Chapter 10 – There's Something About Bambi

Well, its taken me MONTHS to write just this one chapter.Why? I haven't a clue XD I wish I could blame it on lack of creativity, but thats a cliche excuse. Anyways, now that I'm back into the swing of things, I should be alright to continue writing more now :3 Okies, a sweet little chapter here for Frankie fans, plus a mysterious personality quirk for Don Lino's wife, Connie. And, to answer Lenny fans, he will be appearing in this story, but not yet ;) I'll keep you all in suspense! Hehe :)

After leaving Don Lino's office, Frankie took Bambi by the fin and led her through the bowels of the ship. He wasn't particularly happy, even if he did have someone new to play with.

"Ugh…the nursery is so boring. Just a bunch drooling babies rolling around on the floor playing with blocks," Frankie grumbled. "Err – no offence."

The comment went unnoticed by Bambi; she didn't understand what it meant. She just looked at him, with big curious eyes, squeezing his fin a little more as they continued through the ship. She hadn't seen many other pups in her short lifetime, and it was nice for her to be close to someone more her own size.

When they reached the nursery, it was actually quite busy. Most of the tiny pups were babbling between themselves, some were building blocks, others were having tiny tea parties. Frankie looked in with disdain, sighing heavily. He was just about to reach for the gate when he looked back at Bambi, who was busy still examining everything she saw with youthful curiosity.

"Come on Bambi, you might have to go soon, so you might as well have some fun," Frankie grinned, suddenly changing his mind. With Bambi in tow, he led the way back into the innards of the ship.

Frankie showed Bambi everything. He took her outside, if only briefly, to show her the great view from the ship. He took her to the split in the ship, where it was mainly wreckage and algae growth, but he pointed out some of the spooky crevices that he'd explored on his own. They breezed past the dining hall, which was quite empty. Frankie even took Bambi down to the cargo deck, where the huge cavern was so dark that they couldn't go any further in than the entrance.

Frankie excitedly led Bambi to one deck in particular, and didn't give anything away until they were there. It was an elegant staircase leading down onto another deck of the ship. The banisters were a little slimy, which Frankie was pleased about.

"Okies, watch this Bambi. This is so much fun," Frankie chuckled as he perched himself on the end of one banister.

He wiggled his tail a little bit, just to get some momentum. Then whoosh! He sped down the banister, screaming in delight as he did so. He even flew off the end, flying through the water. He stopped himself right in the middle of the lobby at the bottom of the staircase.

"Did you see that! Did you see how fast I was goin'? You try," Frankie yelled up to Bambi in excitement.

Bambi had watched him with glee, giggling and laughing at the top of the staircase as he sped down the banister. Now that it was her turn, she eagerly clambered up to the banister. She was smaller than Frankie after all, but she got there eventually, Shiny clutched in her left fin.

But things looked different from the banister, the staircase looked so much bigger, and the banister looked so much longer. Bambi's eyes widened, and she whimpered a little bit, hugging the banister with her fins. As she saw Frankie cheering her on at the bottom, Bambi gulped and let go of the banister, just wiggling her tail a little bit like Frankie had done to get movement.

Bambi flew down the banister. She closed her eyes and held onto Shiny tightly. She flew off the end, like Frankie had done, and hurtled through the water. But she kept her eyes closed.

"Alright! You did it Bambi," Frankie cheered. "Okies, just come to a stop now. Any time now. Err…Bambi you kinda need to stop. Whoa. WHOA!"

THUMP!

Bambi had flown straight into Frankie, sending them both tumbling onto the marble floor. They slid to a stop, Bambi draped over Frankie's belly, and Shiny dangling in front of Frankie's snout.

"Oww…" Frankie groaned, rubbing his head as he propped himself up. He looked down at Bambi, who opened her eyes slowly, blinking as she looked around. She looked up at him and giggled sweetly.

"Come on guppy, I'm hungry after all that," Frankie said, lifting her up off his tummy.

