Cedric was slightly nervous over this, but not as nervous as he was when Forest had been born. Once Sophia was admitted to a room, Cedric raced to the phone and called the Raccoondominium.
"Hi, Cedric," Bert said, when he picked up. "What's new?"
"Sophia and I are at the hospital," Cedric said. "It's time."
"Yeah? We'll be right over!"
Cedric didn't think it was really necessary for Bert, Ralph, and Melissa to come over, but Bert had already hung up the phone before Cedric could say so. He just sighed, and started calling the others to let them know what was going on. He had just got off the phone with Lisa's mother, Nicole, when Bert ran over to him. Ralph and Melissa were walking in behind him, at a much slower pace.
"Is it here yet?" Bert asked.
"Bert, it's only been fifteen minutes," Cedric said. "If Sophia had the baby in fifteen minutes, we'd be on the cover of The National Enquirer!"
"How long did it take Forest to be born?" Bert asked.
"About fourteen hours," Cedric said. "I don't think it should take that long this time around."
"Then, I guess all we have to do is wait," Melissa said, sitting down in a chair.
"Oh, you guys don't have to stick around," Cedric said.
"Hey, we're not gonna leave ya at a time like this!" Bert shouted, giving Cedric's shoulders a squeeze. "We want to be the first ones to meet the new baby!"
Bert then sat down and grabbed a magazine from the table. Ralph and Cedric did the same thing. At least Cedric wasn't pacing around, like he had when Forest was born. Two hours later, Cedric got up and went to the phone.
"What are you doing?" Melissa asked.
"I'm going to call Forest," Cedric said. "I told him I'd check in before the baby was born, and to make sure Pop's doing okay watching him."
Ralph, Melissa, and Bert nodded. Cedric went to the phone and called the mansion. After about three rings, someone picked it up.
"Hello?" a small voice asked.
"Hi, Forest," Cedric said, smiling.
"Daddy!" Forest shouted, happily. "Did Mommy have the baby yet?"
"No, not yet. She probably won't have the baby until you're in bed."
"How come it takes so long?"
"You know, I don't know. Listen, I'm just calling to see how things were going."
"They're going okay. The Pigs made me macaroni and cheese and chocolate pudding for dinner. "
"Sounds good."
"Daddy, can I stay up until Mommy has the baby?"
"I'm afraid not, Forest. Mommy might not have the baby until really late, and you need your sleep."
"Awwww . . . ."
"Forest, you know the rules. After you've had dinner, you have to take your bath and then go to bed. Now, I want you to be a good boy, and do that, okay?"
"Okay, Daddy. I love you, and tell Mommy I love her, too."
"I love you, too, Forest. See you later."
Cedric hung up the phone, and went back to the Raccoons. Then he sat down, and waited. Three hours went by, and there wasn't any word yet. Melissa read through a magazine which featured an article about childbirth.
"It says the first stage of labor is the longest," she said. "It can last anywhere from eight to ten hours."
Bert groaned. Ralph merely uttered a "hmmm," and read the newspaper. Cedric didn't say anything. He kept staring at the clock on the wall.
Finally, at four thirty-seven in the morning, a nurse came into the waiting room.
"Mr. Sneer," she said. "Would you follow me, please?"
Cedric stood up, feeling a bit worried. Ralph, Bert, and Melissa looked at each other, and followed as well. They weren't quite sure what was going on.
Meanwhile, Cyril and the Pigs were sitting by the phone. They had been up all night, waiting for Cedric to call. Forest was up in his room, asleep.
"I wonder how long this is going to take?" Lloyd asked.
"Hopefully not as long as Forest," Cyril said. "He took fourteen hours. I've had enough waiting. I'm going to bed."
And with that, Cyril started up the stairs. Lloyd yawned, and looked at his brothers. Floyd and Boyd were both curled up on the floor, sound asleep. Lloyd yawned again, and was about to catch forty winks himself, when the phone rang, waking all three of the Pigs up, and scaring them half to death.
"Yaaahhh!" Floyd shouted.
"Who's on first?!" Boyd asked, looking around.
"Hello?" Lloyd asked as he picked up the phone. "Oh, hi, Cedric. Any news? Well, he went upstairs a few minutes ago. We were up all night waiting for you to call. No, he went to bed after your dad gave him a bath. Yeah, wait a sec. Hey, Floyd, go get the boss."
Floyd nodded and ran up the stairs to get Cyril. Lloyd went back to the phone.
"So did she have the baby?" he asked. "Uh huh . . . . uh huh . . . . really? Huh, that's interesting. Yeah. Okay. Okay, I'll tell them. Okay, see you later. Bye."
Lloyd hung up the phone just as Cyril came down the stairs.
"This had better be important," he grumbled.
"It is important, sir," Lloyd said. "That was Cedric on the phone."
"About time. Is my new grandson here yet?"
"Well, uhh, yes and no."
"What in blazes does that mean?!"
"Well, it means Sophia had the baby, but . . . . . well . . . . it's a girl."
"A . . . . . a girl? A girl? A girl?!"
"So much for the Sneer family tradition," Boyd muttered to Floyd.
"Sofa Girl had a girl," Cyril said, practically collapsing in a chair. "There's got to be some mistake. There has never been a girl born into the Sneer family! Are the doctors sure on this?"
"Well, I think they would know the difference between a boy and a girl," Lloyd said.
Cyril just sat there, too stunned to move. For the past nine months, he had been expecting a grandson. Now he ended up with a granddaughter. As he sat there, Forest came down the stairs, sleepily, dragging his favorite toy, a stuffed aardvark he named Harvey, behind him by it's leg.
