Chapter 3

Kowalski opened the secret passage from the inside and saw Marlene and Rico carrying a ten pound bag of ice between them. The sun was beginning to go down, but it was still quite hot. They had to go quickly because the ice had already started to melt. As soon as the coast was clear, they lowered the bag of ice into HQ with a rope Rico had coughed up.

As soon as they were inside, Kowalski walked over to the pantry and picked out a large spoon to act as a scoop and some smaller plastic bags to use as ice packs. Meanwhile, Marlene and Rico set the bag of ice next to the couch their unconscious leader was resting upon. "I'm sorry Kowalski, we were trying to get the twenty pound bag, but we were having trouble lifting it, and then Alice came. We only had enough time to take the ten pound bag. I'm really sorry, we just couldn't …"Marlene said before Kowalski cut her off.

"Don't beat yourself up over that, Marlene." Kowalski reassured her. "If Skipper were awake right now, I know he would just be happy that you guys worked so hard to help him in his time of need. All we can do right now is to start bagging this ice and wait for Private to get here."

Hearing those words brought smile to her face. Not because it stopped her from blaming herself, she still felt a little guilty, but because the words were so familiar for some reason. They were comforting, yet they didn't let her lose focus on the matter at hand. She couldn't quite place it, but then it hit her. "Thank you Kowalski, that was very, well, Skipper-like. I don't think he could have said it better."

"I wouldn't go as far as to say that." Kowalski replied as he began to shovel ice into a bag. "You and Private both seem to have a lot of faith in me. I'll try not to disappoint." I know they're trying to make me feel better, but now I feel like everything I do is going to be measured against Skipper.

They continued to fill the small plastic bags with ice until they ran out. Marlene gently placed one of the ice packs on Skipper's head while Kowalski and Rico placed the remaining bags in the refrigerator. It was a small mini-fridge, used mostly for keeping drinks cold. It lacked the ability to keep the ice packs below freezing, but slowed down the melting process, extending the life of their limited supply.

Above them, Private slowly lowered himself down the ladder leading into HQ holding the collapsible IV pole and the IV pump in one flipper and supported himself with the other. He had the IV tubing and fluid drip hanging loosely around his neck. "I'm sorry it took so long. When I arrived at the first-aid center, there were a couple of animals being treated, so I had to wait until the zoo staff left."

Kowalski, Marlene and Rico all jumped at the sound of his voice. Kowalski had been writing down the day's events on his clipboard, Marlene was changing Skipper's ice pack and Rico was cleaning his chainsaw. No one had even noticed Private enter the HQ until he spoke.

Private realized they hadn't noticed him. "Sorry. I didn't mean to give you a fright."

"That's alright. Let's get Skipper hooked up to the IV and start the fluid drip." Kowalski put his clipboard down and helped Private set up. While Private extended the IV pole, Kowalski connected the IV tubes to the pump which he in turn connected to the IV drip. The only piece of equipment that lay untouched was the needle connected to the central line that would actually need to be put into Skipper's flipper. Private looked at Kowalski and Kowalski looked back at him. The syringe sat ominously between them. Kowalski picked it up and held it out to Private.

"Well Private, go ahead." Kowalski said nonchalantly.

Private looked down at the needle with a look of horror on his face. "Um, I don't know where to put it."

"Don't worry I'll show you." Kowalski picked up Skipper's flipper and pointed at it. "It's somewhere in this area, you can't miss it."

Private looked over at the silent member of the group who was trying his best to whistle inconspicuously. "Rico, do you want to do it?"

Rico shook his head and waved his flippers back and forth in front of him.

"Could you do it, Kowalski?" Private asked. "I don't think I can hurt Skipper."

"You're right, Private, I should be the one to do it but…"Kowalski couldn't finish. I hate needles. I can't stand getting shots, let alone giving one. Kowalski looked down at his flippers, which had started to shake.

"Guys, I'll do it." Marlene walked up to Kowalski and took the needle from him. "It's nothing to get so worked up about."

Kowalski turned and looked at her, surprised. "You don't have to do this, Marlene."

"I think it might be better if I just do it before I change my mind." She looked over at Skipper and tried to calm herself. "Just show me where I need to put this."

Kowalski picked up Skipper's flipper and pointed to a spot about two inches past the elbow joint. "Here."

"Okay." Marlene took a deep breath "I'm ready." Marlene slowly removed the syringe from the sterile sleeve. Private handed her the IV tube so that Kowalski could keep Skipper's arm steady. With the syringe connected to the central line, Marlene took aim at her intended target. The distance between the needle and Skipper decreased at seemingly infinitesimal increments. Three centimeters, two centimeters, one centimeter, a minute amount of resistance and……….

"OWWWWWWW!"

At first, no one noticed where the loud scream came from, but then it hit them. Skipper was awake.

I actually enjoyed writing this chapter much more than I thought I would. Please tell me what you think. I know I said there would be a fair amount of Skilene in this, but it didn't go with what I was trying to accomplish for this chapter. Please Review and don't be afraid to be honest.