Snow covered Tokyo like a white blanket. It was late November, and the first snowstorm had just come a few days before. Everyone in the city hurried along the streets to get to a warm building. At the temple on Cherry Hill, three people were dazzled by the snow, which they had never seen before. The former circus performers were adjusting to their new lives as normal humans. That day, there was much confusion as Rae ran around packing. In fact, all the sailor scouts were packing. The public schools in Tokyo decided to take a two-week trip to Paris for anyone interested in going. All the sailors decided it would be a wonderful opportunity to see another country. “Are you sure you still want to go,” said Hawks Eye as he sat on Lita’s bed. He had been helping her pack; though he was depressed he wasn’t going to see her for the next two weeks. “Yes, Hawk, I’m sure. I’m really excited about this trip. Don’t worry; it’ll be over before you know it. I wish you could come with me, but you don’t go to any of the schools that are sponsoring this trip,” said Lita. Hawks Eye gave her the puppy eyes. She put down the sweater she was holding and sat down next to him. She gave him a kiss on his cheek then looked at him. “Are you mad at me?” “Not at all. I’m just going to miss you. You’re leaving me here all alone.” “You’ll have Tiger and Fish to talk to,” said Lita thoughtfully. “Like I said, you’re leaving me here all alone with two people that will most likely drive me crazy.” Lita giggled and got back to her packing. * * * The trio and the sailor scouts all gathered at the airport when the day came to leave. Serena refused to leave Darien’s arms and cried loudly while the others sat waiting for the flight number to be called. Lita leaned on Hawk’s shoulder trying to block out Serena’s crying. “Serena, the airport in France can probably hear your big mouth,” said Rae. “I can’t leave my Darien, so shut your trap Rae!” Serena stuck her tongue out. “Well, Lita is leaving her boyfriend too, but you don’t see her crying her head off do you,” replied Rae. “Well…well…” Serena searched for a comeback. “Ah, can’t think of a comeback, huh,” snickered Rae. As everyone laughed, a voice over the intercom said, “People departing for Paris, France on flight 116 please come to terminal C.” Lita and Hawk looked at each other as the others gathered their things. The couple walked over to terminal C hand in hand. The line was fairly long so they had time for their good byes. Tears started to form in Lita’s eyes, “I don’t think I can leave you.” Hawks Eye smiled and wiped away the tears with his finger. “You can’t turn back now. You know you really are looking forward to this trip. It’s only two weeks; it’ll be over before you know it.” Lita smiled, remembering that she said the same words to him the day before. The line started to disappear and the scouts came closer to the door. Serena could be heard in the background as she and Darien kissed each other goodbye. Tiger and Fish talked to the others as they waited. “Too bad that you’ll be with Serena for two whole weeks,” said Tigers Eye. “You’re telling me,” said Rae. “I’m sure she’ll be better once we get there,” said Ami. “She has to get there first,” said Fish Eye. Everyone laughed. There were only five more people in front of Lita and Hawks Eye. “I guess we should say goodbye now,” said Hawk. “I guess so,” choked Lita. “I’ll miss you…” “I’ll miss you too,” he replied. They kissed each other for a long time. “Look at those two,” said Tiger, “sometimes he makes me sick.” “Why? Because a girl likes him over you,” giggled Fish. “Shut-up Fish!” “I think it’s so cute,” said Mina. The line finally came to Lita. She handed her ticket to the stewardess and held Hawk’s hand tighter than before. She was handed back her ticket, which meant it was time to get on the plane. The two kissed each other one last time and Lita slowly walked backwards in the ramp. She blew a kiss to Hawk as she turned the corner, then disappeared. “Don’t worry Hawks Eye,” said Mina, “we’ll take care of her.” The trio watched the plane as it slowly went down the runway then took off, then Darien gave them a ride back to the temple. * * * About a week later Hawk lay on his bed starring at the