Tasha Bandiger

Chapter 1

I was home alone today. My brother went to get some groceries from the mainland. Today was my birthday but nobody had anything planned for me. I didn’t mind it though. Just as long as I had my family, I was ok. I decided to pull out my journal to read an old entry. I randomly selected a page. It was dated five years ago, when Tasha Bandiger was born. I'll never forget that day when I found out, Tani was pregnant.

So Justin and I were talking about how Crunch and Tani always seemed affectionate towards each other. It was agreed, they didn't like one another. They loved one another.

"I'm going to go talk to Tani about it." I knew she would tell me because she told me about anything.

"Alright." Justin replied. "Would you like me to walk with you over there?"

"No, not this time. I'm going to take the Jeep, I feel lazy today."

"Ok brother. Have fun while you're over there! Tell her I said hey."

"Sure, I will! I'll be back later Justin." I said while grabbing the keys from the kitchen counter.

I walked outside and then to the carport. I opened the door of the Wrangler and sat inside. I put the key in the ignition and turned it. The truck turned on with a roar that I loved to hear. I backed out and drove to Crunch and Tani's.
I arrived and turned off the car. I hopped out and shut the car door. I walked to the door and used my own set of keys to unlock it. I opened the door and walked inside.

"Hey dad." Tani said, already by the door.

"Hi Tani." I said with a smile. "Where's Crunch? Wasn't he just here this morning?"

"Yeah, but he went to go do something with Crash and Aku Aku." She told me but didn't sound too sure.

Tani walked into her bedroom to lie down. She looked sick. I walked into the room also.

"What's wrong? Why are you in bed?"

"I'm just really, really sleepy." She yawned.

"Do you mind if I make sure your ok? I just want to be on the safe side."

"Ok, that's fine." She said rather nervously. I put on my glasses and held her wrists to find her pulse. Normal. I pulled out my handy thermometer and placed it under her tongue. A few moments later I pulled it out. Hmm, normal. I examined her ears to look for anything swollen or red. Nothing.

I sat beside her on the bed and told her that she wasn't sick. A second later, she jumped up and ran to the bathroom. She slammed the door behind her. I heard the toilet seat clink then gagging and then...

"Uh oh." I said as I knocked on the door. "Hey, everything okay in there? You need help?"

"No I'm fine!" She said with a tremble.

I finally realized what was wrong with Tani.

She flushed the toilet, rinsed her mouth, and washed her hands. She opened the door and walked back to her bed. She gently laid down on it, and sat up so she can talk to me.

Before she could say anything I asked, "So, who's the father?"

Chapter 2

"How’d you know I was pregnant?" She asked wondering how I knew.

"Well it’s obvious. You have all of the symptoms. You just got up to the bathroom and... Crunch is the father huh?" I immediately changed the subject. "Oh my gosh, my Tani is going to be a mother!" I hugged her with excitement.

"Please, make sure you don’t tell anyone, especially Crunch. I don’t want him to become upset with me…" She said as I sat beside her on the bed.

"Don’t worry Tani, I won’t tell anybody. It will be our secret." I smiled at her. "But you will tell him right?"

"Yeah, but I don't know how to though." She frowned.

"Don't worry, just tell him. I'm sure he'll be happy just as I am!" I wasn't kidding, I was very happy.

I got up from the bed. "Well, I must be going now, it’s getting pretty dark outside. I hope you can take care of yourself Tani!"

I walked outside of her bedroom and had my hand on the front door knob right when I heard her ask, "Father, would you keep me company tonight, just until Crunch gets back in the morning?"

"Of course I can!" I immediately replied. "But I have lots of work to do tomorrow, so I’ll have to leave early tomorrow morning." She looked at me and smiled.

Chapter 3

I decided to stay until late morning with Tani to do chores since she was feeling very sick and tired. I cleaned the kitchen counters and sink. It didn't take very long since Tani usually has these things clean already. Nothing was very dirty.

