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It’s a bright July morning when Jemma realizes something: for all that Fitz called Alya “little monkey”, they’ve never taken her to the zoo.
Of course their daughter knows what a monkey is, how couldn’t she? At least one gift for her birthday every year is monkey themed. They have books about animals, and of course the giant monkey stuffed animal Daisy gifted Alya on her first birthday on Earth (and wasn’t it funny to say that her child spent her first few years in space?).
But she’s never seen one in real life.
Well, Jemma thought, we’ll just have to rectify that.
“Fitz,” She asked idly, “do you have anything planned for today?”
Her husband, who was eating an egg sandwich with one hand and doing some calculation on a napkin with the other, shook his head. “Nothing important.” He mumbled.
“Perfect.” Jemma answered cheerfully. “Be ready in thirty minutes.”
Fitz looked up, raising an eyebrow. Jemma smiled slightly.
“The zoo opens at ten today, I thought we’d take Alya.”
Her husband sighed, likely resigning himself to hours of photos. “I’ll get the sunscreen.”
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Alya was bouncing in her carseat by the time they parked, her eyes glinting in excitement as she gazed out the window.
“Mummy”, her daughter chirped. “Where are we?”
“You’ll see darling.” Jemma replied, trying to stifle a laugh as Fitz smeared sunscreen on his face.
A few minutes later, Jemma and Fitz were practically running after their daughter as she made a beeline towards the nearest enclosure, her pink hat bobbing and weaving through the already heavy crowd.
“How is she so fast?” Fitz gasped as Jemma scooped her up.
“You were the one who let Yoyo and Mack babysit.” She pointed out. Fitz shoved her playfully.
Alya giggled at their antics, then pointed at the enclosure. “Look Mum, it’s a lion!” She exclaimed, delighted.
Jemma grinned, bouncing her and giving Fitz a sly look. “Yes it is! And what sound does a lion make?”
Fitz shot her a death glare as Alya looked at him expectantly. Begrudgingly, he made a quiet roaring sound, which sent their daughter into a fit of laughter and earned them several “awww’s” from the other parents nearby.
They stayed by the lions for a while. Alya had her face pressed to the glass and patiently waiting for the lions to move. Finally, Fitz suggested it was the lions’ “nap time”, and she relented, pouting at the glass briefly before agreeing to move on.
Slowly, they made their way through all the enclosures, with Jemma taking photos of Alya at every single one. They also discovered a few things.
One, Alya didn’t dislike a single animal. In fact, she wanted to take every single one home as a pet. Even the snakes.
Two, she was able to remember a plethora of facts about each one after having one of them read the plaques, to the point that she started giving other kids lectures on what type of animal they were looking at, even the ones she’d never seen before. She even figured out how to say the Latin names (Jemma was already planning the “Baby’s first latin term” entry into Alya’s baby book. She was so proud.).
Eventually, they got to the primates exhibit.
Alya, despite having been running around for the last however many hours, was still charging full steam ahead. True to the pattern of the day, Alya raced straight into the monkey house with a huge grin on her face.
“Mum! What are these?” She chirped, pressing her face to the glass of the first exhibit.
Jemma peered in, and came face to face with a tiny golden face, so small it could fit into her hand.
“Oh hello little one.” She murmured, delighted, then raised her voice. “They’re Gold Lion Tamarins, native to South America.”
“They’re so cute!” Her daughter squealed.
Jemma looked over at Fitz, had the most adoring expression on his face as Alya saw her first monkey. He crept forward and swept her up into the air without warning, prompting her to let out a screech of surprise and start laughing.
“Dad!” She protested.
“What?” He responded playfully, settling her on his hip easily. “I couldn’t help myself, you’re as cute as they are!”
Alya ducked her head, looking up at him from under her hat. Jemma smiled, secretly snapping a photo. She was going to use that on their Christmas card.
“C’mon, there’s more monkey’s to see.” She said, just to watch Alya’s eyes go round.
“They’re monkeys?!” She exclaimed, turning back to look at the tamarins.
