Soldiers Don't Cry 9-

I Love Lucy

It had been a month and a half since the team's return. Everything had settled back into normalcy, the penguins solving problems in the zoo, and the lemurs causing them. Even the dynamic between the flightless friends seemed to have come back together… more or less. Only now, Private was engaged, and that was… fine. No, really. Skipper had of course tried to move on from his adorable roly-poly love, but he still felt himself sneaking glances when Private came out of the water from a swim, or when he had a bit of fish still left on his feathers from lunch. However, Skipper was a military man with nerves of steel! His iron-clad focus would keep out all distractions! But it was proving to be difficult. Private's adorable smile seemed to smash down any wall Skipper was attempting to build, making the leader increasingly frustrated. Skipper managed to stay calm though, his desire to see Private happy overwhelmed everything else. He put on a brave face, for Private's sake. He was doing well, but then… she came.

A small female penguin approached Marlene and Antonio's habitat, looking positively lost. "Excuse me," she called into the habitat, "could you direct me to the penguin habitat please? I'm afraid I'm new to the area." smiled the British penguin. Marlene looked out of her pool at the small female penguin.

"Oh… well their exhibit is in the middle of the zoo, just down there a bit." Marlene pointed out, wondering who this new penguin was.

"Thank you!" the girl smiled at the otter. She began to walk away, but Marlene quickly called back out to her.

"So, are you a new transfer?" Marlene smiled, already being her neighbourly self.

"Not quite," she giggled. "I'm here to see my fiancé." Marlene's eyes widened at the admission, and this time allowed the female penguin to walk away.

"Go fish." Kowalski said to Rico, who did as he was told and took another card from the deck. He groaned upon looking at his card, and then it was Skipper's turn.

"Private! Have any threes?" he asked, only needing two more pairs to win. Private examined his hand and shook his head.

"Nope, sorry Skippa. Go fish!" he smiled, and Skipper pulled another card from the deck. Suddenly, there was a gentle knock at the fish bowl door. A quiet voice was heard from the other side.

"Hello? Is anyone home?" called the voice. Private's eyes lit up and he slid open the hatch in a nanosecond, allowing his fiancée to gain entrance to their HQ. There appeared a short, impossibly kind looking penguin. Her eyes were a sea green, her feathers daintily brushed. A small flower clip held back a few stray feathers on her head. Her entire demeanor seemingly lit up the HQ, making the other three stare on in wonder. "Percy-pie!" she squealed, launching herself around Private. Skipper frowned inwardly. So, he had told her his real name, huh?

"Lucy-loo!" he laughed back. "What are you doing here?" he asked, the excitement in his voice apparent. Rico's stomach gurgled at the disgustingly mushy reunion.

"I thought I'd stop by for a surprise visit!" Lucy smiled. "So, surprise!"

"Oh we're surprised." Skipper said, stepping between them. "Does ANYONE call before showing up anymore?" he sighed. "Why didn't you call in? How are we supposed to know she isn't a Class A security breach?" Skipper stared hard at her, his paranoia and suspicion kicking in.

"No, no she isn't a security breach! Skippa, this is my fiancée, Lucy." Private pulled Lucy away from his jealous superior and held her close to him. Lucy could sense the tension, so she quietly introduced herself.

"Pleased to meet you all… I'm Lucy." She said quietly. Kowalski and Rico stepped forward to shake her flipper.

"I'm Kowalski, the scientist of this squad. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lucy." Kowalski stammered, using much too polite speech. Clearly he was not accustomed to talking with girls. Rico waved at her, before giving her a powerful handshake. "And this is Rico, our weapons expert." Kowalski said. "He doesn't talk much, so forgive him." Lucy smiled at the two penguins.

"It's very nice to meet the two of you." Her English manners were impeccable. She then looked at Skipper; a shy smile graced her lovely face. "And you must be the Skipper." She smiled. "Percy's told me all about you." Skipper reluctantly shook her flipper, noticing how soft and well groomed her feathers were.

"I'm sure he has." Skipper shot a glance to Private, who fidgeted at his gaze. "So, what brings you to the Big Apple?" Skipper asked out of politeness rather than actual curiosity.

"Percy has told me so much about all of you! I knew that if I was going to be his wife, I should get to know his three closest friends." Lucy smiled kindly. Kowalski and Rico blushed at the honour of being considered two of Private's closest friends. Skipper however, remained unamused. "Oh, I'm sorry, was that a bit presumptuous of me? I'm sorry, I didn't realize I'd be meddling in anything…" she added meekly.

"Well, you are." Skipper looked down at her, as she was slightly shorter than him. Private shot him an accusatory glare.

"Skippa! Lucy is just as welcome here as anyone else! She can have my bunk!" Private held her flipper tightly in his. The look in the young penguin's eye didn't waver as he practically stared down his commander. Private decided to go the more polite route that seemed to always work with Skipper. "Can she stay Skippa? Please?" Skipper felt himself weaken under Private's stern glare, matched by Rico and Kowalski who didn't seem to appreciate his hostility either.

"Fine, she can stay. But there are a few ground rules. She's not allowed to accompany us on missions; she can't touch anything in HQ, and absolutely NO girly stuff around the habitat. I swear if I see one doily I'm putting my foot down!" he spat out, jealously looking at Private's flipper placement around her waist. It was all worth it to see Private's giant smile. "Maybe Kowalski was on to something with this whole 'be happy with his smile' thing…" Lucy smiled sympathetically at the stout penguin.

"I'm sorry for intruding, Mr. Skipper. I promise I'll be the best guest ever! You won't even know I'm here!" she grinned adorably. "Thank you Mr. Skipper!" If it wasn't for the way she was holding Private so close, Skipper might have even been inclined to like her. She seemed like the perfect person for Private… so why did that ache in his heart not go away? After a few more quiet moments, Skipper's silence began to attract attention.

"Yeah… you're welcome. Anyway; Kowalski, Rico I need you to alter the zoo records to say we accepted a transfer from London. Alice isn't the ripest banana on the tree but she's sure to notice an extra mouth to feed. Off you go men!" The two saluted him and dashed out, after giving a cheerful goodbye to their new habitat mate. Private's eyes gleamed at Skipper, his demeanor practically glowing.

"Thank you for letting her stay, Skippa!" he smiled. Skipper blushed.

"It's no problem…" Skipper replied. Private tugged on Lucy's flipper.

"I'm going to go show Lucy around! I promise we'll be back by supper!" he smiled.

"Have fun!" Skipper feigned enthusiasm. Private led his bride-to-be out of the HQ, and it was quiet again. Uncomfortably quiet. This whole "making Private smile" thing was going to be more difficult than he possibly imagined.

Author's Note: I am so sorry for the mind-melting delay, but here is chapter 9! We are finally introduced to Private's fiancee! I think I made her a little to pleasant to hate... oops. Anyway, enjoy chapter 9! Review and fave please! PS: Private's name Percy is based off of the name from the PoM Fanfiction 2400 hours. When I read it, the name just seemed so perfect for Private! All British and cute... Anyway, credit goes to 2400 Hours for the name!