Geppetto was as happy as he could be. Though several months had passed since Francesca died and Pinocchio was born, he was never lonely or miserable. Not only did he have a son whom he loved more than anything in the world, but Figaro, the housepet cat he rescued from homelessness just a month ago also brought him joy. Figaro was happy to have a loving owner who kept him well fed and sheltered. And Geppetto recently had bought another pet. A beautiful female goldfish that he named Cleo. Figaro at first tried to take Cleo as per a circle of life with cats for a snack. But Geppetto did not approve.

"Figaro! Cleo is part of the family now! Just like you! We do not eat family members!"

Figaro at first did not like this, but he and Cleo quickly warmed up to each other.

Quite often, when he was not busy carving wood into clocks, music boxes or toys, he would be seen taking care of Pinocchio as usual.

Although, Geppetto was quite happy, he still found it stressfully challenging balancing between running the shop and taking care of Pinocchio. Although he often allowed children to play with Figaro, he didn't want them bothering Pinocchio as much. But he did still allow them to see him from time to time. Having to keep a delicate balance between his child and his job, Geppetto opened for customers less frequently than before. At first the customers were worried about this, but they kept faith in Geppetto's reason for it that he wanted to never abandon or neglect Pinocchio.

All the villagers knew ever since Francesca died, Pinocchio was the one thing he had to take care of most. And he did. He was becoming one of the most loving fathers, they had ever known. He kept Pinocchio well fed and clean, he made sure Pinocchio was always in good health by taking him to Doctor Collodi every once in a while, he played with him often, and he would read and tell stories and sing to Pinocchio every day and night.

6 month old Pinocchio was now more energetic and playful than ever. He had already grown a few inches, but he still had much to learn and Geppetto did try to keep him entertained by leaving Figaro to play with him while he worked in the shop. Pinocchio loved Figaro.

And though he had yet to learn how to walk or stand, he could manage to crawl on all fours, and he was perfectly capable of being able to sit up.

Though he was still was a bit fussy when it came to baths. When he was still a newborn, he hated baths. But by the time he was 3 to 5 months old, he started getting used to them. Sometimes he shared a bath with Figaro. Figaro never liked baths either, but with Pinocchio to have as a bath buddy, he couldn't complain.

One August morning, Geppetto closed up shop for the day, so that he could spend the whole day with Figaro and Pinocchio. He had already given Pinocchio his morning feeding and breakfast, and had just started to give Pinocchio a bath. After a short while, he went for Figaro. Pinocchio was splashing in the bathtub so much, Geppetto lost focus trying to settle him down and accidentally dropped Figaro. He had caught Figaro before he hit the ground, but Figaro was so startled he swung his claws around and accidentally scratched baby Pinocchio's arm. Pinocchio could feel the scratch and began to scream and cry. Geppetto grabbed a towel and lifted Pinocchio out.

"Oh my goodness. There, there, Pinocchio! There's no need to be upset. It's alright. It's just a little scratch. We'll have you fixed up in no time."

He turned to Figaro and glared at him.

"Shame on you, Figaro. Lashing out at poor Pinocchio like that. You will not be sharing a bath with him today!" Figaro just frowned. He hadn't meant to hurt Pinocchio, but he felt he still shouldn't have been scolded.

He treated the wound quickly, put some clothes on Pinocchio and gave him a hug hoping to calm him down. Pinocchio reached his arms around his father and he stopped crying.

"See what happens when you splash too much? Accidents happen. But it wasn't your fault. I should have put Figaro down first. Did you mean to get hurt, my precious boy?"

Pinocchio looked at him and shook his head, which meant no.

Geppetto smiled back. "Oh of course, you didn't. Whose my happy little boy?" Geppetto asked rubbing his nose against Pinocchio's "You are! Yes, you are!" He tickled Pinocchio's ribcage and blew a raspberry on his tummy making him laugh.

Geppetto then picked him up and flung him up in the air catching him each time. And then he spun himself around in circles with Pinocchio still in his hands like a top. Figaro wanted to play too, but when Pinocchio saw him, he squealed in fear and buried his face into Geppetto's shoulder whimpering.

"Now, Pinocchio. It's alright. Figaro didn't mean to hurt you. He was just startled. Come on now. Don't be afraid."

Pinocchio looked down at Figaro and whined slightly.

"Figaro, come over here and apologize to Pinocchio for hurting him. Then maybe you can play with him."

Geppetto set Pinocchio down and let Figaro walk over. Pinocchio was getting scared, but Figaro simply meowed and licked his face. He was so happy Figaro wasn't hurting him again, he practically giggled. Pinocchio reached out and hugged Figaro. Figaro still squirmed trying to escape Pinocchio's arms. But he was more careful not to scratch him again.

"See, Figaro. Pinocchio forgives you," said Geppetto.

Hearing this, Figaro purred and nuzzled Pinocchio's chest.

Later that day, Geppetto put on his own little puppet show to entertain Pinocchio. And Pinocchio loved it. When Figaro came up, Pinocchio got on his hands hand knees and started barking like a dog. Figaro shrieked and ran. Of course, he knew it was only Pinocchio. The little boy crawled over with his doll still in his hand and gave Figaro a nice pat on the head. Figaro settled down. He didn't want to hurt Pinocchio again.

"Ooooh," exclaimed Geppetto. "You are so cute. The both of you."

