Chapter 7
It was going to be a three-day weekend coming up, which meant that Friday was going to be a not-so-busy day at the Daycare. Three-day weekends usually meant people going on vacation. Moon was feeding Katie some dinner when Sun got the notification of ten children set to be dropped off the next day before the holiday weekend. "Well, looks like it'll be a quiet day tomorrow," the daytime animatronic said.
Moon nodded. "Should Katie stay here then, or should we ask whoever's available to watch over her?" He asked.
Sun gave it some thought before taking a deep breath. "I'm not sure I'm ready for her to meet the other kids yet," he said. "Maybe when she can move a bit more on her own."
The nighttime animatronic agreed, checking to see who was available. "Monty is free tomorrow," he said.
"I'll go ask him," Sun said, heading out and heading to Monty's room, knocking on the door. The gator answered a moment later, surprised to see Sun there.
"What's up, Sun?" He asked.
"Would you be willing to watch over Katie tomorrow?" He asked.
Monty's eyes widened and he looked a bit unsure, but then took a deep breath. "Okay, but...I haven't had much experience with babies," he said.
"Then come with me."
Sun led Monty to the daycare and up to his and Moon's room. Moon, already having heard Sun's idea, smiled as the gator entered. "Take a seat, Monty," he said.
The gator sat down and was instructed to hold his arms out to take the child. He nervously did so, worried he'd hurt her. Sun gently guided his arms closer to his body so that Katie was being held comfortably. "It's okay, Monty," he said to help calm the gator down.
Katie looked up at the gator and reached up for him. He leaned closer to her. "Hey there, Water Lily," he said softly.
The baby giggled and grabbed onto his snout. "Careful, kiddo," he said, gently moving the small hands away from his mouth. "Don't want you to hurt your little hands on my teeth."
She cocked her head to the side and grabbed his snout again, only this time, she used two hands to try and pry his mouth open. Moon and Sun looked confused. "What is she doing?" Moon asked.
Katie lightly tapped Monty's nose. "Up!" She said.
He looked at her in confusion. "What?" He asked.
He felt her push his upper jaw up a bit. "Up!" She repeated.
Monty looked worried now. "Um, why does she want me to open my mouth?" He asked.
"I don't know," Sun said, looking worried too.
Seeing Katie was persistent, Monty complied, opening his jaw just a little, but to his shock, the baby pushed his jaws open more and grabbed his tongue. "Whoa!" He said, but it was muffled as he jumped in shock that the child had grabbed his tongue.
His reaction made the baby laugh and he looked at her with a raised eyebrow before chuckling. As Sun and Moon watched, Monty kneeled down beside the bed and gently laid the baby on the bed before his fingers wiggled into her sides, making the baby laugh and let go of his tongue, to which he pulled back and chuckled again. "Who's a cheeky little Water Lily?" He cooed at her, now tickling her stomach and the baby laughed, grabbing at his hands. Smiling, he let her up and scooped her up into his arms. "She's got spirit, I'll give her that," he said as the child rested her head against his shoulder trustingly. "I think I'll watch some videos of parents spending time with their kids tonight to give me a better idea of how to be a good sitter for her."
"I wonder why she was so curious," Sun said.
Moon then realized it and began laughing. "Oh, my goodness," he said.
"What's so funny?" Monty asked.
"I showed her one of the kids' games the other day. The Crocodile Dentist one," the nighttime animatronic said. "She was very curious about it."
"Oh!" Sun said in realization before laughing.
Monty was a tad embarrassed, but laughed too. "Well, though I'm a gator, I guess the little tyke saw similarities," he said.
"Sorry about that, Monty," Moon said.
"It's okay," he said. "Glad to know she's at least not afraid of me."
They noted the baby had been quiet and they looked to see she had fallen asleep. The gator looked unsure, but Sun motioned him to a baby crib nearby. "Go ahead," he said encouragingly.
Seeing that both were trusting him to put the baby to bed, the gator handled the baby as carefully as he handled his bass, setting her down in her crib, moving slowly so as not to wake her. The child didn't even stir once and he sighed in relief before pausing and grabbing the Sun and Moon plushies nearby, placing them beside the child before tucking a light blanket around her. "Sweet dreams, Water Lily," he said softly before turning and looking at the Daycare attendants, who had been watching with smile. "Um...did I do okay?"
"You did more than okay," Moon said, smiling. "We'll bring Katie over tomorrow before the Daycare opens."
The next morning, Monty had watched some videos of parents with babies and kids and some were so sweet that he had to smile. When he heard the knock on his door, he opened it to see Moon and he was holding Katie, who squealed happily and reached for him. He accepted her in his arms and smiled. "Good morning, Water Lily," he said before looking at Moon. "What time does she take a nap and what time do I need to feed her?"
