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Skipper didn’t like to show weakness in front of anyone other than his team and, even then, it took dire circumstances. That being known, he was sore and he had a headache from the fight with the giant mutant sewer rat. All he wanted to do was rest where it was dark and quiet.
He left the men to make sure Marlene didn’t cause Julien any real harm. It wasn’t that Julien didn’t deserve a lesson, but Marlene just wasn’t the type. If she went too far, it would haunt her later. The last thing they needed at the zoo was a morose otter.
He squeezed his eyes shut and grunted as one of Mort’s wails pierced his head. He stopped briefly to take one look back.
Julien raced around the lemur habitat with Marlene close on his heels. Mort rode on her shoulder, begging her to stop. Then they started jumping on the bouncy house together. Every time, she went up, Julien was on his way down and managed to twist out of the way when she swung the crowbar at him. He laughed and taunted her.
“Just give him one good lick, Marlene.” Skipper sighed and made his way back to the penguin lair. He grabbed one of Private’s sardine smoothies out of the refrigerator. He took a sip and then held the cool beverage against his head.
He tried rolling his shoulders to work some of the kinks out but that only made it worse. “Giant, mutated….” he muttered darkly.
He set his cup in a small niche in the wall and crawled into his bunk. He turned to face the wall and closed his eyes. He concentrated on his breathing and the pain receded.
He didn’t know how long he drifted when he noticed a solid mass pressing against his back. A pair of flippers surrounded him. He was being…held? A beak nudged a sore spot on the back of his neck with just enough force to soothe it instead of making it hurt more. He inhaled sharply but didn’t tense up. That was odd but he found it difficult to care. “Kowalski?”
“Skipper,” Kowalski said tentatively. “Permission to speak freely?”
“Granted.”
“It seems I love you. Bizarre, don't you think?”
“Very,” Skipper answered dryly.
“Is that…” Kowalski’s voice trailed off. He cleared his throat but still sounded helpless. “All right?”
Skipper closed his eyes again and pressed back into Kowalski. “Yes, it’s all right.”