Private happily sat on the floor watching some mindless television like a distracted toddler, Rico just finished pouring pounds of salt over his dinner plate of fish, and Kowalski tinkered again with his trusty abacus. He was creating experiments to test Skipper for any sort of illness or condition that could've thrown off the disastrous track switch that happened earlier. As if on cue, Skipper hopped in from the hatch. All three penguins turned to look back at him as he waddled with a big and satisfied grin on his face. It was clear they were worried if he was alright or if things were going to get any weirder than it already has. Kowalski rose from his seat.
"Skipper, are- well, is everything okay?" he asked cautiously.
"Never better, Kowalski," he replied cheerfully without turning to him.
He waddled over to the fridge and pulled out a glass bottle of soda and waddled over to Rico, who continued to stare worriedly at him for any funny business. With a whack at his gut, Skipper forced a bottle opener out of Rico- "Blah!"- and popped his drink open. He gulped it down while the team continued to observe him.
"Um, so how did you spend you're day off?" asked Kowalski. "Strangely for the second time in a row."
"Fantastic, my friend!" he exclaimed happily. "Today couldn't have been any better! Well, maybe a little more… but I still had a great time!"
"Uh…" Kowalski was a little unsure if this was a good thing or not.
"Well, what were you doing, sir?" asked Private curiously.
"Thought you'd never ask!" he smiled. "I spent the whole day with Marlene, of course! And boy does she know how to have a good time."
The team gathered a little closer and gasped. This was very rare… actually really out of character.
"Oh, is that so?" smiled Kowalski nervously.
"Yup, we had a great picnic, actually watched the bird show, played with all the knick-knacks and silly costumes at the zoovenir shop, and the best part of all… we watched the sunset. Side by side. Alone… and possibly in love…"
Rico suddenly choked on his fish and held his throat, gasping frantically for air! Private rushed over to help his poor friend, straining to make him spit it out! Skipper didn't seem to care one bit as he sighed dreamily, reminiscing the day over and over in his head. Kowalski shook his head in disbelief.
"Um, perhaps it's best to maybe take it easy and just get to bed early tonight, okay?" he suggested. "In the morning, maybe we could run some diagnosis for any development of the common cold, or a brain tumor, or… avian flu?"
"Nonsense, Kowalski!" Skipper swayed happily. "I tell ya, I've never felt so alive and upbeat before! I've never felt this way about anyone before either! It's like taking that first dip in the icy, frozen waters of the arctic, refreshing and exhilarating. Just the way I take my morning showers." He sipped his bottle. "Ahh…"
Poor Rico continued to choke and Private was beginning to feel desperate to get that thing out, Rico was already turning blue for crying out loud!
"Skipper, I strongly suggest you get to bed as soon as possible. This is just simply unlike you, and I'd really like to run these diagnostics and-"
"Oh! Did I even mention that we rode the dolphins?"
Kowalski panicked as he held his head in his flippers, "You dared to ride Doris on her back like some sort of CARNIVAL RIDE?!"
"Relax, Kowalski, neither of us rode on her. Her friends were happy to hitch us rides, which I paid handsomely with sardines."
"Skipper, you've gone mad!"
"At ease, Kowalski, it was only a date."
Finally after the two struggled and scrambled all over the place, Rico threw a final fierce punch against his belly and the half-eaten fish popped out of his beak. Private looked down at the poor fellow as he watched him drastically change colors from purple to white again. Then Rico continued to lie there, letting his tongue hang from his beak as he tried to catch his breath he urgently needed.
"I'm sure this is a first for everyone, and a bit of a surprise," stated Skipper. "But I'm perfectly fine, and happy I might add. What's so wrong about me finding love anyway?"
"Well, I guess there's nothing wrong," Kowalski scratched his head. "But it just seems… well, not you… at all…"
Skipper cocked a brow and shook his head, "Well sorry to disappoint. So I'm not made of stone after all, big whoop. I finally understand all the annoying love songs that pop into the speaker when we're put on hold for pizza. And that took the fun and love of a beautiful otter I took for granted this whole time." He paused for a moment and lowered his head before he looked back up again. "Well not anymore. From now on, Marlene has my full, undivided, and loving attention. From this moment on, I'm making it my personal mission to make her all mine."
He gulped the last bit of his soda, tossed it into a trash bin without breaking it somehow, and waddled over to the bathroom. He left the team with their mouths hanging unbelievably at what their leader had become! Once the door slammed shut, Rico immediately pulled out a paper bag again and puked bits of what he had for dinner, his lunch… even his breakfast!
"Kowalski," began Private frighteningly. "I don't think I like the new Skipper."
"Neither do I," replied Kowalski as he turned around to meet his worried eyes.
"Well, if Skipper says he's found love, maybe we should respect his wishes. After all, he seemed serious about sticking to his mission… whatever it is."
"But it just doesn't seem right," pondered Kowalski. "It seems so sudden and so unlike his personality traits. I've only a bad feeling about this…"
"What are we going to do now?"
"Well, for now we have no choice but to wait and see what unfolds. I'll continue researching for the proper diagnostics to perform on him."
"But, Kowalski, what if something goes wrong in the meantime? What if he gets hurt? Or maybe even Marlene…"
"Yes, I know. Marlene's safety also hangs in the balance."
Rico huffed, trying to recover from the illness he was suffering.
"We have no choice, Private," he shook his head. "We'll just have to be alert no matter what happens. This is will be much more difficult knowing that two lives could be in danger, but I believe this is why Skipper had trained us for. So let's do this."
"Got it," nodded Private.
Even Rico grunted and nodded with agreement at their somewhat tactic. It was small and simple, but what can they do?
* * *
Meanwhile in the otter's habitat, Marlene slept peacefully in her bunk. Along with having a wonderful day, apparently she also had a memorable dream for the night. She kept grinning and chuckling in her sleep, she couldn't help but dream about Skipper. She was already dreaming of what the next day might turn out to be for the both of them. More fun and excitement, or maybe just relaxing and just taking in a glorious afternoon or maybe even share a romantic evening. Who knows… maybe tomorrow will be the day they might even have their first kiss. She smiled in her sleep as she was already dreaming of Skipper holding her in a warm hug… and then he dipped her just a bit while he supported her with his strong yet gentle flippers… then he told her the three magic words that made her entire world light up… and then they'd lean in… with passion and pure love… yes, that would make everything right.
It never occurred to her why he suddenly had a change of heart towards her, but who cares? She liked the way Skipper was now, and there might not be anything else that could make her happier. Who knows… maybe she just might even… love him.
Her eyes popped open and she sat up. She put her paw over her head. What am I thinking? She thought. That's crazy! So we hung out today… very unusual, but still. Maybe it's just a one-time thing and everything'll go back to normal… like always. She set herself back down into her bunk. Still, I guess it's harmless to dream, at least just this once. She rolled over to her side and the dream appeared again. Again under the stars, again staring at each other warmly, again the dip, again the words, again leaning in…
Marlene didn't even realize she was actually puckering her lips in her sleep! She yelped and sat up again when she realized what she was doing.
"What am I doing?!" she shrieked and she even smacked herself. "Get a grip, Marlene! It's too good to be true!"
She sighed and threw herself back with her paws over her face, but when she did she saw his confident smile again. She growled and snapped her eyes open and turned herself over. She repeated this cycle of sleeping and waking and it began to frustrate her. She couldn't be falling for him! It was plain out of character.