It was midday, a usual time for the gorillas to settle in for a nap, and everyone was happily returning to their nests to settle in for a while. Kala, heavily pregnant at the moment, was already sleeping in her nest, as she often did for several hours during these last couple months. Kerchak laid down next to her, leaning back slightly against a tree so he could gently rest his head against Kala's. She smiled and nuzzled into him.

Kerchak waited until he saw his son arrive at their nest before closing his eyes, though his son didn't look the least bit tired.

"Do I have to take a nap?" Tarzan asked as he joined his parents.

"It is that time of day," Kerchak said. "You do not have to sleep but do keep quiet and rest."

"But I'm not even tired," Tarzan complained as he crawled up his father's back to hang loosely to the ape's shoulder. "And neither was Terk. We could keep playing. We'll be quiet."

"No. Now time to sleep."

Tarzan huffed as he slid down his father's back, plopping back into the nest. Amused by the new game, Tarzan climbed up his father's back once more and slid back down. Kerchak was being very tolerant of his new game, though Tarzan was sure it was only because it was keeping Tarzan occupied and quiet. Tarzan scrambled up his father's back once more to slide back down, laughing softly at how quickly he slid back down.

"That's not trying to sleep, Tarzan," Kerchak said without opening his eyes.

"But it's fun!" Tarzan said, running up his father's back again and sliding down. He climbed up his father once more, but before he could slide back down, Kerchak snatched his arm and pulled him to his lap.

"All right," Kerchak said, "that's enough. Settle down and try to sleep."

Tarzan grabbed a hold of his father's arm and tried to wrestle with him, wrapping his arms and legs around him and kicking gently. Kerchak raised his arm, lifting Tarzan as well, who laughed as he hung upside down now, swinging slightly. Kerchak tried grabbing him with his other hand, but Tarzan managed to slip around his arm and climb up his shoulder before sliding down his father's back cheerfully.

"If you try falling asleep," Kerchak said, "I think you'll realize just how tired you actually are."

"But I really don't feel tired at all."

"Honestly, what have you eaten today? Every fruit made up of pure sugar?"

"I think so."

Tarzan spotted a lizard sneaking by the nest and up a nearby tree. He grinned and leaped after it, avoiding his father's too slow catch to stop him. He climbed up the tree after the reptile, hoping to catch up to it and mimic its silly face and eye movements as best he could. When the lizard turned around the corner of a branch, Tarzan was prepared to jump after it, only to be caught by his father this time.

"Dad," Tarzan complained as he was carried back down the tree. "I don't want a nap."

Kerchak settled back in the nest, this time, lying down with his son next to him. He pushed a hand down on Tarzan's chest, keeping his wriggling son pinned down next to him in hopes that lying down might make the child drowsy enough in a few minutes that he stayed put.

"Close your eyes and try resting," Kerchak said.

Tarzan wriggled and squirmed in his father's hold, using his hands to push against his father's fingers. He managed to wiggle himself out of his father's hold and jumped up on his father's stomach, bouncing slightly.

"Maybe if we wrestle," Tarzan said as he bounced up and down, "I'll get sleepy."

"I doubt it." Kerchak frowned at his son. "Wrestling gets you far too energized. You'll sleep when naptime is over, and I would like you to sleep now."

"Wrestling would make me sleepy."

"Stop jumping on me and come lie down."

Tarzan spun in circles until he fell off his father, then continued spinning in circles in the nest, making all sorts of odd noises. Kerchak sighed in annoyance, and Kala stirred in her sleep to glance at her mate.

"What's the matter, dear?" Kala asked.

"Your son won't nap," Kerchak growled softly.

Kala chuckled gently.

"Try taking him for a walk," Kala suggested. "That always worked for me when he was younger."

Kerchak sighed, but as tired as he was, he knew he couldn't force his pregnant mate to walk their son around. He yawned as he stood up, then lifted Tarzan to his back and left the nest, heading to the perimeter of his boundaries to walk around. Might as well as kill two birds with one stone. Kerchak carefully moved through the trees and kept an eye out for any intruders or predators while Tarzan excitedly looked around.

"Is this what you do when you go on patrol?" Tarzan asked.

"Yes. This is how I mark the ends of my boundaries," Kerchak explained as he brushed against a tree. "I create a trodden path I frequent and rub up against a few trees to leave my scent for other gorillas to know who lives here. I can also keep an eye out for predators."

Tarzan tried to rub himself against a tree as Kerchak was doing when the ape brushed up another one, but he nearly fell off his father's back in doing so. Kerchak was quick to catch him, though, and he pushed his son back to his back. Tarzan watched eagerly as Kerchak peered through the trees to make sure no predators were around. Tarzan did the same, looking up above him with narrowed eyes and scrunched nose just in case he saw anyone. Unfortunately, there were no predators to see his "beware me" face. Kerchak snorted at his son when he realized what he was doing.

"Guarding the family is a very important job for the silverback," Kerchak continued. "You must be prepared for the unexpected."

"Like a leopard?"

"Yes, like a leopard."

"What about a giant eagle?"

"Yes, them too."

"And jackals?"

"Anything that can harm the family, we must be ready for. Jackals, too."

"What about a jackal with leopard spots and giant eagle wings?"

