AN: Wow! Been so long since I last looked at this story. Sadly, this was on my "Aggressive Writer's Block" List, and I admit it took me a while to get back into writing.

So a while back, LadySindrak brought to my attention an idea that made a lot of sense. She asked if Odetta knew about Francœur being a flea, and it got me wondering about how does our little lady think of her large friend. Children do tend to notice differences, typically at young ages, so I decided to explore this a bit. Lots of inspiration for this chapters comes from Rugrats and Look Who's Talking.

My family isn't like everyone else. I guess you could say we were…different.

Before I tell you about what happened, there are a few things you need to know. The first thing is that I didn't really know what the word "different" meant. What do you expect? I'm not even a whole year old yet. Nope, my birthday isn't for another couple of days. But I'm getting off topic. Where was I? Oh! Yeah, so I learned about what it means to be different.

The second thing you should know is that lots of things have changed for me. For one, I've got a new maman. See, my old maman and papa went to heaven, so while they watch over me, I needed someone to care for me. That's where my new maman came in. Funny but the first time I called her that, she started to cry. What was really strange about that was she smiled when she did. How can something that makes you cry make you smile? I don't know, grownups are weird.

My new maman is awesome! She is a big star where my Auntie Carla works. I have trouble with the name but it's got a bird in it, even though there aren't any birds there. Talk about a let down. Anyway, Maman works there by singing while people eat dinner. Maman has the most beautiful voice I've ever heard. Sometimes she sings by herself, but mostly she sings with Blu. Blu is my best friend in the whole world! He and Maman play with me and we have lots of fun together. Blu even teaches me funny ways to talk, though Maman wants me talking more like her. She says I'm getting really good. Though if that's true, not sure why she called Auntie when I said lots of grownup words. Something about "girls being faster than boys" or something like that. I don't know. I still like chirping better.

Anyway, let's get back to my story. The thing is, I didn't even know how different my family was at the time. I mean, I'm pretty smart, so it really surprised me that I didn't know about this sooner. But I'm getting ahead of myself; let's just start at the beginning of the day. I remember it started around breakfast time…

Maman gave me some gooey yellow stuff with pieces of jelly bread. I stopped drinking my bottle to inspect them. Whatever they were, they sure were fun to mash up!

I was testing their gooeyness when Blu walked into the kitchen. He smiled and made a funny noise. This was his way of saying good morning to Maman. She'd smile and told him good mornings before turning back to her cooking. Blu then turned to sit at the table with me. He made another funny noise before ruffling my hair.

It all seemed pretty good, until the telephone rang. Maman went to answer it while Blu finished making breakfast. Suddenly, we heard Maman shout! She raced back into the room, looking really scared before she stared running all around the house. She was hurrying to clean up the kitchen while Blu was trying to help. I like to watch them when this happens. It's fun! They both look so silly.

"Oh goodness, I'm gonna to be so late!" Maman cried, struggling to put one of her pointy shoes on. "I can't believe I forgot that I was supposed to meet my aunt ten minutes ago!"

Blu cocked his head to the side so I copied him. Maman paused a moment to explain. "Carlotta said that she and Le préfet Pâté have something they want to discuss. I'm thinking maybe another concert, but I can't imagine for what."

Oh yeah, Auntie's special friend Mr. Patty, the man with the big nose and two sets of eyes. He was a nice man. I liked him. Sometimes he gives me a sweet stick for me. Maman doesn't like them because they make me all sticky. Speaking of sticky, I wonder how long it will take for somebody to notice that my jelly bits are on the floor? Blu must have because he came over with a wet towel in his hands and began cleaning it up.

"Alright, that should be everything, I think…" I heard Maman mutter as she shuffled back into the kitchen. "Now, are you sure you have everything? I know it's just for the afternoon but Odetta has been extra fussy since her teeth are coming in. Oh, maybe I shouldn't go!"

Blu placed his big hand on Maman's shoulder and chirped. He smiled in a way that made her relax. "You're right, I'm overreacting again. Thank you Francœur."

Maman then walked to where I was as sitting. She nuzzled our noses and gave me a kiss before saying, "Bye little angel. You be good for Francœur while I'm visiting Auntie Carlotta, okay?"

