Chapter One: Meet and Beat

Zootopia EA/AU Character Profile #10: Sarah Clawhauser AKA "Skates"

Sex: Female

Species: Mountain Lion

Age: 5 ½

Backstory: Sarah was left at sister Camella's orphanage as a baby cub. Camella raised the child with the help of Suzie the camel. Suzie became like a second mother to Sarah and the two were inseparable, so when the Clawhauser's decided to adopt Suzie, Sarah came along for the ride. Being felines themselves, the Clawhausers loved having a young mountain lion to take care of.

Sarah is paralyzed from the waist down thanks to a birth defect in her spine. She can still feel her bottom half, but can't move it in any way except surprisingly, her tail can wag. This also makes her incontinent so she can't control when she goes potty and has to wear a diaper. She considers this very humiliating and she has a hard time keeping friends with other kids her age as they tend to make fun of her.

Sarah is full of energy and very, VERY independent. She tries desperately to change herself and dress herself, but often needs help even though she won't admit to it. She's able to be mobile and run around on her front legs thanks in big part to a tri-skateboard device that Suzie invented. It even allows her to move forward upright for a bit.

Now on Halloween, Sarah finds herself with some new friends, a boyfriend and an enemy.

7:35am Saturday, October 31st. Halloween

Nick Wilde was in the mini-van with his kids, heading to the Clawhauser home. Bogo asked Judy to head to work early so she took public transportation over to the ZPD. With Nick's chest still full of stitches from the massive scars caused by the polar bear Rusev. Nick wasn't fit to go back to work yet. So, he decided that he'd spend Halloween with the kids and take them to meet the Clawhauser's new children so they can have fun together.

A worried Michael talked to Nick. "Is mommy going to be okay?"

"Carrots? Sure! Your mom is as tough as they come. Also, she'll be partnered with officer Wolford today. He's a big hero! He survived a massive explosion and infiltrated Rusev's lair to rescue Higgin's brother and that action helped me get out of prison. I owe him big time! So trust me, you have nothing to worry about."

Cotton was excited. "I can't wait to meet Sarah! It'll be nice to meet another handicapped girl like me!"

"That's right honey! I'm sure you two will be the best of friends. And Spots old schoolmate, Suzie will be there too! Just be careful around her. She's a bit of a klutzy giraffe."

"Are we almost there yet?..." Spots complained. "Or are you gonna keep spouting more exposition for the new readers?"

"We're almost there freckles and knock it off! Fourth wall jokes are my shtick!"

Nick parked the van in front of the giant brownstone and they all got out. The bunnies were amazed at the size of the apartment doors. "Woah! It's so big!"

"Well yeah!" Nick explained. "This is technically an apartment for giraffe's and since they can grow as big as 20 feet or more, it needs to accommodate them. But we small mammals can just go through the flap."

Nick knocked on the door and a voice from the other side answered. "The flaps open! C'mon in guys!"

Nick, Spots and the children entered. All of them were amazed by just how large the inside was. "Daaang! The rent on the place must be as high as the ceiling!" Spots commented.

"You're not kidding!" Terry answered. Officer Terry Fangmeyer was seated in a large wheelchair she was moving around in. "We're getting a new room added later for Sarah. Maybe two."

Nick asked Terry for a favor. "I hate to bother you Terry, but I had to help get the kids ready and didn't have time for breakfast. I am STARVING! Do you have anything to eat?"

"Oh sure! Help yourself to the kitchen. I got a box of blueberry waffles you can toast or some bagels and O.J."

"You had me at 'blueberry'!' Nick happily ran off to the kitchen.

Terry looked at the kids from her wheelchair. "Let me get the others out here. SUZIE! SARAH! THE OTHER KIDS ARE HERE!"

"BE RIGHT OUT!" Yelled Suzie from inside her room.

Spots was happy. "It'll be great hanging out with my old schoolmate all day. How did you wind up in a wheelchair Mrs. Clawhauser?"

"I was chasing a purse snatcher and was in a fit of rage at the time. The culprit was scared and was pulling out a knife to threaten me with. I leaped on him without thinking and the knife went into my ribs. Ends up the boy who stabbed me was just desperate to get money for his ill mother. Believe it or not, the boy will be coming over later."

"WHAT?!"

