms, enjoying being the center of attention as she laughed happily. Surly gently gave her back to her mother before Andie switched Maddy with their red furred son, who was looking at them with the same brown eyes his father has. "And this is my son, Benjamin, or Ben for short."

Baby Ben began to sniffle and fuss before Surly quickly handed him back to Andie, who snuggled him and as Surly said "As you can see, he's already a mama's boy. But he's also my boy too."

Surly held his third child, his mixed furred daughter close as she looked at the animals with big hazel brown eyes "And last but not least this is my other daughter Isabelle. Say hi to everyone Isabelle!"

Baby Isabelle began clutching her father in fright, Surly gently comforted her by stroking her back and said "There there, don't cry, Daddy is right here."

"Ahh, I guess this mean's Isabelle's already claimed her title of Daddy's little girl." Jamie said

Buddy ran up Megan to meet his nieces and nephew with a big smile on his face, stopping just in time before he could bump into Surly and held out his arms. Surly already knew what his pal wanted and gently handed Baby Isabelle over to Buddy, saying "Here Isabelle, meet your dear Uncle Buddy."

Isabelle looked at Buddy and began to cry, Buddy frowned and looked at his friend as if he had done something wrong and sighed sadly. But then the other children began to cry as well as Buddy and Surly looked at Andie and Surly said "What's wrong with the babies?"

"They're just hungry." Andie said "Let's go home while I feed them."

Megan gently placed the squirrels and Buddy in the wagon she had brought and went back to the park, looking forward to whatever the future had planned for their lovely little family.