Disclaimer: I do not own The Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters but I do own the penguin Alex.

When the gates came into view, Alex halted and jumped into a bush. Several humans walked by without noticing her, and she wondered how she was going to get in with so many people around. She decided to wait until the zoo closed; she knew her father and the others would be too busy entertaining the visitors to realize she's gone. So she laid down in the bush and turned a few times, finding it hard to get comfortable.

As she fidgeted, she wondered if telling Kowalski her feelings were going to be as easy as Fred believed it would be. She wasn't sure how much time went by but after what felt like hours, the bell on top of the clock tower went off, and she heard a large crowd heading her way. She ducked farther into the bush, praying that nobody would see her. She held her breath until finally the last of the people went away.

Relieved that she went unnoticed, she came out of hiding. Now she can move throughout the zoo without worrying about someone seeing her. But she didn't go far before she heard a voice that has grown familiar calling out to her. She looked around and spotted her father sliding to her. He jumped to his feet when he got to her.

"Where have you been?" he demanded as the other three appeared behind him; Alex noticed that Kowalski in particular looked really worried.

Alex turned to her father in surprise. "I was bored inside all by myself!" she told him," so I went to the park. I met a squirrel," she added. "Named Fred."

The tall penguin waddled over to her. "Ah, Fred," he said. "How is he?"

"He's good," she answered, deciding not to tell him what they talked about just yet. I'll get him alone later and tell him then. "I asked if he knew Skipper, but he didn't really answer like he wasn't sure."

Kowalski nodded and folded his flippers behind his back. "Yes, Fred can be a little clueless at times."

"I can tell," she murmured.

Skipper stepped in between them and said," No time for small talk. Let's head back to HQ."

Kowalski dipped his head. "Yes, sir."

Alex eyes her father suspiciously but decides to follow him and the others anyways. Maybe she can get some one on one with Kowalski when they get back. They didn't get far when a brown-and-white animal jumped in front of them.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted the four commando penguins, then looked past them at Alex. "Who's she?"

Skipper took a step toward the otter. "Marlene, this Alex, my daughter."

The otter's eyes widened and her jaws dropped open. "Your what?" she exclaimed as she turned to the female penguin; Alex ducked behind Kowalski in embarrassment, feeling more heat under her feathers when the tall penguin flashed her a friendly smile but said nothing.

"I'll explain later," Skipper told the otter. "We were just heading back to HQ."

Marlene held his gaze for another moment, before sighing. "Okay," she said slowly. "But," she quickly added, looking Skipper in the eyes," I expect the whole story later." She turned and walked off.

Alex watched her leave, before hurrying to catch up to the others. Now in the secret room inside the concrete island, she looked around as Private and Rico went over to the table. They started playing some card game and for a few moments, she watched curiously, wondering what they were playing. She was confused when they each licked a card and sticker it to their heads, before Private started dealing them both in.

She soon was distracted by their game when she spotted Kowalski and Skipper talking. As she stared at them, Skipper nodded and walked over to the table to join in the card game while Kowalski disappeared into another room. Curious, she followed him and poked her head in, blinking as she saw the tall penguin bending over a table with a few weird looking machines spread out on it. She swallowed nervously and waddled over to him, taking in everything in this much smaller room. When she stopped beside him, she asked," Hey, can we talk?"

He looked up in surprise, but she was glad to see his gaze warming as he stared down at her. "Of course." He waddled to the door and closed it, before returning to her. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Us." Alex stared down at her feet, shifting them nervously. For a moment she had believed she'd be able to do this, but now that she'd brought it up, she wasn't sure if she could. Can't back down now, she thought as she glanced up, seeing that his eyes sparkled as he looked back at her.

"What about us?" he asked.

Alex cleared her throat. "I know you like me," she started, thinking about that kiss they shared in the lemur habitat. She looked up at the tall penguin and saw that he was hanging on every world she was saying. "And I think I—" She paused and shook her head, suddenly certain. "No, I know I like you a lot. But what does that make us?"

Kowalski grabbed her flippers and looked her in the eyes. "Well, I'd really like to be your boyfriend… if you'd let me…" he whispered as he bent down.

Alex didn't move as he pressed his beak against hers; this time she kissed him back. When they separated, Alex smiled up at the taller penguin, then laid her head on his chest. "I'd like that," she whispered.

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