Special Delivery

Closing one eye, I squinted at the smoking machine. Ever since we'd upgraded to a digital system we'd been having more issues with programming. More kinks in the system meant less product. I sighed and tapped the metal side with one clawed foot. A wire sputtered and I jumped back with a squawk.

"Problems, Maguari?"

"Not at all, Abdim," I glanced from my supervisor to the machine, "I'll have it up and running before you can say partridge in a pear tree."

"Really?" Abdim cocked his head doubtfully, "Because it looks as dead as a dodo to me."

I flapped a wing in his face, "Stop hovering like a mother hen and let me figure this out."

Abdim sniffed, his feathers clearly ruffled, "Fine. I still think it'll take a wing and a prayer but…"

"You pray and I'll put my wing to work, then," I chuckled, shooing him away.

"Don't forget your deliveries!" Abdim huffed before waddling off to report to the Boss.

I shook my head, unrolled some duct tape, and twisted the wires into some semblance of order. With a glare at the control box, I stretched out a foot and pressed the green start button with one clawed toe. The machine sputtered and shook before settling into a noisy hum.

Proud as a peacock, I pulled my paperwork from my satchel and began inputting data.

"Hiya, Maguari!" the voice at my side startled me and I bumped the wrong button.

"Ciconia!" I sighed, "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?" I peered at the computer screen and shook my head in frustration.

"Sorry, Mags," Ciconia ducked her head in shame, "Did I wreck the plan?"

"Let's find out," I winked and initiated the program. A blue light flashed, the conveyer belt shifted, and a diaper-clad infant tumbled into Ciconia's wings.

"He looks perfect to me," I chuckled as the bouncing baby boy smacked Ciconia's beak. "However, that little jolt to the system now means he's destined to be a nerd instead of a jock. His parents will have to adjust."

I reached for the boy and carefully swaddled him in a white receiving blanket.

"Boss says now that I'm fully fledged, I can start helping with the deliveries. That's why I came over…"

"Well then," I held the precious package out to Ciconia, "Looks like I have a new apprentice under my wing."

Frowning at the clock, I set our coordinates in our GPS and nudged Ciconia toward the cliff's edge.

"We need to go now. Abdim will cook our goose if we don't fill our quota."

Spreading my wings, I lept into the air. Ciconia followed behind, the baby dangling from the blanket hooked over her beak.

With sneaky stealth we fluttered into the Wilson home.

"Let's see," I murmured, glancing around the festively decorated home, "Set him over here, next to the Christmas tree." I ordered. We slipped outside just as the babe started crying.

"Back to headquarters, Ciconia. I'll let you type in the information and push the button this time."

Ciconia shivered with excitement as she landed in front of the machine. With quivering wing, she tapped in the DNA settings.

"Whoops…"

My heart jumped, "What happened?"

Ciconia hopped a step away from the machine, "I...I accidentally hit the duplicate button."

I laughed, "No worries! When I was a fledgling I once hit that button four times in a row."

Ciconia's eyes widened, "You mean…?"

"Quadrupletes!" I crowed, "Last I heard they had grown up and started a diner called Four Brothers. Their homemade ice cream is particularly delectable."

Ciconia was swaddling one of the redheaded twins as I secured her sister.

"We'll kill two birds with one stone on this delivery," I hooked my bundle over my beak and took off.

Finding an open window, we swooped inside. Pointing to a pink crib, I motioned for Ciconia to lay her parcel down. I nestled the twins close together and turned to go when the bedroom light flashed on.

A little girl with a long braid dangling down her back rushed to the crib, "Is that…the baby sister I asked for?" Her eyes widened and she clapped her hands with joy, "Two sisters?"

I nudged Ciconia and we inched our way to the window only to have the girl stop us.

"Wait!" she cried, "I have a gift for you…a thank you. Though I only made one 'cause I wasn't 'specting two of you." She blushed and held out a sticky necklace made of chocolate beads. Ciconia glanced nervously at me and when I nodded, she stepped forward and ducked her head. The girl slipped the gooey piece of jewelry over Ciconia's white neck.

"Thank you," the girl pressed a kiss against Ciconia's beak and turned back to her sisters. Ciconia and I took the opportunity to escape and as we soared into the sky, my apprentice sighed.

"I could get used to this."

I laughed, "Well, you've certainly taken to the job like a duck to water. Now let's get back to headquarters. We've got some special deliveries to take care of!"