Marlene POV

When I woke up, the first thing I saw was the concrete ceiling of the penguins' bunk. I thought I was blind in my left eye for a second but then I remembered that Skipper had bandaged it up. Skipper! I tried to roll over but I couldn't as my right arm was in a cast and broken. So, I decided to shuffle around and let my legs hang over the edge. When I finally got there, I gently lowered myself down. I stumbled a little bit but as I looked up, I was amazed at the sight.

Eggy and four other ducklings stood in front of me. I smiled gently. "Hi Eggy! What are you doing here then? And who are your friends?"

"Hello Marlene! Kowalski sent my brothers, sister and I here because he said he would like you to look after use while our mother is away. He also said your leg is mended so you don't have to worry about getting hurt more. These are my brothers, Ace, Bailey and Charles. And this is my younger sister, Daisy. She's very shy and doesn't speak much."

"Well, hello! My name is Marlene."

"Hi Marlene!" They all chorused. I smiled sweetly at them.

"Eggy? Do you know where the penguins are right now?"

He nodded. "Yes. Kowalski mentioned something about Skipper having a private mission and them having to get some snow cones. They said they'd be back soon. So what are we gonna do today? Can we play hide and seek? Or play ninja? Please?"

"Sure! We can play hide and seek. Here are the rules. You have to stay in the penguin exhibit. You can go anywhere but you are not allowed to go in Kowalski's lab or any of the fifteen escape tunnels. Got it?" They all nodded. "Good. Then I'm it."

I closed my eyes, counting in my head. I could hear them scrambling around for a place to hide. I also heard the bowl being shifted. When I got to 20, I opened my eyes and searched the room. I saw a little webbed foot sticking out of behind the television and I crept over to it. I looked over the top of the television and saw all of the boys sitting there. They groaned and came to stand next to me. "Stay here you four. I'm going to find Daisy."

I climbed up the ladder and up on to the platform. I looked around and saw a little yellow figure floating on the water, lifeless and, worst of all, upside down. "Daisy!" I yelled and jumped into the water immediately. I swam as best as I could with one arm and grabbed her with my teeth. I dragged her to shore. I put her on the platform on her back and checked her breathing. No breathing at all.

"Skipper! Kowalski! Private! Rico! Someone! Help!" I started to get hysterical and burst into tears. I heard the fishbowl being moved so I stopped crying and ran over to it.

"Eggy. Can you look after your brothers for a minute? You can each have a chocolate biscuit from the cupboard. Now, please go back into the HQ." I said. They obeyed my orders without any hesitation. As soon as they vanished, I ran back over to Daisy just as Kowalski, Private and Rico leapt into the habitat.

Kowalski immediately ran to Daisy and I followed in suit. "Kowalski! I'm such a bad babysitter! I c… can't believe this… this… happened!" I burst into tears again. Private came up to me and gave me a big hug. I cried into his feathers.

"Shhh… It's okay… Calm down…" He cooed. When Kowalski started doing CPR on Daisy, Skipper appeared. I flinched and buried my head into Private's neck. I could hear Skipper and Kowalski whispering. I felt someone putting a blanket on my shoulders. I turned my head slowly and saw Rico. He smiled at me and wondered down the fishbowl. I let out a huge sigh. Private turned his head away to look at Kowalski and Skipper.

"How's she doing, Skippah?" Private asked quietly. I didn't hear the reply but I felt Private tense up. I stood up, walking over to Daisy. I took her little flipper and held it.

"Daisy. Please wake up. I'm so sorry. Please come back. Please." I told her and bowed my head. After I said that, she took in a gasp of air and coughed up all the water that was in her lungs. My head shot up and I started to smile again. "Daisy. Can you hear me?" I asked her. She nodded and started shivering. I took off my blanket and put it on her. She stopped shivering instantly and fell asleep.

"There seems to be no sign of brain damage. She'll be fine." Kowalski said and picked her up, bringing her down to the HQ.

"How could you let this happen, Marlene?" Skipper asked. I felt on the verge of tears. "How could one of my team burst into tears at a—"

"What! One of your team? Since when am I part of your team?"

"Umm… Have you had a look on the table yet?" I shook my head so I went downstairs. And there on the table was an Olive Drab military jacket. (A/N: Olive Drab is a shade of green. I thought Army Green was too dark.) I picked it up and had a look at it. I saw a badge on the left pocket. I gasped at what it said. 'Sergeant Major Marlene. Zoo Guard.' My brain kicked in at that moment and I figured that I was quite high up on the Military Scale. I turned to Skipper and stared with an open mouth at him.

"What? Why? But… I…" I stuttered.

"You deserve to be on the team. You used a very good disguise, Marlene. You had very good battle training. Why Sergeant Major you ask? Well, it was because of your courage." Skipper said. I smiled and saluted him. He saluted back and I smiled. "Since you are part of the team now, I was wondering if you would like to stay here?"

"But what about Alice? Won't she notice I'm gone?"

"Since it's summer, we're sending her on a cruise and the park will remain closed until August."

"In that case, I would be delighted to stay here. If it's not a hassle of course." Skipper just shook his head. "Okay then, I'll go get my things—"

"That won't be necessary. I was just picking up your stuff while you were looking after Eggy and his siblings." He handed me an open box and on top was a photo of Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, Private and I grinning in front of the New Year fireworks. "Everyone is dismissed." Skipper said.

I just looked at that photo and said quietly "I'm finally starting to feel wanted. Maybe this might not be so bad…"

'Finally wanted?' What is she hiding? Is this another secret she's been keeping? What will happen next? All these questions will be answered in the next part of the story. I am warning you that most of the stories in the future will be a continuation of this. Here's a hint: I am going to add a little bit of a Barbie plot into the next story. Try and figure out what it is.

If you were wondering why I chose Daisy to drown, it was because she's the most innocent. I got the idea of her drowning from Rescue 911. I know Marlene acted a bit OOC because she cried for help but yeah, couldn't resist. And the penguins don't wear their jackets is because well, they don't need to.

UPDATE: I will also be adding an OC into further chapters because it's sort of dragging along a bit… EGGY, HIS BROTHERS AND DAISY WILL MAKE AN APPEARANCE AGAIN! DON'T FRET!

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER ALL MY FANFICTION BUDDIES!