I do not own Lilo and Stitch.

The Right Choice

Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt.

Looking up from her computer, the Grand Councilwoman reached over to press the blinking button on her desk's panel. A holographic screen unfolded before her, revealing the perky, pointed face of her dutiful secretary.

"The Head of Galactic Relations is here to see you, Your Eminence."

Years of practice in schooling her emotions allowed the leader of the United Galactic Federation to keep her annoyance hidden. "Send him in, Aera."

"Yes, ma'am."

The video feed disconnected and there was a hiss as the silver doors slid apart. The Grand Councilwoman folded her hands in front of her as an irate Head of Galactic Relations entered her office. "Olu. Always a pleasure to see you."

Olu scowled, not fooled by her sugary-sweet tone in the slightest. "Don't try that on me, Alae. You know very well why I'm here. I would have addressed this matter immediately, but someone didn't invite me to the ceremony and then I had to deal with the takeover of a maniacal rodent and his army of genetic experiment clones."

Olu was one of the few beings in the galaxy that could get away with addressing her by her given name, thanks to their long, amiable history. Alae raised a brow. "I'm assuming this is about our Earth Ambassador."

"Of course that's what this is about!" exclaimed Olu. "What were you thinking?"

"I fail to see the problem."

"The problem is that you bestowed the honour of the very first Earth Ambassador to the Galactic Federation to a nine-year-old girl!"

Alae frowned sharply. "I am going to have to insist that you lower your tone. I am fully aware that Lilo Pelekai is a child. But she is a smart, empathetic, compassionate human, and has proven to possess a unique connection with aliens."

"The aliens to which she has a connection includes the convicted evil genius Dr. Jumba Jookiba, a former Earth expert to the Galactic Federation, a Galactic Armada Captain with questionable loyalty, and six hundred and twenty-six illegal genetic experiments," Olu said flatly. "None of them compare to the hostile forces that continue to debate the importance of Earth staying an independent planet."

"Captain Gantu has proven nothing but devotion since rejoining the Galactic Armada," Alae said firmly. "You seem to be pointedly ignoring a few crucial details. That 'maniacal rodent' was defeated thanks to Lilo, Jumba, Pleakley, Stitch and the other six hundred and twenty-five experiments. They are the reason Hamsterwheel is back in prison and I stand before you once again. If none of this impresses you, how about the sheer fact that Lilo succeeded in turning all of Jumba's experiments from bad to good, starting with Stitch? I am offended, Olu, that you have such distrust in my judgement."

The small, round, green alien rubbed his thick neck nervously. "It's not that I don't trust you," Olu backpedaled. "I just have a great deal of unease knowing that a child is in charge keeping the peace with every alien that deigns to visit her primitive planet. It's a large amount of responsibility, for her and for me, especially if things go wrong."

Letting out a soft sigh, Alae steepled her fingers together. "I will not pretend that your concerns do not have merit. But I am confident Lilo is up for the task. If you need to be convinced, perhaps you ought to see the girl in action. I will bring you to Earth, where you will see that Lilo is the only candidate for the position of Earth Ambassador to the United Galactic Federation."

Olu gave a slow nod. "That is certainly acceptable."

"Indeed," said Alae dryly. "If anyone else had barged into my chambers with such insolence, I would have demoted them immediately."

Olu flushed. "I never meant to offend you—"

The Grand Councilwoman raised a hand and Olu promptly went silent, the tips of his ears turning dark green with embarrassment. "I know, old friend." She tapped a few keys on her holographic keyboard, bringing up her schedule and Pleakley's most recent report. "Tomorrow is Lilo's inspection day. I will clear all appointments and we will go see the child in action."

Olu blinked. "Inspection day?"

"I believe she calls them 'rounds.' She sets aside a day especially for checking in with the experiments. She takes their well-being very seriously, and strives to make sure they are all happy. They love her deeply in turn, which is why I've officially made her their sole caretaker."

Olu was flabbergasted. "So not only is she an Earth Ambassador, but she's also the sole caretaker to all six hundred and twenty-six experiments?"

"Of course. Who else would it be?" Alae gave him a pointed glance. "I expect you to be here tomorrow at first light. Was there anything else you needed to discuss?"

"No, Your Majesty. Thank you for your time."

As he left the chambers, he could not help but wonder what exactly he had gotten himself into.

