Unfortunately, The Brain must have jinxed it, for an hour later, he'd give anything for her ridiculous giggling and incessant babbling. Now he was stuck with inconsolable tears. Unaware of what brought it on exactly, he'd been engrossed in a stoichiometry equation, but by the time he heard her whining it was too late.

"Heavens' above, you're worse than Pinky during the season finale of The Bachelorette." He groaned, that had been a fiasco. He couldn't stop his blubbering long enough for them to implement their plan, so Brain had to resort to convincing him that "hunky, dreamboat" Rodrigo would find love elsewhere and he should just wish "cool, bad boy" Tim and Kate the best of luck. But babies could not be comforted in such a way. The Brain held the wailing infant out at arms length, observing her at a distance may clear his head. Like the saying, you can't see the forest for the trees- oh, who was he kidding? That couldn't be applied to a child, he was simply at a loss of what to do. "What has you so upset?"

She wasn't hungry, she wasn't tired, she wasn't anything! What else did babies require besides the basic, physiological needs? Roman had never been this difficult, though he suspected he had his own superior intelligence to thank for that. His influence allowed his clone to be capable of articulating himself, to an extent.

"Brain? Is everything alright?" Pinky hesitantly approached the two, he'd been keeping his distance for some time, but the crying was getting to be too much to bear.

"Yes. I have everything under control." Brain replied brusquely. He was a genius, he didn't need to resort to asking Pinky for help.

Pinky looked from the crying baby to his stressed friend. "Umm..."

"What? You think I'm not capable of calming down a child?" He snapped, patting the baby on her back as her chin rested on his shoulder. He could feel the poor creature's entire body shaking. This couldn't be healthy.

Raising his hands up in a peaceful manner, Pinky shook his head. "Oh no, Brain, I don't think that at all!"

She wasn't showing any signs of stopping. How she managed to have that much air inside a tiny body befuddled him. Brain groaned, his head was throbbing from the constant barrage of noise. "Fine, Pinky, fine. What do I do?"

"Poit. Well, first off Brain, she's cold!" Pinky beamed, pleased to be able to help.

Brain raised an eyebrow. "Cold?" Pinky nodded. "And how do you figure that?"

"Oh, it was easy! When the crying started it was her 'cold' cry, so she wanted her blanket. But when you didn't get it, it became her 'annoyed' cry. And now she's sick of crying so she's crying because of that too." He explained, as if it were obvious.

Brain stared at him for a moment or two. "You're not serious, are you?"

Without warning, Pinky was dragging Brain and the baby over to the cage, only releasing them to fetch the green blanket from the walnut shell cradle. "Of course I am!"

He handed it to Brain. The shorter mouse took it begrudgingly and proceeded to wrap her in it. She hiccuped a few times, but the breaks in her crying were reassuring. Brain frowned, still frustrated by the spasms, but then Pinky took his arms and made him tighten his grip, pushing her closer to his chest. Finally, she blinked and closed her mouth, the last of her tears trailing down her cheeks.

Brain gaped in astonishment. "How did you-?"

"She likes heartbeats." Pinky grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "And your fur is so warm, Brain, it helps to keep her from being cold!"

"My fur is..." Brain was taken aback momentarily, he could feel his face heating up. "That's not the point, Pinky! How did you know that a blanket would get her to stop crying?"

Pinky laughed. "I told you, Brain! Her "I'm cold" cry! It's more wibbly than her "hungry" cry, but more high pitched than her "lonely" cry. Oh, and her "tired" cry is that waily-wail one you just heard. All her cries are different, you just gotta know what to listen for! Narf!"

Staring at Pinky as if he'd grown two heads, Brain decided next time he wouldn't bother asking. "Of course, Pinky. How silly of me." He stiffened when he felt the baby nestle into his chest, her eyes closed in contentment.

"Aww, she likes you, Brain!" Pinky cooed, clasping his paws together under his chin.

Tossing away his earlier intentions of keeping Pinky from the baby, Brain quickly shoved her into the taller mouse's arms. "Here, Pinky, it's your turn."

"But you said-"

"Nevermind what I said! I can't ponder properly with her slobbering all over and clinging to me. I require space." He stormed out of the cage, relieved to be rid of that absurd feeling that overcame him as he held the small mouse.

Pinky would be attached to the little thing no matter what Brain did to curb it, but he himself would not succumb. He could at least prevent that.

Confused, but still pleased to be allowed to play with her again, Pinky looked down at the jarred awake baby. "What's gotten into him, small-little-small mouse?" Her wide pink eyes just stared at him in return. "Maybe he finally realized his head's too big for turtlenecks. Such a shame, really." He sighed heavily, then immediately bounced back. "You know what it's time for? Helicopter game! Whee!" And the spinning began anew.

