Mishappy Birthday, Baby
part 1

TaleSpinand its characters are property of Disney. All other characters are mine and cannot be used without permission.

Higher for Hire
July 7, 1940
Morning

“No, Baloo,” Rebecca said firmly as she leaned over the highchair’s tray to wipe a droplet of milk from Cassie’s chin, causing the baby to squeal in protest.

Nine-year-old Molly glanced up from her cereal to flash a look of dismay across the table at her fifteen-year-old brother. Kit nodded wearily and continued eating his breakfast. Their parents were fighting again.

“But, Becky...” Baloo entreated.

“No buts. You are not taking Cassie for a plane ride without me along and that’s final.”

“Port Largo’s less’n a hop, skip, an’ jump away. We’ll be there an’ back before you can say jackrabbit. ‘Sides Kit’ll be along.”

Kit tried to hide behind the Cheery-Os box. “Keep me out of this,” he murmured.

“The day you put the toilet seat down is the day you can take her.” Rebecca rose from her chair and untied the bib from around Cassie’s neck.

Baloo scowled at that remark, but forged ahead earnestly. “A gal don’t turn one every day.”

“If you take her with you, she probably won’t live to see two,” Rebecca retorted, picking up Cassie. As was her wont, the toddler fingered her mother’s hair.

“She’s my kid, too, an’ this is what Daddy wants to give her for her very first b-day.” Baloo gently tickled Cassie’s toes.

At the sound of the baby’s delighted giggles, Rebecca’s heart thawed, even though her expression didn’t. Reluctantly, she said, “Well...I do need to get some party supplies at the store...”

Molly, who loved birthday parties, said excitedly, “We’re gonna get balloons, streamers, some presents...”

“And it would be easier without her along,” Rebecca concluded.

Before she could change her mind, Baloo kissed his wife’s cheek. “Thanks, Beckers. An’ don’t worry about a thing. Me an’ Kit’ll take good care of this little munchkin.”

The Sea Duck
A Half Hour Later

“Ca’go! Ca’go!” Cassie, seated on Kit’s lap, babbled over and over.

“Yeah, we’re gonna deliver cargo,” Kit mumbled, trying to see the map around Cassie’ curly head. He regretted teaching her that word, because he knew she would repeat it the entire day. This is gonna be a long flight.

Rebecca, standing on the dock, peering through the Sea Duck’s cockpit window, asked, “Do you have her diaper bag, extra bottles, and blanket?”

“Yup, yup, an’ yup,” Baloo replied with an amused grin.

“Don’t forget Woobie!” Molly said, running down the dock with a well-loved, once-white teddy bear.

Rebecca passed the teddy bear through the window to Baloo, who handed the toy to Cassie.

Hugging her favorite toy, she repeated happily, “Bee, bee, bee.”

“At least it’s not ‘ca’go’,” Kit murmured to himself as he tried to see the map around both Cassie and Woobie.

“Ca’go bee bee. Ca’go bee bee,” Cassie babbled.

Oh, swell, Kit thought sarcastically. Thanks, Papa Bear, for the fantastic idea of taking Cassie with us. Why not add a couple of gorilla birds, too?

“You sure we need all this junk? We’re only gonna be gone a coupla hours,” Baloo said.

“That’s a long time for a baby. Better to be safe than sorry. Now, the record players must be delivered by noon to Noteworthy’s Music Shop. They should have a truck waiting for you at the airfield. If they don’t, contact Carol at the number at the top of the page.” She handed him a clipboard with important information. Baloo, in turn, passed the clipboard to Kit, who was having trouble keeping the energetic toddler from wriggling out of his grasp.

“Is that it?” Baloo asked, flipping switches on the control panel. One powerful Superflight 100 engine roared to life, then the other.

Pushing her hair out of her face, Rebecca shouted over the roar of the propellers, “You forgot one very important thing!”

“What?” Baloo glanced over his shoulder at the pile of baby stuff littering the cockpit floor. “We got everythin’ but the kitchen sink, unless you think we need that, too.”

Rebecca shook her head. With a tender gleam in her eyes, she said, “Be careful.”

Baloo leaned out the window and kissed her. “We will, honey.”

“Bye, Daddy,” Molly said, waving at him. “Have a good flight.”

“Bye, Muffin.” Leaning out the window, he said with a wink, “Remember Cassie likes chocolate cake with extry fudge-y frosting.”

Molly giggled. “That’s your favorite, not Cassie’s.”

“Make sure you radio me if you have any trouble,” Rebecca shouted.

Before he taxied the seaplane away from the dock, Baloo said with a dismissive wave of his hand, “Aw, how much trouble can a one-year-old get into?”

The Sea Duck
One Hour Later

“A little help with this little troublemaker, Papa Bear!” Kit said through clenched teeth. He wrenched the map out of Cassie’s mouth, causing a big hole to be ripped out of the center of it. “Great. Just great.” With forced patience, he said, “Spit out the paper, Cassie.”

