Chapter 53: Life and Death
Three days after Neko's birthday. Patty, Neko, DeeDee, Moshi, Wendy and Vera were playing together outside. "You can't catch me, you can't catch me!" Moshi yelled. "We'll see..." Vera muttered, and leaped right in front of Moshi. "Aah!" Moshi screamed. "Gotcha now, Moshi boy!" Vera stated, and tagged Moshi. "Mrrmph..." Moshi grumbled. "This is so unfair! Patty can fly, you and Neko are so athletic, DeeDee climbs up trees and Wendy can teleport, but what can I do?" "Oh, come on Moshi." DeeDee said. "Don't be a sore loser!" "Oh, I'll show you a sore loser..!" Moshi muttered, leaped on DeeDee, and started tickling her. "Kids..." Neko sighed. "Hey, you're only two months older than any of us!" Patty replied. After Moshi stopped tickling DeeDee, he gave her a kiss. "So, whatcha wanna play now?" Vera asked. "Well, you gave me a nice football, so..." Neko replied. "Yay, let's play football!" DeeDee exclaimed. "But I don't know how to..." Wendy sighed. "Don't worry, you'll learn when we start playing." Neko stated. "Okay, let's get playing!" Patty shouted.
"We need goals..." Neko muttered. "How 'bout those trees?" Vera suggested, and pointed at two pairs of trees . "They seem to form a proper goal..." "Good thinking." DeeDee said. "Okay, now let's form teams." Neko said. The two teams were Patty, DeeDee & Neko and Wendy, Moshi & Vera. "Okay... No flying, no teleporting, no climbing up trees, no ranged attacks. You can only use your body to move the ball, but you may not use your hands." Neko explained, and placed the ball on the ground. "You ready, guys?" He asked, and everyone nodded. "Well, let's begin then!" Neko yelled, and kicked the ball. DeeDee and Wendy worked as goalkeepers of their respective teams. Neko managed to dodge through Vera and Moshi, and shot the ball at their goal. Wendy screamed, and ducked quickly. "What's wrong, Wendy?" Moshi asked. "Yeah, why didn't you block it?" Vera wondered. "It... It came so fast..." Wendy sobbed. "Aaw, don't worry Wendy." Patty said, and went to hug her. "Okay, no more too fast balls, okay?" "O-okay." Neko and Vera replied and nodded.
"Okay, it's 2-2..." Patty muttered. "We need to do this..." Neko had changed places with DeeDee as a goalkeeper. Patty passed the ball to DeeDee. However, Vera quickly stole the football from her, and was running at the goal. Luckily, Neko managed to block the ball just in time. "Aargh!" Vera grumbled. Patty started running with the ball, and headbutted it, causing it to fly over Moshi and land straight to the opposing goal. "WE WON!" Neko and DeeDee shouted victoriously. "Aaw man..." Wendy sighed. "Hey, it wasn't your fault." Moshi said and smiled. "You got lucky..." Vera muttered. "Hey, don't you be a sore loser either, sis!" DeeDee replied. Patty heard a really silent squeak nearby, and turned her head. She saw a small creature nearby, and walked closer. "Hey Patty, what are you doing?" Neko asked. Patty went right next to the creature. "Aw..." She said quietly: It was a small, yet extremely cute little raccoon-like creature. It's hind leg was tangled in a stolon. "Poor thingy..." Patty thought,
and untangled the stolon. She quietly grabbed the creature, and stroke it's back. "Don't worry..." She whispered.
"What you got there, Patty?" Moshi asked. Patty hesitated a little, but showed her friends the creature. "What's that?" Neko wondered. "It's so cute..!" DeeDee and Wendy stated. "It's leg was tangled in a stolon." Patty explained. "I helped the little guy out." "Oh, that's so sweet Patty." Neko said. Patty smiled a little, and placed the raccoon on the ground. "Go on." She said. "Go find your family. They're probably worried." The raccoon just stared at Patty, but didn't move an inch. "Go on now." Patty whispered, and tried to gently shoo the creature, but it started following her instead. "Hey, what are you doing?" Patty asked. "Get going, you big dummy!" "I think it likes you, Patty." Vera stated. The creature limped a little, but kept following Patty nevertheless. "Listen, I know you want to thank me for saving you, and I think you're really, really cute, but please, just go." Patty said to it. "Why don't you keep it?" Moshi asked. "What?" Patty asked shockedly. "K-keep it? I, I don't think my parents would allow it..." "If you'll explain the whole situation to them, they possibly could." Wendy replied. Patty looked at the creature, sighed, and grabbed it.