Frankie and Bambi peeked in through the kitchen double doors. Hard at work were several female sharks, most of them wives and mothers to the mob, and two octopus chefs, wielding sharp knives in their tentacles and barking orders around.

"Hmm…must be dinner time soon," Frankie muttered to himself. "Come on, I know where my mom stashes the good stuff."

He grinned and held onto Bambi's fin tightly as they sneaked inside. Almost instantly, they were nearly found out as a female approached them, carrying several large cooking pans. Frankie ducked into some cupboards, dragging Bambi with him. They had to squish up tight, making Bambi giggle at Frankie's awkward position. As the female sailed past, they nearly exploded from the cupboard. Frankie grabbed Bambi and led her across the kitchen assault course. They hid underneath pans and pots, they ducked into more cupboards, and they even rearranged the utensils so that the females were kept busy while they made their way to the pantry.

But the challenges weren't over yet. Since Frankie had sussed out the kitchen a long time ago, his mother had started putting all the treats higher up in the pantry, so he couldn't reach them. He'd found a few ways to overcome this, like making a lasso out of seaweed, but they only worked a few times. However, Frankie had an accomplice this time. He and Bambi looked up at the jar of treats. It was the highest it had ever been.

"Hmm…okies, listen up. I can't swim high enough. So, if yous get on me, and then I'll swim as high as I can. You can make a grab for them treats. Okay?" Frankie suggested to Bambi.

She looked at him, then up at the jar. They did look awfully nice, and something different than Mrs Crinch's cookies. She looked back at him and nodded, a cheeky grin forming on her jaws.

"Okies, get onto my back…oh you might have to leave that stuffed thing down here," Frankie instructed, lightly grabbing Shiny. He was amazed that Bambi didn't fight back and actually willingly let him take the plushie.

Bambi scrambled onto Frankie, resting her podgy little belly on his head. He started to sway his tail, increasing its speed to start to get some height. There were moments he faltered and lost some altitude, but he just tried harder. He got as high as he could swim, struggling to stay there steadily.

"Okies…now Bambi…reach for the jar," Frankie said, straining a little.

Bambi stretched out her fins and reached up for the jar. It was still too high for them. She whimpered and looked down at Frankie, who was trying so hard to keep steady. She tried again. But it was no use. No matter how much she stretched, she couldn't reach it.

Then it struck her.

All of a sudden, Frankie felt Bambi's weight disappear from his head. She'd made a jump for the jar! She'd summoned all the energy she had and wiggling her little tail as fast as she could to reach the jar. When it was within her grasp, she practically wrapped herself around it. But the combined weight of Bambi and the jar now meant she was going to plummet to the floor. Frankie smiled as he saw her grab the jar, and even caught her as she fell. They both smoothly sank to the floor.

"Alright, you did it Bambi!" Frankie cheered. "Trust me, its worth it," he said, opening the jar lid.

Inside was an assortment of homemade treats, from Flying Fish Crunchies to Kissing Fish Crèmes, all made by Frankie's mom. He dipped his fin inside and grabbed the first things that came to him, wolfing them down.

"Here," Frankie said with his mouth full. "Try deese," he said, handing Bambi a Flying Fish Crunchy and a Seaberry Crème.

She examined them both, taking particular interest in the Flying Fish Crunchy. She brought it to her lips, and then took a huge bite out of it. It was crunchier than she liked, but it was scrumptious. She mumbled in delight and scoffed the rest of it quickly, matching Frankie for appetite.

Within the short space of 15 mins, the entire jars contents had disappeared down the gullets of Frankie and Bambi. Frankie reclined back a little, rubbing his now pot belly. Both of them had bits of chocolate coating, biscuit crumbs, or fish scales around their mouth. Bambi was beginning to regret her greed, and looked a little green around the gills.

"Come on Bambi, lets go find more fun," Frankie said, struggling back up and swimming sluggishly. Bambi was sluggish too, but held onto his fin regardless and followed him back through the kitchen assault course.