Kerchak paused as the image created itself in his head, and he hesitated as he really tried to imagine what that creature might look like. Sometimes, Tarzan's imagination really surprised Kerchak. The child came up with scenarios he never would have even dreamed of.

"Yes, Tarzan, that too. We wouldn't want such a triple threat to hurt the family, would we?"

"Never! But what if it could breathe fire? What would we do then?"

"Breathe fire?" Kerchak frowned as he turned a bend in his path. "Why on earth would it do that? How would it do that?"

"I don't know," Tarzan said with a shrug. "Maybe it eats lighting sometimes and then can spit it out at its prey. Is it possible to eat lightning?"

"I don't think so."

"Well maybe it just eats fire created by lightning, then it spits out the fire. Oh, I'll call it the Jagopardeagle—a terrifying, ape-eating monster that roams the jungle at night, spitting fire at the family to burn its food down."

"Uh, Tarzan, that's a little unnerving." Kerchak paused to glance at his son. "Are you having nightmares?"

"No, Dad!" Tarzan laughed, crawling up his father's back to sit on his shoulders. "It's just make-believe. Besides, I would defeat the Jagopardeagle and protect the family!"

"Oh, would you?" Kerchak chuckled as he carried on, keeping an eye out for threats while his son chattered away. "And how would you do that?"

"Well . . ." Tarzan frowned, leaning into the tuft of his father's hair as he racked his brain for a solution. "I would lure it into a trap! I would set up bait—maybe termites or something, and it would fly down and then I would pounce on it!"

"I thought it only ate apes?"

"Oh, right, it does. Hmmm, oh, I know! I could lure it down with ape cries, act like I'm stuck somewhere, then it would come for me and that's when I would trick it and tie up its legs with vines."

"That's quite the risky sacrifice."

"It would be worth it to protect the family."

"I agree. But don't forget the wings. Are those still flapping around?"

"Oh, yeah. I would tie up the wings first, then the legs."

"And what if it breathes fire and burns the vines away and frees itself?"

"Right, it breathes fire." Tarzan scrunched up his face in thought. "I know, I would trap it down by the river! Then I could splash it in the mouth and take out the fire. And when it's all tied up, I could throw it in the river. And no one will ever see the Jagopardeagle again."

"Not bad of a plan," Kerchak said with a sly smile. "But the sharp rocks of the river cut the vines and freed the Jagopardeagle, and it used its strong legs to swim back to shore, heading straight for the family. Now what are you going to do?"

Tarzan gasped, then tapped his chin.

"I would throw rocks at it until I hit its head and knocked it out for good."

"But it's avoiding the rocks!" Kerchak said as he started spinning in circles, making Tarzan laugh as the child held on tightly to avoid falling off. "It's spinning and ducking away until its wings are dry enough to fly away. He's in the air!" Kerchak stood on two and swung side to side gently a couple times, earning more laughs from his son. "Now what do you do?"

"I'll catch it again!" Tarzan declared. "I'll use some vines to rope it legs and pull it back down.

"But its super strong and now it's pulling you up into the air." Kerchak charged forward as fast as he could, bucking slightly as he did so, earning more squeals of laughter. "You're high above the trees."

"Oh no!" Tarzan cried. "I'll climb up the vine until I get to the beast!"

Tarzan scooched up his father's neck until he was closer to his father's ears before he said, "Then I grab its ears and control it that way. The ears are really sensitive."

Tarzan grabbed his father's ears and gently tugged one right, and Kerchak chuckled before spinning to the right a couple times before moving forward along his perimeter.

"Now you're riding an angry monster," Kerchak said. "How do you land?"

"I force it to go down." Tarzan jerked his father's ears downward, and Kerchak winched slightly at the rough tugs, but did not reprimand his son for it. Tarzan loosened up and said, "then I would crash land in a tree somewhere."

"Crash land?" Kerchak gave his son a bemused look. "You can't even imagine yourself making a smooth, safe landing?"

"No, Dad, that's not realistic!"

"My apologies. I did not realize realism has entered the picture."

"When I land with the beast, I will feed it fish, and it will think fish is so much better than apes, it will love it and only eat fish forever, and I will tame the beast, and the Jagopardeagle will be my best friend and give me rides all over the forest."

"What a twist ending," Kerchak said as he turned back for the family. "I'll be honest, I did not see that coming."

"If only it was real," Tarzan said wistfully as he slid back down to his father's back, gripping loosely with his legs as he stretched out with a yawn.

"I think this Jagopardeagle is better off living in your imagination than roaming the skies and threatening the family."

"But I would tame it," Tarzan insisted. "We would be best friends."

"I'm sure you would be. You always manage to surprise me."

Kerchak walked carefully through the family, slowing down his pace as he realized Tarzan was finally fading at last. He arrived back to his nest where Kala stirred enough to smile at their return, winking at Kerchak when she saw Tarzan's eyes drooping. Kerchak gave her a nuzzle as he settled in next to her, allowing his son to slide off his back one last time. Tarzan yawned as he crawled to lie in between his parents, accepting a nuzzle from his mother and then one from Kerchak.

"Sleep well, my brave warrior," Kerchak said before resting an arm over his son and closing his own eyes. At last, Tarzan fell asleep for naptime.