Chapter 6: Amore

Was she going mad? was there a purgatory on earth? or was there more hell then heaven in her mind? Kowalski the name literally screamed in her mind, she needed air. To be persice she needed to be free, to roam the earth like she once did in Tasmania.

Outside, her mind did get all the facts, Kowalski did indeed like her, to much. Ginger was sweating bullets and felt her secretary blanket, Marlene. Could calm her down. She walked more like ran, towards Marlene's exhibit. Her mind twisted of thoughts of her laying on him sleeping, of the unsure of itself kiss. Her breathe exhilaratated and she nearly ran into the wall instead of climbing over it.

She fell aimlessly unto the pond below her and let herself float, she laid there untill she saw Marlene swimming over to her.

" You look worse, are you getting better with things?"

" No" Ginger said while she closed her eyes.

" What happened?" Marlene just had to ask.

" Kowalski let me sleep on his chest, and-and I couldn't stop myself, I never got much sleep the other night" Ginger opened her eyes and met Marlene's golden eyes boring into her's.

Marlene stepped back and was wide eyed. She then knew why Ginger was so lifeless, she put a hand out to help her up, Marlene dragged her to her cave, so they both could decust about what was going on.

" What is with the man?, I just don't get what he's doing" Marlene was pacing back and forth, Ginger's eyes watching every movement.

" I don't know, I just want it to stop" Ginger said while pulling herself into an upright fetal postion.

" You'll have to tell him yourself then" Marlene came to the conclusion, she sounded please, almost like she thought she'd when a Nobel prize for it.

" Yea" Ginger started to dab her fingers around on the floor, not in any pattern just little circles and curves. Ginger just kept drawing untill she relised what she was drawing, a heart.

" Everytime I get mad or furious, he kicks in like a tranquilizer, I feel blissed after and relaxed and even forget why I got mad at him in the first place, then it turns into a intimtie episode between us" Ginger finally looked up and confesed.

Marlene nodded her head, she crossed her arms in thought and closed her eyes.

" I'd tell him but you'll have to deal with it, but thats not what I'm worried about"

Ginger snapped her head up at Marlene, not what she was worried about? What did she mean? Was there something else that they were illumintating into the picture,oblivious that they even were? Ginger felt herself tension up and sit straighter up.

" What do you mean?"

" I mean will you like it?"

" Huh?"

Marlene smiled a comforting smile, though Ginger knew there was more to it.

" What I mean is, will you mind not letting Kowalski touch your nose or body? Would it start to bother you that you'd go nuts and demand it?"

Aha, Ginger could feel herself start to even wonder the same thing, she stared at the floor then back up at Marlene, tension her whole life was tension and decisions, even though so was everyone else's. However it was like God wanted her life to be a terrible and depressed platypus, Ginger once again started drawing hearts on the floor, her estacy, from her pain and for comfort.

" Your not sure, are you?" Marlene asked a little too hasty.

" Mmhmm" Ginger said letting all her emotions shift though that one little sound, by the sound of it she compressed all of her feelings for a while, she learned she'd probably would have vented by now but didn't, to feel an empty chest felt good. Question was, when was it going to be clogged again.

" Well why don't we send you somewhere that is Kowalski and penguin free" Marlene suggested.

" Where would that be?" Ginger had to ask, she could see the penguin's habitat from her exhibit and it was smack dab in the middle of the zoo as well, Ginger could also feel her mind start to shatter when she heared the word free.

" Well I'm gonna need some supplies, but it'll work like magic" Marlene started to rummage though an old rusted trunk beside her bed.

In an instance she pulled out a paintbrush, some green paint, and an art smock. She slowly creaped closer towards Ginger.

" Be prepared to be one, sick, platypus"

Nice idea, but not something that'd Ginger give credit for. First of, her face was covered more like oozed green paint and it ran into her eyes frequently. She was just staring into a huge celiling light, which didn't help her eye problem at all, her body strapped down to a huge blue gurney, and a huge pillow supporting her neck.

Yes, Ginger was at the zoo hospital.

It was Marlene's ingenious idea to make her "sick" so she could be penguin free, however Ginger's mind turned to logic. Wasn't the hospital supposed to be a place where friends and family visit? Apparently Marlene didn't look at her oppitions very well.

The room's door just kept swinging open every 5 seconds, Ginger's head was in a blur from watching it swing open so many times, every time she expected it to be Kowalski or one of the penguins. It was no one she knew or even cared about, it'd always be a doctor taking a blood or physical exam, the thought of needles pricking her made her think of the one thing she didn't want to.

Kowalski.

The thought of the experiment, what a better way then to do it here and right now! Geez, knowing Kowalski he'd probably think he died and went to heaven with all the techinacal advantages in one site, Ginger thinking of how he'd act made her lips curve into a smile. She really wanted someone to talk to right now.

