The Princess and the Scientist

Chapter 2

"Would you like to see him?" Arthur asked.

The two chipmunks smiled as they nodded. "Alright, but I just got him asleep, so if you could be as quiet as possible that would be great." He informed them. The trio got up from the table and made their way toward the baby's bedroom. As they approached the white-colored bedroom door with the words 'SIMON' written in blue, Arthur placed a finger over his lips signaling the couple to stay quiet. He then opened the door, very quietly and slowly, and they all tip-toed into the room. The walls were covered in baby blue paint with clouds making it seem as if the walls were they sky itself. Dragons and birds were flying through the painted clouds bringing more creativity to the simplistic design. And paper stars were hanging from the ceiling, they assumed Arthur had made them for Simon. The floor was covered in shag-like carpeting so walking into the room wouldn't disturb the baby. The King and Queen studied the contents of the room, privately getting ideas on how they would decorate their children's room. They noticed the white dresser that held the baby's clothing inside, and the little toys used for decoration on top, along with the changing table next to it. The table had a thick purple cloth on top to make it more comfortable for child to lay on, and underneath it had wet wipes, powder, small bags, and of course the baby's diapers, completely prepared for Simon's next changing. But what was next to the table was what really interested them, the crib which held the sleeping chipmunk.

The crib was made of wood, with a small homemade mobile which hung four small, stuffed owls, their wings were out to make it seem as if they were flying. The three chipmunks silently peeked into the crib and saw a very small baby chipmunk calmly wiggling around his bed. "Oh, well I guess he's awake." Arthur laughed. He took the covers off the child so the couple could get a better look at his son. Lily and Charles smiled as they saw Simon open his eyes. He was very little, but they could tell he was already a few months old. They could also easily see how much he already resembled his father. His steel-blue eyes and his dark brown fur matched Arthur's completely. Lily let out a small giggle as she stroked her paw against his chubby cheeks. Simon let out a little coo as he felt the gentle strangers soft fur. "He's very calm." Charles said as quietly as he could as to not scare the child with his deep voice. "Yes, he rarely cries. But I still try my best to not wake him up so he may sleep peacefully." Arthur said. "May I hold him?" Lily asked, failing to keep her excitement to herself. "Uh, yes, j-just let me check something very quickly." Arthur said as he picked up his child. Once he saw that Simon's diaper wasn't dirty yet, he handed him to Lily.

Lily very carefully accepted Simon into her arms. The small chipmunk let out another little coo as he saw the strange woman again. Lily reached her paw out again to stroke his face once more, but before she could, Simon had taken ahold of her paw with both of his little ones. It seemed like he was studying it, but after a while he kept holding it as if it was his stuffed animal. She smiled as tears came to her eyes, and turned to her husband. "I want one..." She said as she brought Simon close to her face. "Oh. Are you two thinking of conceiving?" Arthur asked Charles. "Yes!" Charles responded. "Which reminds me of our intentions for this visit." "Well, come. Let's discuss this in the living room." Arthur said as he motioned for them to follow him. "If you don't mind, may I keep holding Simon? He doesn't seem to want to let go of my paw." Lily asked, smiling at the child as they left the room. "Of course! I have a bottle prepared in the living room too if he gets hungry." Arthur said as he closed the bedroom door.

Charles and Lily took a seat on the couch as Arthur sat on a lounge chair. "So, you two are thinking of having children?" Arthur asked. "Yes, it's something we've been thinking about for a while." Lily answered. "Well, what did you need to see me for?" He asked curiously. "We wanted to know if there was anything specific we needed, as well as making sure everything was safe for us to go ahead and try." Charles told the doctor. "Well I can run a few tests, but other than that you two pretty much have everything you need to start making a baby." Arthur smiled as he adjusted his glasses. "What kind of tests would you need?" Lily asked as Simon started nibbling on her paw. Arthur noticed this and handed her his bottle, which Simon happily took. "Well I can run a few tests to see if you two are fertile, or make sure there's no infections to look out for, but that's pretty much it." Arthur said. "Well how soon would you need to run the tests?" Charles asked. "Well I don't have any appointments today and, if you want to get the results as soon as possible I could get everything I need right now." Arthur said. The King and Queen looked at each other before they made a decision. They turned to the chipmunk in Lily's arms who was now about halfway through his bottle, and smiled at each other. "We can do it today." Charles said with a grin. "Alright then," Arthur said as he got up from his seat. "Charles if you could come with me, and I'll get everything I need from you." Arthur said as he once again motioned for him to follow.

When Charles and Arthur were out of the room, Lily looked at Simon who was now finished with his bottle. His paws were reaching for her face and she brought him close. His paws were now just below her eyes as he studied her carefully. Simon was making happy little noises that soon turned into a never-ending giggle that made her heart melt. "Oh, if I ever do have a child, I hope you two are the best of friends." She sighed. Simon's laughter came to a stop as he let out a big yawn. Lily placed him back into his previous position in her arms and started to hum as she rocked him from side to side. After a few minutes of rocking, he fell asleep, and she took him back to his room and carefully placed him back into his crib. As she tucked him back into bed, her heart started to break. She felt a true connection to Simon, no matter how silly it sounded. She felt as if he was going to be a huge part of her life, and she didn't want to leave him, and so she stayed by his side for while longer, watching him sleep peacefully. A few more minutes passed until she heard Arthur calling her name she took one final look at Simon and silently left the room.

"Yes, Arthur?" She answered as she walked into the room. "Well I got everything I needed from Charles, and now I just need to see you." He said. "Where's Simon?" "Oh, he fell asleep, so I put him back to bed." She said. "Thank you very much, Lily." Lily smiled at the doctor. "Right this way please." Arthur said as she walked toward his direction. After a few routine questions and a professional, but embarrassing inspection of her private area, he took a few samples to test and left the room first to give her privacy before she left.

Once she finally came back into the room, Arthur was speaking to Charles by the door. The king had his wife's coat in his hands and placed it on her as she stood next to him. "Thank you very much for speaking with us Arthur." Lily said. "It's no problem at all." He said as they walked out the door. "Oh!" Lily said as she turned back to the doctor. "I hope I'm not speaking out of place when I ask this..." Lily said. "Yes?" asked Arthur. "If you find yourself with your hands full, and need someone to watch Simon, please come to me first." Lily hesitantly said. "I would love to spend more time with him." Arthur smiled. "Of course, he seemed to like having a female figure around for once. And I'll inform you about the results as soon as they come in." Lily and Charles smiled as they waved good-bye to their friend and headed back to their castle.