19. Gray

The horizon lay out before him, a dark, hazy purple colour surrounding the world on all sides as far as he could see. A dark gray shade was slowly taking over the violet, casting its shadows all across the land.

With a sigh, the small ferret slouched, settling into the top of the couch comfortably. It had been a long six months, with no end in sight. Things had simply been too busy to focus on his problem. But he couldn't blame the others, they had an important job as Gaurdians of the Universe. Even a task such as fixing the Universal Portal had to wait when their duty called.

But these last six months had given him time, something that he didn't have a lot of back in Aldenmore and Stonehill. He had time to just sit and relax, to think about different things. Sometimes, when he was lucky, Icy managed to sneak him into the action in one of their missions. And, boy, was it ACTION! A totally different battleground than what he was used to with Emily, Adriane, and Kara. With the girls, they fought dark, mysterious, magical creatures from the bottom of who-knows-where. But with the Loonatics, they fought gigantic machines, robots, UFOs, and sometimes giant monsters, as well. He hadn't yet met one of their newest enemies, a group of people that he'd heard Cassidy call "The Starzians." She also said that it was only pure luck that he hadn't met them yet.

It was at that moment he remembered why he was sitting on that couch, instead of assisting the team in their latest chaos.

He glanced down at the small figure sprawled across the cushions of the couch. Even though she had a thick blanket overtop of her, Ozzie could see the roundness of her stomach. That is why he had stayed home that night.

He silently slid down the side of the couch, landing softly on the girl's stomach. He padded over closer to her face, being careful not to wake her up. Her chest moved up and down gently as she breathed in and out. Suddenly, the ground underneath him - namely, Cassidy's belly - began to shake. Ozzie wobbled back and forth, trying to keep his balance. Just before the shaking and gravity took over, having him tumble over on to his back, he heard the girl make a sleepy giggle. Ozzie rolled his eyes and chuckled softly. He had forgotten just how insanely ticklish Cassidy was.

Sitting up once the 'earthquake' had passed, Ozzie watched as Cassidy's mouth opened wide in a yawn. The light from the fixtures in the ceiling only emphasized the sharp edges of her canine teeth. This reminded of the several times he'd been scared after watching Stormbringer and Dreamer wake up from a nap. Of course, he'd eventually grown used to the sight of their huge jaws opening widely, knowing that they meant him no harm. He smiled as Cassidy blinked sleepily, sitting up a little. "Good nap?"

Cassidy blinked one more time. "Oh, hi Ozzie." She giggled. "I didn't know you were here. I thought you left with Icy and the others."

"Nah, I decided to keep an eye on you. I think it helped put Tech's mind at ease." Ozzie winked at her.

The red-head smiled back. "Thanks, Ozzie. You didn't have to stay with me. You were probably bored while I was sleeping."

"Don't worry about it, I had a little nap, too." Ozzie pretended to yawn and stretch his arms. "So, how's the baby doing?" The ferret patted the girl's growing belly.

"Wonderful." Cassidy sighed softly, still smiling.

Ozzie mirrored her smile. Over the past several months, he had grown quite fond of the younger girl. He felt like a part of her unborn baby's life, having just met Cassidy the day before she announced her being pregnant to her friends. He spent many days with her while the others were out, especially so if Mairi, a close friend of the team, was not around, as was the case today.

But, he had to remind himself, he had a life in another world. He didn't belong here.

Shaking his head to dislodge the depressing thoughts, Ozzie returned his attention to the she-coyote. "You don't have much longer, huh? Just a few more months?"

Stroking her stomach thoughtfully, Cassidy replied. "No, actually. I have at least four... maybe five."

Ozzie blinked. "Four or five?"

"Well, technically I -would- be due in March, but the gestation period of a female Sarian is longer than that of a female from Acmetropolis. I'm actually due in May."

The ferret's confused expression remained, and it took a moment for Cassidy to remember why.

"Oh, right." She nodded, clearing her throat. "Ozzie, the baby has to stay in my tummy for a little longer than usual because of my being from Sari."

"Ah," Ozzie nodded. "Sorry, comes from being a children's book character."

"Oh, yeah, used to be the same way around here, but not since Danielle met Emily, Brigid, and the others."

"They're that bad, are they?"

"I thought you caught on near the end of 'Icy's Story'."

"Eh, I thought they were just excited to have me as a part of the story."

The pair giggled and their eyes drifted towards the large open window beside them. Their spot in the tower looked out over miles and miles of city, all shrouded with a dark grey as night began to close in.

Cassidy looked back at her stomach, rubbing it thoughtfully. "Ozzie.... do you have any nieces or nephews... back home?"

"Huh?" Ozzie blinked, "Oh, no. I don't. But I do have a lot of cousins. I have a big family." He smiled, but the coyote could see a hint of sadness behind the cheerful gleam in the ferret's green eyes.

"Wow." She smiled back. "I bet they miss you a lot right now."

"Oh, probably... but I haven't seen them a lot since I was assigned to Emily, Adriane, and Kara. I suppose they got used to me not being around." He shrugged.

"Maybe." Cassidy gently stroked the top of Ozzie's head with her fingertip. "But still... I know I'm going to miss you when Tech fixes the portal."

"I know. I'm adorable, aren't I?" He replied cheekily, stretching out his neck, enjoying the head-scratch.

Giggling, Cassidy scratched his chin. "You are. I do hope you can stay around long enough for me to be able to call you Uncle Ozzie."

Ozzie stared up at her with big eyes. "Uncle Ozzie?"

A soft smile formed on Cassidy's lips. "Uncle Ozzie." She nodded. "I don't know if you realized, but you've become a part of this family these past six months. We're all going to miss you a lot when the Portal is fixed. Tech was thinking of figuring out someway of making it a two-way portal, so you could visit sometimes." Again, she giggled. "You know, when you're not busy saving the world, Wonder Ferret."

"All in a day's work." He brushed his non-existant sleeve playfully.

Playing along, Cassidy sat up a little more, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead. "But, I don't know what I will do without my pint-sized protector when you leave! Oh! I shall be so vulnerable!" Alas, try as she might, she couldn't quite manage to perform her dramatic princess act without some giggles.

Jumping up on the female's shoulder, Ozzie punched his chest proudly. "Never fear, m'lady! Ozymandius will always be near to protect you!"

The two soon collapsed into a heap of giggles, wrapped up in the blanket. Ozzie glanced over his shoulder, staring out the window.

Suddenly that sky didn't seem so gray after all.