glassed-in cafeteria where a few people were munching on sandwiches and salads.

To their right was a large waiting room filled with couches and chairs and end tables with the obligatory outdated magazines. In one chair was an elderly elephant peering at theCape Suzette Tribune through his half-moon spectacles. A young male cheetah with a handlebar mustache nervously paced the length of the room, wringing his hands.

Baloo stood just inside the doorway. He loved the refreshing coolness of the room, but he hated hospitals. They gave him the willies, and somewhere in this maze of painful injections and sick people was his wife and newborn child.

When Kit spotted the back of Wildcat�s head, he peeked over the back of the sofa at the small lion and the little yellow bearess. He tugged one of Molly�s blue hair ribbons, saying, �Hello. Do I know you?�

�Kit! Daddy! �Bout time you�re here!� cried Molly. She tossed an old magazine aside and sprang off of the sofa. Practically jumping up and down, she caught her father�s hand. �We�ve been here all day. Do you want to see the new baby?�

�You betcha, Button-nose!� Baloo said, giving his daughter�s hand a squeeze.

�That�s why we�re here!� Kit exclaimed. He was as excited as his sister.

Molly led Baloo and Kit to the nursery�s viewing window, which was down the hallway behind the receptionist�s desk. �Lift me up, Daddy.�

Baloo scooped her up in his arms.

�There she is. The pretty one.� Molly stuck her finger to the glass, pointing to a tiny, slumbering grey bear cub wrapped in a pink blanket.

The name tag on her crib read:

Cassandra Amelia von Bruinwald
Born July 7, 1939
6 lbs. 2 oz.

Wildcat remarked candidly, �She needs to have some wrinkles ironed out. Can they do that here in the hospital, or do we have to take her to the dry cleaners?�

�She�s so tiny,� Kit whispered.

Baloo didn�t say anything for a long time. He just stared at the baby, transfixed. After nine months of waiting and anticipating, there she was. His daughter. Then, he noticed the name tag. Blinking in surprise, he leaned closer for a better look. It did say what he thought it did. Feeling a lump forming in his throat, he murmured huskily, �Becky, you thoughtful sweetheart.�

�You okay, Daddy?� Molly asked concernedly, wiping a tear from his cheek with her hand.

�Yeah...yeah, Dumplin�. I�m fine.� He gave Molly a watery smile. Clearing his throat self-consciously, he explained, �Cassandra was my mama�s name.�

�I think Cassandra looks a lot like you, Papa Bear,� Kit said with an understanding grin. He gently squeezed Baloo�s arm.

�Her fur is the same color as yours - a greyish-brown or maybe more of a brownish-grey. And she has your nose, though hers is itsy-bitsy.� Wildcat pinched his thumb and forefinger together.

Without warning or seeming provocation, Cassandra screwed up her face and let out an ear-piercing shriek that could easily be heard through the glass. The infants on either side of her - a baby alligator and a baby monkey - joined in on the wailing.

�She�s got my good looks, but she sure got Becky�s lungs.� Baloo chuckled, setting Molly on her feet. He furtively passed the back of his hand over his eyes. �Can I see yer mama, Pigtails?�

�I don�t know. I can�t, �cause I�m not old enough,� Molly pouted, sticking out her lower lip. �Stupid hospital rule.�

The two cubs and Wildcat settled themselves on the waiting room sofa, chattering excitedly, as Baloo strolled to the receptionist�s desk. �Can ya give me the room number of Becky, um, Rebecca von Bruinwald? She�s my wife who just had the purdiest baby gal ya ever laid yer peepers on,� he proclaimed proudly. �She�s over there if ya wanna take a peek at her. My baby, I mean. Can�t ya hear her? She�s the one with the real loud cry.�

�Congratulations,� the secretary, an ostrich, said with an amused smile. Every father thought their baby was perfect. She flipped through a rolodex. �Room 231. Down that hall, sir.� She pointed to her right.

�Thanks.� Baloo hurried down the antiseptic-scented, glaringly white hallway. He lightly rapped his knuckles on the slightly ajar door of room 231. �Knock, knock, anybody home?�

Rebecca didn�t answer, because she was sound asleep.

Baloo tiptoed into the room and pulled a chair up beside the bed. Plopping down in the chair, he grasped his wife�s hand and tenderly ran a finger down her cheek. After a few moments, Rebecca�s eyelids fluttered open.

�Hey,� Baloo murmured, grinning.

�Hey, yourself,� Rebecca whispered.

�You were s�posed ta wait �til I got here, Beckers.�

�The baby got impatient. Just like you, she couldn�t wait.� She squeezed his paw with a sleepy smile. �Have you seen our baby, Baloo?�

�Yeah. She�s bee-you-ti-ful, Beckers, just like you.� He pressed his lips to hers.