I walked into the living room and turned on the T.V. to the news channel. There was an important news bulletin. "Hello my name is Kent Smith. Today on AMC 11 news, an emergency update has been provided by..." The screen went static for a second. "There have been rather strange happenings the city Irvine, California. There are countless reports of fires all over the city, even the fire department cannot keep up with this very, terrible, tragedy..." I became emotional as I watched my hometown being destroyed by the engulfing fire. I started to cry while thinking of memories with family and friends, especially my best friend from the Biology College, Mario.

I continued to watch the report. "Yes Kent! There are reports of mysterious fires happening all over the city! It is unknown to who is to blame. Police have been sent in to investigate but everyone is trying to evacuate..." Tani was coming. I quickly turned to look at her, I turned back and wiped my tears with my left hand and changed the channel with the remote in my right hand.

She asked me what was wrong since she already saw my tears.

"Nothing dear. I can’t find anything on TV, and I have another eyelash in my eye." I said, trying to make it seem that there was nothing wrong.

"Oh okay, mind if I sit with you?"

"Um, sure! I wouldn’t mind that at all!" I finally found something for both of us to watch. "Look Tani, he’s from California." I said as I pointed at Bruce Willis in Die Hard.

She seemed to enjoy the action. "He's pretty good at kicking ass! He kinda reminds me of Crunch!"

I laughed, "Yeah he does actually!" I was hoping Tani didn't worry about him too much.

The movie finished at around ten. Tani really enjoyed it. I told Tani that I had work to be done before the midday. We exchanged hugs and I walked outside and got into the Jeep. I drove home while Crunch was about ten minutes away.

Chapter 4

Crunch had some plans with Crash and Aku-Aku again this morning. Tani called me after he left. She enjoys my company. I came over and felt like doing something instead of sitting around all day. I got up and grabbed the vacuum. As I vacuumed the living room, Coco knocked on the door. I turned off the vacuum and walked over to the door. I opened it while Tani stood behind me.

"Hey Professor! Hi Tani!" She said as she hugged the both of us. "I came to tell you guys about the boys! They're in Alas..."

"Yes, we all know they brought molasses." I immediately cut her off.

She looked at me in a very confused way. "Father, why would we care if they brought molasses? Don’t they have a job to do?"

"Honey, I have no idea. They must have brought some for breakfast before they left?"

Coco knew what I was trying to do. I didn't want Tani to worry about Crunch. I knew the group was in Alaska, but I didn't want her to know.

Tani scowled at me. She knew I was up to something. I spent the night in the living room. Tani didn't talk to me that night.

Chapter 5

I woke up this morning and noticed a huge structure slowly floating towards the Cortex Island. Tani was still asleep when I saw it though. I knew what it was. It was Cortex in his glacier lab! I remember seeing his concept designs years ago! I knew something bad was going to happen soon. It was the same as yesterday, nothing exciting happened today. I just sat and read a book on the couch.

"I miss Crunch." That was the first thing she told me in hours. Her stomach growled. “Can you make something for me?” She added.

“Why, of course I can!” I got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. I looked in the fridge for something to make. I looked in the freezer and saw a steak. I grilled it for her. She finished it in three bites.

"Wow! You actually ate faster than Crunch!" I stood amazed.

She smiled and then belched. I chuckled.

That night we watched a few, really popular action movies. We sat on the couch with some popcorn. She fell asleep on my shoulder. I was too tired to wake her up so she can go to sleep in her bed. I fell asleep on the couch as well.

Chapter 6

I was sleeping when Tani asked me, "Ok, father what are you not telling me?

"What are you talking about Tani?" I was confused as I was trying to wake up.

"Coco said we’re going to Alaska!?"

I sighed, "Ok Tani, I’ll tell you what’s happening."

"Damn right you better tell me!!!" She snapped. I knew she was having another mood swing.