Frankie felt triumphant after not only making it in and out of the kitchen without being caught, but also because he'd managed to outsmart his mom yet again when getting treats. He sped out of the last part of the kitchen assault course, Bambi in tow. She was being pulled rather than keeping up with him. She'd never eaten so many sweets before, and it was beginning to make her feel sick. But no sooner than Frankie had shot out of the kitchen and veered right, he bumped into something. Well, more like someone.

"Frankie? I thought you were supposed to be with your father," Frankie's mother looked down at her wayward son.

Frankie looked up at the menacing figure of his mother, and quickly tried to wipe some of the remnants of those treats from around his mouth.

"Err…well…ya see…I've…err…got a new friend. That's right. And I was just showing her around the ship," Frankie thought quickly, stuttering a little here and there, but finishing with a confident smile.

Frankie's mother looked at Bambi curiously. She'd never seen this pup before, and she looked too old to be a new born. "So, who is your new friend then?"

"This is Bambi," Frankie smiled, still confident that his sneaky trip to the pantry had gone un-noticed in his mother's eyes. Then he realised that Bambi still had crumbs around her mouth, and mimed for her to wipe them away. "Ya know that boxer me and pop like?"

"Vincenzio? Yeah, how can I not know about him," Frankie's mother rolled her eyes.

"Well, dis is his kid," Frankie beamed. "Pop is just talkin' to Mr Vincenzio right now."

"I didn't know he even had a kid," Frankie's mother sounded a little surprised.

She expected that news of such a boxing legend having a baby would have been all over the papers. Frankie's mother looked over Bambi, recognising Vincenzio's trademark white tail. She also noticed Bambi's glum expression and how she held one fin over her stomach, the other clutching Frankie's fin tightly.

"Is she alright?" she asked, concerned. She bent down a little, ready to scoop up the sweet-sick pup.

"Err…she'll be fine…umm…maybe its time we took her back to her pop…" Frankie tried to cover, his voice descending into almost silence as his mother scooped up Bambi. She didn't even struggle against Frankie's mother, who was a stranger to her, and just curled up in her large fins, whimpering occasionally.

Frankie's mother led the way back to Don Lino's office, Frankie trailing behind her. He was reluctant because he'd probably get grounded after disobeying his father, and he was busy thinking of good excuses for side-stepping the nursery. Bambi still hadn't recovered from her sugar overdose, and kept whimpering, almost crying at one point. She was still at an age where whimpers, whines and crying told adults what was wrong with her. And Frankie's mother picked up on it quickly.

"You know, Frankie, Bambi looks like she's got a tummy-ache. Has she eaten anything while she's been with you?" Frankie's mother asked slyly. She had a suspicion that her son had somehow managed to get the treat jar down again.

"Err…no, she hasn't…" Frankie said, unable to look at his mother.

"Are you sure?" Frankie's mother asked, stretching out her speech.

Frankie didn't answer, his eyes wide in fear and darting from side to side, trying to fix on anything except his mother's gaze. He twiddled his fins awkwardly. He held great respect for his father, but only his mother could make him squirm like this.

"You've been in the treat jar again, haven't you?" Frankie's mother said abruptly.

Again, Frankie didn't answer and just looked to the side. His mother was triumphant, yet again.

"What have I told you about that treat jar! It's just for after dinner only. Did Bambi eat some?" Frankie's mother said sternly.

Frankie nodded. He'd sidled a bit closer to his mother, and had his head tilted downwards, in the hopes of drumming up some sympathy for him. It didn't work.

"You can't give sugary sweets like those to a baby," Frankie's mother continued, concerned about Bambi's well being. Now that she knew what was wrong, she quickly placed Bambi gently over her shoulder and began patting and rubbing her back. It wouldn't cure her of a stomach-ache but it would ease it a little.

"I'm sorry mom," Frankie said sullenly. He didn't even attempt looking at his mother, but he could just see Bambi in his field of vision. He didn't realise how sick those sweets had made her, and he felt even worse.

They all reached Don Lino's office, Frankie now holding on his mother's spare fin as Bambi had settled into sleep and curled up in her other fin. She entered just as Don Lino was getting up from his chair, Bambi's duffel bag slung over one shoulder.

