Jeanie's Teeny Tikes

     “THAT’S IT!” Ailemea shouted, stomping her foot. The nursery behind her and the babies in the bathroom went silent immediately. Eighteen pairs of eyes turned to look at her. Ailemea made a point of meeting each one of those gazes. “Listen to me now!” she continued. “There will be no snacks, no stories, and no Xweetok-back rides until every petpet is back in their cage and this bathroom is cleaned up!”

     Silence. Not a soul moved.

     Ailemea realised they were looking at her a little pityingly.

     “Please?” she tried.

     The babies and petpets stared.

     She sighed.

     “Ok,” she said in a tone of surrender. “I will give anyone a second snack who brings me their Petpet right now.” She unlocked Lockup and stood to the side.

     Rog was first in line to offer up his Icklesaur. He was already smacking his lips in anticipation. Jubjub flew past her head and straight into his cage. Ailemea helped Millie, Mets, and Eloquie put their petpets back in the aquariums as Su, Kasi, and Bo returned their petpets to the cages. Soon all but one petpet sat securely in its enclosure. Ailemea glanced at the reading Nexy, considered briefly approaching the snuggling Drackonack, and quickly thought better of it. He wasn’t causing trouble, she reasoned, and her paw throbbed at the thought.

     She gave the babies their double snacks. After loading herself with towels from the janitorial closet, she confronted the flooded bathroom. She knelt and plopped at the water. It didn’t seem to help one bit.

     Paws, legs, and arms soaked already, Ailemea sighed, feeling completely overwhelmed. She lowered her head, shoulders drooping.

     There was a pitter-patter and splash behind her that made her aware of company. She looked around. All of the babies crept slowly into the room with towels, mops, and buckets. Iofae paused beside her to begin sopping up water with her own towel. She gave Ailemea a cheery smile. “Naughty naughty,” she said, gesturing around.

     Ailemea smiled. They all set to work.

     ***

     “Not a good idea, my friends,” Ailemea said as she seized the Cornupepper from Rog and Bo. The Scorchio and Draik vocalized disagreement, but she waved a paw at them. “This is not going to make you breathe fire, ok? Trohanex!” Nexy looked up briefly. “Stop reading Jeanie’s books to them. It’s giving them ideas.” She delivered the contraband to Lockup.

     She was brushing Millie’s mane and advising her on the best grooming tips when Jeanie and Flooken arrived. Jeanie was quickly thronged by babies, and Flooken approached Ailemea with his shy smile.

     “Feeling better?” Ailemea asked, stashing her brush as Millie wandered off to join the gang swarming Jeanie.

     “Right as rain!” Flooken said cheerfully. “Completely healed, thanks to the Healing Springs. How have things been here?”

     “We had some hiccups,” Ailemea admitted, “but we found our rhythm.”

     Jeanie joined them, having managed to escape the mob with only one or two literal hangers-on. As she spoke, she tried to shake those ones off a leg and arm. “Everything looks great here, Ailemea. I’m really proud of what you’ve done today!”

     Ailemea smiled slightly and shrugged. “It wasn’t so bad.”

     “We haven’t scared you away?” Flooken asked.

     “Not yet anyways,” she said.

     Jeanie looked around the nursery admiringly, hands on hips. “It’s downright quiet in here! That’s quite a feat.”

     Ailemea acknowledged the compliment with another smile, but then she looked at Flooken and they both grew serious.

     “It is rather quiet,” he said worriedly.

     “Too quiet,” Aile agreed. Jeanie looked back and forth between them, bemused.

     The two caretakers whirled around and started counting babies.

     “I count eight; what do you have?”

     “Eight. We’re missing one.”

     “How are we missing one?!”

     “Calm down, let’s take a deep breath and think rationally. First, who are we missing?”

     They both scanned the room again, taking a mental roll.

     “Nexy.”

     “Surely he can’t have gotten out of the center?”

     “Of course he could, he’s the wiliest of the lot of them. Didn’t you read the binder?!”

     “Flooken, when did you honestly think I would find time to read that thing?”

     “Ok, you two,” Jeanie interrupted. “Let’s do a quick search and just make sure he’s not hiding in the nursery somewhere.”

     The three of them enlisted the babies, and they all searched high and low for the Baby Yurble. It became quickly apparent that he was nowhere to be found, and likely not in the center at all. They all assembled back at the kitchenette. The anxiety was clear on their faces.

     “How could it be Nexy? He’s the most mature of the lot!” Ailemea wondered, chewing on one of her nicely manicured claws.

     Flooken shrugged helplessly, and Jeanie looked worried.

     Just then Ailemea noticed a flash of blue movement by the door. She hurried over, hoping against hope it was a very sneaky Yurble.