...

The Grand Councilwoman's yellow spaceship touched down in Lilo's backyard as the Earth's sun finished rising. Olu followed after the esteemed leader, who seemed to know the trek through the thick foliage to the Pelekai household like the back of her hand.

When they reached the front of the quaint blue house, a small girl barrelled out the door. "Hi, Alae!" Lilo squealed excitedly.

As the girl took the wooden steps two at a time to reach them, Olu looked at Alae in bafflement. "She does not call you by your title?"

"Of course not," Alae said matter-of-factly. "It's not proper for your family members not to know your given name."

Family?!

The little girl jumped from the last stair to the dirt. She launched herself at Alae, who easily caught her. "I didn't know you were visiting!" Lilo said in delight.

Alae smiled fondly at her. "I thought it was my turn to surprise you."

Olu felt sick as he watched Lilo embrace the most influential and powerful leader in the galaxy. He counted himself lucky that he hadn't been fired for his little outburst in Alae's office. Any other leader would have done so without hesitation after such criticism directed towards their family.

"Who're you?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Olu turned to see Lilo looking at him with eager, curious brown eyes. Alae set her down and lightly laid a hand on Olu's shoulder. "This is Olu, Head of Galactic Relations."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lilo," said Olu politely.

Lilo tilted her head to the side. "What do you do?"

"Oh, well, I work with various governments across the galaxy to ensure a healthy relationship between them and the Galactic Federation."

"Wow!" Lilo said in awe. "That must be a lot of work!"

"It sure is," muttered Olu.

"We are actually here for a specific purpose," spoke Alae. "If it is not an inconvenience, we would like to join you for your inspections. Olu would like to see first-hand how you care for the cousins."

"Sure," Lilo said brightly. "It'll be fun. Stitch usually comes with me, but he and Angel are getting their picnic ready."

"We are glad to be your company in his place," said Alae.

Lilo turned on her heel, cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed, "Nani! I'm going to check on the cousins!"

The high-pitched shrill caused Olu to recoil, but Alae barely batted an eye. An older girl appeared in the open doorway, her eyes narrowed and a toothbrush hanging from her lips. She yanked it out and said sternly, "Not until I hear the rules!"

Lilo sighed dramatically. "Don't fight with Mertle, don't break any laws, don't go into space without telling you first and I have to be back by seven."

"All right, have fun." Nani gave Olu an acknowledging nod, not seeming disturbed by his presence in the slightest. "Hi, Alae. Lilo didn't say you were coming over."

"That is my fault—I did not mention it," said Alae apologetically. "How are you doing, Nani?"

"Busy," said Nani with a tired but affectionate smile. "Work and family, you know?"

A shriek suddenly echoed from inside the house, so loud and intense that it caused cracks to form in the front windows. With an agitated groan, Nani hollered over her shoulder, "Belle! Knock it off! You're gonna break the windows again! Jumba! Your experiments are fighting!"

She disappeared into the house, the door slamming behind her. Olu darted his eyes over to Alae, but she was unfazed by the abrupt farewell of Lilo's sister. The nine-year-old sent Alae a sheepish grin. "I think Glitch interrupted Belle's favourite show. He likes to do that when he's feeling mischievous."

"Belle and Glitch?" repeated Olu.

"Experiment 248 and Experiment 223," explained Lilo. "But those are their science names. Their real names are Belle and Glitch."

There was the squeak as the flap of the dog door opened. Stitch and Angel rolled out, waving cheerfully at the group standing at the foot of the steps. "H-Hiiii!" greeted Stitch.

Alae inclined her head. "Stitch, Angel. I hope you have a pleasant picnic."

"Takka!" chirped Angel.

A bang sounded from behind the door, followed by Belle's furious cry and a wicked cackling. Lilo shook her head and called, "Belle! Glitch!"

While Nani's shout did nothing to stop the migraine-inducing noise, Lilo's summoning caused Belle to halt immediately. Olu's eyes went wide as two more genetic experiments filed out the little hole in the front door, looking guilty.

"You know you can't scream like that, Belle," said Lilo gently. "It breaks stuff, and makes Nani mad, and we don't like an angry Nani, do we?"

The four experiments shuddered in unison.