"Fine. I'll keep it then." She stated. She looked at the creature, and smiled. "It really is adorable..." She thought, and scratched it's belly. The raccoon started giggling a little. "What are you gonna call it?" Neko asked. "Err, I..." Patty started, and looked at the raccoon. "I'll call it Bob. Can't think of any better name." "Bob's nice." Vera replied. "I, I think I'm going home." Patty explained. "Yeah, me too." Wendy said. "Me three. Father's been a little worried about me lately." Moshi stated. "Well, I guess we should go home too." Vera said to DeeDee, who nodded. "Well, bye guys!" Neko farewelled everyone as they started going towards their homes. "I'll get you your own cage and bring you food and..." Patty said to the raccoon she now called Bob. She peeked carefully opened the door a little, and heard Patamon and Gatomon speaking with someone. "Uncle T.K. and Aunt Kari?" Patty wondered, and opened the door more. "It's nice that you came to see us." Gatomon started. "Well, we heard the good news, so we had to." T.K. replied.
"So you guys are really getting married?" Kari asked, and Patamon nodded. "Show them the ring, Gatomon." He said. Gatomon took out her glove, and showed the ring to T.K. and Kari. "That's great." T.K. stated. "Actually, we never thought we would get married before you two do." Gatomon stated, making both T.K. and Kari blush a little. "So when will the wedding be held?" T.K. asked. "We haven't decided yet." Patamon replied. "It's gonna be sooner or later." "Okay." T.K. replied. "So how is the baby?" Kari asked Gatomon. "It's doing great." Gatomon replied. "Although it still takes about two months before it's born..." "Don't worry, you're gonna make it." Kari cheered her up. "Thanks..." Gatomon replied and smiled. "Although there are also a few cons about another baby." Patamon stated. "Huh?" T.K. and Kari asked. "Our house is getting small." Patamon stated. "It's a miracle we managed to get Patty her own room... But I don't think there's going to be enough room for anything else after the baby's been born." Patty gasped a little. "Uh-oh..." She thought, and looked at Bob. "Maybe I'll tell Mama and Papa about you later..." She quietly snuck inside the house.
"Oh, hi Patty!" Patamon greeted her. "H-hi, Papa and Mama." Patty replied nervously. "A-and you too, uncle T.K. and aunt Kari." "You okay, Patty?" T.K. asked. "Aa! I-I'm f-fine, ehhehheh..." Patty replied. "I, uuh, I need to go to my room." She said, and rushed upstairs. "Hmm..." Gatomon thought. "What was that all about?" Kari asked. "I don't know." Patamon replied and shrugged. "Patty can be pretty mysterious sometimes." "Whoa, look at the clock." T.K. said. "We have to get going." "Why?" Gatomon asked. "There's a huge exam tomorrow." Kari explained. "Oh, okay then. See ya!" Patamon said. "Bye!" Kari replied, and waved at them. As soon as T.K. shut the door and they started going towards the portal, Kari sighed. "What's the matter?" T.K. asked. "They... They are already married..." Kari muttered. "Kari, we're still in high school." T.K. reminded her after getting the point. "How come digimon grow up so fast?" Kari wondered. "I mean, Patamon and Gatomon are acting like mature adults a lot, and Patty's barely one years old and she seems like she's 8-" "Kari." T.K. said. "I'll promise you, one day we'll get married and have kids too." "R... Really?" Kari asked. "Really." T.K. replied. Kari smiled, and kissed him.