     “Aros!” she cried. The Blue Drackonack scratched at the nursery door and whined piteously.

     “What’s he doing out?” Flooken asked with a frown as he joined her.

     “It’s a long story,” Ailemea said quickly. Flooken arched a brow at her, so she hurried on, “I think I have an idea!”

     “What’s that?”

     “Follow me!” she said. “Jeanie, watch the babies!” Jeanie looked a little alarmed as all the babies turned on her.

     “Um, are you sure—“ she called, but Flooken and Ailemea were already out the door with Aros.

     Outside, Ailemea crouched down to look Aros in the eyes. “Can you find him?” she asked. Aros responded by sniffing around in the grass.

     “What are you thinking?” Flooken asked.

     “I think Aros can—look!” Ailemea pointed as the petpet took off. Flooken and Aile followed at a run.

     The blue petpet was fast, and it was all they could do to keep him in sight as they chased after. He led them through Neopia Central, pausing at times to sniff at the ground. They passed the post office, the petpet shop (Ailemea worried briefly Aros was actually sniffing out a Drackonack lady to meet), the bank, and a building shaped like a burger.

     Aros paused then, looking around at them. He whined and lay down.

     “Do you think he lost the scent?” Flooken asked as they caught up to the petpet. Ailemea frowned and looked around. At the sight of the next shop in the row, she gasped.

     “Of course! I should’ve known!” and she ran into the book shop with Flooken close on her heels.

     Inside the shop was packed to the brim with shelves full of books. The shelves overflowed. The aisles were crowded with piles of texts. Ailemea paused. This place was huge. Where would they find a baby?

     “Listen!” Flooken said. He himself perked an ear antenna, and Ailemea perked up her ears as well. There were sounds of distress coming from a shelf farther in. The two followed the sound, carefully navigating the mess of books.

     They turned a corner and found a very stressed blue Nimmo waving his hands in a tizzy. “You can’t do this!” he moaned. As they got closer, they could peek around the Nimmo and see a Baby Yurble seated before him, completing ignoring the Nimmo’s distress. He was reading.

     “Nexy!” Ailemea yelled in relief. The Nimmo noticed them for the first time and turned on them.

     “Is this yours?!” he demanded, flapping his hands at the baby.

     “Yes, sir,” Flooken said meekly. “He got away from us. We are so sorry.”

     “Please get him out of here!” the Nimmo shopkeeper begged. “This is a bookshop, not a library. He’s reading my inventory!” Even as he spoke Nexy finished the book, and it popped into smoke. Ailemea winced. Nexy was a speed reader. Flooken swept down and scooped the baby up before the Yurble could paw another book. They paused to look at the shopkeeper, but he just waved his arms again and shrieked, “OUT!”

     ***

     There was a mass sense of relief when they arrived back at the nursery with Aros and Nexy. Jeanie, looking a bit haggard after twenty minutes alone with the babies, greeted them happily. She clucked over Nexy as they explained where he’d gone.

     “You’re going to need to pay that shopkeeper a visit,” Flooken noted. “And likely a good chunk of neopoints.” Jeanie nodded.

     The rest of the babies gathered around them. Some approached Nexy and demanded details of his magnificent escape.

     Iofae approached Ailemea with her sweet smile. “Naughty naughty!” she said. Ailemea smiled and scooped the little Vandagyre up.

     “That’s right! You would never do such a thing, would you, Miss Io?”

     “Never,” Iofae said solemnly, and then she smiled again. Another small neopet approached them, and Ailemea looked down at Suons. The little Grundo gave her typical absent-minded smile, huge eyes staring.

     “You really creep me out, you know that?” Ailemea said. Su smiled wider.

     ***

     The babies played. Jeanie had gone out on a couple errands, including paying back the book shop. Flooken wiped the kitchenette table. Ailemea wandered the nursery picking up toys. What was this feeling she had? It was weirdly calm and warm and complete.

     “You look content,” Flooken noted with a smile, watching her.

     Contentment, was that what it was? She considered.

     “Uh oh,” a tiny voice said. They turned to look.

     A dung pile sat in the corner. Ailemea exchanged looks with Flooken.

     “Well,” she declared. “That’s my cue! I’m heading home.” Flooken shook his head, but he smiled.

     Ailemea nearly collided with Jeanie as she opened the door. Jeanie actually looked a little sheepish. She was not carrying dinner. She was carrying a Baby Jubjub. Ailemea gave the baby one long look before looking up at Jeanie again.

     “You have a problem,” she said simply. She looked back inside. “See you tomorrow, Flook!” and then she walked past Jeanie and the new baby to head for home.

     The End.