She spit a small, slimy wad of paper into his outstretched hand.

He tossed the wad onto the floor with a disgusted, “Yuck!”

“Ca’go bee bee! Ca’go bee bee!” she exclaimed happily, clapping her hands.

“Yeah, cargo bee bee. I think she’s hungry,” Kit said, frowning through the map’s hole at the little girl, who was now trying to devour his compass.

“Well, feed her somethin’,” Baloo said testily. Having a baby along changed everything. The normally peaceful flight had been anything but peaceful. He could almost hear Rebecca and her great big ‘I told you so’. How he wished that she was here to keep Cassie entertained and out of mischief.

“No way!” exclaimed Kit, who was also wishing that Rebecca was present. Gently but firmly, he extracted the compass from his sister’s mouth. Over Cassie’s protesting shrieks, he said loudly, “I don’t want her to get airsick again, which, by the way, was yourfault.”

Baloo picked Woobie up from the floor and offered it to the fractious toddler. Her loud cries quieted to a ragged whimper as she hugged the toy with one hand and scrunched the map up in the other hand, fascinated by the crackling sound.

“How was I s’posed ta know bananas would upset her tiny tum-tum? She normally likes ‘em.”

“Just because she likes bananas doesn’t mean you had to stuff her full of Louie’s banana burritos.” My shirt will never be the same again.

“Well, I...er...” Baloo rubbed the back of his neck nervously and rapidly changed the subject. “What’s our position, partner?”

“You tell me. I’m experiencing...let go, Cassie!...a small technical difficulty here.” He tore the battered map from her, ripping it nearly in two. “At this rate, we won’t have a map left.”

“Okay, okay...I’ll take her offa your hands for a while.” Baloo picked up the toddler. “C’mere, Cookie,” he crooned.

“Ugh. Don’t mention food.” Kit grimaced and spread what was left of the map out on his lap.

Cassie, hugging Woobie and sucking her thumb, sat quietly on Baloo’s lap for a while. Then, her little eyes lit up with curiosity at the sight of all the buttons and dials on the control panel. Lunging out of her father’s grasp, she reached for them.

“No!” He put her on the deck and gently said, “Go an’ play with Woobie where you can’t get into any trouble...Cassie!”

She had pushed open the ajar cargo hold door and disappeared into cargo hold.

“Doggone it!” Baloo unfastened his seatbelt and rose from the pilot’s seat. “Take the stick, Li’l Britches, while I go catch that little...”

“Bugaboo?” Kit said with a sly smile.

Baloo screeched to a halt. Cold sweat beaded on his brow. For fear of severe embarrassment, he had hoped to keep Cassie’s special nickname a secret, especially from his wife. “You know about ‘Bugaboo’?”

“Sure.” At Baloo’s panicked expression, he added, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell Mom.”

“You’d better not, or I’ll cut your flight time.” He pushed Kit’s cap down over his eyes playfully, then headed to the cargo hold, calling, “Cassie? Come on out, kitten. Bugaboo?”

From the far recesses of the cargo hold, he heard a little voice chirp, “Boo!”

Baloo looked around every single pile of crates as he carefully pushed his way between them. “Where are ya?”

“Boo!” She streaked across the cargo hold and ran between Baloo’s legs.

“Gotcha!” He blew a raspberry on her cheek and tossed the giggling girl in the air.

Baloo carried her back to the cockpit, securely shutting door behind him. When Kit started to move from the pilot’s seat, he said, “Nah, you fly for a while, kid.”

“Really?”

“You won’t learn if ya don’t do.” Baloo settled in the navigator’s seat and told Cassie, “Your big brother’s gonna be an ace someday. Why doncha give him a high-five?”

Kit held out his palm.

“Five. Give him five, like this,” Baloo said gently, slapping Kit’s palm.

Cassie slapped his hand. “Fibe!”

Kit returned the high-five. “Here’s ‘fibe’ back, kiddo. Whoops!” he said as the plane lurched to the right.

“Hang onto ‘er.”

Just then, Cassie wiggled out of Baloo’s arms.

“Speaking of hanging on to her,” Kit laughed.

“Hey, come back here!”

Port Largo
Two Hours Later

Port Largo, a major trading center on the shores of the Alimentary Canal, fairly sung with activity. Boats and barges floated up and down the muddy waterway on their way to and from the mighty Sippymissy River. On the outskirts of the city, adjacent to the canal, was an airfield where large cranes reared their metal heads, incessantly transferring goods from the barges to waiting planes and trucks.

Amid the hustle and bustle of the airfield was an intellectual-looking chimpanzee in khakis and a brown fedora. His two goals at the moment were to avoid being trampled on and, more importantly, to find a ride to Cape Suzette.

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