ceiling. Tiger sat on his bed watching him. “Gosh, I can’t believe how quiet and boring it’s been around here since everyone left.” Tiger fell back on the bed. Hawk smiled and threw a pillow at him as he got up to get something to drink. In the kitchen he leaned over the counter gazing at the snow as he sipped his hot cocoa. Just then, a figure ran across the snow holding something in its arms. The figure’s face was hidden, but Hawk assumed it was Rae’s grandfather. That night Hawk lay in bed unable to sleep. However, it seemed Tigers Eye had no trouble at all falling asleep since he was lying sprawled out on his bed with the sheets hanging off snoring as loud as he possibly could. Hawk growled to himself and put a pillow over his head, trying to block out the awful sound waves. Just as he was about to drift off to dreamland, he heard a strange sound coming from the hallway. At first he thought it was Serena crying but he knew she was in Paris. He figured it was Tigers Eye dreaming, so he tried to block that out along with everything else. Just then the bedroom door slid open and the lights went on. The crying sound became louder. “Wake up you two,” yelled an old man. Hawks Eye peaked from under his pillow. There stood Rae’s grandfather with a bundle in his arms. “I said WAKE UP!!!” Tigers Eye fell out of bed. Hawk took the pillow off his head and sat up. “Good, now wait right there.” The old man went across the hall to Fish Eye’s room and gave the same rude awakening. Fish came out with one eye barely open. She sat on Hawk’s bed. Grandpa walked back in the room. “Now that you’re all awake, I can show you what was left on the doorstep.” He unwrapped the clothe in his arms revealing a small human like creature. It started to cry again. The trio’s eyes popped open as soon as they saw it. “Is that a…” started Fish. “A baby? Yes,” said Grandpa. “He was left outside on the doorstep with this note which read ‘Please take care of this baby better than I can.’” “So someone left a baby here,” said Tigers Eye. “What does that have to do with us?” He yawned. “Well, to put it bluntly, you’re going to have to take care of it until we can find someone to take it,” said the old man. “What!?” yelled the trio. “You want us to take care of that?” Asked Hawks Eye. “I don’t know the first thing about taking care of babies,” said Tiger. “Well, you’re going to learn,” said Grandpa. “Why can’t you take care of it,” said Fish. “I have to go out of town for the weekend, and I don’t trust Chad with anything like that. Rae’s not here to do it so that leaves you three.” The trio moaned and fell on the beds. “Well, bring it back in the morning before you leave then we’ll take care of it,” said Hawks Eye. “Nope. You’re starting to play Mom now.” “Now?” Asked Tiger. “Yep.” The old man walked over to Hawks Eye and put the baby in his arms. The trio leaned over the crying bundle not knowing what to do with it. “Have fun!” Yelled Gramps and he hurried out of the room. The trio looked at the baby then looked at each other. “What are we supposed to do with it,” asked Tigers Eye. “Well, the first thing to do is to get it to stop crying,” said Hawks Eye as he lifted the baby in the air making faces at it. However, the baby only cried harder. “Hey, look at me kid,” said Tigers Eye making faces at the screaming child. It looked at him for a minute then leaned over and grabbed his hair pulling on it. “Ouch! Hey, that hurts; stop!” Tiger pulled his hair away which made the baby unhappy again. “Let me try,” said Fish taking the baby into her arms. She rocked the baby in her arms saying soft words to it. “Those two goofs don’t know what they’re doing, huh,” she said. The baby’s eyes slowly closed and eventually fell asleep. “Now what do we do with it,” asked Hawk. “I guess just try to let it sleep. Hopefully it won’t wake up ‘till morning.” “Where’s it going to stay,” asked Tiger. “I’ll take it with me for tonight since you two couldn’t handle it,” said Fish. She slowly got up and walked to her room, baby in her arms. Tigers Eye fell back onto his bed. “Great. I don’t know what to do with those things. Why does everything happen to us?” “We’re just lucky I guess. It figures that the sailors aren’t here to help. Let’s