"Exactly," said Lilo feelingly. "Try to settle down, okay?" She gave Glitch a pointed look. "And let Belle watch her show, and then you can bug her."

Belle pouted while Glitch laughed. Their argument dissolved, they disappeared into the house. Stitch bounded down the steps to embrace his best friend. Lilo laughed and hugged him back. "Have fun! I'll see you when I get back."

Stitch went to Alae for a head pat, and Lilo blew a kiss in Angel's direction. The pink experiment pretended to catch it and place it over her heart.

"Bye!" Lilo sang as she started down the drive with Olu and Alae following after her.

"You have four experiments living with you?" spoke Olu in disbelief.

"Angel just moved in, but Belle and Glitch have been staying with us for a little bit. Stitch has been around the longest, obviously," Lilo replied.

"And the rest of the experiments are on this island?" said Olu, trying to wrap his head around the idea of over six hundred aliens living on one small section of Earth.

"Most of them," said Lilo with a nod. "Reuben lives with Gantu in space, but we talk all the time, so I know he's super happy."

Alae chuckled. "They are very fond of one another."

"They sure are," said Lilo with a laugh. "We sent Mr. Stenchy to Plorgonar, 'cause of the whole stink bomb thing. The Plorgonarians love his smell, so he's well-loved. He lives with Mama Pleakley, and I talk to him every week. Then there's Shush, and my social worker, Cobra Bubbles, decided to keep him. Elastico's with a travelling circus. There are a couple others who don't live here all the time, but they visit a lot, and I talk to them every week."

As they approached town, Olu said anxiously, "Is it really okay for us not to be in disguise?"

Both Alae and Lilo were unconcerned. "It's fine," said Lilo. "Trust me, the tourists and islanders are pretty dumb. They don't know an alien when it's looking them right in the face."

"Perhaps we should not refer to your fellow humans as dumb," Alae chided lightly. "It is understandable that their minds chose to concoct a logical explanation for us. After such a limited, isolated existence on Earth, their beliefs are also limited. After all, we have gone to great lengths to convince your populace that we are nothing more than myths."

"They don't know what they're missing," said Lilo solemnly.

Their first stop was one of the many beaches of the island. Standing on the shoreline, Lilo pointed to a cropping of rock in the middle of the ocean. "There's Cannonball. He makes waves for the surfers to enjoy."

Olu watched as a pinkish, round alien jumped off the rock and into the water. A giant wave swelled from impact, which several humans on boards swam towards. Lilo waved wildly. "Hey, Cannonball!"

"Hi, Lilo!" Cannonball called back.

They continued along the beach, where the tourists and locals gave Olu and Alae strange looks, but none of them appeared to be alarmed. Their simple-mindedness bemused Olu.

They came upon a wooden shack and Lilo went straight to the counter. She hoisted herself up and said, "Hi, Eliza!"

"Hey, Lilo!" the brunette teen greeted cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Just checking on my dog."

A purple head popped up beside Eliza's feet, which rested against the edge of the counter. He licked Lilo's face and she giggled. "Hi, Richter. How's work going?"

"Morcheeba!"

"This guy makes the best shakes on the island," said Eliza, running her manicured nails down Richter's back. "Mr. Wong loves him."

"Good. If he didn't, I'd have to kick him," said Lilo grimly.

Eliza tilted her head, staring at Alae and Olu with a frown. "Aren't those costumes hot?"

"Yes, but they're dedicated," said Lilo with a straight face. "Gotta test 'em out before the next Alien Convention."

"To each their own," said Eliza with a shrug. "You want some shakes?"

"Yes please!"

Armed with a drink that Olu found to be nauseatingly sweet and rich, they moved on. "Richter makes milkshakes for Mr. Wong's customers," said Lilo, slurping her vanilla shake and skipping over the washed-up rocks. "Nani used to work with him, but she left for a better job. Eliza's cool, though. Our next stop is Finder. He's great at finding lost things, so instead of having a beach Lost and Found, we just have a Found."

"You do this for every single experiment?" asked Olu, unable to fathom how she possibly could visit over six hundred experiments in one day.

Lilo turned to him, her brown eyes serious and her lips set in a determined line. "Of course. They're family. If they're not happy, I'm not happy."

The Found stand came into sight and Finder honked gleefully when he spotted the girl. Lilo sprinted towards him, catching Finder in her arms when he leapt at her. They fell into sand, giggling and hugging. Alae glanced down at her friend with a knowing smile.