"Coco, you can listen to car radio." I said while grabbing the keys from the key holder and handing them to her.

"Cool!" She exclaimed with a smile and walked outside. She closed the door behind her. I heard the door open and the radio turn on. She was listening to loud rock music. This was good since I didn't want Coco to find out about anything while I talked to Tani.

"Tani, I lied because I didn’t want you to worry about Crunch!" My tone suddenly changed, causing her to jump.

"Why!? I like Crunch! Hell, I love him! If you know what he's up to, especially in dangerous situations, I'd like to know!!!" She shouted back.

"Stressing isn’t healthy..." My voice became lower. "...Especially while pregnant!" I whispered to her trying to keep quiet just in case Coco was listening.

Her mood changed as she took what I said into consideration. "Sorry, father." She told me in a quiet voice. I walked up to her and gave her a hug. She hugged me back.

"Don’t worry. You’ll go with Coco to see him." I whispered into her ear.

Her ears perked up, "You're not coming with us?" She asked as she lifted her head from my shoulder and leaned back to look at me.

"No, I can’t. Cortex is back. He’ll do something if he knew I was gone. I’ll be waiting for you to come back tomorrow morning." I said with a smile on my face.

We finished our hug.

"Ok." She smiled as she walked outside and told coco she was ready to go.

I followed her outside and said, "Have fun in Alaska! Tani, I love you."

"I love you too!" She replied.

I watched Tani and Coco walk down the beach in the direction of the Bandicoot hut, where they will go through a portal to Alaska.

Chapter 7

I locked up the house and walked back to mine which was just a few minutes away. I walked inside and stopped my brother as he was walking to the restroom.

“Hey, guess what I found out about Tani.” I said with a smirk.

“What?” He asked.

“She’s pregnant!”

“Whoa! That’s so cool! I’m going to be an uncle!” He said with a smile on his face.
He gave me a hug and patted me on the back. “But best of all, you’re going to be a grandfather!”

“I should call my friend Mario and see if he wants to visit us. Just like old times.”

“Yeah, that’ll be great, sounds cool!” He said as I picked up the phone.

He lived in Irvine, but because of the fire I knew he would already be with his parents in Palo Alto.

I dialed his number and he answered. I told him the good news about Tani. He wanted to come and visit since he hasn’t seen her since she was just a pup. I asked him a favor. I needed him to buy some clothes from the stores at the mainland. I told him that if he would, I would pay him back for the favor. He didn’t mind paying though. He suggested that it would be a gift from both of us. I agreed.

“Alright, thanks Mario, I’ll see you here!”

“Awesome, I’ll try to fly over in my helicopter later.” He sounded excited.

“Ok, can’t wait to see you again, old friend.” I said with a smile. We hung up the phone and I walked over to my couch. I lounged on it, and eventually fell into a long nap.

Chapter 8

Mario got here at around six in the evening. I shook his hand when he got out of his helicopter.

“Long time no see buddy!” He said.

“Yeah, same to you!” I replied. He also shook hands with my brother and nodded. They haven’t seen each other in a while either.

“So where’s Tani?” He asked me.

“She went to go visit Crunch and Crash.” I didn’t want to mention the elementals since he might become upset for what has happened to his home. “She’ll be arriving alone tomorrow at the Bandicoot hut. So we will have to wait for her there.”

“Ok.” both my brother and friend said.

We walked inside and sat in the family room. We talked for many hours about the things that we did over the years. That night we watched movies and popped some popcorn, just like we used to do while we were children. We all ended up falling asleep in the family room.

Chapter 9

I woke up at around seven in the morning thinking about Tani arriving in a couple of hours. I sat in the kitchen with a hot cup of coffee. I sat and thought about my soon-to-arrive grand-iger, I couldn’t wait to see him or her. Hours passed while my mind was full of thoughts. I finally got up from the table and woke up Justin and Mario.

