Sweet Summer Sunsets- A Robert Irwin FanFic

Robert

As I talked to the family that was watching the animals in the Africa exhibit, I kept stealing glances at Ashley. She was trying to keep herself busy without wanting to leave me here by myself. I mean, I would have been perfectly fine by myself, so I knew her hesitation to leave was for herself. She was focused on brushing one of the zebras, Lucas. 

More of the guests started gathering around. Some were interested in what I was saying about the animals, and I could tell some of them were only gathering around to say they saw Robert Irwin in person. 

I glanced at Ashley, and she motioned towards the keeper building. I gave a small nod and she headed off in that direction. I talked with the guests about the animals for a few more minutes, answering some of the questions they asked about the animals. 

"Well, it was great talking to everyone! I hope you enjoy your visit to the zoo, but I have some other things that I have to help out with, but be sure to attend the show in the Crocoseum at 1:30!" I said, waving at the guests. Some of them took photos, and a few said "thank you" or "bye Robert". 

I walked into the keeper building, but Ashley wasn't there. I figured she went to the Wildlife Hospital, so that is the direction I headed. 

I got there and could hear laughter coming from the break room, and so that's where I went. Ashley and Bindi sat at the table, laughing about something. 

"Well, what's going on in here?" I said, entering the room. 

"Oh, hi Robert!" Bindi said, her hands holding a cup of tea.

"Hey!" Ashley said, "Bindi was telling me about some of the things Grace has been trying to say and how she's discovering things." 

"Isn't it great? I love watching her experience the world for the first time. It's very wholesome," I said. 

"It is just so precious," Bindi replied. "However, in bad news, we got some echidna puggles admitted to the Wildlife Hospital this morning."

"Oh no! What happened to them?" I said. Ashley also looked concerned, so I assumed Bindi had waited for me to get here to tell her as well.

"They got hit by a car. They were crossing the road and whoever hit them either didn't see them or thought they were just rocks or something. Thankfully, they weren't going that fast, probably looking out for bigger wildlife like kangaroos, so the puggles are only a little banged up," Bindi said, her eyes watering. 

One thing I admired about my big sister, was the way she loved wildlife and was devoted to caring for them. Sure, I was the same way, and of course, our mum and dad were, but Bindi always got so emotional over any animal that came in injured. She wasn't afraid of showing her emotions, no matter who it was in front of. 

"Oh, that's horrible," Ashley said, reaching out and rubbing Bindi's forearm. 

"I know. But thankfully, they will only need to stay here for a few days and they should make a quick recovery. The smaller one is the one we're most concerned about though, as she is also a little underweight." 

"I'm sure they'll do just fine. This is the best place they could be for a recovery," I said. Bindi nodded. 

"Well, now that all of the animals are fed and whatnot, you two will be helping out in the Wildlife Hospital, right?" Bindi asked. 

"Yeah, of course," I replied. 

We spent the rest of the morning helping the vets in the wildlife hospital, doing everything from feedings to bandage changes. The fact that it was Christmas Eve didn't slow us down at all, and some of our incredible staff would even be coming in tomorrow as well. I imagined my family would at least show up at the zoo at some point tomorrow, which I wouldn't mind doing at all.