Disclaimer: I do not own The Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters, but I do own Alex the penguin and a lot more characters who appear in this story.

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The train sounded throughout the zoo, startling Alex out of her dream. The young penguin jumped to her feet, expecting trouble. She relaxed when she saw that she was back home. Sighing with relief, she laid down on the rock and listened to the train on its tracks, but it never came close to the penguins' habitat.

As Alex laid on the rock, she tried to snatch up what was left of her dream in her mind, but she just couldn't remember most of it, and the parts she did recall made no sense to her. It seemed like she dreamed of traveling over unfamiliar land, but she just couldn't be sure.

Finally, she gave up when she started to get frustrated, and climbed off the rock. She glanced around the habitat, noticing that the other penguins were nowhere to be seen.

Alex wondered where they were. As she continued to look around, she heard a splash behind her. She spun around and saw her best friend looking down at her from the pool, which was much higher than anything else in the habitat. When the penguins wanted to go swimming, they had to find a way to climb up the cliff. It always confused Alex why the humans had made the pool so high up, but then again she never understood anything the zookeepers did.

"The water feels nice today!" the older penguin called down to Alex. "Are you coming in?"

Alex was tempted to join her friend, but she didn't feel like making the climb. She shook her head and asked," Where's my mom?"

Grace pointed to the other side of the habitat.

Turning around, Alex noticed for the first time that her mother and the only male penguin were close to the large window where humans liked to gather and look at the penguins. She waddled over to them, calling out a greeting.

As soon as he heard her, Jason turned around to face Alex. "Oh, you're finally awake!" he exclaimed. "I was beginning to think you'd sleep through zoo hours!" His eyes sparkled as he looked down at the younger penguin.

Alex faked a smile, half wishing she could share the same feelings he felt for her, but she simply didn't like him in that way. Instead of replying to Jason, Alex turned to her mother. "Is it almost mealtime?" she asked, realizing how hollow her belly was.

Daisy turned to her daughter and offered her a kind smile. "I think the zookeepers will be here soon with our food," she replied, turning back to look out the window.

Alex jumped on a rock and peeked outside. She liked watching all the humans walk by. She knew she was the one on display, but she found all the people fascinating. She saw all kinds of things through this window. Now she saw a group of kids running past, shouting something, but their voices were muffled because of the glass separating her from the people.

She was distracted from the kids when Jason joined her on the rock. Anger and frustration swelled inside her, and she opened her beak to tell him to back off, when she noticed a familiar human walking toward the door of the penguin habitat. Her belly growled when she saw that he was carrying a bucket full of fish.

Jumping off the rock, she ran to greet the human, just as he came through the door and closed it behind him. She waited eagerly as he approached. He set the bucket down and patted her on the head before turning and leaving.

"Thanks!" she called after him, then plunged head first into the bucket. She stepped back with a fish in her mouth and she swallowed it whole. She gulped down another one, but by the third one she was beginning to feel full, yet she forced herself to finish it.

Sitting down, she gazed around the habitat. Her mother and Jason were still looking out the window, and splashing from above told her that Grace was still swimming in the pool. She let out a sigh, realizing how peaceful life was, but it wasn't a happy sigh. It was full of misery.

Something was missing, and she felt the hole like one of her flippers was gone. But it took her a good minute before she realized what it was. The missing piece to this picture was her father, Skipper, who just vanished one day when she was only a hatchling.

At this realization, hot anger rose in her, threatening to choke her. For several moments, she let it consume her, feeling her vision turn red as violent thoughts flashed in her mind. Before it became unbearable, she forced herself to relax, reminding herself that she still had Daisy and that she didn't need a father when she had a mother as great as Daisy. Her vision cleared and she shook herself as if she could get rid of the dark thoughts like she would water from her feathers after a swim.

I don't need a father, especially not one who abandons his family, she decided firmly.

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