We got ready for the day and walked over to the Bandicoot Hut and walked down into the basement. We saw the portal machine. I walked over to the control panel and noticed the ready light on. I pressed activate and the portal opened. A few seconds later Tani came through waving to someone. I knew it was Crunch. I closed the portal and immediately went to go hug her. Tani walked over to Justin and hugged him too.

“How was your visit? I asked, happy to see her.

“It was fine. I got the best sleep I’ve had in a long while.” She replied as she pointed at her back with her thumb.

“Oh that’s good to hear! My back hurts since I slept on the couch last night.” She seemed to ignore me.

Tani was looking at Mario. “Who’s that guy?” She asked, looking at him in a very confused way.

“That’s my old friend Mario. He came to visit us.”

“Us?” She looked confused since she never saw him before.

“Yes Tani. The last time he saw you, you were still un-evolved.”

“Oh!” She said shaking his hand and found a small yellow shirt for the newborn in his palm.

"Nice to see you again!" Mario said with a smile.

Tani looked up and smiled when she saw the gift he had given her.

“Well, let’s get back home shall we?” I suggested as I led everyone upstairs.

“Sounds like a good idea!” Tani said while looking at the new piece of clothing for the baby.

We walked upstairs, outside the hut and then to my house.

Chapter 10

We all got home and relaxed. Tani sat beside me on the couch while Mario lounged on the love seat, and Justin sat in my recliner. The phone started to ring. I ran into the kitchen and picked it up. It was Crunch!

“Hey Doc! How ya been?” He asked me excitedly.

“Pretty good over here! How about you?”

“Never been better! Listen, me Crash, Coco, Aku-Aku, and a new elemental are going to come back tomorrow around noon. And, I also found my sister whom Cortex said died in a test.”

“Well that’s wonderful news! I’m sorry for that Crunch, you know him!” I replied.

“Don’t tell Tani though! I want to keep it a surprise!”

“Ok, sure! Can’t wait to see you and your sister. Have a good night there Crunch!” I said.

“You too professor.”

I thought about Tani’s secret.

“Oh yeah, and before I forget. Tani has a surprise for you also.”

“Really? You gonna tell me?” He chuckled.

“Crunch, you know I can’t do that, you’re going to have to find out for yourself.” I felt guilty for not telling him.

He chuckled again.”Oh yeah. Alright Doc, I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

“Alright Crunch, bye-bye.” I hung up the phone.

I told Tani that Crunch was going to be back tomorrow. She looked up at me and sighed. She was nervous. Justin told her to not worry about it and to relax today. We watched movies again. We popped a few bags of popcorn, one for Mario, another for Justin, and a bag for me and Tani. After a few minutes, I reached in to grab another handful and it was gone! I looked up at Tani and she smirked. We both laughed. All of us fell asleep in the family room, my second time in a row.

Chapter 11

I took Tani back home in the Jeep late this morning. The others stayed home. They were too tired to go anywhere. I told Tani to tell Crunch about her pregnancy when he got home.

“Ok, I hope he doesn’t freak out.” She said nervously.

“He won’t, trust me.” I smiled at her.
She smiled, hoping I was right. I stayed with her until noon since Crunch said he was going to be home soon. I left the house and hoped that Crunch really did like the news.

Tani called me a few minutes after I got home.

“Crunch came home! He brought his sister Crystal, I’m so glad he found her!” She was excited.

“That’s cool! So what do you have planned today?” I asked waiting for her to say that she was going to tell Crunch the news.

“Well Crystal and I were talking, and I told her that I do like Crunch. She said it was cute that we like each other.”

“You did? Where’s Crunch?” I asked wondering how he would feel about that.

“Crunch is outside right now.”

“Oh, I see. Well, you’re going to tell him about the Bandiger right?” That’s what we decided to call the half-bandicoot and half-tiger baby.

“Father, I don’t want to tell him yet!” She said with a nervous tone.

