Baby Bear

Becoming a Mother

Dashi was instantly smitten with the captain in his little state. He was absolutely adorable!

He was quiet, too. Most Littles weren't very strong speakers, anyway. He seemed content to just play with his toys, or to be cuddled. The only noise he made was the occasional whimper or whine of distress. The Octonauts assumed he'd have to get a little more used to this before slipping more into the role

Dashi had loved him from the start. He grew to quickly love her right back.

Dashi glanced up from her camera. With that on her lap and a laptop next to her, she could easily digitize her photos. She'd been doing just that, while Barnacles played in his little pen. She giggled, finding the look of utter concentration on his face amusing. He was coloring a little picture.

At the noise, he looked up, and smiled at her behind the pacifier. He usually had that with him. He went back to coloring, his brows furrowing again in focus.

Dashi watched him for a moment, before placing her camera down, and climbing into the playpen with him, and peered over his shoulder. He was drawing a picture of Him and Dashi, holding paws, just like he had with Kwazii. He looked up at her, and giggled. She hugged him in response. "Oh, I love you too!" She earned a soft coo in response.

The Octonauts noticed Barnacles seemed to favor her. They also noticed Dashi was reactive and efficient when it came to caring for him. Despite species, he was a rather easy baby.

"Okay, sweetheart. I think it's time for a nap." She took his paw and lead him out of the playpen, and into his room. She lowered the bars of his crib and helped him in. He laid down obediently, and allowed her to tuck the covers under her chin. He yawned, and looked at her, watching as she wound the mobile above his head. He smiled and settled in. "Goodnight, Mommy." Dashi's eyes widened. Kwazii wandered in, nonchalantly, and watched him sleep for a moment. "Kwazii," Dashi breathed, "Did you hear that? He called me Mommy!" She grinned. Kwazii chuckled lightly. "I heard. I'm not surprised."

"Why not?"

"You're the one that spends the most time with him, besides me. In all honesty, you're probably the most parental out of all of us." Barnacles mumbled in his sleep, and rolled over, suckling his pacifier. Dashi watched him, feeling that maternal instinct well up in her chest, as it had been doing ever since finding out his little secret. She loved him so much...

She kissed his forehead, before quietly leaving the room. Kwazii smiled approvingly, before following after her. He was in charge while Barnacles was in his Little space, and he'd known from the beginning that Dashi would be his primary caregiver.

"Open," Dashi coaxed a spoonful of applesauce into his mouth. Barnacles ate it obediently. The dog smiled. "Good boy!" Inkling wandered in, poured himself a cup of tea, and watched. Dashi fed him another spoonful, and adjusted his bib, a maternal smile on her face, patient and loving. She did everything expected of a mother: she cared for him, played with him, got to know him. She was gentle and patient, kind and firm, clever and compassionate, and, of course, protective and loving. Barnacles did everything she expected him too, and behaved himself best when she was around. Granted, he didn't really cause trouble, but he tried harder to be good for her than he did for anyone else.

Inkling chuckled lightly, watching as the little bear gingerly took the spoon from her, and suckled curiously on the tip. Dashi giggled, and watched him fondly. "I need that back, sweetie." She carefully pulled it away, replacing it with a rattle to keep him occupied, before feeding him the last few spoonfuls. "Good boy."

She took his bowl and spoon to the sink. Barnacles sat in his baby chair, gazing around idly at his little world. He giggled upon seeing the professor, and flapped his wrist. Smiling amusedly, Inkling waved back. He had to say, surprised was a bit of an understatement for him when Kwazii first told him about this. He knew the captain hadn't been doing too well after that shark attack. He'd labelled it as PTSD. Either way, if this was his way of coping, or if this was just part of him, Inkling didn't mind. It wasn't going to kill anyone.

It actually kind of made sense. He knew Barnacles was stressed, and worried. And, he was actually a really sweet cub.

Barnacles played with his bib, fiddling with the applesauce that had fallen on it, and getting some on his face. Dashi turned around, and sighed. "Baby, you're all messy now." She cleaned him up with a warm, wet washcloth, and helped him out of his chair, carefully seating him down to give him his bottle. Sometimes, he'd do it himself, and didn't need anyone to hold it for him. This was one of those times. He wrapped his paws around the bottle, and suckled cutely, eyes closed as he nursed. Dashi cleaned his bib, and finished washing the bowl from earlier, while Barnacles sat on the floor nearby, never out of her sight.

"Dashi, you're a brilliant mother." The dog blushed. "Thank you, professor..." Inkling detected a sad note in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"...I'm never having children. This is as close as I'll ever get. I'm infertile." Inkling frowned in sympathy. "Really?"

"It...runs in my family. My mother had trouble having me and my sisters. She almost died having Koshi. Whatever's wrong with her...it's going to make it impossible for me to have puppies of my own. I figured I'd try adopting." She shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal." Inkling, however, knew this WAS  a big deal to Dashi, and placed a tentacle around he shoulders.

A high-pitched whine interrupted them, and they saw Barnacles clumsily throw his now empty bottle on the floor. Dashi giggled. "Okay, you're done." She gave him a hug, and took him to his nursery. Inkling watched them go, smiling.

They were perfect for each other.