That night, Chloe was at her home, sitting in her room, and dressed in her cream and lavender nightgown; she was still upset over what happened that day, believing that the incident with Captain Zero and his Z-Stacks was all her fault. As she shed tears of guilt and anger, Chloe picked up her pillow and then flung it across her room with an angry yell. Then, the girl pulled the sheets off of her bed as she climbed off of the mattress and stomped around her room with anger. She then pounded her fist onto a wall close to her window. She looked out of the window and remembered her confrontation with Captain Zero; that made her eyes start to moisten up again.

Just then, the bedroom door knocked. "Go away!" Chloe yelled with an upset voice.

The door opened and revealed Mrs. Muddlesworth and Captain Star. "Chloe, what are you doing?" asked Mrs. Muddlesworth.

Chloe looked at them with tears in her eyes as she sniffed, "Why am I so different?"

"You've got tears in your eyes, that's why," Mrs. Muddlesworth sadly smiled before she went over to wipe Chloe's face with a little handkerchief.

"But Captain Zero…" Chloe began.

"Hush now," said Mrs. Muddlesworth.

Chloe pushed the housekeeper's hand down as she protested, "Captain Zero says I don't belong here, and I have no purpose!"

"Never mind what Captain Zero says," Captain Star told his daughter, "For now, your purpose is to be my daughter, and let me and Mrs. Muddlesworth love you and raise you."

"Chloe, hold still!" Mrs. Muddlesworth said as she finished wiping Chloe's face.

"But I can't help getting into the water all the time!" Chloe argued, "It's part of my nature. But nobody thinks the water is the proper place for me!"

Captain Star held his hand up, making Chloe stop ranting. He looked at her sternly, but then his expression softened. "Chloe, you can see that I am the head of a successful tugboat fleet. Do you know what I see when I look at you?"

"What?" Chloe asked with a pout as she crossed her arms.

Star smiled at her as he gently put his hand on her chin to look at her face, "I see… a beautiful young lady who has eyes like the ocean, skin like the bubbles you see in the seafoam, hair like… eh, how would you describe your hair?"

Chloe's expression changed to happiness as she stroked two of her fingers in her locks and said, "Like a seal! They love the water, and they're so graceful when they swim – even though they flop around like jelly when they're on the land!" She started laughing at the last part.

Captain Star chuckled at his daughter's positive change with her mood, and then he thought of something else. He gently took Chloe's hands and placed them over her chest. "Chloe, close your eyes," Star said softly, "Forget everything all around you. What do you feel?"

Chloe closed her eyes and cleared her mind of thoughts. Then, she felt her heartbeat as she said, "My heartbeat!"

"Come here," Captain Star told her as he brought his daughter's head close to his chest.

Chloe heard a new sound as she smiled, "Your heartbeat!"

"Now you come to me," Mrs. Muddlesworth said as she gently took Chloe by the hand and brought her to her own chest.

"Mrs. Muddlesworth's heartbeat!" Chloe grinned as she rested her ear upon her mother figure's chest.

"You see?" explained Captain Star, "They're all the same. They're all full of love. And love is really what makes a family – and what brings our friends together. Captain Zero and his Z-Stacks… just can't see that."

"Do our Star Tugs have heartbeats, too?" Chloe asked.

"Not exactly," Captain Star explained, "But they all look out for each other, just as Mrs. Muddlesworth and I do for you."

"Even Big Mac and Top Hat?" Chloe asked as she remembered how both of those tugs tended to be bossy and rude.

"Even Big Mac and Top Hat," Mrs. Muddlesworth smiled.

"And I'll prove my worth someday!" Chloe grinned before she climbed back onto her bed, "I'll be a star swimmer someday!"

"Oh, I bet you will, my little ocean flower!" Captain Star chuckled before he kissed his daughter on the forehead, "Now it's time for you to get some sleep! Good night."

"Good night, Father," Chloe yawned as she pulled the sheets back and prepared to go to sleep, "Good night, Mrs. Muddlesworth."

The housekeeper gave Chloe her own kiss good night, and then, she and the captain left the room, turned the light out, and closed the door.


The next afternoon, Chloe was back at the Star Docks, dressed in her swimming dress again; this time, she was determined to keep her word to stay safe and not bother the Z-Stacks again. She walked upon a pier, looking for a place to jump into the water, but Big Mac and Top Hat both frowned at her; they were still a bit angry at her for causing a ruckus with the Z-Stacks the day before.