But a sadness overcame Geppetto. He walked into the shop and sat down.

"Oh. How happy we all are today. If only Francesca could see this."

Pinocchio, for being only 6 months old, felt something wrong with his father. His happy feelings he had been feeling all day suddenly disappeared. Crawling over to his father, he wanted to see what was the matter. Once he reached his father, he tried to stand up, but he couldn't balance himself and fell on his bottom. He tried to use a nearby stool to stand up, but he fell over again and bumped his head on the nearby shelf and dropped his cricket. In less than a second he started wailing and bawling. Geppetto got up and ran to the boy and picked him up.

"Oh. Oh no. What happened, Pinocchio? Did you hurt yourself?!" Thankfully, there were no marks or bruises anywhere on Pinocchio, but his head really hurt.

"Where does it hurt, son?" He placed his finger on the tip of his son's forehead. No reaction. Geppetto ran his head over Pinocchio's whole head and felt where the hit had taken place. Pinocchio started screaming even louder.

"Shh. Shh. Shh. It's alright. Papa's here. Let's go get you feeling better." He started to walk off, but baby Pinocchio was reaching for something.

"Oh, yes of course. Your cricket. We can't lose THAT now, can we?" Geppetto picked up the toy and gave it to Pinocchio who still was crying.

There was a knock on the door.

"Mr. Geppetto. Is everything alright in there? I hear Pinocchio crying."

He knew that voice.

"Oh, Doctor Collodi! Please come in! Pinocchio is hurt!"

The doctor walked in the door. Baby Pinocchio's face was buried into his father's shoulder.

"Now what happened?"

"Poor little Pinocchio hit his head on the shelf while playing. It was an accident."

"Well, let me have a look at the little fellow. Want to make sure there's no damage."

Geppetto handed the boy to the doctor, and the doctor examined Pinocchio's head.

"Hmmm. I don't feel any brain damage. No gashes on his head or bruises. Just a simple bump. That's all. Happens to kids all the time."

"Well, at least nothing serious happened to him," sighed Geppetto. "Thank you, doctor. I'm going to calm him down now."

Geppetto took Pinocchio to his room and sat down near the crib holding Pinocchio to his chest. And began to sing.

Come stop your crying. It will be alright.
Just take my hand. hold it tight

I will protect you from all around you.
I will be here. Don't you cry

For one so small, You seem so strong
My arms will hold you, Keep you safe and warm
This bond between us Can't be broken
I will be here Don't you cry

'Cause you'll be in my heart

Yes, you'll be in my heart

From this day on Now and forever more

You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart
Always.

Pinocchio calmed down and hugged his father again.

"Here. Lay down for a while."

Geppetto put Pinocchio in the crib and put a bag of ice on his tiny head. He held it there for 5 minutes.

"Feel better now?"

Pinocchio nodded yes with happy face.

"Oh. Good. Come on now. Let's go see what other kind of fun we can have today."

Geppetto and Pinocchio spent the whole day playing with the toys in the shop and the two had a happy afternoon. They played so long, they fell asleep in the nearby chair together with Pinocchio coddled warmly against Geppetto's chest. It was sunset when Geppetto woke up from his nap to feed Pinocchio for the evening. After Pinocchio was fed for the evening, Geppetto placed him in his crib, but when tried to leave, Pinocchio still wasn't asleep. He was sitting in the crib looking at him.

"What is it, my boy?"

Pinocchio stared at him still.

"No, Pinocchio. Playtime's over. Time to sleep."

Pinocchio pointed his small finger to the window. Geppetto opened it and saw one star shining brightly in the sky.

"Oh, yes. The wishing star. It is because of that star that I have you. If only it could bring your mama back. but it can't. I wish that it could. But it will never happen."

Pinocchio stared at him curiously. He didn't understand what his father was telling him. After all, he didn't remember his mother. She passed away shortly after giving birth to him. But he was intrigued by Geppetto's fascination on that little star.

"But there are lots of things that small star can grant you. If you wish hard enough, it's sure to come true. I must have wished long hard for it to give me you."

He walked over to Pinocchio and started to explain something.

"You see, Pinocchio. When a star is born, They possess a gift or two. One of them is this. They have the power to make a wish come true."

He pointed to Pinocchio's nose and pressed it making the boy giggle.

"YOU were MY greatest wish come true."

He began to sing as he rubbed the boy's head.

"When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are

Pinocchio smiled. Geppetto picked up Pinocchio and lifted him out of the crib and rubbed his nose against his own.

Anything your heart desires will come to you"

He placed him back in the crib and pointed to Pinocchio's heart.

"If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do"

"Fate is kind She brings to those who love"

"The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing. Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through

When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true"

Pinocchio yawned and finally went to sleep with a smile. Geppetto handed him the stuffed cricket as Pinocchio snoozed away while sucking his tiny thumb.

"Someday, Pinocchio," Geppetto told him as he rubbed his head. "I hope you find something to really wish for. Something you can wish upon that star for. Keep that dream in your little heart, and you'll find it will come true."

As much as Geppetto knew that to be true, he knew that wishing even hard enough for Francesca would not bring her back. But he hoped when Pinocchio was a little older and learned more about wishes, he would be able to make one for himself. But he hoped it would be something practical and not so foolish.

Nonetheless, Geppetto was right about one thing. Pinocchio's birth was indeed a dream come true for him. He couldn't trade it for anything else in the world.