“Tani, you have to tell him before it’s too late!” I said with hand gestures that Tani couldn’t see.

“Yeah I know but I’m just too scared that he might get mad!”

“I know, but you should tell him now, before it’s too late!” I replied and massaged my arm.

“I suppose you’re right. I’ll tell him later tonight.”

“No, tell him right when you get off the phone. Tani, I don’t want him to become upset with you either. It will be better if you tell him now.”

“Okay.” She said nervously.

“Tani, I told you already, he’ll be surprised.” I tried to comfort her.

“Okay, I’ll tell him.” She said after a few seconds.

“That’s my girl. Call me back and tell me what he said.” She didn’t reply.

We hung up the phones. I was already waiting for her to call me back.

Chapter 12

I sat and waited and became nervous too. I walked from the kitchen to the family room where Justin and Mario were watching TV. I looked to see what they were watching but didn’t pay attention to it.

They both watched me walk in from the kitchen. “She’s going to tell him! Come on, let’s go see them!”

We all cheered as they jumped up from the couch and walked toward the door. We jumped into the Wrangler and drove to their house.

We walked up to their door and Crystal opened it. “Um, who are you?” She asked, trying to remember if Crunch mentioned any human friends of his.

“Why, I’m Tani’s father!”

“Really? Wow, I didn’t think I would meet you! I’m Crystal!” She smiled as she put her paw out for me to shake.

“I know, Crunch told me about you.” I said while shaking her paw.

“Oh, well Tani and Crunch are in the room talking about something.” She said while walking toward the couch. I looked back at Justin and Mario looking very nervous. We walked inside and sat in the living room. I became uneasy, I was eager to hear what Crunch had to say.

I heard Crunch and Tani in their bedroom. “Why are you being so down about this? Of course I'm not angry!!!”

I smiled and sighed in relief.

“This is the greatest news I've ever received in my life!” Crunch added.

Tani’s mood was noticeable. “You're... you're okay with this?”

“Yes of course! This news makes me feel so happy! I hope you are too!” There was a pause.

“If you're happy, then I am too!" We all heard some low talking. Justin and Mario were sitting on the couch smiling. Crystal was amazed from what she was hearing.

I heard them talking again. “I'm sure we'll make good parents!"

"Oh Crunch…” her voice dropped to a muffle from behind the door. “I was so worried sick of what you'd think!" Tani added. We heard them talking, too low to hear what they were saying exactly.

It became quiet for a few seconds.

They opened the door and walked out. They saw all of us sitting in the living room and were surprised to see us.  We all sat down and talked to each other. I introduced Crunch to my friend Mario since Crunch has never seen him before. They shook hands.

I got up and walked to the kitchen. “Alright, who wants some steak?” Justin and Mario raised their hands. Crunch and Crystal raised their paws. But Tani raised both of them. It was a good day for all of us.

Chapter 13

It was the big day! It was a month after Tani told Crunch about the Bandiger. Mario had already given Tani the best of luck with the Bandiger when he left a few weeks ago.

Tani had been in pain for a while now. "AHHHH!" we heard Tani scream.
Crystal, Crunch, and I were panicking in the lounge, "You have to go and help her professor!!!" Crystal told me while pointing to the bedroom Tani was in.

I took off my glasses and set them on the coffee table beside the couch to wipe some sweat from my forehead.

“Father! I need your help!” I had a tear in my eye. I wanted to help her, but I was too nervous and felt very nauseous.

I jumped up, “I’ll be there in a minute dear!” I ran into the bathroom instead of the bedroom. I slammed the door, lifted the toilet seat and almost broke it off the hinges. I began to...

"Um, alright Crunch you have to go and help her.” Crystal yelled at Crunch.

"But! But I don't know what to do!!!" Crunch replied with a yell.

"AHHH, Crunch, help!!!" I heard Tani cry out to him.

"Crunch you have to go in there now!" Crystal shouted.