Chloe lowered her head with shame, but then she heard Ten Cents and Sunshine's whistles. She looked over and saw the two switcher tugs smiling at her as they moved away to give her some room to jump into the water below. Chloe smiled and then jumped into the water. Underwater, Chloe saw lots of little fishes swimming around, and even a few seahorses swam up, making the girl smile and somersault in the water happily.

Under the sea, beneath the changing tides

There is life

You have to know, when Nature sleeps, she dreams

There is life

One day, in the wintertime, Chloe was dressed in an indigo overcoat, a maroon sweater, gray wool stockings, brown boots, an indigo cap with white trimming, a red scarf, and salmon pink gloves. As she happily skipped upon a frozen pier, she slipped, yelped, and fell into the freezing water below. Top Hat and Big Mac glared at OJ, who nervously smiled as he set loose a life ring to rescue Chloe.

When springtime came again, Grampus the submarine resurfaced from the sea and squirted out some water with his mouth. Chloe, who was following him in her swimwear, also resurfaced and squirted water out with her mouth, making Grampus smile with delight.

As the days in May grew warmer, we see a sea otter cracking open a shell with a rock placed on its belly. At the beach, Chloe was having a picnic with her classmates and teacher from school. She cracked open an oyster like the sea otter, using a rock on the beach. When the oyster opened up, the girl was surprised and ecstatic to find a shiny pearl fall out!

And the colder the winter

The warmer the spring

The deeper the sorrow

The more our hearts sing

Even when you can't see it

Inside everything

There is life!

Summertime soon rolled along as Hercules the ocean-going tug was out at sea. A few bottlenose dolphins swam up to him, and one dolphin breached completely out of the water – with a familiar young girl following him!

"Chloe, you be careful, my dear!" Hercules called to Chloe.

"Hello, Hercules!" Chloe happily waved as she resurfaced again.

One day, Chloe was at a river with her father. She climbed upon a tree branch over the river, but the branch soon snapped, and Chloe fell into the water below. The Z-Stacks were all there when they saw Chloe fall into the water.

"There's your anaconda, boys!" Zorran sneered to his friends.

Chloe gasped as the Z-Stacks began to surround her. Luckily, she dove underwater just as Zebedee crashed into Zak, Zug crashed into Zip, and Zorran gave a defeated groan.

On another day, Chloe witnessed a pelican dive into the water and scoop up some fish in its large mouth. The girl smiled as she took a pail and tried copying the bird, taking up a pail full of fish. But as she ran upon the pier, she tripped over a crack in the wood, and the pail of fish went flying away until it landed on Top Hat's deck! The uppity railway tug frowned at Chloe, and the girl just gave a humiliated expression.

After the rain, the sun will reappear

There is life

After the pain, the joy will still be here

There is life

As the days of summer were numbered, Chloe was spending time with Sunshine on one particular day. The two of them saw a lone male killer whale, and Sunshine had a long rope attached to his bow; Chloe used the other end of the rope as a lasso, twirled it in the air, and then caught the whale by the dorsal fin. The orca then sped away in the water, taking Sunshine and Chloe with it like a jet ski! But then, the rope grew weaker and weaker before it broke away, leaving Sunshine and Chloe beside a sandbar.

"That was… fun," Sunshine said with a sheepish grin.

For it's out of the darkness

That we learn to see

And out of the silence

That songs come to be

Time went by, and Chloe grew into a beautiful, independent, helpful, and kind-hearted teenager. One day, Chloe was wearing a green and navy-blue swimsuit as she dove into the harbor, and then moved away some seaweed so that Warrior could move through without trouble. When Chloe resurfaced, Warrior happily called to her, "Uh, thank you, Chloe!"

The girl just smiled as she swam away.

And all that we dream of

Awaits patiently

There is life! (2x)

In the summer of 1928, the celebratory anniversary of Chloe's adoption (which also counted as her eighteenth birthday) was drawing near, and on one particular June day, Chloe was at the Dem Der Rocks with OJ, Ten Cents, Sunshine, and the newest member of the Star Fleet, Ruby (who joined the Star Tugs after rescuing a yacht in distress one stormy night). A red lightship called Lillie joined in the Star Tugs as Chloe happily ran and sprang from the rocks before she jumped into the water to swim with the fish, seals, pilot whales, and puffins. She gracefully swam with the animals like an underwater ballerina until she resurfaced and let her long hair flow upward with her breach. Then, she grinned as she swam over to her boat friends to go home.

Author's Note: The song "There is Life" is from Bambi 2. ((c) Disney)