"Do you understand now?"

Olu humbly bowed his head. "Yes, I think I do."

As the day progressed, Olu only grew more and more amazed by the little Hawaiian girl. She remembered the name and home of all the experiments. She knew the routes and paths that would bring her to them the quickest. Even when Olu's feet began to ache and his breath started leaving his lungs in pants, Lilo powered on.

"We may stop, if you wish," said Alae, amused by his minute suffering. "I believe you have seen enough."

"No," grumbled Olu, for he knew she would never let him forget it if he gave up. "I'm fine."

As the sun began to sink over the horizon, casting the island in an orange haze, they approached their last stop of the day, much to Olu's relief.

The manager of the miniature golf course was delighted to see Lilo. He waved her on ahead of the queue and the trio went to the very last hole of course, which Shoe manned. When they got there, it was to see a group of teens harassing the experiment. They were shouting insults and trying to hit him with their golf clubs.

"Come on, you freak!" one of them jeered. "Give me a hole in one! I know you can!"

Lilo's expression had been sunny all day. Now it was consumed with darkness, her lip curling back into a snarl. She stormed over and gave one of the teens a swift quick in the behind. He yelped and jumped back, glowering at the intruder to his menacing. "What do you think you're doing, brat?"

As the trio focussed their attention on the nine-year-old, Olu grew uneasy. "Shouldn't we do something?"

"Only if it escalates," said Alae, her eyes intent on the child. "But Lilo is very good at taking care of herself, and others."

Though the teens loomed over her by several feet, Lilo was not intimidated. "What do you think you're doing to my cousin?" Lilo demanded.

"This weirdo is your cousin?" The dark-haired one she kicked sneered. "I guess you do look alike, now that I think about it!"

His friends burst into laughter. Lilo ripped the golf club from his hand and swatted him with it. "You better apologize to Shoe right now!"

"Ouch!" he cried, trying to guard against the blows with his hands. "Guys, help me! This brat is a lunatic!"

His friends charged in with their golf clubs. Olu made a noise of shock and Alae started forwards, but Lilo promptly and easily slashed the teens in the knees with her club, sending them crumpling to the ground. She glared down at them. "I'm going to say it one more time. Apologize. To. Shoe."

Bruised, battered and defeated, the three teens wasted no more time ignoring her. "We're sorry!" they cried in unison.

"And what are you not going to do again?" Lilo asked menacingly.

"We're not going to pick on him again!" the blonde-haired boy said quickly.

"Good. Now get lost."

The teens raced off. The stormy expression promptly vanished and Lilo raised her arms in the air towards Shoe. "It's okay," she cooed. "The jerks are gone. They won't bother you again."

Shoe climbed down the wooden tiki head and jumped into her arms. Lilo gently tapped his upside-down horseshoe. "If anyone ever tries to mess with you, you can give them bad luck. It's not naughty when you're using it to defend yourself. Okay?"

Shoe nuzzled against Lilo's neck. "Mm-hmm."

"Do you wanna get some snow cones from Slushy?"

Shoe nodded eagerly, the lingering fear vanishing from his eyes. Lilo set him down and held his paw. "The rounds are finished," she told Alae and Olu. "But you can come get snow cones with us if you want!"

"Thank you for the offer, Lilo, but we must be getting back," said Alae, resting her hand on top of the girl's head. "It was a lovely day."

"Come back and visit soon!" Lilo insisted. "And tell Gantu and Reuben I say hi."

"I'll be sure to do that." Alae knelt to give the girl a hug.

"I appreciate you letting me tag along today, Lilo," said Olu sincerely. "I learned a lot."

"It's no problem," chirped Lilo. "Whenever you're on Earth, you should stop by my place. We usually have lemonade."

"I will keep that in mind," said Olu with a smile.

She set off down the road with Shoe, waving over her shoulder. When she was gone, Olu turned to his esteemed leader of the Galactic Federation. "I can't apologize enough for my lack of faith in your judgement. I understand now why Lilo is the best and only choice for the position of Earth Ambassador. With the amount of love and care she has in her heart, even at such a young age, I know she will be devoted to forming strong bonds with any species that decide to visit this planet. And I have every confidence she will succeed."