I giggled and laughed, making her smile before she gave Blu his kiss and disappeared. When I heard the front door shut, I turn to Blu to see if he knows what we will do today. I wasn't paying enough attention.

The moment I turned my head, my eyes were covered and I tasted yucky cloth. I tried to protest as the wet thing moved over my mouth and cheeks, and another cloth was rubbed against my hands. When it was over, I look to see Blu smiling while holding three wet towels. He must've grabbed the others for me when I wasn't looking. I gave him a stink face. He knows I don't like the wet cloth, especially rubbed on my face.

He just chirped and started cleaning up the rest of the kitchen. When that's done, Blu picked me up and carried me upstairs. Since he went into Maman's room, that means he's going to either dress me or it's my nap time. And it's much too early for a nap so I must be getting my play clothes.

When Blu finished dressing me, he scooped me up along with my diaper bag, and heads downstairs. It's was when Blu puts on his brown shoes and jacket, quickly grabbing his guitar case, that I knew we were going to the park.

I like it when we go to the park. There's lots more room to run around and I get to see my friends.

And of course, it the most fun when it's just me and Blu. Whenever we don't have Maman, we take the fun way to the park. Blu doesn't like getting in those moving boxes. They are noises, smell funny, and I don't how squished we get while riding in them. So Blu and me fly instead.

Okay, it's not really flying, but it feels like it is because Blu jumps so high! Blu is the bestest jumper I've ever met! He can jump so high up, like over tall houses and up into the clouds. He did that one time when Uncle Raoul was babysitting me. He got in big trouble with Maman because he wasn't watching me. Hey, not my fault I fell out the window. But since I had so much fun that time, Blu and I jump everywhere, but only when it's the two of us because Maman gets scared about me being up so high.

Anyway, after we jumped to the park, Blu walked me over to the spot I usually go to meet with my friends. I found them over by the big kid playground. I saw Eric and Christine first. Eric was picking flowers while Christine was playing ball with Josephine. Eric really likes Christine but she doesn't notice. Josephine saw me and waved after throwing Christine the ball, though that made Christine turn, and the ball went past her and hit my other friend, Andre, right in the nose.

Seeing my friends, I turned to let Blu know I wanted to go play. He nodded and pointed over to a bench where an old man was feeding the pigeons. He was telling me that he would sit there and watch me. Then he patted his case. That's Blu's way to say he was going to play his guitar. Blu then walked away and took a seat on the bench while I went to join my friends.

I ran over to make sure Andre was okay. He acted like it didn't hurt, but I could see the boo boo on his head, so I knew he was pretending. After that, we all played tag and then hide-and-go-seek. Eric loves that game because no one ever finds him. After that, we all sat in a circle and passed the ball to each other. It was going great until suddenly Andre was carried off by a big man I'd never seen before.

"Hey, who's that big guy taking Andre away?"

"That's Andre's Papa," Josephine said. "He's going with his Papa."

"Papa? What's a papa?" Everyone turned and looked at me funny. "What? What I say?"

"You don't know what a papa is?" Eric asked. I shook my head.

"A papa is the grownup who's always with a maman," Christine explained. "You know, he tells stories and plays games and makes the maman happy when she gets sad."

"Don't forget the kissing," Josephine added through a giggle, "because mamans and papas are always doing that."

"Gross!" Eric stuck out his tongue.

"Oh, I remember now. I had one, but then I gots a new mama," I said. "Guess I forgot to get a new papa too."

"You should ask your maman to find a papa," Christine suggested.

"Hey, I bet Blu could be my new papa! He always with Maman and making her happy, and she's always kissing him, and sometimes he kisses her. "

"Don't be a dummy," Eric said, "Blu can't be your papa."

"Why not? You just said-"

"Cause he's not like you, that's why!"

Christine bopped him on his head. "Don't be mean, Eric, not everyone looks like their maman and papa. Andre doesn't look nothing like his papa."

"You know what I mean!" he shouted, rubbing his sore head. "I meant cause he's not a real grownup."

"What you talking bout?" Josephine asked. "A course Blu's a grownup. He wears clothes and shoes and a hat like all the other grownups. And he gots a grownup job too."

"But he's got a blue face. Have you ever seen anyone with a blue face before, Josie?" Eric stated. "He's also gots big yellow eyes and those funny things on his face. And you ever seen him talk? No! That's cause he only makes clicky noises."

