Hush, Little Penguin

Forever

Barnacles' movements had gotten slower. It was noticeable. Everything was, down to the smallest detail. He was slow, and he had trouble walking right.

It had started out as a simple playtime.

Peso giggled, moving his soft toys around in the mimic of the game when he heard soft gasps. He and Kwazii glanced over to see Barnacles had doubled over, and had a paw on his chest, struggling to breath right. They were on their feet in a flash.

"I'm fine," Barnacles assured them when the moment had passed. Peso settled on his lap and looked at him with big baby blue eyes. Barnacles chuckled, and cuddled him close, still getting his breath back. "I'm fine, Peso. Really. It's just allergies." Smiling, the little penguin nestled into his chest, but he couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong. But that was silly...something being really wrong with the captain seemed too unreal.

He didn't notice the worried look on Kwazii's face.

Peso started to really worry when these breath attacks started getting more frequent. His medical instincts kicked in. He knew something wasn't right, but those instincts were conflicted with the new feelings he'd acquired as the baby. Part of him knew something wasn't good. The other part of him kept insisting that everything was fine, that the grownups would fix it.

But like it or not, Peso was still a grownup. He had to act like one sometimes, even if he didn't do a very good job of it.

Barnacles was soon in the sick bay, against his wishes. it wasn't that he didn't want others to know something was wrong with him. It was that he didn't want Peso to be upset.

And he could tell, by the way Peso's face set and hardened, that something was really bad.

Peso couldn't believe what he was seeing. It couldn't be real. But all the exams tested positive. He couldn't do this, but he needed to.

This was his father and he was the medic. peso would save him.

If only it were that easy.

He had other patients. And his own personal problems. The Octonauts watched as he selflessly cared for his father, sadness filling their hearts. Peso was too young for this situation. He needed to focus on his other patients.

And he couldn't do this by himself.

Two months went by. The captain spent more time in bed, coughing up his lungs, throwing red tissues into the trash. Peso wandered into his room, holding a new picture for his little imaginary land where his toys played. "The bendy straw slide for the theme park is almost done." He offered the picture to Barnacles, who was siting up in bed with Kwazii's help. He smiled at Peso, looking wrong on his pale, sick, sunken in face. "Look at you," he cooed gently. "Come here sweet boy, I have something to tell you." Peso climbed up onto his lap. His emotions were still conflicted between his Little side and his grownup side. He knew something bad was going to happen, but the ignorant child inside kept insisting otherwise.

"Look." Barnacles put a paw on his cheek. Peso stared fearlessly into his eyes.

"I know you know Daddy's sick. Very sick." Peso wilted. "Yeah."

"There are some special doctors that might be able to help me." Barnacles stroked his feathers. "I know you've done your best, but you don't have everything you need here on the Octopod. So...I have to go away for a while to see them." Peso looked up at him, eyes shining. "How long will you be gone?"