Adventures of A Precarious Toddler Girl

Posted on Thu Jun 3rd, 2021 @ 8:30am by Celeste McLaren

Mission: Pathstone to History
Location: McLaren Quarters

When Ensign Joseph Donnelly offered to watch Celeste McLaren for the Chief Science Officer he didn't know quite what to expect. He was on the mid-shift anyway so doing her a favor was perfectly all right. Besides having a Chief Science Officer owe you a favor wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

That was before Joseph knew what he'd gotten himself into. Celeste was a toddler, "What sort of trouble could she possibly get herself into anyway?" He asked himself. "She couldn't possibly be that much of a handful." He thought.

Joseph remembered overhearing others talking in the crew mess about this young toddler girl. They didn't say any names, but he remembered hearing such lines as... "...And then when I wasn't looking she managed to get herself inside the access point behind the sofa..."

Joseph thought that they had been talking about somebody's cat or something, but after a small bit of probing he learned that it was a toddler girl. The poor crewman spent an hour trying to coax her out of the access point.

Joseph was now sitting quietly on that same sofa when he realized just how quiet it had gotten. It was too quiet in fact... He remembered his father's advice about toddlers in case Joseph ever decided to have children of his own. "There is such a thing as too quiet when it comes to small children."

Celeste was in her bedroom, but she was not sleeping. Without this person realizing what was happening she'd crawled underneath her bed with a datapad and a stylus and was quietly drawing pictures on it. Then she heard footsteps and got even more quiet than before.

Joseph came into the room and found that Celeste was missing, "Celeste?" He called out while looking around for the three-year-old girl. "Celeste where are you?" He assumed that perhaps she'd gone into Lieutenant McLaren's room without him realizing it and left.

Celeste immediately thought it was a game and scurried out from underneath the bed quietly. She contained her urge to start giggling as she crept out of the bedroom and out into the small kitchenette where she'd opened one of the cabinets and crawled inside.

Joseph turned around when he didn't see her in her mother's bedroom, "Celeste where did you go to?" He asked with his head tilted. He returned back to her bedroom and checked underneath her bed. But, the girl wasn't there.

Celeste heard the man moving around and then it got quiet again. She let a small giggle as she slipped out of the cabinet and slipped into her mother's room. Celeste went inside the closet and pressed the small sensor to close the door.

Joseph left Celeste's room, "Celeste this isn't funny where are you?" He asked with a bit of dread washing over him. "C'mon now..." He headed out to the kitchenette thinking that maybe she went in there while he wasn't looking. He began searching through the cabinets.

Celeste poked her head out of the closet and later the bedroom. When she saw him in the kitchenette going through the cabinet she had just been hiding in she covered a small giggle and ran lightly across the hall and back into her bedroom.

Celeste hid inside of her closet before activating the door with the small sensor. She slipped further back into the closet behind the clothing and uniforms that her mother kept in there for safekeeping.

Joseph had gone through the last cabinet, "Computer locate Celeste McLaren?" He asked.

"Celeste McLaren is in her quarters."

Joseph sighed, "Okay Celeste I know you're in here somewhere come out please." He said and went back into her mother's bedroom thinking to himself that he'd forgotten to check the closet. He pressed the button and began to go through the closet.

Celeste heard him moving and waited for it to get quiet again before she left her own closet. She made her way out into the living room because she had grown bored, but chose to hide behind the sofa again.

Joseph was beginning to panic, "I'm a Starfleet officer I can handle one three-year-old girl..." He muttered to himself hoping that the words of encouragement would be enough. He went back to Celeste's room and began looking through her closet.

Celeste looked over the edge of the sofa before scurrying quietly until she had reached her mother's bedroom. She slipped underneath the bed and watched for footsteps. Celeste wanted to draw in her bedroom again, but was still having too much fun playing keep away with herself.

Joseph didn't see Celeste in the closet and closed it. He was scratching the back of his head. "Forget being owed a favor... Lieutenant McLaren will have my head." He muttered under his breath as he left the bedroom and went out into the living room. He pressed his communicator, "Ensign Donnelly to security."

"Go ahead Ensign."

Joseph was embarrassed by this, "I seem to have um... I seem to have lost Celeste McLaren can you send some people down here and help me find her please?"

"We're on our way Ensign. Chief Preston out."

Celeste slipped out from underneath the bed and listened for a moment as the man had called for help. She tilted her head slightly and ran back into her bedroom quietly before grabbing the datapad. She laid down on her stomach across the floor and began to quietly draw again.

Chief Preston arrived to find Joseph pacing in the living room, "Is everything all right Ensign? Where did you see her last and did you ask the computer for her location."

Joseph was a bit ecstatic, "The computer said she was in here, but I cannot find her anywhere. She was in her bedroom back here and I went to check on her and she was..." He led the Chief back to the room and when he saw Celeste laying there he stopped talking.

The Chief looked at the young girl and sighed while shaking his head, "She's right there... Celeste are you all right?"

Celeste looked up and grinned, "Yes," She answered and went right back to drawing without another word.

Chief Preston patted the young officer on the back, "Call if you lose anymore children please." He said and wandered away while containing his urge to laugh.

Joseph sighed, "Trouble indeed..." He thought to himself. "Are you hungry?" He asked the girl.

Celeste happily jumped up, "Yes." She said and went straight for the replicator for something to snack on...