"She usually takes a nap around the same time it's naptime in the Daycare and she's eaten already this morning. If she's hungry before naptime, there's milk and snacks in here," Moon said, handing him the baby bag.
"Okay," Monty said before Moon left and the gator smiled at the child. "Well, you ready for a fun-filled day with Uncle Monty?"
The baby giggled and he chuckled.
The morning went by quick as the gator entertained the child and the baby found a new game of jumping over Monty's tail. He was at first confused, but then he saw what she was doing and he chuckled. "Oh? Using my tail to play jump rope?" He asked before carefully and slowly moving his tail towards her. The two-year-old child watched closely before jumping over the tail, doing so again and again, giggling while the gator chuckled, amused. "Moon was right. You're definitely a curious one."
After a bit, the baby grew tired and plopped down, yawning a little. Checking the clock, Monty saw it was noon exactly. "Well, guess you're ready for a nap," he said, picking her up. She blinked up at him sleepily and he smiled. "And as a special treat for my Water Lily, you get to hear a song before your nap."
Hardly anyone knew this, but Monty could sing lullabies, but he kept this a secret because he didn't want anyone thinking he had a soft side. He had a tough gator image to keep up. But for the little one in his arms, he could be a softy.
He began humming as the baby looked up at him, watching him.
"I may only have a boat for a house,
Or a lonesome rocking chair to rest in.
A quiet life for sure, but that's okay,
Cause there's one thing that makes it right.
My little Water Lily, innocent and cute,
With eyes as big as the moon above.
You bring a light brighter than the sun,
Nothing else matters long as we're here.
Don't ever let go of that light,
Or the innocence you have.
My little Water Lily, so precious,
The greatest treasure in my life."
He looked down to see the child fast asleep and he sat down on his bed, holding the child as she slept and he quietly watched the television, keeping the volume down.
A couple hours later, Katie woke up and stretched, alerting her caretaker that she had woken up. "Did you have a good nap, Water Lily?" He asked her.
She smiled up at him and then her stomach rumbled. "Oh, we've got a hungry little tummy, hmm?" He asked before getting up and getting her some food.
The Daycare finally closed and Sun sighed in exhaustion. "Why oh why did we get troublemakers today?" He asked.
Moon finished filling out the reports and sighed too. "Well, those troublemakers are on their third strike," he said.
"You already gave them three strikes?"
"They kept breaking the rules, Sun."
Sun sighed again and felt his counterpart pull him into a hug, which he accepted and felt both of them needed. As they parted from the hug, they suddenly heard someone make a train horn sound. "Choo-choo! Watch out! Baby train coming through!"
Turning, they saw a sight that instantly made them smile.
Monty was coming towards them, pulling a rope that was attached to a laundry basket behind him. The basket was filled with plushies and blankets and baby Katie was sitting in the middle of it, almost like she was a princess taking a carriage ride.
Katie squealed happily when she saw Sun and Moon and they smiled as they saw her. "Aww, there's our little sunbeam!" Sun said, scooping the baby up when Monty came to a stop and the child hugged him. "Aww, your hugs always cheer us up, little sister."
Moon smiled as his brother handed him the child and she hugged the nighttime animatronic. "She truly is the best little sister I could ask for," he said.
Sun then looked at the basket train that Monty had created. "Where did you get the idea for this?" He asked curiously.
"Saw a video of it on the internet and thought Katie would enjoy it," he said.
"Thank you for watching over her today," Moon said. "I'm glad we decided to ask you to do so. We had troublemakers today."
"I know. I heard Miss Scarlet mention today about some parents being told their kids are banned," the gator said. "Some parents did not take that well, but when Miss Mikalea came down and mentioned that the police could be involved, the parents backed down. Especially when security footage was played of the kids breaking the arcade games on purpose."
"Oh, that was horrible," Sun said. "Poor DJ was really upset."
Katie let out a coo and the daytime animatronic smiled. "Oh, you silly girl," he said, giving her a playful boop on the nose.
Monty nodded. "Well, take care, guys," he said. "Let me know if you need me to watch Katie again sometime."
"We will. Thank you, Monty," Moon said.
Monty then smiled at Katie. "See you later, Water Lily," he said, rubbing her wolf ears gently before heading back to his room.
Sun smiled. "Well, I think some quiet time is in order right now," he said.
"I couldn't agree more," his counterpart said as they headed inside the Daycare with little Katie, who snuggled happily in her brother's arms.
Who knew Monty had a soft side? :)
The Crocodile Dentist game belongs to Hasbro.
The lullaby Monty sings to Katie is one I made up. :)
Please leave a review, but no flames! Any flames will be used to make s'mores! :)
GoldGuardian2418