#

Using the stoichiometric equation he formulated earlier, Brain implemented it to create a reaction between two chemicals. As he observed the state of the liquids, he noticed movement in his peripheral vision. The baby mouse had padded over to his work station and pulled herself up to peer over the makeshift table he was using to set up his equipment. Only two pink eyes and her nose could be seen over the edge. Brain glowered at her and she turned her attention from the mixture to him.

"Bah!" She smiled, not even remotely aware of the dangerous substances she was near.

Stripping off his miniature gloves carefully, he picked her up and carried her further away from his experimenting. He needed complete focus, this combination of elements had the potential to allow him to rule the world! But it also had a small chance that it would explode.

"Pinky!" He called out.

Pinky came running over. "Right here, Brain!"

"Keep a closer eye on her will you? She's disrupting my concentration." He reprimanded, handing her over to him.

Yet she still kept wandering over to him throughout the night. Seven more times at least.

"This is becoming monotonous." He groaned, burying his face in his arms.

"Oh, don't be upset, Brain!" Pinky tried to cheer him up, hoisting the little mouse up in his arms again. "She just wants to be a smarty like you!"

"Or a nuisance like you, Pinky." Brain returned, glaring at his associate from his slumped position. "I'm growing weary of this predicament! The world is awaiting me, calling out for me to take it over, Pinky, and yet I'm stuck here, babysitting the two of you! I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Pinky reached out to pat Brain on the shoulder. "There, there, Brain. Why don't we all just go together? You made that nifty thingamabob to put her in, remember? I'll wear it and she can come with us and stay out of trouble!"

While appreciating the attempt, Brain knew it wasn't feasible. "Have you forgotten that most of my brilliant schemes end up being foiled by one of your blunders, resulting in us experiencing severe pain due to an explosion of some sort? No, Pinky, I'm afraid we cannot allow her to accompany us. Our only options are to sit here idly, or leave her here in the lab whilst we set off to attain global control."

"Oh, but Brain! We can't leave her all by her lonesome!" Pinky cried out worriedly. "If she cries no one will hear her!"

"Yes, a blessing." Brain muttered. "No, you're correct, Pinky. It's grievously negligent to leave behind a helpless creature." He grimaced as she yanked on one of his ears. "Perhaps, not completely helpless."

"How would she survive? She can't reach the water bottle! She's even shorter than you, Brain!" Pinky still went on lamenting, completely ignoring that Brain agreed with him. "She can't even run on the wheel! She falls through! She doesn't have a pudgy head like yours to keep her from slipping right through the bars!"

"Enough Pinky! You can stop auditioning for the Jersey Shore, they've met their lifetime quota for complete dunces." Brain berated him as he tried to pull his ear free from the child's death grip. "We're not going to leave her alone."

With a pop, he came free and toppled over. The baby laughed and clapped, while Pinky cheered up. "We're not? Oh, thank you, Brain! Brain? What are you doing all flopping around on the floor, Brain?"

"Using my back to mop up the counter." He got to his feet and brushed off his coat.

Pinky snorted. "Well, that's not very sanitary, Brain. Or effective. Believe me, I've tried!"

"I know, Pinky. That's why I've stopped." Brain took the baby into his arms, moving her so that he had a hand free and bopped Pinky extra hard on the head. The child burst into a new fit of giggles, as did Pinky. "We're going to have someone else look after her while we're gone. I can't stand being cooped up in this lab any longer, all because some pea-brained numbskulls decided to have a child despite being inadequately prepared to take care of her."

"Were you talking about me, Brain?"

"As much as it may apply, Pinky, there is one striking difference. You have a heart. Any parent who just leaves their child in the snow and doesn't immediately seek her out can't possibly own one." He handed Pinky back the baby and began to pace.

"Wouldn't they be dead then? How would all the squishy red blood move through their bodies?" Pinky asked, bouncing the baby and making faces at her.

"I don't mean literally, Pinky." The comment certainly deserved another bop to the head, but it would take too much effort at this point. He resumed his pacing. "We just need to procure a suitable caretaker for her in our absence. Someone we can trust..."

"Billie?" Pinky offered, his attempt to assist actually remained on topic.

Brain scoffed nonetheless. "Note the key word 'suitable', Pinky."

"...Is that a maybe?"

"Far from it, my friend."

"How about Gerry, then? He usually watches our plants very well."

"Please, Pinky, be serious. He managed to kill my philodendron in three days, do you know how difficult it is to kill those? You'd have to put effort into it!" Brain's fur bristled at the reminder. "No, I'm afraid he cannot be trusted to look after her properly."