"Blu just talks different," I argued, not liking how he was talking about my best friend. "Eric, you're being really mean. So what if he doesn't look like and do stuff like all the other grownups!"

"Detta, Eric does gots a point," Christine said. I looked at her and she was nervous, twisting her skirts like when she doesn't know what to say. "I heard my maman talking to my papa bout it one time. They said he's really a big bug and that he scared lots of peoples a long time ago."

"You're lying! Blu would never do that!"

"It's true, it was even in the papers grownups read," Christine added, which only made me madder. "We're not trying to be mean, but…"

"That's dumb! Blu is Blu. And I don't care what you all say, Blu is the bestest grownup I know. And I'm gonna ask Maman if Blu can be my papa!"

I was mad. I didn't want to play anymore. How could I when my so-called friends said such mean things? So I ran and almost tripped on a pigeon as I made my way to Blu. I grabbed his leg, making him put aside his guitar and pick up. He set me in his lap, purring and looking worried. I didn't tell Blu what happened, and I made sure I didn't cry. How could I tell him all the mean things everybody had said about him? Well, actually, I couldn't tell him anyway since Blu doesn't always understand what I say. Most grownups don't understand anything babies say. However, I think Blu noticed I was upset anyway. He gave me a sad face but didn't try to ask me what happened. He just picked me up and we jumped back home.

For the rest of the day, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about what my friends had said. Blu couldn't be a bug. I'd seen bugs before and Blu doesn't look like them. Bugs were little and Blu was super big. And bugs couldn't play guitar or dance or sing.

Then again, there were some things I never really noticed before. For one thing, Blu really didn't look like any other person. I had seen grownups and kids with different colors skin but none were a color like Blu. And those funny looking things on his face, nobody else had them. Some grownups had fuzzy things on their face, but they didn't move. Also, Blu sometimes wore stuff so nobody could see his face or arms. Whenever we went out of the house he always wore those funny gloves and a hat, but not his mask. He only wore that when he and Maman would sing. Though why would he need to wear a mask? Was it like when Maman wore her wings, or was it cause of something else?

I decided to investigate.

Later that night, after Maman and Blu came back to their room after singing, I started to really watch them. They were getting ready to go home. First Maman took off her pretty feather wings and changed behind the small paper wall. While she did that, Blu removed his hat and mask. He also took off his jacket and gloves. Funny, Blu doesn't wear those things when we're at home. He wears shirts Maman made special with extra sleeves for his hands. I guess I'd never noticed it before, but Blu does have more hands than other people. That doesn't mean my friends were right about Blu. Right?

When Maman was done dressing, she sat at her mirror table. As she started to brush her hair, Blu walked picked something up from her table and walked over to the couch. When he sat down, I could see that Blu was playing with Maman's pretty comb. I tried to climb up so Blu picked me up with his other hands, and sat me in his lap.

As Blu played a pretty tune on the comb, I noticed something else. I grabbed ahold of Blu's hands and looked at his fingers. Then I looked at my own hand. I had more fingers than Blu; he had more hands but not as many fingers. That was odd. I wonder how he could wear his gloves if his hands were so like that?

I guess I was pulling too hard because Blu tried to take his hand back. I kept a tight hold and held up my own hand to show him what I found. That just made Blu chirp.

"Hey, what're you two up to over there?" Maman laughed and walked over to us. I showed her our hands.

Maman pursed her lips. "What's wrong, Odetta? Is there something on your hands?"

I shook my head and showed her again, but she wasn't getting it. This is where I wished I knew more grownup words. It's frustrating not being able to tell grownups what I want. Why can't they just talk like babies? It would make everything much easier.

"Odetta, what are you trying to say, sweetie?" Maman looked to Blu. "Have you any ideas, Francœur?"

Blu shook his head. He tried pulling his hand away but I wouldn't let him. When he chirped sharply at me, I finally let go. I then held up my hands together, and before he could pull away, I grabbed Blu's other hand and held them up while shaking my head. They still weren't understanding me. I had to try and say it so they could understand. Not easy when you don't know a lot of grownup words and only have a few teeth. But I had to try.

"No dame."

Maman spoke. "What?"

"No dame!" I held up our hands one more time. "No dame!"