"Oh yes! Officer Wolford, my best friend and the cop who caught him ended up adopting him. It's a long story and it'll fill out better once they get here. Oh! Here come Suzie and Sarah now!"

Suzie came out in a T-shirt and short jeans while she held Sarah who wore a pink top and shorts. The kids noticed that Sarah had some kind of contraption trapped to the front of her.

Suzie squealed. "EEEEE! Viv! I'm so happy you're here! We're gonna have so much fun today! This is my baby sister Sarah who I've helped raise since she was born."

She put the tiny mountain lion down. Sarah skated over to the smaller children. "Hi! I'm Sarah, but I'm also called 'Skates'! You can see why."

She spun around on her tripod skates They were in the shape of a "Y" with her legs spread apart and her torso attached to the front. She could still arch her back to look around. "Check this out!" She said as she spun around in a circle. Petey and Spots were impressed and Cotton was too, but there was something about it that the lamb didn't like. "Y-You can spin?"

"And run! Watch this!" She Put her front legs on the ground and ran around real fast around the living room, dragging the rest of her body behind her on the wheels.

Petey was loving it, but it just depressed Cotton more. "She can run...I can't run."

Sarah came running back. "Suzie made these skates for me. She's smart at building things. That's why..." Sarah then saw Petey who was telling the blind bunny Michael how cool Sarah was. Sarah was impressed with how the boy dressed. Petey was in a black shirt and a little red tie that he picked out himself. A lover of fashion, Nick recently decided that Petey would take over the tailoring business that his father dreamed of, but could not accomplish before he died.

She stared at the bunny for a moment and then approached him and minced no words. "You're handsome and you dress good! You wanna be my boyfriend?!"

Terry laughed. "That's my daughter alright. She works faster than me!"

Petey was surprised. He already liked Sarah instantly, but was very afraid his tourettes would come into play. "Don't cuss!" He thought to himself. "Don't cuss! Don't swear!"

He finally built up the nerve to talk to Sarah. "Hi B #$H! I'm Petey! I think you're cute too! C#$T!"

Sarah's jaw dropped and Petey was very embarrassed.

"I-I'm sorry. I...ummmm,,,I...DADDY!" Petey ran as fast as he could into the kitchen.

Sarah was sad. "Wh-What did I say? Oh no! Do I smell?"

"Why would you say that?" Michael asked.

"Because I'm paralyzed from the waist down. I can't move my legs and I...I have no control over when I go potty. SNIFF! I'm incontinent!"

Michael was confused. "You travel the world?"

"No, that's 'intercontinental'."

"And a big word for a five year-old to know." Spots added.

"Like I said, it means I can't control when I go potty. I have to wear a diaper all the time. Even when I grow up."

""So what?!" Cotton argued. "You can run! You can spin! I can't do any of that!"

"But you can stand up and walk on your legs. You can go potty when you want, right? I can't"

"It's not fair!" Cotton argued.

Meanwhile, Petey ran into the kitchen. "DADDY!"

"I'm only having four waffles, I swear!" Nick replied hastily. "Okay, six!"

Petey ran out of breath. "Daddy! Pant! Pant! There's a girl who likes me! She wants me to be her boyfriend!"

"Well that's great son! Why don't you go for it?"

"BECAUSE I KEEP SWEARING !" Petey sobbed. He then cried into his father's lap.

The fox rubbed the boy's head. "Hey, hey now. Things will work out. She just has to get to know you. Hey! Why don't you tell her how you feel in song?! Singing seems to help you get over your tourettes! Try that!"

The bunny's ears shot up and he looked happy. "Yeah! That's a great idea daddy! Thank you!" He then ran back out of the kitchen."

Nick looked at the box of frozen blueberry waffles. "Well...there's only two more. Might as well finish them off too!"

Meanwhile, the little argument between Sarah and Cotton was starting to build up. "Why are you acting jealous of me?!" Sarah shouted. "I'm tied to this thing just to move around!"

"I'm not jealous!" Cotton yelled. "Why would I be jealous of you?! Poopy pants!"

"Shut up Cotton! You're being mean!" Michael yelled. This hurt the lamb as it came from her own boyfriend.

Suzie and Spots watched the whole thing. "Should we interfere?" Suzie asked.