Pinky rubbed the back of his neck. "Poit. Well, Brain, I'm afraid I don't know anyone else in the lab. Do you?"

Brain's pacing came to a halt. While he knew others, he certainly didn't know them well enough to ask them to babysit a baby that wasn't even theirs to begin with. "No, Pinky... I suppose I don't."

So was that it? How long were they required to wait until her parents showed up? Brain had given little thought to what they'd do if her parents purposefully left her or passed away. And if she was never picked up, how much longer would she remain with them? Now the thought filled him with panic. He could not go anymore nights without at least trying to take over the world! His heart could not endure it any longer.

Brain rammed his head into a nearby beaker. "If only her insipid parents would show up!" He punctuated his exclamation with an especially hard smack.

"It's too bad she can't just write a letter to her parents like you and I do." Pinky rubbed his nose against the baby's. "It'd be much easier to find them if they sent a letter back!"

As he staggered in Pinky's general direction, he rubbed his cranium to soothe the self-inflicted throbbing. "Oh, of course, Pinky. Have an infant write to her royal parents in their magical fairy castle, for they may as well live there since we have no method of locating them! Why couldn't you rescue an older child? One capable of speech and remembering its fami- wait." The Brain ceased his rant for a moment, the gears in his mind whirling like they hadn't in the past several days. "That's it! Pinky! Are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

"I think so, Brain. But when I said I wanted another, I didn't think it'd be like this." Pinky replied as he cuddled the baby close. "Not that I'm complaining."

"No, Pinky." Brain smacked his palm against his forehead. "Memories! Just because she can't tell us who her parents are or where she lives doesn't mean she can't remember them!"

"Really? Oh, but wait..." Pinky glanced skyward. "When I can't tell you something, it usually means I don't remember."

Brain reached up and flicked Pinky's head. "That's because your head is a black hole that sucks any and all relevance into it."

"Ohhh... like a super vacuum cleaner! Narf!"

"Yes, Pinky, exactly like a super vacuum cleaner."

"Hurrah! No dust in my ears then! Zort! Isn't that wonderful, baby snow mousey-mouse?" He giggled, rocking her back and forth.

"Pinky, pay attention! I know how to locate her parents and regain our regular evening routine!" Brain declared with more exuberance than necessary.

Pinky devoted his attention to his friend then. "What's that, Brain?"

"The same thing we do every night, Pinky, try to take over the world!"

"Oh, right! I've missed that!" He recalled. "I almost forgot, everything's been so different lately, it's got my head all scrambled."

Brain nodded. "Pinky, your head is always scrambled. Now, pay attention. Long-term memories are the key to my plan for tonight. For you see, even though infants and children have a limited attention span, once something crosses the border of short-term and long-term memory, it will stay with them for the rest of their lives."

"Zounds, Brain! But how does something do that? Does it need a passport?" Pinky wondered, scratching his head as if it would help.

Brain tapped his foot impatiently and crossed his arms. "I was getting to that."

"Oh, narf!" Pinky smiled sheepishly and waved his hand. "Go right ahead then!"

"Thank you." He folded his arms behind his back. "Short-term memories become long-term through repetition, except in your case, which is how children learn to recognize their parents. Repetition of the same facial features. This child here is already capable of that, she knows there's a difference between you and myself even if she is incapable of conveying it. If I can tap into her long-term memory, I can piece together her memories to uncover the mystery behind her heritage and return her to her home." He puffed out his chest, impressing even himself with this idea.

"Egad, Brain! Brilliant!" Pinky hopped up and down, though stopped when he noticed how dizzy it made the little mouse in his arms. "It'll be just like a puzzle! Fun-fun silly-willy!" His glee was short-lived though. "Oh, but wait... won't that mean, we'll have to give her back?"

Brain narrowed his gaze as he set about collecting a blank page and graphite to design a machine to assist him in this new project. "That's the whole point, Pinky. I've told you, we're not keeping her." He wrote up a list of the materials he'd need and handed it to Pinky. "Here, go collect these items for me while I begin constructing my memory scanner. Leave her with me, I'll find... something for her to do."

Pinky reluctantly traded her for the list. "Poit... alright, Brain. Be back in a flash!"

As he scurried off in search of the items, Brain constructed a playpen of sorts out of paperclips and set her in it with a scrap of paper, a crayon, and a piece of string. All things Pinky was quite fond of as a child... as well as now. He left her to her own devices as he embarked on his own.

Yes, my psychology minor in showing xDDDD

Believe me, I know all there is to know about memory thanks to Intro, Critical Thinking, and Cognitive Psych. Let's learn about ALL THE BRAIN THINGS!

Speaking of The Brain... he finally has a plan! Hoorah!
Except it means saying goodbye to little baby snow mouse...