"Connie, what a nice – " Don Lino stopped short, noticing his son looking a little sheepish behind his mother, and Bambi curled in his wife's fin. "- surprise."

Frankie tried his best to hide behind Connie, but it was no use as she dragged him out and made him float right in front of her.

"I thought you were supposed to be in the nursery," Don Lino looked sternly at Frankie.

"Well…I…" Frankie stuttered.

"He decided to raid the pantry instead," Connie cut him short. "And that's not all – he completely cleaned out the treat jar and shared them with his new little friend."

Frankie looked down at the floor, focusing on his idle fins rather than meeting his father's gaze. But that's when it hit him. Vincenzio was no longer in the room. Forgetting his possible punishment, he looked around the room in a double-take.

"Frankie. I'm disappointed. Both your mother and me have told you that the treat jar is off-limits before dinner. And what's worse is that you didn't go to the nursery like I told you to. You know I hate to do this Frankie – " Don Lino began, quite serious.

"Where's Mr. Vincenzio?" Frankie piped up, interrupting his father.

"Frankie, let me finish," Don Lino glared. "I'm going to have to ground you for a week and cut your allowance."

"But…but…pop! What…what am I going to do for a week?" Frankie objected, momentarily forgetting Vincenzio's mysterious disappearance.

"You can look after Bambi. Vincenzio was only here to drop her off, because she'll be staying here with us until this Saturday," Don Lino said.

Frankie seemed stunned. "She's staying here? How come?" he asked, his tantrum melting away to curiosity.

"Nevermind why, all that matters is that she's staying here and you have to look after her. Think of her as a temporary little sister," Don Lino smirked.

It was Connie's turn to be stunned. "And why am I only hearing about this now?" she questioned her husband. He had a terrible habit of leaving her out of the loop, and it irritated her to no end.

Don Lino avoided her direct gaze, and instead shot her a sly smile. "We'll talk about this later," he said, swimming over to her and putting a fin on her shoulder, gently coaxing her to turn around. "Away from prying ears," he muttered under his breath, referring to Frankie.

Don Lino wasn't ready to start revealing the darker side of his work to Frankie just yet. He was only four after all, and despite his aptitude for being a shark, too much exposure of a sinister nature was not good for his age. Or at least that's what one of Commie's parenting books preached.

Connie hated that smile. She could never resist her husband's charm. She reluctantly gave in, sighing heavily as she left his office, closely flanked by Don Lino and then trailed by Frankie. It was now that Don Lino had a closer look at the sleeping Bambi. She still looked a little ill, and was certainly warm to the touch.

"Will she be okay?" Don Lino asked.

"I think so. She's just eaten too many sweets," Connie said, her gaze turning to Frankie, who quickly hid behind Don Lino. "I'll lay her down in Frankie's old crib for a little while."

"Okay. You might need this," Don Lino handed Connie the duffel bag of Bambi's belongings before turning to his son. "Come on you, looks like you're ready for a few more lessons."

Don Lino escorted his son back into the bowels of the ship for lessons on obedience and how NOT to feed a younger pup. Connie, instead, turned in the other direction for Frankie's room. Maybe a little sister would stop Frankie's pranks, if only for the three days before she had to go back to her own family.

She softly placed the pup on Frankie's mattress until she'd set up his old crib in one corner, lining it with blankets and some of the toys from her duffel bag. As she lowered Bambi into the crib, Connie's eyes welled up, and felt her heartstrings being tugged. She thought she would have gotten over this by now. She quickly turned away, bringing a fin to her mouth to stifle her silent mutterings.

Connie slowly looked over her shoulder at Bambi's small and curled up form, her body melting as if free of something heavy and tense. A smile fluttered to her lips, and she rubbed away the tears as she leaned over to give Bambi a soft kiss to the head. Connie left the room feeling a little torn, and it would seem a small visit to Don Lino's liquor cupboard might wash away the pain.