"Nah. Let them get it out of their system. Cotton is acting like a jerk though."

Thankfully, Petey arrived back and talked to Sarah which temporarily stopped the fight. "I'm sorry! I got scared. I #$%!...I have tourettes so I cuss sometimes.'''actually, a lot. Let me tell you how I...#$%*! How I feel in song."

"YAAAY!" Sarah said excitedly. But then, she felt something stirring in her. "Oh no!" She thought. "Don't poop. Don't poop! Don't...too late!"

Petey began his song.

"Hello...Is it me you're looking for?"

"Cuz I love your crazy skates"

"And I think you're pretty too!"

"So let me start by saying..."

SNIFF! SNIFF!

"You smell like poo!"

Sarah was upset. "Wh-What?!"

"No wait!" Petey yelled. "The good kind of poo smell!"

"Good kind?!" Everyone said to Petey.

"Yah! You know when #$%! when you're lying in bed and you rip a mean fart, but you kinda like the smell okay because it's your #&*! your own fart? That's what you smell like to me Sarah! You smell like my farts!"

Spots slapped her forehead. "Oh jeez kid! You just blew it."

Sarah started to cry."That's...that's the most beautiful thing anyone's ever said to me! Suzie! Stand me up so I can hug Petey!"

"Okay!" Suzie replied. "Check this out. I added weights to the base so she can stand freely."

She clicked the legs together so the "Y" became an "I" she then pulled Sarah up at the base of where her feet folded into. Heavy weights below the base kept her from falling over. She was now standing and able to split her handle bars into two ski-like crutches so she can move around.

Petey was impressed. "WOAH! You're a transformer too?!"

"Tee-Hee! C'mere, Petey my sweetie!" Sarah gave Petey a huge hug and to his surprise, started to kiss him. He didn't shy away and kissed her back. Cotton was disgusted.

Spots cheered the bunny on. "WOO! Go Petey! You little Romeo!"

Cotton's jealousy continued. "Gross! How can you kiss someone who just pooed themselves?!"

"Stop it Cotton!" Michael yelled. "Sarah. Can I see your face?"

"See my face?" The mountain lion asked.

Petey explained. "He's blind, so he has to feel your face to get a good picture of you."

"Oh. Tee!-Hee! Okay!"

Michael put her paws on Sarah's face which Cotton did NOT like. "Wow!" Michael said. "You got fangs like Spots, but you're not ugly like she is."

Spots wasn't too pleased. "Y'see Mike? This is why you're my least favorite."

Cotton was getting furious. "Stop touching her face!"

Michael ignored the lamb. "Your ears are round and short can you hear good?"

"I SAID STOP!" Cotton hobbled over on her crutches and yanked her bunny boyfriend off of Sarah and knocked him to the floor. She then gave Sarah a shove that almost knocked her down as well. "Stay away from him!"

"I'm trying to be your friend Cotton!" Sarah replied. "What's your problem?!"

"YOU ARE! I HATE YOU!" Cotton then shoved Sarah so hard that she fell to the ground, but her arm landed on one of her metal crutches, hurting her badly.

Sarah screamed in pain and started to cry. "BAAAH!-HAAAH!-HAAA! MOMMY!"

Cotton realized what she had done. "Oh no! I-I-I didn't mean to..."

Suzie quickly grabbed Sarah and gave her to Terry. "I guess we should have interfered after all! I'm sorry Sarah! Here mom."

Spots picked up Cotton roughly. "What the hell Christie?! DAD! GET OUT HERE NOW!"

Nick ran out of the kitchen with a mouthful of waffles. "Whu happun?!"

"Your mean daughter just beat up Sarah! She's being terrible!"

Nick couldn't believe it. "What?! Cotton! What's wrong with you?!"

Cotton just cried. "It's not fair! It's not faaaair!"

Petey was livid. "She's being real bad daddy! She shoved Michael down too!"

"I'll take care of this." Nick said. "Terry, can I use your room?"

"Sure Nick."

"C'mon honey." Nick picked up Cotton and she was kicking and screaming all the way. "NO! NO! NOO! IT'S NOT FAIR! I WANNA RUN TOO!"

Petey picked up his brother who was knocked over. "Are you okay Mike?"

"SNIFF! I don't think I wanna be her boyfriend anymore."