Fitz nodded, and Alya practically jumped to the ground she was so eager to get down. “Monkeys like me?”
Just as Jemma was about to answer, a croaky howl echoed through the monkey house. Alya froze, eyes widening as she listened. Another howl rang out, and then she was racing to the next exhibit, where a howler monkey was making himself heard.
“It’s a howler monkey!” Her daughter screeched, staring at the animal in awe.
Jemma and Fitz exchanged a fond look. If Alya was any monkey when she was born, it was a howler monkey. She used to scream at night for hours until they could get her back to sleep. Thankfully, it was a short lived phase, or else Jemma would have sworn off any other children forever.
For a long time, Alya just stood there in dumbfounded awe. Then she started trying to mimic the call.
“OooOOOOOoooooOOOO” She called, doing her best to make the same sound, not that she was even close.
Fitz lost it, silently shaking with laughter next to her as their daughter did their best to screech like a monkey. Jemma had a video of all of it, including Fitz snorting so hard at a particularly bad attempt that he choked on his own spit and started wheezing.
That was going to the group chat for the sole purpose of giving everyone a reason to tease her husband endlessly. Not that she was going to tell him that.
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Eventually, they made their way from howler monkeys to the spider monkeys (where Alya spent several minutes trying to mimic their swinging style), and through to the chimpanzee’s, lemurs, and baboons.
Alya knew these weren’t monkeys, but she still spent several minutes at each exhibit watching the primates with laser-like intensity. The crowds had picked up as the day wore on, and it sometimes took them several minutes to work their way up to the front. Still, Alya never faltered, waiting patiently without complaint. Jemma reasoned she was too excited to care about anything other than seeing the animals.
When they got to the gorilla enclosure, they were met with a wash of cool air as they walked into the shade. It was quiet here, with only a few other people milling about. Jemma was carrying Alya after almost losing her in a crowd. Her daughter squirmed excitedly as they neared the glass, and Jemma carefully put her down nearby.
“Gorillas are one of the closest living relatives to humans.” She explained, straightening her hat. “We share a lot of similar genetic markers.”
“Really?” Her daughter asked, eyes on the gorilla leaning up against the glass. “That’s so cool!”
Suddenly, Alya let out a soft gasp, and leaned forward.
Jemma looked over her head, and let out a little gasp herself. Nestled in the arms of the gorilla was a baby, only a few weeks old at most.
“Oh Fitz, look!” She exclaimed, whipping out her camera. “I wonder how long ago she gave birth.”
Her husband hummed thoughtfully, looking at the baby with interest. “I dunno, cute though.”
Alya crouched down in front of the glass, almost eye level with the baby. The mother was watching out of the corner of her eye, but didn’t seem to take offense that Alya was there.
The baby stirred, bright eyes looking back through the glass at her daughter. For a long moment, they just stared. Then, to Jemma’s utter astonishment, the baby pressed one tiny hand against the glass.
Her daughter lifted up her own hand, so eerily similar, and placed her hand back against the glass. Jemma felt a chill run down her spine at the exchange. She took a single photo without looking, the click echoing quietly, and then lowered the camera.
After a minute, the baby lowered its hand and curled back into its mother’s chest. Alya retreated, wrapping her arm around her leg and looking up at Jemma with a thoughtful expression.
They walked out of the cave in complete silence, Fitz and Jemma not daring to break the quiet as they all processed what just happened.
When he looked over at her finally, she could see he was just as in awe as she was.
“Mummy, Dad.” Alya said as they trekked back to the car, a tamarin stuffed animal tucked under her arm. “I’m going to help animals when I grow up.”
Her daughter’s blond hair caught the sunlight just then, glinting gold and throwing the determined look on her face into full force. At that moment, Jemma could almost see Alya’s future take flight, one possible path in a thousand.
“That’s wonderful darling.” She said finally, throat tight as she looked down at this wonder. Her little girl, a star shining in the sun.
Fitz laced his fingers with hers, huffing out a quiet laugh. Their wedding bands clinked together, and Jemma decided nothing else could be more perfect.