Maman studied our hands, her eyes getting all crinkly. Then they snapped wide open. "Oh, no same? Is that what you're trying to say? Something is not the same?"

I nodded. Finally, we were getting somewhere. "Why?"

Before she could answer, there was a knock and the door started to open.

"Lucille, there are some guests who want to meet you, Honeybee." We all turned to see Auntie smiling before she disappeared behind the door. Maman just smiled and patted my head before leaving with Auntie.

I had to wait until we got back home before I could ask my questions again. It took everything I had to fight off sleep while Maman readied me for bed. When Maman started dressing in her nightie, I slipped from her bed and made my way to Blu's room. If I couldn't get Maman to understand, then maybe Blu would.

Lucky for me, the door was cracked open so I didn't have to nudge it too hard. I was about to call out when I stopped. There was Blu, standing in front of his bed. I had caught him while he was getting ready to go night-night. He had on his stripy bedtime pants but his shirt was in his hands. I couldn't believe what I saw!

Blu was different! His skin looked more like the armor worn by knights from the books Auntie Maude reads me sometimes. There were also large spikes along his back. They looked really sharp! And while I had seen his arms before, I couldn't believe what I saw. They were thin like twigs and were covered in spikes too. And then I looked down I could see his feet. I'd never seen Blu's feet before. They were so weird! Two long claws instead of toes.

I stepped back and the floor squeaked. I looked up and Blu was now turned toward me.

He stared at me. I stared back. I just didn't know what to think. Now that I saw him, I couldn't deny it. Blu wasn't a person. Peoples didn't have four arms and spikes on their backs. They didn't have those clacky things on their faces. No one had any thing like that except bugs. My best friend was a bug. A giant bug!

Blu looked really surprised when he saw me. He started to walk over, but I shouted out to make him stop. I didn't want him coming near me. He was a bug. Bugs don't really bother people but who knew what giant bugs would do! He could squish me or bite me or stick me with one of those spikes. I wanted to run. Run out of there and back to Maman. She'd protect me. She would…

Blu looked very sad. He was sad because I was scared. I was scared of him. When had I ever been scared of Blu? He was my best friend. He would never hurt me. He cared about me, and took care of me. He looked after me when Maman was away. He helped us get better when Maman and I got really sick, and he stayed with me when Maman took longer to get better. Blu wasn't something to be afraid of. He was someone I could always count on.

Okay, so Blu was a big bug, but he was still Blu. He does all kinds of things. The little bugs don't do any of the things Blu does. He was special. He could sing, dance, and play music. He went shopping with Maman and me in the market. He sometimes cooked and he always washed the dishes. Blu also could jump high as the clouds, had eyes that glowed in the dark, and he could do all sorts of things with his many hands.

Blu may be a bug, but that didn't change the fact that he was still he best friend in the whole world.

And now my best friend was sad because, for a moment, I was scared of him.

I had to let him know I wasn't scared no more!

I ran up to Blu and he caught me in time to swing me up into his arms. He seemed really scared at first, like he didn't want to. But once I gave him a big hug he calmed down. When he pulled back, Blu looked like he had a question and made a funny purring sound. I just hugged him again.

"Francœur, have you seen- What's going on?" I heard Maman say. I peeked my head back to find her standing in the doorway. She walked over looking really scared. Boy, that sure was happening a lot tonight.

"Is Odetta alright? Did something happen?" she asked.

Blu shook his head. He then carried me over toward a table, and began scribbling something on a piece of paper before handing it to Maman. She looked it over before looking at me.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" Maman asked me. "Did something frighten you?"

I shook my head. Then I pointed to Blu and me again, trying to say that word from before. "No dame."

Maman scrunched her face. "No dame? Oh! You were saying something about that earlier, weren't you. What's not the same, sweetie?"

"Blu no dame, Mommy." I held up my hands. "Mommy me dame," then I patted Blu's face, "ba Blu no dame."

Suddenly, Maman's eye went very wide and her mouth went all small. She looked at Blu like she was scared before looking back to me. "Odetta? Are you trying to ask why Francœur isn't like you and I?"

I nodded.

Maman looked like she didn't know what to say. I'm used to this. Grownups always seem to have trouble saying stuff to babies. But it made me wonder. Just what was so hard that she didn't know how to tell me?