Petey hugged his brother. "It's okay Mike. It's okay. Daddy will take care of her."

Meanwhile, in Terry's room. Nick sits Cotton down on the bed. "Okay, you little grass muncher! We're gonna have a little chat!"

He then started to unbuckle his belt which made Cotton cry. "B-A-A-A-A-H1 HAAA! HAAA!"

"What's wrong now?"

Cotton pointed to Nick's belt. "Y-You're gonna whip me!"

"What?!...OH!...No! No sweetie, I just had too many waffles and I'm adjusting my pants so my belly doesn't burst. Sorry to scare you like that."

Nick then sat on the bed with her. "Well, not too sorry. I am VERY upset with you! What's gotten into you?!"

Cotton wiped some tears. "It's not fair!"

"What exactly is not fair?! You haven't been very clear on this."

"She...SNIFF!...She's in worse shape than me, but she has these skates that allow her to run and spin and have all sorts of fun and...and Petey and her got all kissy face! And then Michael started touching her face and I got so mad! I wanna run too, but I can't! I HATE MY STUPID LEGS!" She started to cry heavily into her father's lap.

"So that's it? You beat on a cripple because you're jealous of her?"

"No!...Yes. She can have the kind of fun that I can't!"

"Honey! You're looking at this all wrong."

"I am?"

"She should be jealous of you! You can stand on your own two feet and move your legs."

"Not very well. I need crutches."

"You don't need to be strapped to anything to move around. You can go to the bathroom when you want instead of in a diaper. Do you know how that's gonna affect her in high school?! In her adult life?! You were only thinking of yourself instead of what her life must be like. Sure, she's having fun on those skates, but she depends on them to get around or she'd be in a wheelchair all the time."

Nick stood up. "I've NEVER been more disappointed in you than I am right now. You were so mean, I ought to call you 'Dawn'."

That hurt. If there was one thing the tiny ewe was ashamed of, it was her own aunt. Cotton had a look of shame upon her face. She couldn't look at her father. "I didn't mean for her to fall on her crutch like that."

"But she did and you shoved down Michael. Michael! Your own blind boyfriend!"

"I KNNNOOOWW!" Cotton started to cry again. "He...He's gonna hate meeeee!"

"Probably. That's part of your punishment. You're gonna have to make up to everyone and they may not be so forgiving."

"SNIFF! I know."

"Your punishment from me will be no candy for you tonight!"

"B-But it's Halloween!"

"That's right! We're going to the mall and while Petey, Michael, Sarah and the others are trick or treating, you're going to be hanging back with me and aunt Terry and we're going to do our best to be extra boring! We'll...I dunno. We'll talk about our taxes and stock options."

"I hate my legs." Cotton said. "I can't wait for the surgery."

"Don't be too excited for that. I talked to the surgeon who may do your procedure."

"May?"

"I need you to be sure before we do this. Do you know what will happen to you? They're gonna take your knees completely off, turn you legs around around and re-attach them. You won't just be running out of the operation room. You'll be in a wheelchair for over a YEAR!"

Cotton was surprised. "A-A year?!"

"Or longer depending on how your legs heal. Then, you have to re-learn how to walk proper again through months and months of therapy. It will be a long and painful process. You may not be able to actually run for at least five years."

"That sounds awful! I don't wanna wait that long!"

"That's the best they can do sweetie. I wanted you to know so you can make the decision yourself if you REALLY want to get this done. Do you still want to?"

"...Can I think about it?"

"Of course. Y'know? There's a way out of your candy predicament."

Cotton's ears perked up. "How?"

"The others. I'm going to give you and empty bag. If you can get them to forgive you, they are free to share their candy with you and put it in the bag. So I'd start sucking up buttercup. Especially with Sarah."

"Oh yes Daddy! I'm really, really sorry! I screwed up badly."

"Yes you did. Who would have thought that my little lamb would be the black sheep of the family?"

Cotton giggled.

"By the way, Happy Anniversary Cotton."

"Anniversary?"

"Yeah! It's been a whole week since I adopted you!"

"Oh yeah!"

The two chatted some more on the bed. Cotton was feeling very sorry for what she had done. For a first meeting, The Clawhauser kids and the Wilde child's ended in a bit of a disaster...for now.