just try to get to sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a long day. Oh, and by the way; this is all your fault.” “My fault? How is it my fault?” “You’re the one who said it’s been quiet and boring around here.” * * * The next morning, the sun was barely up when screaming could be heard from across the hall. Tigers Eye and Hawks Eye got up and agreed to take the baby from Fish Eye for a while. They took it back into their room and listened to it cry. They tried Fish’s routine by rocking it back and forth, but it didn’t work. “Why won’t it stop,” asked Tiger. “It’s probably hungry. What are you supposed to feed it,” asked Hawk looking at the baby. “You feed babies milk silly,” said Fish standing at the doorway. “Let’s find the old man and see what he has to say.” They set out looking for Rae’s grandfather. They found him in the kitchen cooking something on the stove. “Oh good, you’re up,” he said. “We had no choice,” said Hawks Eye. “Well, I figured that you were clueless on the matter, so I’m helping you get started. I’m warming up a bottle for the little guy. On the floor over there is a box on baby stuff that I found. Everything you need should be there. Though I think you’ll have to go to the store and get more milk.” He took the bottle out of the pan and tested the temperature of the milk. “Perfect,” he said handing the bottle to Hawk. “Put it in his mouth and he’ll drink it. I have to leave for my trip. If you need anything…then hope you can figure it out. Bye!” The old man grabbed a jacket from a hook and hurried off. Then he popped his head back in and said, “Don’t forget to burp him when he’s done eating!” “Seems to me he doesn’t want anything to do with this,” said Tiger. Hawks Eye put the bottle to the baby’s mouth and it took it with no problem. He sat on a chair feeding the baby while Tiger and Fish looked through the box. Tiger picked up a tiny jacket and held it up. “He expects us to put this on the kid?” Fish picked up a pair of sneakers and screeched at the size. “They’re so small and cute!” “Oh brother,” said Tiger. “That didn’t take long. You must have been really hungry,” said Hawk. “Gramps said to burp him, that shouldn’t be to hard. I saw this before on TV.” He held the baby against his chest and patted it on the back. He sat there for a while and when he realized the baby wasn’t burping he held him in front of him. “Come on big guy, why won’t you burp?” “Maybe you’re doing it wrong,” said Tiger. Just as he said that the baby coughed then spit up all over Hawk. “Yuck!!” He held the child out as far as his arms could reach. Tiger and Fish laughed hysterically. “It’s not funny!” “Here, give him to me.” Fish took the baby from Hawk who looked at the mess on him. “Did that feel good little guy?” The kid started to giggle. “I’m glad he liked it.” Hawk took a towel and wiped his arm off. “This is gross. I’m going to take a shower.” Hawk left and Tiger went over to Fish and the baby. “That was good. Just don’t do it to me and we’ll be great pals kid,” said Tiger. A few minutes later, the baby started crying again. “Now what?” Asked Fish. “Do you smell that?” The looked at each other, then looked at the baby. “He didn’t,” said Tiger. “I’m not taking care of it.” Fish gave Tiger a look then brought the baby to the table. “See if there’s any more of these things,” she said pointing to the diaper. She undid the tape of the diaper and slowly pulled it down. She made a face when she saw the contents. “Here,” said Tiger walking over to hand her a new diaper. Then he saw the contents of the old one. “Oh my…” Tiger put his hand over his mouth and ran out of the room. “Tigers Eye! Don’t leave me with this,” yelled Fish. She looked at the diapers and decided to get it done and over with. Hawks Eye came back to the kitchen finding the baby laughing on the ground, Fish sitting against the wall and Tiger sitting on a chair with his head on the table. “What happened? You two look like you’re dying.” “I think I did,” said Tiger. “Be happy you left when you did,” said Fish. “Why, what happened?” “I had to change the kid’s diaper and it wasn’t pretty,” replied Fish. Hawks Eye started laughing. “It’s not funny, Hawks Eye. Tiger ran out on me. I had to do it all by