�Do you like her name?� the bearess asked with a shy, yet sly, smile.

Baloo�s eyes misted up again. �Yeah, my mama�s. Where�d ya get Amelia? Amelia Airhead?�

�Contrary to popular belief, Baloo, not everything has to do with aviation. It was my grandmother�s name. I thought she should have names from both sides of the family.� She winced in pain as she attempted to sit up.

�Here, let me help ya, honey.� Baloo piled pillows against the headboard, and, taking her by the arms, gently slid her up against them. He perched on the edge of the bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Sighing with happiness and weariness, Rebecca leaned against him. He smooched the top of her head. �How�re ya feelin�?�

Rebecca gave a short laugh. �I�ve felt better. Glad that�s over and doubly glad that I can get back to my old size. I was tired of being as big as you.� She yawned. �How do you stand it, Baloo?�

Baloo was so happy that his wife�s barbs about his weight didn�t bother him. �Years of practice, Becky.� He grinned from ear to ear when a nurse appeared in the doorway with a precious pink bundle. �Well, lookee who�s here.�

�Feeding time,� the nurse, a young bearess in a white uniform, carefully handed the tiny cub to Rebecca.

�Can I hold her?� Baloo eagerly held out his arms.

�Of course, darling.� Rebecca placed the baby in his arms. �Support her head and neck...like that.� She smiled dreamily at her husband�s ecstatic expression as he gazed in awe at their baby.

�Hey, Cassie, I�m yer daddy,� he crooned softly. He placed the tip of his pinky finger in her teeny paw. When the infant instinctively curled her fingers around it, Baloo was hooked for life. �What a grip you�ve got. Yes, ya do. Yes, ya do. Woogie-woogie-woogie-woo.�

Rebecca hid a smile at the irony of her large husband speaking baby talk. He never ceased to amaze her.

�You�re a strong little thing, Cassie. Man, she�s so little, Becky. She fits just right in the palm of my hand.�

�She didn�t feel that little to me,� Rebecca said sarcastically.

�Snug as a bug in a rug in your purdy pink blankie, ain�t ya, Cassie?�

Rebecca commented, �She must be a keeper, because she already has a nickname, courtesy of her father.�

Baloo looked up in surprise. �What - Cassie? Cassie fits her better. Cassandra�s too big a name for this little gal, an� it�s easier ta say. Can�t ya just hear us yellin� upstairs, �Kit, Molly, and Cassie, haul yer tailsections down here right this second!�?�

�Eloquently put, as usual, Baloo.� Rebecca chuckled, running her fingers through Cassie�s thick thatch of hair, the ends of which curled slightly.

�She�s so perfect,� Baloo said. �Perfect little ears, an� nose, an� fingers, an� toes.� He gently tweaked each of those respective body parts. �Becky, look! Look! She�s openin� her eyes,� the proud papa hissed.

�Hi, baby,� cooed Rebecca. �Do you want to see the people who are talking about you?�

Baloo peered into the infant�s nearsighted, wondering brown eyes, which like her mother�s, were ringed with lighter fur; he was secretly pleased that they resembled his wife�s. �Hiya, Cassie, Cupcake.�

Whimpering, Cassie kicked her little legs and flailed her arms as best as she could wrapped up in her baby bunting. The goofy grin disappeared from the big bear�s face.

�What�s wrong with her, Becky? Am I hurtin� her?� Baloo inquired anxiously.

�I think she�s hungry. It�s hard work being born, isn�t it, Cassandra? It was hard work for Mommy, too.�

Baloo passed the cub to his wife, who guided the infant�s mouth to her breast. The cub greedily began to suckle.

�She�s her father�s daughter all right. Look at her eat.� Rebecca smiled down at the infant, hugging her close. �Mommy�s hungry little girl.�

Baloo pulled the blanket up around Cassie�s shoulders. �What a day! I thought me an� Kit would never get here.�

�Why? What happened?�

�You name it, it happened, Becky. Pirates chasin� us, gettin� thrown in jail, bein� interrogated by short Thembrian colonels, a traffic jam. Man, what a humdinger of a day!�

Rebecca smiled wryly. "Tell me about it, Baloo. Start at the beginning. Did you deliver the cargo?�

�Right on time, boss lady. No problemo about that. Got the receipt right here.� He patted his shirt pocket. �Ya remember Colonel - I-ain�t-short-yer-too-tall - Spigot?�

Rebecca frowned. �Unfortunately. How could I forget someone who tried to have me shot then hung for a stupid scheme you cooked up, flyboy?� She poked an indignant finger at his chest. �Just to get your paycheck a day early, I almost got killed.�

�Yeah, Thembrians love their executions.�

Softly, Rebecca said, �If he had been successful, we wouldn�t be here. Cassie wouldn�t be here.� She lovingly stroked the baby�s cheek.

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