"Okay, I need to hide you somewhere..." Patty muttered, with Bob still in her hands. "Aha!" She said, and put Bob in a cardboard box. "You should be safe over there..." Patty stated. "Oh, are you hungry?" She asked Bob when she heard it's tummy rumbling. "Hang on a sec..." Patty went back downstairs, and walked into the kitchen. "The dinner's ready soon, sweetie." Gatomon said. "Y-yes, but I'd like some snack." Patty replied. "Hmm... Hey, carrots." She thought, grabbed a couple carrots from the fridge, and went back upstairs. "Okay, now I'm worried." Gatomon thought. "Patty HATES carrots..." "Where are you going?" Patamon asked when she noticed Gatomon climbing up the stairs. "I'm going to see what our daughter's doing." Gatomon replied. "Patty? Are you there?" She asked, and knocked the door to Patty's room. "Aah! I-I'm not here! I'm somewhere else!" Patty replied nervously, realized what she had said, and slapped her face. "I'm coming in!" Gatomon said, and opened the door. "W-wait!" Patty yelled nervously. She desperately tried to hid the box, but Gatomon had already opened the door. "What are you hiding from us, Pat-" Gatomon started, but closed her mouth when she noticed Bob.
"Patty?" She asked quietly. "What is it?" "I-it's my p-p-pet." Patty replied nervously. "I-it's name is B-Bob. "When did you find it?" Gatomon asked. "T-this afternoon." Patty replied. Gatomon sighed a little. "Patamon?" She yelled. "Can you come over here for a minute?" "Mama, NO!" Patty screamed quietly. "What is it?" Patamon asked, and climbed upstairs. "Patty has a little surprise for us." Gatomon replied. "Look." She said, and pointed at the cardboard box. "Is that-" "A raccoon." Patty admitted. "What is it doing over here?" Patamon asked. "I... It's leg was tangled in a stolon, and..." Patty told the whole story to them. "...And then it started following it, I couldn't have just leave it there!" Patty sobbed. "Why didn't you tell us?" Gatomon asked. "Papa said that there's no room for anything else..." Patty replied. "Patty, it's a wild animal." Patamon said. "It can't stay here with us." "B-but it likes me..." Patty sobbed. "Please, Mama and Papa, please let me keep it..." Patty was on her knees. "I'm begging you, please..." "Well..." Patamon started, and looked at Gatomon. They both sighed a little, and Patamon said "Fine. You can keep it." "Oh, thank you Papa!" Patty said, and hugged him. "I promise I'll take care of it..."
Patty was overjoyed that she was allowed to keep Bob. She fed him with a bottle, read him stories, and even sang the lullaby to him. However, everything changed one week later. "It's all black..." Patty said worriedly when she showed Bob to her parents. "I think it is sick..." Gatomon stated. "Why?" Patty wondered. "C-can it be healed?" "I'm not sure." Patamon replied. "But I'll do my best." He added, and Patty smiled. He fed Bob some medicine, and it coughed a little. "Please get better soon, Bob." Patty said to Bob before going to sleep. Patamon spent the whole night in the kitchen, taking care of Bob. "Oh no..." He muttered early in the morning. "How... How is it?" Gatomon asked and yawned. "Get Patty here." Patamon replied. "Yes, Papa?" Patty asked, and rubbed her eyes. "Patty, I... I tried to do my best to keep Bob alive." Patamon replied. "But I... I'm sorry. It's... Gone." Patty gasped. "Oh, no, no no..." She sobbed, and looked at Bob's motionless corpse. "No no no NOO!" She started crying hard. Gatomon went to hug her, and whispered "It's okay..." to her ear. Patamon also stood up, and patted Patty's back.
The three of them went outside. Patty sniffled, and wiped her tears. "Where should we bury it?" Gatomon asked. "Not it." Patty replied, and sniffled. "Him." "Right. Where should we bury him?" Gatomon asked again. "O... Over there." Patty replied, and pointed under a small tree nearby. Patamon dug a small grave with a spade, placed Bob inside, and started filling it. "Rest in peace..." Patty muttered: she had joined her hands together, and it looked like she was praying. Gatomon did the same. "I, I'm sorry." Patamon said to Patty one more time. "It's okay." Patty replied. "There was nothing you could do, Papa. At least you tried." She looked at the grave, and sighed a little. "At least Bob's in a better place now." She carefully hugged her parents. "Promise me." Patty whispered. "Promise me that you'll never leave me." "We promise." Gatomon said quietly. Patty sniffled, and took one more look at the grave. She had finally understood the concept of life and death.
