Ice Age

Expecting the new baby

In the cold springtime, the sun shines brightly on Silver's black hair. Ellie and Manny got married and we're expecting a child. Now Silver is ten, and nothing could go wrong.

"It's happening!" she heard Manny's voice from a distance.

"Wait up, guys!" Sid called after him.

Silver looked as she saw Manny carrying a leafy bucket of water, tying his best not to spill it. Eddie, Crash and Sid kept up to him.

She got back up to her legs and started running toward the new snowy forests. It was lovely and smelled like winter. The snow crunched to her feet as she run pass.

"Code blue, code blue," Crash repeated.

"Or pink if it's a girl," Eddie guessed.

Silver made it to the ground as Manny fell, dropping the bucket as it fell on his head. Crash and Eddie fell out from underneath.

"Ellie, Ellie, where are you?" he asked frantically.

"Manny! I told you! It was just a kick," Ellie reminded him who had arrived.

"Ohh, right! Right, oh, wow," the mammoth said, realizing his mistake. "Ohh, you really gave daddy a scare! Daddy got silly. Daddy fall down cliff and go, boom. Silly daddy. Sorry, folks. False alarm. It was just a kick."

Sid then called everyone who stared at Manny. "All right show's over... break it up, break it up! Oh, I see someone else who has a bun in the oven."

Silver went over to greet them..

"Hey Silver," Sid waved hello. "Hope you're ready for Ellie's birth soon."

Silver looked at Ellie for a moment. She pressed her head near Ellie's stomach. It surely does feel like a kick. 

"Are you excited to see the baby, sweetheart?" Ellie asked her.

Silver nodded her head yes.

"Manny, I know you're excited, I am too, but you're getting a little carried away."

"Okay, okay," Manny replied. "Boy, you're starting to sound like Diego. Wait a second... Where is Diego?

Silver looked around, but there was no sign of Diego. He must be hunting or something.

"Anyway Ellie, I got something to show you."

Manny led Ellie and Silver to a spot where he built a nice place near an oak tree. Ever since Ellie and her brothers joined in, they became part of the odd herd. Manny had to tell Ellie and Silver to keep their eyes close as he lead them down the path.

"Huh, can I look now?" Ellie asked.

"Easy, don't freak out the baby," Manny told her.

"The baby is fine. It's the freaked out daddy I'm worried about," Ellie said.

She and Silver looked over and they were amazed.  It was a homemade playground made with ice, wood and a icy crafting on a branch on top of a tree.  

"Voila! Playground for junior..."

"Ohh, wow! It's amazing," Ellie exclaimed, amazed as Silver looked around the new playground.

Manny smiled, glad to see that his wife liked it. "I made it myself, our family."

"Hey, why aren't I up there?" Sid asked, looking at the crystal mobile with mammoths dangling on it.

"You can be on ours," Crash replied.

"You'd fit right in," added Eddie.

"Of course it's still a work in progress," Manny answered. "A few rough edges, here and there."

"I don't believe it, your trying to baby proof nature," Ellie replied.

"Baby proof nature? Get outta here. That's ridiculous."

"Manny, this is the world our baby's gonna grow up in. You can't change that." the female mammoth reminded him logically as she looked at the playground.

"Of course I can, I'm the biggest thing on earth."

"Okay, big daddy. I can't wait to see how you handle the teen years."

"Come on, Sid, Silver," Manny said to Sid. "I don't want you touching anything. This place is for kids. Are you a kid? Don't answer that."

With one last look, Silver looked at the playground before she followed after her friends. The sound of snow crunched below her feet as snowflakes fell from the sky. With each step, she saw a lone figure approaching.

"Diego, there you are," said Manny. "You missed the big surprise."

"Oh right. I'll check it out later," he said softly as he pst the group.

"Okay, See ya."

"You know, I think there's something bothering Diego," Ellie said to Manny, worried.

"No, I'm sure everything's fine."

"You should talk to him."

"Guys don't talk to guys about guy problems. We just punch each other on the shoulders."

Ellie frowned. "That's stupid!"

"To a girl, but for a guy, that's like six months of therapy."

Silver walked over to Manny and said she'll do it. The human girl walked over to Diego and smiled.

The saber looked up at her. "Hey Silver. What do you guys want?"

"Ellie thinks there's something bothering you..." said Manny. "You know. I told her..."

"Actually, I've been thinking that soon," the saber said, having second thoughts. "It might be time for me to head out."

"Okay, so I'll just tell her that you're fine. It was nothing."

"Look, who are we kidding, Manny? I'm losing my edge. I'm not really built for chaperoning play-dates."

"What are you talking about?" Manny asked.

"Having a family, that's huge. And I'm happy for you, but... It's your adventure, not mine."

Silver thought about this. Diego wanted to be left alone and wanted the others to have their own adventure.

"So you don't want to be around my kid?"

Diego shook his head. "No, no, no. That's you're taking this the wrong way."

"No, go," the mammoth protested, "Go find some adventure. Mr. Adventure guy! Don't let my boring domestic life hit you on the bottom, on your way out."

"Isn't Ellie supposed to be the one with the hormonal imbalance?" 

Sid followed the others as he went over to Silver. "Manny, wait! No one has to leave."

Ellie walked up to Manny. "So?" 

"That's why guys don't talk to guys."

"Why? What happened?"  she asked.

"Diego's leaving."

"Whoa, whoa," Sid tried to keep their hopes up. "This should be the best time of our lives. We're having a baby."

"No, Sid. They're having a baby," Diego answered, correcting him.

"Yeah but, we're a herd. We're a family."

"Look, things have changed. Manny has other priority's now. Face it, Sid. We had a great run, but... now it's time to move on."

"So it's just the two of us," Sid guessed.

"No, Sid. It's not the two of us."

"Crash and Eddie, are coming with us?" the sloth asked. "Just Crash? Just Eddie? Just Silver?"

Diego didn't want to hear another word. "Goodbye, Sid."

Silver watched as Diego left into the forest and sighed. dropping her head to her chest. She hope she'll visit soom and maybe things will get better.