myself!” “It was worse than the stuff he gave you,” said Tiger. “Well, I was thinking,” said Hawk. Tiger jumped up and made an x with his two fingers. “What’s your problem?” Hawk asked crossing his arms. “I don’t like it when you think,” replied Tiger. Hawk ignored him and continued; “I think that we should find a book at the store on how to take care of babies. We need to go out for milk anyways.” “You think they have books on that kind of stuff,” asked Fish. “Let’s hope they do. Who knows what else is in store for us,” Hawk said. “Okay, I’m going! You two have fun with the kid,” said Tiger as he went to the door. “Oh no you don’t.” Hawk grabbed Tiger’s arm. “We’re all going. I’m not taking care of him by myself.” Fish gathered the jacket, pants, and shoes she found earlier. “Here comes the next thing; getting these on him.” The three each took one item to put on the baby. Hawk held him while Fish put on the pants, and then Tiger struggled getting the shoes to go on his little feet. “I can’t tie these stupid things!” He fiddled with the laces, then got frustrated to the point he just tucked them into the shoes. Hawk had the job of getting the jacket on. He sat the baby up and put one arm into the sleeve of the jacket. When it came time for the other sleeve, the baby laughed and waved his arms up and down. “Don’t give me a hard time,” Hawk said between his teeth. He finally got a hold of the baby’s arm and was able to get the jacket on. “Here’s a hat for his head,” Fish said bringing over a knitted hat with a pompom on top. The trio got their shoes and jackets and headed out to the store, with Hawks Eye carrying the baby. As they walked down the streets they got smiling faces and compliments from people who passed them by. They finally got to the market and walked around looking for the milk and baby isles. Tiger went for the milk while Fish and Hawk went for the diapers and other baby things. Hawks Eye and Fish Eye looked at the different formulas and diapers. “Which one do we get,” asked Hawk. “I guess we just pick one,” said Fish. Then an older lady came up behind them. “I couldn’t help but over hear your conversation. You don’t know which things to buy? That’s okay, new parents usually don’t know what to do. How old is your baby?” Hawk and Fish looked at each other in shock. “He’s about…um…a year,” said Fish unsure of herself. “Okay, then I recommend this kind of formula.” She handed Fish Eye a can, then reached up for a diaper bag. “Here, these worked best for my daughter’s baby. And it’s good to give the baby some of this besides just milk,” she said handing Fish jars of baby food. “Here, Daddy can take something.” She hand Hawks Eye the bag of diapers. “Um…I’m not it’s…” “Now let’s see this cute bundle of joy,” the older women interrupted. She leaned over and tickled the baby’s nose. “Isn’t he cute. What’s his name?” That was another unexpected question they didn’t know the answer to. “Well, we actually…um…call him…” “Jack,” Hawk said. I meant to say a damn pain, he thought. “Oh, that’s a cute name. Well, I wish you two good luck with your baby,” the old woman said walking off. “Thank goodness she’s gone,” Hawk said. “You’re telling me…Daddy,” Fish joked. “Never mind!” They found Tigers Eye, paid for the items, and then headed out for the bookstore. On the way Fish said, “Jack?” “I couldn’t think of anything else! You weren’t thinking of a name and it’s strange not having a name for a kid a year old!” They found the bookstore and walked up and down isles looking for a baby book. They finally found a section of books on “New Parents.” Hawk’s arms began to get sore from carrying the kid so he lifted him up onto his shoulders. Tiger and Hawk looked over Fish’s shoulders as she flipped through different books. The baby looked around at his surroundings. He spotted a stuffed rabbit on one of shelves next to him and decided he wanted it. He reached over, grabbed it, and then dropped it on Tiger’s head. “Hey,” Tiger said looking down at the rabbit on the floor. “What now,” asked Hawk. “The kid found this and dropped it on my head.” “A stuffed rabbit? Hey, that’s a good idea. Maybe it’ll keep him busy at home.” “I found a book guys! What’s that?” Fish took the rabbit from Tiger.