"Well… You see honey, Francœur is different because," she started to say, "well because he's not a person like you and I; he's a flea. A bug. Do you understand?"

I nodded again. "Bug."

"Yes, that's right," Maman continued. "But of course, he's not like other bugs. He's much bigger, and he does things that people do."

"Why?" I asked, now really curious to know. I could tell this was gonna be a story, and I love stories!

"See, a long time ago, Francœur was like any other flea. He was so tiny you couldn't even see him. He even used to live in the Professor's greenhouse, right on Charles' back."

The Professor? Who… Oh, I think she was talking about the funny man with all the plants and the monkey. I like the monkey. He thinks he's a person and wears clothes and talks on paper like Blu does. But the plant man, Maman had told me about him before. He played with funny stuff that made different things happen, mostly to help plants and stuff grow. But what did plants and monkeys have to do with why Blu was so big?

I turned to look at my big friend. He seemed unsure about something, so I turned my attention back to Maman. She went on to explain how one night, while my uncles were bringing plant food to the plant man, Uncle Rahul started playing around and accidentally made a potion that made Blu big. He ran away and started exploring the city. The world was so new, but sadly, many people were afraid of Blu.

I cuddled Blu then. It was my way of saying sorry for being scared of him. He hugged me back and we listened as Maman talked about when she first met Blu.

"Well, I was in my dressing room when I heard the back doorbell ringing." Maman suddenly laughed and looked at Blu. "You rang that bell incessantly. It was so frustrating that I opened the door too hastily, and knocked you into the alley."

Blu laughed too. Then Maman continued, "Only, it wasn't so funny then. I worried I'd hurt you, and ran to check to make sure you were alright. Who would've guessed the person I thought a helpless beggar was actually a seven-foot flea in chapeau and cloak? I think I actually fainted on the spot, didn't I?"

Blu nodded and I must have looked surprised. How could I not? Maman and Blu had always been together as far as I knew. It was hard to imagine Maman fainting at the sight of him. I wanted to know what happened next!

"Well, Francœur caught me and when I awoke… I slapped him and ran back inside." I gasped. "Odetta, don't worry. It was only because Maman didn't know Francœur then. Like many other people, I was frightened too. I had read about the Monster of Paris terrorizing the city, though I didn't believe it…until he was at my doorstep.

So I ran back and locked the door. I was so frightened by everything that I couldn't move from where I was sitting. It was not until I heard a soft, angelic voice singing. I looked out the little door window and saw Francœur, sitting against a wall in the pouring rain. I couldn't believe my eyes, but sure enough, he was the one singing. And the song he sang, oh, it was such a sad song. It broke my heart to hear it. Then I realized, this was no monste,r but an intelligent creature with a passionate heart."

I watched Blu smile and I could have sworn I thought his cheeks changed color. I think he was embarrassed about the way Maman talked about him. She only smiled and took ahold of one of his hands.

"So, after that, I grabbed a spare umbrella and went back outside. Francœur was surprised when I held the umbrella over his head but I just smiled. I then asked for his name, but of course, Francœur does not speak the same way we do, something I found interesting despite how well he sings. So, having a need to call him something, I spotted a sign reading 'Passage Francœur,' and asked if I could called him that. I think it was that moment when we became friends."

That's when Blu chirped. He smiled and moved another of his hands as if to tell Maman to keep going. Well, she might have too, if I hadn't yawned really loudly at that moment. I tried to shake it off but Maman said it was time for bed. It had been a busy day, and I needed to sleep.

Though I wasn't done fighting! I insisted that both Blu and Maman tuck me into bed. Blu carried me back to mine and Maman's room. He set me down in my crib while Maman tucked the blankets around me. She kissed my forehead and then moved back so Blu could tuck my teddy bear next to me. Once my teddy was snuggly, and before Blu could move too far away, I reached up and gave Blu a big kiss on his cheek. I laughed at his startled look, but then he smiled and kissed my cheek too.

The last thing I saw was Maman and Blu bidding each other goodnight. The sight made me happy. Because I knew. I knew this was my family. We may be a little different, but that didn't matter. I think we are great just the way we are. Just me, Maman, and Blu. Everything was perfect. Well… Almost perfect.

I still had to ask Blu to be my papa.