The morning passed quickly into noon, Ginger lay there on the gurtney all day and waited, she waitied for Marlene to come in and say what was going on, with the outside world that is. Ginger just kept looking out at the window watching the clouds swift across the sky. I want out was all the came to mind.

A doctor came in breaking Ginger's train of thought, he flipped though his clipboard, funny, just like Kowals--- wait do not go there Ginger thought, the doctor then used his stefascope to listen to Ginger's heart. After he was finished he took her pulse and waited while staring at the clock on the wall, Ginger just layed there wondering what was he doing to her.

" Well you seem healthy, your tests are fine, your pulse is fine, but what puzzles me is what is on your face" The doctor quickly took a chip of paint off of Ginger's nose, he held it up towards the operating light and looked puzzled by what he saw.

" Paint?" He asked and he quickly turned back towards Ginger, Ginger smiled shyly however to humans they didn't know that animals smiled.

The doctor retreated out the door and quickly returned with a huge facecloth, he wiped Ginger's face clean of paint and smiled when it was finished.

" You probably stumbled unto wet paint or something, it's fine you can be picked up by Alice I'll call her" And with that the doctor went though the doors, within minutes he returned with a huge metal cage.

Ginger was stuffed into the cage and was sent to the opening where she would wait. Ginger was excited that she could leave, she'd probably die of bordom or of something else, she would be thinking about Kowalski the whole time. The place had his name written all over it, and this was the place Marlene suggested she should stay at, her home was more Kowalski free then the hospital and she could see him from her place! Marlene better check her thoughts more often.

When Alice came to pick her up she talked to the doctor, all Ginger understood was when Alice exclaimed " Paint??" Ginger was then lifted and brought back to her habitat.

Ginger swam around in order to remove some of the excess paint, and to mostly get the awful hospital smell off of her. She didn't really want to visit with Marlene when she laid eyes on the right side of the wall, but she did want to do one thing however.

Every thing screamed inside of her, her body froze up, she didn't want to go. However she had to explain what she was feeling like and explain why she was avoiding the boys so much. She mostly wanted to talk to Kowalski, she relised something was arising in her life, but she couldn't her finger on it.

She held her breathe as she slowly climbed over the wall.

When she arrived at the penguin's HQ, the first thing she wanted was his warmth, rather then the cold metal bars of her hospital bed or the cage. She felt herself running as fast as she could towards his office, passing Skipper who was yelling at her about something and Rico and Private who were just confused about the whole situtation.

Ginger felt tears start to spill from her eyes, her body felt like it was stuck in an eternity of isoalation and needed to recover from darkness. She felt the metal door sepretaing her and him, she pushed it open, eyes full of tears staring into his wide and confussed eyes.

" G-Ginger? Marlene told me you were sick!" Kowalski waddled closer to her, she could feel his body temperture slowly start to rise even inch they got.

" I wasn't it was a mistake, everything here is a huge mistake I should just go home" Ginger whispered though loud, gasping sobs.

Kowalski wasn't sure of what was going on, saw that the other 3 penguins were hovering around his door, smiriking. He glared at them for a second, then darted his eyes at Ginger who was crying for no apparent reason.

" Ginger, you need to slow down, what's wrong? I don't understand what's this about mistakes?" Kowalski could feel himself slowly start to lean forwards to her, stopped immedatly when he relised he was.

Ginger looked up at him, her fur soaked with tears and clamping her hands together nervously. She took a huge breath and tried to say something, the words never showed.

" Kowalski!" She yelled and she pummbled right into him, sobbing her heart out on his soft chest. She felt Kowalski slowly put his flippers around her waist and start to rub her back, he then leaned his head onto her shoulder. Ginger felt the sadness being replaced with love and bliss, she still tried to relieve her gasping breath. She then could feel his warm breath beating down her neck, chilling where ever the tears had dried on her fur. She then felt soft, warm lips pressing against her neck, kissing her in several places on her neck before it stopped. Ginger could feel her love being replaced with embarrisiment this time, She let go of him and stared at him.

A sure smile appeared on his face.

" Your not a mistake, nor are you alone, and neither am I anymore"

Ginger could feel herself start to cry at his words. It was true she was never felt alone when she was with him, nor with the other penguins. Ginger could feel a smile tugging at her lips untill it reveiled on her face. She clamped her hands together gleefully and she walked over to Kowalski, looking up at the tall penguin, she stood on her tip toes and slowly pecked him on the cheek.

" Thank you, thank you everyone I'm not alone anymore" Ginger walked away happily,

No, no no! It was like a dawning of a new and worse nightmare. She was only here a week, not very long and now it was the ending of a wonderful dream.

On her habitat wall there was a sign that read.

Transferring, Platypus order recalled.

It seemed like, her life wasn't as perfect as she thought.