"No I can't, I can't!" There was a pause in their conversation. "Ahh, what are you doing!? I can’t do this!!!"

"Crunch!!! If you don’t get your ass in here right now... I’ll... I’ll kick your ass!!!" I heard Tani scream.

I was glad I wasn't Crunch at this point. I was just about to get up but heaved some more.

"Crunch! Just hurry up and get in there! She needs you more than ever!" Crystal yelled some more.

"But I'm not a doctor! I don't know what to do! I can’t do it! I can’t!!!" Crystal didn't reply.

Instead I heard a loud thump hit the floor and the door slam. I didn't hear anymore talking, just muffled voices.

I finally flushed the toilet and got up. I was very weak. I dizzily walked to the sink so I can rinse my mouth. I drank then threw some on my face. I felt my body trying to collapse onto the floor. I was trying to fight it since I wanted to see my new grand-iger.

I heard faint squeaking. I became excited and immediately ran out of the bathroom. Crystal was in shock standing in front of the door. I couldn't move her. It seemed as if she was paralyzed.

"Is... Our baby alright?" I heard Tani ask. I was staring at the floor trying to visualize Crunch and Tani’s emotions.

"Aww wow! She's beautiful!”

“The Bandiger is a she?” I immediately thought. I was very eager to see what she looked like.

“I know! I'm just so lost for words. Best gift we could ever have." Crunch finally added.

"So, you got a name in mind?" She asked sounding very weak and tired.

"I was thinking of... of the name Tasha. You like the sound of that?" Asked Crunch.

"It's perfect..." She replied. I thought so too.

I finally moved Crystal from the door. She walked over to the couch and sat down, still in shock. Her mouth was wide open. I walked in and saw Crunch and Tani look up at me. They both smiled at me. I walked in and looked down to see what was in Tani’s arms.

I was crying tears of joy. I had my hand covering my mouth. “She's... she's!!!” My eyes rolled to the back of my head as I couldn't fight to stand up anymore. My weak body collapsed. I fell to the floor beside their bed.

Before I fell asleep I heard Crunch say, “Doc, are you ok?”

I couldn’t say anything. I felt him pick me up and I finally passed out.

Chapter 14

I woke up and found myself on the couch. I looked to my left to look out of the window. It was night and the moon was high in the sky. I felt something crawl on me. It was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! It was the newborn bandiger! She was only wearing a diaper and the yellow shirt that Mario had given to Tani when she got back from Alaska. I sat up and looked over to Tani who was sitting on the coffee table beside me. Crunch sat beside her.

He looked at me and said. “Damn Doc! You’ve been asleep since yesterday!” I didn’t say anything.

I found my glasses right beside Tani on the table. I put them on and the bandiger laughed. It was the cutest thing I’ve ever heard. I picked Tasha up and cradled her in my arms. She reached for my glasses and pulled them off. I let her play with them. I was too happy to care about anything else. She was gnawing on them until she eventually broke them.

I smiled, “Uh oh! Did you break grand-daddy’s glasses?” I laughed and looked over to Tani.

“Sorry!” She whispered.

“Don’t worry! I can always get another prescription!” I said as Tasha was giggling. Tani smiled at me. I looked back at Tasha and began to tickle her.

It was a fun night with Crunch, Tani, Crystal, and Tasha. I didn’t want to leave the next day.

Chapter 15

I closed my journal as I read the last sentence. My brother arrived from the mainland and heard him talking to someone downstairs. I walked downstairs and into the living room and was in shock! Everyone was there, Crash, Coco, Crunch and Tani, the Bandigers, Justin, my friend Mario, and Tara! I felt so happy that they had come to visit me! We had decorations and plenty of food that lasted us for days. We laughed, played, and spent time with each other.

Today I became 54 years old. I didn’t want to be though. I wanted to stay with my family on this island, since I didn’t have family anywhere else. I wanted to stay with them forever.

The Professor Is In © 2008 wdogg590