Octonauts One-Shots

Special Needs

Every Octonaut had their own special needs.

Dashi, for example, was unable to sleep without her headphones. She had to have something in her ears to help her sleep. Of course, that meant that she could miss Octo-Alerts in the middle of the night because she just didn't hear them, and the others would understand that. Captain Barnacles wouldn't get cross, he would send someone to go fetch Dashi, and would wait patiently for her arrival.

Another example was Shellington. He might have been a brilliant scientist, with the knowledge about pretty much everything under the sea under his belt (or in his satchel anyway), but he was utterly hopeless at looking after himself. He was an amazing surrogate parent to the Vegimals, but at the same time he needed the other Octonauts to act like parents over him, reminding him to go to bed, or to eat. He was also very sensitive about his work, and if somebody critized him he could very easily fall to pieces. Sometimes he fell to pieces anyway, when he had little confidence in himself. The other Octonauts all made sure to encourage him and stand up for him, and to be patient whenever he got short tempered because he was sleep deprived.

Even Barnacles had needs. Although he was very kind and gentle to his crew, he could be very harsh on himself, and any little mistake or accident, even if insignificant, almost always shook him a little, especially if he thought it inconvenienced the others. The other Octonauts, then, didn't call out the captain for his few slip-ups, knowing that Barnacles would have already done so. They all loved their leader, and knew he had always been lenient to their shortcomings, so they were more than happy to turn a blind eye to his, especially as they knew how keenly he felt any slip-up. They also had to keep an eye on him in hot places; unlike Kwazii who not only said he hated the cold but exaggerated how cold he actually was, Barnacles never showed his discomfort in the heat, and had on more than one occasion almost fainted due to overheating, and had twice made himself suffer from heatstroke.

These were just a few of the needs of only three of the crew. They all had needs in their own ways, and they all would give what was needed. It was most likely this tolerance and understanding that helped strengthen the bonds they all had, changing them from friends, and making them family. And they found that the one whose needs were the most prominent was the one who was the most beloved to them all.

Peso's needs were the biggest, mostly because he didn't hide them. Even to strangers, his biggest, most obvious need was the need to be protected, especially in a scary place. Anybody could see how terrified he was of anything scary (except spiders- but there were none under the ocean), and he would often hide behind everyone else, unless somebody was hurt. Then he could conquer any fear. But otherwise, he needed the others to make him feel safe, and the others were happy to protect him, knowing that not only was Peso the youngest, but that the medic had grown up among a huge family, and was used to the security the large amount of relatives had given him. The Octonauts understood this and looked out for Peso as best they could.

But his other huge need was a secret. Captain Barnacles was the only one who knew the whole story. Kwazii knew the actual need, but not the real reason why, assuming that Peso just got scared as usual or he felt a little homesick. He was almost right, but it wasn't his home that Peso missed.

It was his father.

Peso's father had died many years ago through an illness he had caught when Peso was only about ten, which had been what prompted Peso to become a medic. Peso had loved his father dearly, and the desth had almost broken him, but his desire to become a doctor and save others had kept him going until he managed to become a medic, aged only 15. Soon after, he had joined the Octonauts, who had quickly learnt just how much he missed his father. The pain had lessened over the years, eventually it had disappeared altogether, but some nights it would return to haunt the poor penguin. And it was on those nights he had his biggest need, like after the Iron Clam Race.