"Gampa, what's going on?" he asked. "I heard the phone. Was it Daddy?"
"Yes, Forest," Cyril said. "Your mother had the baby."
"Goody," Forest said. "My brother's here."
"Sister," Cyril corrected. "She had a girl."
"But I was supposed to get a brother!"
"I know. Go back to bed. I've got to get some sleep myself."
Cyril and Forest went back up the stairs, and into their rooms. But Forest couldn't get back to sleep. He was too excited. Even though he had gotten a sister instead of a brother, he was still anxious to meet her.
Cedric didn't return to the mansion until about ten. Cyril and Forest were awake, but the Pigs were down in their quarters sawing logs. When Forest heard the front door open, he made a beeline for it, and nearly tackled Cedric to the ground.
"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" he shouted, hugging Cedric around the leg. "Where's Mommy? Where's the baby? I wanna see my sister!"
"They're still at the hospital," Cedric answered, patting Forest on the head. "We're going to go see them later."
"How come we can't go now?"
"Because I'm going to fall asleep standing up in five minutes. I've been up for at least sixteen hours straight. And Mommy needs some rest, too."
"That you, Cedric?" Cyril asked, coming into the room.
"Yeah, Pop," Cedric said, yawning. "Hi and bye. I'm gonna go get some sleep."
"Sounds good to me," Cyril agreed. Though he was awake, he could still use a little more shut eye than he had gotten the night before.
"Come on, Forest," Cedric said. "Let's go take a nap."
"I don't want to take a nap," Forest complained. "I want to go see Mommy!"
"Please, Forest? I'm really tired, and Mommy is really tired. Mommy staid up all night to have the baby, and it was a lot of hard work. Mommy wants to rest a little before you see her. She doesn't want to go to sleep while you're visiting with her. I promise, we'll go see Mommy later, okay?"
"Oh, okay."
Forest yawned, and let Cedric tuck him in for a nap. He was more tired than he thought. Then Cedric trudged to his room, practically collapsed onto the bed, and fell asleep then and there. He knew he wouldn't be getting too much sleep in the coming weeks, so he had to get all he could now, before he brought the baby home.
Cyril, Cedric, Forest, and the Pigs ended up spending the entire day sleeping. No one got up until eight the next morning. But at least they were feeling refreshed. As the Pigs staid behind to take care of Cyril's business, Cyril, Cedric, and Forest were on their way to the hospital to see the baby. Bert, Ralph, and Melissa were there already.
"Uncle Bert, Uncle Bert!" Forest shouted, running for the Raccoon. "I got a little sister!"
"You sure do!" Bert said, picking up Forest and giving him a hug.
"Have you seen her yet?"
"Yep. Me, and Uncle Ralph and Auntie Melissa, we've all seen her. Now it's your turn."
Bert put Forest down, and Cedric led the way to the maternity ward. They went to the window where all the babies were. Cedric picked up Forest so he could see. A nurse wheeled one of the cribs over and Forest and Cyril got a good look at the new edition to the family. The baby aardvark was smaller than Forest had thought she would be.
"Was I that small, Daddy?" he asked.
"You sure were," Cedric said. "But I think she's smaller."
"She looks just like your mother," Melissa said to Forest.
That happened to be true. The baby had a head full of curly, dark blue hair, like Sophia's. And, like Sophia, her ears weren't visible, because of her hair.
"Poor kid," Cyril said. "Having to grow up looking like Sofa Girl."
Bert glared at Cyril, and gave him a whack in the arm. Cedric just shook his head.
"Can I go see Mommy now?" Forest asked.
"Sure," Cedric said, putting Forest down. "Let's go."
Cedric led the way down the hall. He stopped at one of the doors, opened it slightly, and knocked softly.
"Sophia?" he asked. "Are you up for some visitors?"
"Sure, Cedric," Sophia said. Cedric opened the door, and Forest practically ran inside.
"Mommy, Mommy!" he shouted. He climbed up on the bed, and Sophia gave him a big hug.
"Hi, sweetie!" she shouted. "Oh, I missed you so much!"
"I missed you, too, Mommy," Forest said. "Are you gonna come home soon?"
"In a few days," Sophia said. "The doctors want to make sure everything's all right before I can take the baby home."
"Pop and Forest saw the baby," Cedric said.
"I still want to know how this happened," Cyril said. "I was expecting a grandson, and I end up with a granddaughter."
"They can't help what it's going to turn out to be," Ralph said. Then he turned to Cedric and Sophia. "So, what's her name?"
"We decided to name her Evelyn Sylvia," Sophia said. "Evelyn after my grandmother."
"And Sylvia after Mom," Cedric said, looking at Cyril. "What do you think, Pop?"
Cyril didn't say anything. He looked a bit choked up at the thought. Since Cedric's mother had died shortly after Cedric was born, Cyril didn't like to talk about her much. Truthfully, he thought it was a nice gesture (especially since Forest's middle name was Cyril), but he didn't want to say anything about it, especially not in front of Sophia and the Raccoons. So he merely nodded.
"Evelyn Sneer," he said. "Evelyn Sylvia Sneer. Not bad. Not bad at all."
"You okay, Cyril?" Ralph asked.
"Just a little something in my eye," Cyril replied, rubbing his eye with his finger. Cedric and Sophia exchanged a glance, but they did not say a word.
"Okay, enough sentiment," Cyril said, composing himself. "Time to cut this visit short. I've got a lot of work to do, and I can't leave those bacon brains to do it all day!"
And with that, Cyril left. The others just laughed.
"Same old Cyril," Ralph commented.